REVIEW — “Styx & Don Felder: Renegades In The Fast Lane” at The Venetian (Las Vegas)

Superstar rock and roll band Styx and illustrious guitar legend Don Felder, formerly of the Eagles, return to Las Vegas for limited-time engagement ‘Styx & Don Felder: Renegades In The Fast Lane’ at The Venetian Theatre.

The five-show exclusive residency, launched Friday, runs January 26, 27, 31 and February 2 and 3.

Styx members James “JY” Young (vocals, guitars), Tommy Shaw (vocals, guitars), Ricky Phillips (bass), Todd Sucherman (drums), Lawrence Gowan (vocals, keyboards) and Chuck Panozzo (bass) unite with former Eagles lead guitarist Don Felder to bring Las Vegas audiences an exclusive set list and a brand new stage production, melding the biggest hits of Styx and the Eagles for a must-see performance that plays like two shows in one.

The set list plays not only as a greatest hits of Styx and the Eagles, but a greatest hits of rock and roll — period.

Bursting to life with the high energy and out-of-this-world “Gone, Gone, Gone,” lead single of 2017 Styx album ‘The Mission’ and the newest Styx hit, the show lives up to the promise made inherent by the words of the track: “Light it up,” they sing, “let’s get this show on the road.”

They do, exploding into colorful life — the perfect start to a rocking good time sure to please fans both old and new.

Styx’s everybody-knows-it “Renegade” and “Come Sail Away,” undeniably two of the biggest hits of the ‘70s, partnered with two more ‘70s classics — the Eagles’ “Hotel California” and “Life In The Fast Lane,” another pair of songs everyone knows by heart — makes for a hard to beat set list, setting the stage for The Venetian to serve as rock and roll mecca between now and February 3.

The 17-song set includes Styx seminal hits “Lady,” “Too Much Time On My Hands,” and “Fooling Yourself,” joined by “Miss America,” “Rockin’ The Paradise,” “Crystal Ball,” “Light Up” and “The Grand Illusion.”

The Eagles’ side represents with “Witchy Woman,” “The Long Run,” “Heartache Tonight,” and, of course, “Take It Easy.”

The performance has evolved since the rockstars last took Vegas, ensuring a brand new experience for attendees of past shows.

“It was just so much fun, the audiences all really enjoyed it immensely,” Felder told press after a sneak preview Friday afternoon.

“So when we came back and picked up right where we left off, it had already gone up to another notch,” Felder said. “We just really settled in right away, and it just feels really great. I’m really enjoying being back here.”

“‘The Mission,’ by the way,” a witty Gowan added, “was voted #1 classic rock album of 2017 in Ultimate Classic Rock Magazine, so please write that down. Thank you very much.”

The show has the “great fortune,” Felder said, of “what do you call it, JY?”

“An embarrassment of riches,” said Young, who is every bit an expressive performer as his bright lime-green guitar.

That embarrassment of riches references the copious amount of home runs birthed out of Styx’s and Felder’s combined 45-plus years as rock legends.

“Sometimes people don’t want to hear new stuff, they just want to hear the hits,” Felder explained.

“But we’ve been finding with ‘The Mission,’ we’re getting a huge response, people actually singing along with the choruses. And it’s been nice — we do just a few, but when we do them sparsely, they get as good a response it seems as the rest of the set.”

‘Styx & Don Felder: Renegades In The Fast Lane’ can be found only at The Venetian Saturday, January 27, Wednesday, January 31, Friday, February 2, and Saturday, February 3.

Tickets are now on sale at www.Venetian.com/StyxFelder. Fans can share their experience on social media with hashtag #StyxFelderVegas.

Cameron Bonomolo is co-founder of Critticks.com and an entertainment writer, critic, photographer and videographer based in Las Vegas.