Post-Punk Monk

“Dolphins” certainly didn’t drag me down!

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I was impressed that the concert was entering the third act and only then did the band dip into their top selling “Once Upon A Time” album for the first time! That was actually impressive to me, but they played what I found to be the best single from that album, “All The Things She Said.” This gave Sarah Brown another chance to shine in a duet with Jim and where the band went next was truly unexpected. The lighting shifted dramatically to become otherworldly as they began playing the downbeat, haunting “Dolphins” from “Black + White 050505.” This was the first time that I had heard any material from that album; one which seemed to get lost in the shuffle between the long years between US tours.

The tune was a good choice to take the energy levels down before hitting the home stretch of the show. The lighting was subdued with the stage in shadows while spots rained down from above with a few banks of light lighting the stage from the side. Jim Kerr was offstage for the first part of the song which lent the performance yet another eerie aspect. If the band wanted to pace the energy levels down by that point, I would have expected perhaps the gorgeous “Utopia” from “Walk Between Worlds,” but I was not going to look this gift horse in the mouth. 

“Now sing it in Japanese!”

Given the severity of the energy ebb that accompanied “Dolphins,” it made all of the sense in the world that they would then follow it with “Don’t You [Forget About Me],” which gave the show a real burst of energy, even if It came via the most overplayed song in the band’s canon. Just as in the last time I had seen them in 2013, Jim Kerr led the singalong portion of the song by saying “now sing it in Japanese, etc.” I was grateful that the days of the band stretching it out to 10+ minutes or more were thankfully behind them, but I imagined now that we were in the home stretch of the show, that it would be more or less songs I was indifferent to ahead of them. I could not have been more wrong.

Sarah on cowbell gave this one the boost that it had always needed

Following this the band brilliantly took my interest level way up again by kicking into my favorite song from “New Gold Dream [81, 82, 83, 84],” the thrilling title song. Better yet, the rendition this evening was the best I have ever heard from the band! Jim seemed to be pitching his voice lower on the intro, hitting the vibe that was present on the original recording for the first time for me. And the factor that took the song over the top with perfection was the steady cowbell that Sarah Brown played throughout it. It approximated that motorik drum machine chugging through the original just perfectly! They let the song stretch out a little further than in the last two times I had seen them and this was definitely the most awesome version of one of my very top Simple Minds songs that I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. This was hitting a plateau for me.

“Alive + Kicking” only made it to #2 but they still get bragging rights on it…and all of the royalties

And with that the second set was over. The band took as much as a minute before returning to the stage for a second play of one of the songs that we had heard in the sound check. That’s right; Echorich got to hear “Let The Day Begin…twice.  It was just like we had seen earlier in the sound check. I really felt that this song needed to have the heavy injection of sawtooth synths that the version on the “Big Music” album had won me over with. The walloping drums were only half of the equation. Sadly, this was the only “Big Music” song in the set this evening. It would have been great to have heard “Blindfolded” or “Midnight Walking” but it seems like the previous “greatest hits” tour was my taste of “Big Music” with three of the songs from it played at least six months in advance of the album’s release.

The band left the stage to the strains of… what else? “The Jean Genie.” As usual Kerr was the last man off the stage as he grooved to the namesake song of the band

At that point, it was time to trot out the big guns to end the show. We got “Alive + Kicking” and the more energetic “Sanctify Yourself” to finish the night out. A Simple Minds encore is never going to be a peak experience for this fan, but overall, the selection of a set list this evening was fairly well balanced and considered. That they only played three songs from “Once Upon A Time” was a surprise that I appreciated.

Hearing hfter the show, we stuck around by the semi that the road crew were loading so that Mr. and Mrs. Ware could perhaps get a photo with Jim. Coincidentally, earlier in the year they were discussing what plans they might make for their 30th anniversary and Mrs. Ware offered the notion of seeing Simple Minds as an option in advance of the tour announcement. It was kismet that it played out so perfectly.

As the small crown built up around the band’s 18-wheler, which was getting ready to receive the stage gear, we saw an elderly man in a Simple Minds soccer scarf lighting his pipe and talking with the road crew. that was Jim Kerr’s father, whom he had pointed out during the soundcheck. Apparently, the elder Kerr was a big country music fan, so he had come over to The States to see his son play the world famous Ryman Auditorium in Nashville the next night. Mr. Kerr eventually made his way over to the barrier where a fan began speaking with him. He said that Jim was likely to come out but that Charlie was more shy. Sure enough, it was only after waiting about 20 minutes that the younger Kerr came over to speak with the 30 or so fans who had waited by the loading area.

I wanted this shirt ever since Tim Pope loaned it to Neil Young for the “Wonderin'” video. In the 90s I got it!

Appropriately, it was Mr. Ware who had taught me the technique of waiting by the stage exit to meet one’s favorite musicians and that was a game changer for this Monk. As Kerr spoke briefly with the fans, we waited our turn to get the desired pic of The Wares and Jim Kerr for their 30th anniversary. Of course, Kerr was pleased to take the time. I took the shot with the actual camera and the flash had been turned off so there was a little blur in the night shot, but nothing fatal! Kerr even complimented me on my shirt. Minds fans would say that it was a bit redolent of the “Sparkle In The Rain” inner sleeve.

SITR inner sleeve

I had considered wearing my Magazine tee but Simple Minds merited something a little more rarefied, so I wore my Tim Pope shirt. You may remember seeing it first the same way I did, on Neil Young when the director loaned it to Young to wear in the great “Wonderin'” video. A decade later my friend Tristan was getting ready for a garage sale and begorrah! There is was in the sale pile, so yes, Tristan once gave me the shirt off of his back [in a manner of speaking].

We have now seen Simple Minds for the fourth time, once again with the stalwart Echorich in our company but for the first time, I had Mr. Ware in my company, filling the berth that had been empty for three previous shows across a thirty year span. Not that I didn’t try to make it happen! This was a final correction of a problem by my reckoning that had finally been worked out. This weekend had been a relaxing time with Mr. Ware and our wives with the significant enhancement that Echorich brought to the table. Our lodgings were within a mile of each other and we stayed together for three days before leaving for home on Tuesday after the show and we tried to keep the schedule as free and open as possible, so there were many hours spent just hanging out and talking. This was a fine time in great company with a great show by one of our favorite bands touring behind a superb album. But how did it compare to the other three shows I’d seen?

Next: …Findings Shared

Bassist Ged Grimes attacked those iconic bass lines with gusto

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The familiar bass rondo that heralded “The Hunter + The Hunted” brought forth a shot of recognition from the crowd. This was one of the best deep cuts on “New Gold Dream [81, 82, 83, 84]” and though it also made the last set list I had seen the band with in 2013, this evening it was really taking off and fulfilling its boundless promise in the best way possible! The dreamy Romanticism of the lyric found a perfect foundation in the band’s rendition which skirted the edge between lush and powerful in a way that most cannot follow. This was the third peak of the evening thus far for me.

Next was a curveball I would not have anticipated. They pulled “Stand By Love” out of their hat. The band’s stab at a “Pinball Wizard” [albeit with a soul stomp added to it] was one of the more agreeable tracks from “Real Life” and this marked the second time that I had heard a song from that album this evening, and none of these were even my favorite “See The Lights.” While I would not say no to an electro arrangement of this tune, Goudie’s acoustic strumming really had an appropriate berth here.

Sarah and Jim shared the spotlight quite often during the show

Then they took the bus further down the folkie road with their cover of “Dirty Old Town,” by Ewen MacColl. This divisive number I know to be alienating to Echorich and a few other Simple Minds fans I encounter online. I bear it on the album because vocalist Sarah Brown sings it so profoundly well. I tend to ignore Kerr’s verses and wait for her to sing again. In concert this evening, Kerr wisely sat the song out, only adding his dulcet tones to the chorus. And with Sarah carrying the whole song it simply sounded fantastic. Kerr says she sings it like Mahalia Jackson and I can’t argue with that statement! With that song, the first set ended.

I can never tire of ‘Theme For Great Cities!’

After a 10-15 minute break the band, minus Kerr, strode onstage and laid into another peak experience; “Theme For Great Cities,” our second track from “Sister Feelings Call” this evening! Needless to say, Goudie stuck to the synths [good boy] and left the fret mangling to Burchill and the rhythms hammered onward courtesy of Ossei and Grimes;

who anchored the whole thing with his bass. Wow. The track is always a stormer and this evening was no different. They’ve played it the last three times I’ve seen them and its bulletproof. There’s no way I could ever get tired or jaded hearing its magnificence.

“She’s A River” was the song that welcomed me back to Simple Minds in 1995

It was in 1995 when I chanced to hear a song on the radio that let me know that it was okay to listen to Simple Minds again. “She’s a River” would not be mistaken for an “Empires + Dance” outtake, but it was an undeniably successful, if mainstream, vision for the band who had flailed away for a decade by that point without impressing me much. I went right out and got the “Good News From The Next World” album, and hairstyles notwithstanding, it made me want to see the band live from that point onward. I didn’t think that would ever happen following the 1986 debacle I’d witnessed. It took me seven years before I saw the band in 2002, but they’ve played “She’s A River” each time I’ve seen them since then and it remains a fixture in their set that reminds me how the band have honed their direction from that point onward to the point where they are touring this year on an album with no missteps to these ears at all.

We finally got another track from said album when the title track was the next song played. I loved Charlie’s insistent riff which seemed to be channeling his fiery playing on the cover of “Needle + The Damage Done” that had recorded in 2001. Next came Burchill once again taking the lead with the distinctively funky [it really is] intro to the wondrous “Someone, Somewhere [In Summertime]” as on the band’s 12″ version of the song. It was another song from “New Gold Dream [81, 82, 83, 84]” rendered brilliantly by this band and there’s nothing quite as exciting as that solo setting the fans up for something luxurious. That was followed by the always dignified beauty of the band’s final US Top 40 hit from 1991, “See The Lights.” It’s always the best song the band had made in a decade to me and I appreciate its direct honesty and subtlety. Two factors largely missing from this band during that period.

Next: …Wildcard

They did it again! Simple Minds began the show with a fantastic new song instead of older material.

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When I had last seen Simple Minds, in 2013, they pulled a rabbit out of their hat by starting the show with “Broken Glass Park,” a vibrant new song I didn’t expect. This time they were touring behind their best album since 1983, so naturally, they pulled the top quality “Signal And The Noise” out of their quiver of songs first. The song was a hugely successful throwback to the driving, motorik sound of “Sons + Fascination” coupled with a tremendous lyric that would have been alien to the abstract imagery they favored back then, so naturally we all immediately got very excited! There’s nothing wrong with giving your best shot right up front, is there?

Charlie Burchill – guitar hero

Like the 2013 show, they then followed this up with the expansive statement of intent that was “Waterfront.” Either Charlie or Gordon Goudie triggered the bass loop [they each had synths adjacent] and then we were off and bouncing. If ever there was a song made for live performance, it’s this one with its monolithic, four-to-the-floor beat and its series of crescendoes that plateau ever upward. Then the distinctive random wave intro of what could only be “Love Song” hit the PA and we were treated to the first of the hits from what we’ll call the Monk-zone of Minds fandom that pre-dated “New Gold Dream [81, 82, 83, 84].” This is one of my top Simple Minds songs but tonight the energy was not focused. The lack of a dedicated keyboard player as well as [I’m going to say it] the recent experience of the acoustic tour has apparently rubbed off on the band to its detriment. Both Charlie and Gord Goudy had synth rigs onstage, but that meant that sometimes Charlie split between synths and lead guitar and Goudy did the same with his acoustic guitars.

Now this wasn’t the fully acoustic performance like “Speed Your Love To Me” had been in the soundcheck; the song had the vibrancy of rock music, but what I found critical to the potency of “Love Song” was the doubling of the guitars and synths together on the iconic riff. In every other performance of this song I had seen, it had all of the impact that the song has always had in listening to the album version. Tonight, the lack of synths piling on that riff led to the dissipation of its energy. So while it wasn’t a flat out disaster, it did stand as weak as compared to the last two shows I had seen where they had played it in 2002 and 2013.

This band was tailor made for cherry picking the cream of the “Real Life” album

Next, something happened that was shocking to me. The last time I had seen the band they leaned heavily on their breakthrough “Once Upon A Time” album with five of its eight songs played. That I still had a thrilling time was down to everything else about the set. That would not happen this evening. Instead, other albums that had been under represented in the live sets I had seen would get the nod. I’m not crazy about “Real Life” but I did think that there was an EP worth of goods there. One of the songs from that album that delivered was “Let There Be Love,” which I had not had the pleasure of hearing live before. This version of the band were well suited to do it up right, with new drummer Cherisse Osei backing off from the John Bonham-influenced Mel Gaynor sound for something a little more dynamic. There were four songs from that album that stood apart from the mishaps. Would I hear more of them tonight?

Charlie and Sarah

From that nice surprise, the band worked their way backward, skipping the troubling middle 80s period of the band for something that built on the platform that “Let There Be Love” provided and took the energy higher. Much higher. Good gravy, it’s hard to believe, but I have never heard this band lay into the propulsive “Up On The Catwalk” live before! Until this evening! They really scored a goal with this one! This gave Ms. Osei a change to really work out the chunky rhythms so crucial to the song’s success.

Then, afterward, Jim Kerr brought her to the front of the stage and introduced her to the audience. It’s fascinating to see this band incorporate women, especially women of color, into their makeup with no regard for conventions or expectations. I’m up for anything as long as the band honor their sound or build on it in coherent ways. Kerr asked Osei what her favorite song from the “Walk Between Worlds” album was and she replied “A Sense Of Discovery.” The band then played the dreamlike track, which cheekily incorporated the bridge vocal structure of “Alive + Kicking” into what I found to be a much better song. Charlie has a great solo on this one and for once, Goudy’s acoustic guitars had a welcome place here where they made more sense. They then launched into a version of “Promised You A Miracle” that felt a little diffuse without the heavy synths that the original recording was so heavily dependent on. Truth be told, the arrangement here seemed to recall the version of “Live In The City Of Lights.” The last two times I had seen the band, they had not made that choice, but at least they kept the energy level of the song up without the unnecessary downbeat coda of that 1986 version of the song.

“The American” really gets the Monk blood pumping!

They next dipped in to The Monk Zone for “The American.” I was fantastically excited to hear this finally in 2013 and tonight was not any different! This song was tailor made for chanting along to the brilliant chorus and I was thrilled that Mr. Ware, who was next to me, was hearing it with me this time. I should mention that the audience were standing [as you can see in the shots of the show] all night long, so we tried our best not to careen into our adjacent spouses. That’s hard to do when your favorite band [did I just say that?] is playing one of your top three songs and doing a great job of it. My only regret was that they played the 7″ version since less than seven minutes on this one always feels like a tease!

Next: …New Peaks Ahead