The Go Go's
The Psychedelic Furs
@ the FleetBoston Pavillion
July 22, 2000
A Review by DEmerson
The FleetBoston Pavillion is a large tent-like stucture that probably holds about 8,000 or so, and recently replaced what was called Harborlights. It's a similiar venue, right on the water, with great views of Boston and the harbor - regrettably the tall ships had just left town. Still, the July night was perfect and the crowd was in high spirits. So I got into the show and not long after grabbing a beer and taking my seat, the Psychedelic Furs hit the stage. Something made me yell "Into You Like a Train!" and sure enough that is what they opened with! Singer Richard Butler looked healthy and his unmistakable voice was in good form as the Furs offered up a tight set with such 80's hits as Love My Way, The Ghost In You, and, of course, Pretty In Pink. Butler danced and slapped hands with fans up front, but the only thing strange about their show was seeing them in the last rays of daylight, as they still seem like a somewhat dark band probably better for later in the evening. But they sounded good, and made a fine opening. I'll just say that any time a band as good as the Furs is the SECOND warm up-act, you know you're in for a pretty good night.
The Go Go's followed with a set of pure summer fun. Opening with a spirited Vacation, the girls then followed with hits I had forgotten like This Town and Head Over Heels. They even played 2 or 3 new songs from an upcoming CD which sounded promising. Belinda Carlisle looked great (one review I read somewhere said she's now part sex-kitten, part soccer mom), as did the entire band. The bass player, Kathy Valentine, still had that punky glamour to her. During Cool Jerk, Fred Schneider came out and danced on the side of the stage. One of the Go Go's said afterwards "Can you keep a secret? Fred is our sex toy!"
The home stretch of the Go Go's set was fantastic, with a rocking version of Our Lips Are Sealed, which reminded me of why I liked that song so much in the first place. (They also reminded us that they had not played as a band in Boston in 16 years!). This was followed by a rocking version of We Got The Beat, then a rockabilly style rave-up with Wanda Jackson's Let's Have A Party. A well deserved standing ovation for a triumphant return by one of rock's most influential -I hate to use the term, but - girl groups. A very solid performance.
Then came the wait for the main attraction. As I said, I'm a huge B-52's fan, but I'll admit I was a bit worried (especially after watching a herky-jerky web-cast of an Atlanta show just a couple of nights prior) that maybe the band had lost a little of their edge and might just provide a going through the motions show. Indeed, the whole evening had the potential of bad new-wave nostalgia. And I know I don't look nearly as good as I did in 1984!
But those fears were soon put to rest as the band came out and immediately put us under their magic spell. I don't know what it is about this band, but they just put me into a dancing trance - and I love it! This line-up is the best too - with Cindi (who looked great and seemed to be really enjoying herself) and sometime David Bowie drummer Zach Alford (the best drummer in rock IMO) joining Fred, the still gorgeous Kate and Keith (augmented by the great Sarah Lee on bass and their long-time keyboardist/second guitarist - umms Pat Irwin??). Anyway - they were phenomenal.
Here is the set list along with some quick notes:
Is That you Mo Dean (updated remix)
Dance This Mess Around
Lava (Red hot fire!)
Roam
Hero Worship (Cindi sounded great)
Private Idaho (the Go Go's came out and danced as if to repay Fred!)
Good Stuff (one of the best songs of the night - Fred was hysterical)
Revolution Earth (also slightly modified from the original)
Strobe Light ("Then I'm gonna kiss your baked beans!")
Hallucinating Pluto (maybe the best song of the night - it just ROCKED)
Love Shack - (of course the whole place was going nuts to this, as Fred asked if there were any Boston bangers in the crowd)
Then for the encore, I managed to sneak from my 5th row seat, right up to the front, and was dancing right in front of the stage and held on to the lip of the stage as Keith just hammered out the classic guitar riffs of:
Planet Claire
Rock Lobster
They dared you NOT to dance! A stupendous evening. The only possible complaints I have are that while it is nice to see songs like Lava and Hero Worship in the set, it seems as though they are not doing much changing of the set list throughout this brief tour. And of course, it has been nearly NINE YEARS since Good Stuff - so what about a new album guys?? If the Boston show was any indication, they still obviously do have that magic, and are playing extremely well together. So howzabout giving us some new good stuff?
But, that being said, I'm just grateful that they are still playing and that I was able to see such a great show. See them if you can.
Post-Script - Here is a list of the times I've seen the B-52's (updated Nov. 2007)
1. Orpheum Theatre, Boston - around 1981
2. Orpheum Theatre, Boston - around 1981
3. The Channel, Boston - around 1982
4. The Channel , Boston - 1984
5. Boston College - around 1985
6. Citi, Boston - 1989
7. Orpheum Theatre, Boston - 1989
8. University of Rhode Island - 1989
9. Great Woods, Mansfied, MA - 1992
10. Bentley College, Waltham, MA - 1993
11. Great Woods, Mansfield, MA - 1998
12. FleetBoston Pavillion - 2000
13. Foxwoods, CT - 2001
14. FleetBoston Pavillion - 2002
15. Brockton, MA - 2003
16. Las Vegas, Mandalay Bay - 2003
17. Brockton, MA - 2004
18. Las Vegas, Mandalay Bay - 2005
19. Cape Cod Melody Tent - 2007
20. South Shore Music Circus, Cohasset, MA - 2007
