Yaz Reunites for a Tour

Yaz, 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
July 20

Before Vince Clarke became half of Erasure, he was half of Yaz, the British synthpop duo fronted by Alison Moyet. The two reunited this year for the first time in 25 years and put on an electrifying show. When Yaz had split after just two albums, Clarke—who also was doing some behind-the-scenes songwriting for such groups as Depeche Mode—joined Andy Bell to form the hit synth group Erasure, while Moyet embarked on a solo career. But at this reunion, the duo sounded fresh and crisp, as though the year was still 1983.

Yaz (known as Yazoo in England) played most of the songs from their two albums, including hits such as "Situation,” “Don’t Go,” and “Only You” from their 1982 debut album, Upstairs at Eric’s. Most enjoyable from their second album, You and Me Both was the song "Mr. Blue."

The only instrument on stage was Moyet’s voice, that rich, passionate voice that sounds a bit like Annie Lennox but with more angst. Clarke was sans keyboard, relying on sampling via his laptop. They clearly traveled light.

Many in the crowd were dancing, although moving at all was tough in the oversold club. Some of the Black Cat "Right Round" goers were spotted in the audience; Yaz is often played there by the deejay though on this night they got to dance to the real thing.

Some have argued that synthesizer pop detracts from musicianship because of the lack of instrumentation. Perhaps on some level it does. But this is also its own sound, creative in its own right. One must appreciate how Yaz helped pioneer this sound and inspired, and continues to inspire, numerous later alt-indie acts.

Billy Joel and Guests Make a Memorable Last Play at Shea

Shea Stadium, Queens, New York
Friday July 18

Billy Joel played two concerts at Shea Stadium last week to bid farewell to the Mets ballpark which, along with Yankee Stadium, will be torn down this year in favor of new, more modern, stadiums being built next to each. The Friday night show, which I attended, was spectacular. The setlist was fantastic; the sound was particularly impressive for a stadium show--enhanced by a whole string section, and the set lit up brightly, often with New York images. This concert was indeed a celebration--of New York, of baseball, and of Billy Joel's brilliant musical career.

The setlists of the two Shea shows varied slightly and very special guests took the stage for each; the only one in common for both shows was jazz legend Tony Bennett, who sang "New York State of Mind" with Joel. While it was rumored that a Beatle or two might appear, given that the Beatles were the first musical act to perform at Shea in 1965, nobody really believed it would happen. But then, during the encore, Paul McCartney took the stage!!! It was phenomenal. He and Joel's band performed "Saw Her Standing There." Then, after Joel closed his set with "Piano Man," McCartney reappeared to sing "Let it Be," solo at the piano, while Joel looked on, awestruck.

There were other guests throughout the night as well. The Who's Roger Daltrey popped on stage to sing "My Generation," appropriate for the nostalgia of the night. Aerosmith's Steven Tyler came on to belt out, "Walk this Way." The one sour note was Garth Brooks singing "Shameless," the Joel cover he made a hit a decade ago. Brooks smartly sported Mets gear and got nothing but love from the crowd, but he was off tempo, then off key, then, luckily, just off.

Even without the special guests, the three-hour show made every Billy fan ecstatic. He sang plenty of the hits and a few of the more obscure ones that obsessed fans such as myself swooned over. In the first hour-plus, all but one song came from his 70s collection. He included four songs from the coveted Turnstiles album, including the subject-appropriate "Miami 2017," the first song he performed after opening with the National Anthem. And, the surprise gem for me was "Summer, Highland Falls" also from that album, which he dedicated to all the manic depressives in the crowd, for the chorus chimes, "It's either sadness or euphoria." Toward the middle of the set, he showed off his piano prowess with "Root Beer Rag," a song off the very early Streetlife Serenade album and introduced it by saying, since it's instrumental, it'd be an opportune time to use the restroom. :-)

This show was intensely emotional for me, because Shea is closing, because it was in New York, where I was raised, because Billy Joel's music affects me so deeply, and because I sat at this show among good friends. One friend next to me said, "How can Billy top this? How can you ever go see him again after this?" Perhaps he won't top this, but I plan to catch his shows as long as he keeps performing.

80s Craze: English Beat, Fixx, Alarm Hit the 9:30 Club

The English Beat, The Alarm, the Fixx, 9:30 Club, Washington D.C.

If these bands were beer:
The Alarm: Duvel (all-around mighty fine)
The Fixx: Amstel Light poured quickly (mediocre, with entirely too much head)
The English Beat: IPA (tasty and hoppin')

An "older," yet excited and rambunctious crowd descended upon the 9:30 Club for a night of retro music. The opening band (too good to even have that label), the Alarm, rocked the place. They played a couple songs from their brand new album, Guerilla Tactics, which fit right in with their earlier sound. And, they played a few old standards, including "68 Guns," "Give Me Strength," "Stand," and the power ballad "Spirit of 76." Ironically, given the season, they skipped over "Rain in the Summertime. Still, a great set. Singer Mike Peters was phenomenal at engaging the crowd throughout, jumping around with energy, all smiles.

Then came...the Fixx. With the exception of the radio smash, "One Thing Leads to Another," performed mid-set, this was a somewhat boring and lackluster set. Lead singer Cy Curnin still has a strong voice but he seemed so self-indulgent, as if he forgot an audience was out there, hopping around in his orange sunglasses. Toward the end, when he tried to get the crowd engaged, they weren't having it. They played for nearly an hour, and that was 50 minutes too long.

The English Beat: always a great time. Dave Wakeling with his cohort of horns sounded fantastic, belting out ska tunes and encouraging the crowd to skank, and many did. Their brand of reggae-rock is still refreshing as ever.

Sadly, ClubD and her cohorts got a burst of "eh, we're old, gotta go," and missed the last half of English Beat's set. It undoubtedly touched on some General Public songs but no matter what they played, the crowd probably remained hopping until the last note.

Howard Jones Goes Electronic!

July 6, 2008 at the State Theatre, Falls Church, Virginia

Recommended beverage: an IPA, a nice, hoppy choice.

When I got hoppy on the dance floor, I switched to water.

Long-time fans of Howard Jones, such as myself, were ecstatic at Sunday’s show. It’s been nearly 20 years since Jones played an electronic set in America but thanks to the help of mix master Robbie Bronnimann, Jones pulled out some of his danceable oldies as part of an electronic duo. His 90-minute set was absolutely electrifying, if also a bit too short.

Since the early 90s, Jones toured in the States repeatedly, exclusively as an acoustic duo. He’d rework many of his songs with the help of percussionist (Carol Steele) or guitarist (Robin Boult). These shows were always wonderful as Jones rolled out all kinds of fun anecdotes between songs and a good mix of old and new material. At those shows, he’d play beautiful unreleased ballads and other recently released songs.

But at this electronic show, Jones went almost entirely old school, with the exception of two songs from his 2005 album Revolution of the Heart. He chose to open with “Conditioning,” a great synthpop song from his debut album, Human’s Lib. He played five other songs from that album as well: “New Song,” “Hide & Seek” (my favorite song of his), “Equality” (a rare one to hear live), “Pearl in the Shell,” and “What Is Love?”

He did sneak over to another keyboard midway through to perform two songs acoustic: “No One Is to Blame,” which much of the crowd sang along to, and “Everlasting Love,” a song that also received decent airplay, from his 1989 Cross that Line album. His acoustic versions best highlight his exceptional piano playing and are always a treat.

Jones had those assembled on the dance floor jumping around though at one point he noticed the folks in the balcony appeared awfully still in their seats, and directed a comment up there. “This is a live show people; this isn’t TV!” He did interact well with those who wanted to engage and had much of the crowd singing along on several songs, including “Like to Get to Know You Well,” and the well-loved “Things Can Only Can Better,” with which he closed the show.

While Howard Jones played many electronic shows in the 80s, the only other time I’ve ever seen him in his electronic glory was the 1989 Cross That Line tour. It was an outdoor gig at Jones Beach in New York, and sadly the rain gods interrupted that show. He left the stage that night singing “We Don’t Mind the Rain” to the tune of “No One is to Blame,” as lightning officially cut the show short.

So, 19 years later, I again get to experience Howard Jones electronic. This was a great one!

DVD Recommendation: The 20th Anniversary Concert: Live at Royal Albert Hall in London is a fantastic video that every Howard Jones fan should own. It’s a combination of acoustic, electronic duo, and full band and features his best loved songs and a few newer ones.

Where will ClubD be in July?

July 10: English Beat/The Fixx/The Alarm at the 9:30 Club

July 18: Billy Joel at Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York (yeah, I'm going to Queens--nuff said)

July 20: Yaz @ the 9:30 Club (thanks On Tap!)

July 22: Mark Knopfler at Wolf Trap