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.