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CULTURE CLUB SETLIST
Next Thing Will Be Amazing Encore: HOWARD JONES Setlist
Pearl in the Shell
Like To Get To Know You Well Everlasting Love New Song Too Shy (Kajagoogoo cover) No One Is to Blame Celebrate It Together What Is Love? Things Can Only Get Better (w/Cedric Gervais mix version)
BERLIN Setlist
Masquerade
No More Words The Metro Animal Transcendence Take My Breath Away She Sells Sanctuary (The Cult cover) Sex (I'm a...) Read More
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The 'Letting Go' was of inhibitions, not their collective childhood--
Out on their Letting It Go Tour, Boy George and Culture Club, accompanied by fellow 80's stalwarts Howard Jones and Berlin made a stop this week in Kansas City, to play under the evening star at Starlight Theatre.
The crowd, as expected, was made up of primarily baby boomers who grew up with these acts and songs during their impressionistic teen years. Dancing and acting like adolescents again, they also brought their own kids and some even brought their parents, for a multi-generational night of entertainment.
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Los Angeles New Wave act Berlin, led by the seemingly ageless Terri Nunn, would open the evening with an eight-song / forty-minute performance full of energy, with Nunn once again flanked by glory days core members John Crawford and David Diamond, marking the first time we'd seen these three co-founders live on stage, since they reunited in 2016.
Their set leaned predictably on 1982’s breakout album, Pleasure Victim, opening with “Masquerade” from the record, followed by radio hit “No More Words”, then “The Metro” whose first appearance was as their double A-sided first single, way back in 1980. 2019’s “Transcendence” gave us a taste of their newer sound and the 1986 Oscar-winning Top Gun ballad, “Take My Breath Away” found hands collectively in the air, swaying left and right.
An inexplicable cover of The Cult’s “She Sells Sanctuary” would follow, but it gave the band an excuse to turn up and ‘let go’, and also gave the diminutive Nunn a chance to see her fans up-close as she left the stage to sing, while strolling along the lower box sections. The signature boy/girl vocals of Crawford and Nunn on the set-ending “Sex (I’m a...)” made for a sold ending.
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Electronic keyboard pioneer and singer-songwriter Howard Jones would be next, working in a nine-song selection from over four decades into his hour-long set, beginning with 1984’s “Pearl in the Shell”. Sometimes derided over the years for the mostly positive content of his songs, that lyrical optimism seems needed now more than ever, still coming out of a multi-year pandemic.
Jones has tried to keep his music current-sounding, while also respecting the original nature of the songs, often morphing their beat into more of a thumping EDM rhythm, with sometimes mixed results. The crowd sang along to the choruses of his best-known songs, “Like to Get to Know You Well’, “Everlasting Love” and first single that started it all, 1983’s “New Song”.
The inclusion of the Kajagoogoo hit, “Too Shy” might have been a head-scratcher to some, until you saw Nick Beggs on bass / stick to Jones’ right, a co-founder of the Nick (Duran Duran) Rhodes-shepherded band and co-writer of the song. Beggs has played more recently with prog rock artists Steve (Genesis) Hackett and Steven (Porcupine Tree) Wilson. To Jones’ left was respected guitarist Robin Boult, known for many years alongside ex-Marillion singer Fish and along with Beggs and Jones, formed a solid musical band core (the trio also toured acoustically in the UK last year).
“Celebrate It Together” is very recent for Jones, from his Dialogue album of last year, featuring his positive lyrics, “Celebrate it together, it's so good to be alive”, even name-checking his own hit that would close the set, “Things Can Only Get Better”, which evolved from its more simplistic 1985 arrangement, into the rave dance party vibe of French House producer Cedric Gervais’ 2013 mix.
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As lights again dimmed and curtain was pulled away, a pink polka-dot wearing Boy George stood upon a center staircase with tall hat, to begin Culture Club’s headlining set with a powerfully fun new song, 2022’s “Next Thing Will Be Amazing”, written during the pandemic as George would tell us, thinking how long could all this possibly go on?!
Culture Club is officially down to a trio, with guitarist/keyboardist Roy Hay and bassist Mikey Craig all still sounding musically good, and the 62-years-young Boy George still in generally fine voice, and in a good, but slightly snarky (as always) mood on this night. Hits “It’s a Miracle” and “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya” brought the crowd to their feet, but a mid-section of mostly slower paced songs and ballads, sat them right back in their seats.
George initially couldn’t seem to place where exactly on the planet he was at first, awkwardly calling it “Kansas, Missouri” to cover both bases. After a word backstage, he would re-emerge proudly shouting and repeating the correct “Kansas City, Missouri!”, claiming he was told pre-show to not say “Kansas City” from the stage, and that the crew member that gave him wrong information, just might be “walking to the next tour stop.”
A mash-up that actually and completely worked was their “Church of the Poison Mind” intermingled with Wham!’s “I’m Your Man”. I only realized in that moment, after over thirty-five years since both songs were released, how similar the back beat for each is, to each other (as well as being a nice tribute to the late George Michael).
The set would end with musical flair the with the crowd up and dancing to 1982’s “Time (Clock of the Heart)” and the soul of 1984’s “Miss Me Blind”. The encore started with, not a Culture Club hit, but the Rolling Stones classic “Sympathy for the Devil” amid blood-red lighting and George (now in a yellow polka-dot outfit) playfully stalking the stage, with traces of vintage Jagger.
Then, like a band “without conviction”, they launched into the chart-topping “Karma Chameleon” eliciting even more audience dancing and would finish with their version of the Marc Bolan / T.Rex classic, “Get It On (Bang a Gong),” a crunchy rock cover that was a bit unexpected from a veteran pure pop/soul band.
We honestly were going to pass on this show but made the last-minute decision to ‘let it go’ and grab an inexpensive back section ticket and were very glad we did. The Letting It Go Show Tour with Boy George and Culture Club, Howard Jones, and Berlin was a fun evening of nostalgia and timeless songs and gave the opportunity to ‘let it all go’, even if just for a few hours.
CULTURE CLUB Tour Dates
AUG 11 Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion- Woodlands, TX
AUG 12 Germania Insurance Amphitheater Austin, TX
AUG 14 Walmart AMP Rogers, AR
AUG 18 Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre Phoenix, AZ
AUG 19 North Isl. Credit Union Amphi. Chula Vista, CA
AUG 20 Toyota Pavilion Concord, CA
AUG 25 Hollywood Bowl Los Angeles, CA
AUG 26 Hollywood Bowl Los Angeles, CA
SEP 5 RAC Arena Perth, Australia
SEP 8 Aware Super Theatre Sydney, Australia
SEP 9 Rod Laver Arena Melbourne, Australia
SEP 11 Adelaide Ent. Centre Hindmarsh, Australia
SEP 14 Brisbane Ent. Centre Boondall, Australia
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| john c ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com |
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