This was a lot of fun!
Lost 80s w/ A Flock of Seagulls, Wang Chung, Nu Shooz & more – August 24th – The Theatre at Grand Prairie – Grand Prairie, TX
Ok so I love the 80’s – It was the era I grew up in – I went from 6 to 16 during that decade so most if not all of my “first” took place during that time. I’m not ashamed that I’m the ideal demographic for a nostalgic tour like this.
This tour as nothing to do with relevancy & the extent of this lineup & can no longer tour successfully on their own, but bring a bunch together and it’s a party and THAT’s the point. If you are overly concerned with how the members of your fave stars from the MTV era have held up or how many original members are in each band, than stay home, this was about sharing some memories with old friends.
So for fun (& NO ONE should take this too seriously) I thought it would be fun to assign a rating system since their were so many bands let’s do it Gong Show style. I will say it might have been better to have like 6 bands do 30 mins each instead of having like a dozen do minimal 15 minute sets.
Now we are only really gonna be featuring bands that we haven’t covered before & the scores are your basic 1-10 system (everyone gets a 10 just for getting up there) and the scores are only compared to the other bands of the evening. Meaning, this isn’t an overall score throughout the universe or comparative to other acts of this genre of otherwise. In other words, let’s have some fun.
Christopher Anton & Gene Loves Jezebel –
Now in all fairness these were the first 2 acts to go on and Anton only got 10 mins so forgive me for missing both of them.
Nu Shooz = 10
Now I could be biased as they are not only my fave band of this lineup but Valerie Day & her husband are old friends but that doesn’t change that they were the most entertaining act, that felt the most intact with the most impact. Wow all of that rymed!
Book of Love, Boys Don’t Cry & Naked Eyes
My apologies but just simply going to the bathroom & getting a beer kept me from seeing both of these acts & I’m totally fine with that as I had no idea or any recollection of who they were.
Animotion = 6
Vocalist Astrid Plane’s voice was still in fine form – She was definitely somewhat unrecognizable but still clearly in her element (maybe almost too much so) & delivered on the songs you wanna hear. Cmon, you know when you hear Obsession, you turn the radio up EVERYTIME.
When in Rome UK = 5
Now this band did one of those really irritating things where they split into duplicate, dueling camps – For a awhile a touring version played the States fronted by a local toy store owner who’s stage name is as irritating as his personality. This would be the one of the two that would be deemed more “Official” featuring Clive Farrington and Andrew Man. They did that one song that I & everyone loves & it is a great, timeless song. This performance was pretty forgettable and it’s only worth is really to say that I say that one band play that one song.
Wang Chung = 9
Yes, I came to Wang Chung & they did not disappoint – this is a band despite their absurd name, doesn’t get the create for good songs because of that stupid band name but Dance Hall Days is one the most beautiful & well written songs of the decade. That along with their party anthem of their namesake had the place rawking & the only group that felt like it needed at least 20 more mins to play.
Missing Persons = 7
I love Dale Bozzio & she still sounds & looks great! No Terry on the drums however but still turned in a fine set & Dale was so kind to us when we met her after.
A Flock of Seagulls = 2
This was the so-called headliner & hands down the worst performance of the evening. I like this band for their 80’sness & love I Ran as much as anyone. Only a band like this could come from the 80’s, that ‘s what makes them so great. This was DREADFUL & the epitome of the “original singer & four hired hands” trope and it showed. For how long I don’t know as this was definitely the best time to beat the traffic home.
Photos –
Roy Turner
Associated Press
