Blue Öyster Magic

Jules Radino, Richie Castellano, Eric Bloom, Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, Danny Miranda

One thing first: in a fair world, Blue Öyster Cult would be playing at Berlin's Olympiastadion and not at the Tempodrom. However, since most folks have poor taste in music, we were able to admire the American hard rock legends in a relatively intimate setting during their only gig in Germany. My seat in the third row, right in front of Buck Dharma, was undoubtedly a dream come true. Even at Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets' concert last year, I wasn't that far forward in the same venue.

The fact that I had high expectations on this 3rd of June 2025 was evident from the fact that I was wearing my blue David Gilmour shirt for the first time, which I bought in October 2024 before one of his concerts in Rome. Special occasions call for appropriate wardrobe choices... In this case, it led to a nice conversation with a fan from southern Germany who also had the opportunity to marvel at the Pink Floyd legend at the Circo Massimo the previous year.

In general, the people I met that day contributed to an unforgettable experience. Even though I occasionally enjoy having some peace and quiet at concerts, the interaction with familiar and previously unknown faces was extremely enjoyable.

But let's get to the music: Since Blue Öyster Cult always vary their setlist a little, I was especially curious to see if my favourite, “Astronomy“, would be on the setlist. Unfortunately, unlike the night before in Paris, this was not the case. However, there is no room for complaints here, as the band presented a tremendous programme consisting of 18 tracks that, objectively speaking, left nothing to be desired.

One highlight was the one-two punch of “Burnin' for You“ and “Dancin' in the Ruins“, which sent the audience into ecstasy for the first time. After that, at the latest, this concert evening was a triumphal march for Buck Dharma, Eric Bloom and Co. – the five musicians' joy of playing and skill repeatedly left the audience shaking their heads in disbelief. In this context, I must single out Richie Castellano, who played a world-class solo lasting several minutes in the epic “Then Came the Last Days of May“.

This evening at the Tempodrom was also particularly special because everyone was aware that they were probably seeing one of the best and most mysterious bands of all time for the last time. Eric Bloom, still the coolest guy ever to stand on a stage, is already 80 years old, and Donald Roeser will turn 78 in November. This makes the level at which these gentlemen performed for two hours all the more noteworthy. Incidentally, they would have played one more song in the encore set, consisting of “Black Blade“ and the eternally young “Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll“, but the venue's management prevented this. They apparently wanted to call it a night before 10 p.m.

In short: the trip to the capital was 100% worth it. I am very grateful to have experienced Blue Öyster Cult in such a fantastic setting. By the way, I was particularly pleased that so many young fans, clearly under 30, were there. They still exist, the truffle pigs who recognise and celebrate real art!

If, contrary to my expectations, these amazing guys do come back to Europe in 2026, I'll probably take a few days off to see them as often as possible.