Hypnotica's Gig Reviews 2006
The Hitmakers Tour : Howard
Jones, ABC & Toyah Willcox @
Derby Assembly Rooms
Wednesday
15/11/06
Prologue:
Due to 'life' generally getting in the way, 2/3 of this review was done shortly after the gig but it was only finished off in May 2007 using my failing memory! so apologies for vagueness in particular on the Howard Jones review.......
Setting the Scene:
Currently there is no such thing as a time machine but I must admit if it was possible, I would be first in line for a trip back to the 80's....
I guess most people attending the Hitmakers tour feel the same way and had high hopes for the tour in creating that unmistakable 80's feel good nostalgia vibe
Perhaps naively I did expect the show to be a blueprint of 80's pop videos watched as a teenager because I guess in my mind they all remain the same, but 2 decades have passed so there was bound to be some obvious differences.....
First Act: Toyah
Toyah was instantly recognisable looking pretty much as you would expect! Distinctive long hair - trademark makeup, glittery dress and thigh length black boots with huge heels. she looked very good indeed for a 48 year old!
I have to admit that although I am not an expert (or even a big fan) of Toyah's music, her own 80's tracks ('It's A Mystery' for instance) 'did' bring back nostalgic memories of listening to them on the chart rundown 20years ago! so from a nostalgia if not a musical point it was a good experience and pretty much the point of this tour.
She was also a good character - talking to the audience a lot, seemed a nice personality and indeed a good warm up act. I did feel sorry for her when her own tracks didn't get much of a response though - I guess that's why she had to do several cover songs
Cribbed from Toyah's website but I am pretty sure this was the set list we heard in Derby too:
Are You Gonna Go My Way (Lenny
Kravitz cover)
Obsolete
Thunder In The Mountains
Echo Beach (which she said she wrote in 1984 - I always though Martha
and
the muffins did that one?)
Jungles Of Jupiter
It's A Mystery
Sweet Child Of Mine (Guns n roses Cover)
She Sells Sanctuary (The Cult cover)
I Want To Be Free
There was then an interval of 15 minutes
Second Act: Howard Jones
During the Interval I had a look at the stage where countless roadies were quickly setting up Synths, monitors, laptops and the like, see Picture to the right (that's not Howard!)
I noticed that Howard appeared to be using a fair bit of classic analogue Synth equipment though I'm afraid I can't remember what now :-(
The set began with the loud rhythmic drum beats of 'Pearl in the Shell' and strangely on came several 'other' musicians taking their place on stage. Now I guess lots of the fun is the anticipation of a gig and I had hoped to see Howard as he was in the 80's - stood in the middle of several banks of Synths and on his own or perhaps with his mime chum 'Jed'
The whole thing with revival gigs is to capture that original feeling and I don't know, perhaps he toured in the 80's with other musicians too, but if I ever get a hint that it is a band front man 'plus' anonymous 'session musicians' (however good) I do feel short changed a bit - it's 'not' the real deal. Saying that sometimes if it is your only chance to see a hero from days past it's still worth a go, it's just that the words 'original lineup' really give things a seal of authenticity for me and you can almost say I was there in the 80's - sort of. Duran Duran, OMD and The Police are three 80's bands I can think of who are touring as the original lineup and it's really something special when you get that.
Anyway.........the show proceeded to go through a mixture of classic 80's hits and new tracks from Revolution of the Heart.
Here's a wild guess at the Setlist:
Pearl in the Shell
What Is Love?
New Song
Always Asking Questions
Like To Get to Know You Well
Hide and Seek
Look Mama
The Prisoner
Just Look At You Now
Revolution Of The Heart
Black & White
I remember him saying that one of the tracks he played, he doesn't often perform live and it was originally one he did on the Old grey whistle test - wish I could remember the name as it was very electronic and really good! Although it was great to see him and hear the 80's tracks, the poor audience response spoilt the atmosphere for me and surprisingly the new tracks came over far more powerfully than the old stuff - so it was not the nostalgia but the new material which impressed me more. So much so I bought the CD and it is in fact very good!
See Howard's website for tons more info
Last Act: Martin Fry / ABC
Final act was ABC and given the lukewarm atmosphere so far Martin Fry had it all to do. Luckily he was up to the task and looked almost exactly as you remember him form the 80's!! shiny suit and all
His voice was superb, sounding almost the same as the original recordings (but different enough to be convincing that it wasn't the original recording!). His showmanship was great too, I remember him saying "right we've got a show to put on!". The band were tight too even the sax was good - don't know how many (if any) were original members of the band.
Setlist from memory was basically all the hit's off The Lexicon of Love though this is not confirmed:
Show Me
Poison Arrow
Many Happy Returns
Tears Are Not Enough
Valentine's Day
The Look Of Love
All Of My Heart
It was great to hear, but after a while the 'lack of' polish of the original recordings was noticeable. There were no female vocals or lush proper strings and the mix was very poor (venues fault there) as you couldn't hear rest of group singing at all.
Check out the ABC website
IN CONCLUSION
I must say that the concert attendance was poor, I bet the Assembly rooms was barely a third full which doesn't do a lot for the atmosphere or I guess the artists ego which is a shame for them - especially when I presume they used to fill the place 'back in the day'
I'm sure you could tell the artists were 'underwhelmed' by the lukewarm audience but on the whole they tried to put on a show. Howard was the main reason I went to the gig being an electronic music nut but it was also an nostalgia trip too
As time passes things change and groups popularities change with it. There are some super-groups like 'The Police' who can suddenly reform after decades apart and sellout tours worldwide but I think on the whole that's unusual. I'm glad I went but with a sellout audience it could have been a very different night......
Check out the Hitmakers Tour website
Review copyright by Mat Mckenzie www.hypnoticbeats.co.uk
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