But
both bands have relatively new CDs of original music, and one of the most
interesting things to come out of the show was the two approaches taken to
being in bands whose biggest moments commercially, and many of us would say
artistically, occurred 25-30 or more years ago.
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| The Fixx 2013 |
I
don’t know of The Fixx was the entire tour headliner or if the bands are
alternating the honor, but the Fixx headlined in Buffalo. The band opened with
several songs off of their new CD, “Beautiful Friction,” displaying their
approach, that of a band that may have been most popular 3 decades ago
continuing to treat itself as a band recording new music and ideas and
prominently including the material in their set. Singer Cy Curnin and the band
performed the newer songs as tunes to be appreciated and not just as separators
between the classic hits.
I
do not have The Fixx’s new CD, and Curnin did not introduce several of the
newer songs by name, but some of these tunes sounded pretty good; the second
song of the set had some cool atmospherics, followed by a song with some real
energy and punch. Another song that was not introduced by name had a very
strong gothic sound and feel, and Curnin’s vocals went off into very
interesting Peter Murphy territory.
The
Fixx waited until the eighth song of the set before digging into the treasure
chest, coming out with a spirited and seriously crowd-pleasing version of “One
Thing Leads to Another.” After a pretentious, worst of U2-sounding new song,
the band next played a really good version of one of my favorites, “Stand or
Fall.” After a couple more new songs (one featuring some seriously good and
heavy guitar), the band ended its regular set with a fun, extended version of
“Saved by Zero.”
Even during the encore, The Fixx stuck with its approach, with some newer material before ending with a strong version of “Red Skies at Night.”
Even during the encore, The Fixx stuck with its approach, with some newer material before ending with a strong version of “Red Skies at Night.”
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| Wang Chung 2013 |
Wang
Chung opened the part of the show we caught (apparently, Buffalo Canalside
shows have taken the unusual step of starting opening acts on time, so we
missed the first band); singer/guitarist Jack Hues (who looked and sounded
ridiculously good and similar to his 1980s self) told the crowd before the show
started that “We’re going to do some wanging and some chunging tonight,” so you
could see where things were heading, even though the band released its first CD
of new material, “Tazer Up,” in December. Original bassist/vocalist Nick
Feldman also remains in the band and was apparently having a blast onstage.
The
band opened up with the first two songs from the new CD, “City of Light,” which
kicked nicely, and “Lets Get Along,” a poppy sounding tune that had some punchy
Tears for Fears touch. The sing-along chorus went from the song itself to the
first insertion of the back catalog as Hues switched it to “Wang Chung
tonight.”
The
next song, “Space Junk,” has been heard by some from the first episode of “The
Walking Dead” on AMC, and Wang Chung followed with their first US single,
“Don’t Let Go,” sounding both a touch dated but really good; no need to update
the sound when it sounds good. Sadly, the next song, “To Live and Die in LA,”
from the film of the same name, sounds both dated and still rather boring, the
one Wang Chung song I can do without hearing again. I always thought the song
was somewhat overwrought and boring, and it still sounds that way to me;
somehow, the synthesizer had that real bad 1980s sound as if it hadn’t been
played since the 1980s and was just removed from a time capsule. Hell, at least
get a new floppy disk for it.
Wang
Chung returned to better songs with a strong trio to end their set, starting
with a lively version of 1986’s “Let’s Go,” building to “Dance Hall Days” and
ending with the international smash and beer commercial soundtrack (I bet lots
of tour buses, studio time and mortgages were paid with it) “Wang Chung
Tonight.”
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