Last week I got a rare post from the Thomas Dolby mailing list. Was the Professor of Technopop planning new curriculum? No! He was looking to skip school this summer and ht the road on one of those “80s Package Tours.” The “Totally Tubular Festival” had an off putting val-speak name, but I pressed onward to see what it was all about… and it actually was full of Monk appeal. Usually these tours have 1-2 artists I’d like to see and the rest of the bill would make me grit my teeth [sorry, Culture Club/Cutting Crew fans]. Not this one. I could happily see myself attending a summer shed show with the likes of these artists participating.
From top left, clockwise we have:
- Annabella Lwin [Bow Wow Wow]
- Thomas Dolby
- The Romantics
- Men Without Hats
- Tommy Tutone
- Modern English
- Tom Bailey [Thompson Twins]
- The Plimsouls
A rather well-curated lineup with a good balance of synth bands and guitars, if overly heavy on the XY chromasomes! Of all of these acts, I’ve only seen Dolby twice in 2012 on his last tour and that’s always a pleasure. Knowing he was the headliner was what made me investigate, so …job well done, promoters. It’s been a dozen years since I saw him, so I’m up for a re-match.
Technically, I had tickets to Thompson Twins for two dates of their “Into The Gap” tour in ’86-’86, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I thought that The Twins were past their sell-by date at that time. It was securing OMD as the opening act that moved me there, and both [wildly disparate] sets of attendees I saw shows in Atlanta and Lakeland with agreed that it was anticlimactic to see TT after OMD, so we split early into the set each time. But today? I’d absolutely give Mr. Bailey the time of day. I might have to sample his solo album that passed below my radar a few years back. Scuttlebutt praised it as a decent effort.
Following that, I’ll admit that I’m eager to actually see Quebec’s synthpop pioneers Men Without Hats! Surely they’ll work the fresh and frosty “Antarctica” into their set? And “I’ve Got The Message?” Synthpop gold. And whatever you think about “Safety Dance,” [I always liked it] it never overstays its welcome at under three minutes.
By now, we have a fair to middling Bow Wow Wow collection, so it will be good to see some of that catalog given a showing. Though that original band…oof! It’s a lot to imagine other hands working up quite that level of sweat, but I’m fine with finding out. I’ve always admired Modern English, but never heard the albums. That said., I never tire of “Melt With You.” A perennial not-quite-hit-yet-standard for good reason!
And I do have the Romantics first EP on Bomp! [“Tell It To Carrie”] in the Record Cell. There’s nothing wrong at all with good Power Pop and having The Romantics on the same bill as The Plimsouls and Tommy Tutone balances the energy nicely. Heck, I’ve only ever heard Tommy Tutone’s number three hit and I’m willing to see what else they have under the hood. At the time who could have imagined Van Morrison going New Wave, but there we were. And where are they?
TOTALLY TUBULAR FESTIVAL | NORTH AMERICA | 2024
- 28 Jun 2024 | Santa Barbara, CA
- 29 Jun 2024 | Los Angeles
- 30 Jun 2024 | Oakland, CA
- 03 Jul 2024 | Phoenix, AZ
- 06 Jul 2024 | Denver, CO
- 09 Jul 2024 | Irving, TX (Dallas)
- 10 Jul 2024 | Houston, TX
- 13 Jul 2024 | Raleigh, NC
- 16 Jul 2024 | Bridgeport, CT
- 17 Jul 2024 | Boston, MA
- 18 Jul 2024 | New York, NY
- 19 Jul 2024 | Atlantic City, NJ
- 20 Jul 2024 | Bushkill, PA
- 23 Jul 2024 | Laval, Quebec (Montreal)
- 24 Jul 2024 | Toronto, ONT
- 26 Jul 202 | Detroit, MI
The local date for me will be Raleigh at the Red hat Amphitheater, where we have a pair of good experiences in Downtown Raleigh. And yow, that looks as if that is as far into the southeast that this endeavor will travel. So I can see New Wavers from five states converging on the NC state capitol on July 13th. It helps that it’s a Saturday, so no vacation time needed. By that time I will have burned through my 4 week allotment, methinks.
Another factor are the ticket prices. [checks] And wow, If Ticketmobster is selling the Raleigh tickets for $41-$123 [with VIP higher, naturally] it looks like a fun day roasting in the sun with good music is widely affordable. The Raleigh seats are disappearing, so I would need to buy them sooner than later if this is to be a thing. I’ll have to discuss with my loved one and see what she thinks. A link up with nearby friends in Chapel Hill as well as perhaps a few others from further afield might be happening. In the meantime, if this calls out to you, hit that button.
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Post-Punk Monk 
I would be interested in the Thomas Dolby set list more than anything.
Several years back there was some sort of VR promo thing that he was involved in and a film of it was uploaded to YouTube. He did some fun stuff with his catalog, kinda mashing up his own work in a fun way.
The YT AlgoRhythm recently suggested to me a Tom Bailey live video. He as performing Hold Me Now and the autopilot was engaged. Howard Jones works the retro circuit and the performances I’ve seen by him have been engaging.
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Tim – I challenge any hominid to perform “Hold Me Now” with any enthusiasm what so ever. I would not hold that against Bailey. That song is a New Wave “Hall Of Shame” entry for me. And for what it’s worth, the three songs I caught with HoJo before OMD in 2016 were anything but engaging. Then again, I’d say that about the records too. For the record, based on two performances seen in 2012, the Dolby set will be worth the sole price of admission. Think of every other act on the bill as a bonus.
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Got my general admission floor ticket to the Boston show (at the indoor 5000 capacity MGM Music Hall), and what put me over the edge was Dolby (who I’ve never seen before). The only other acts I’ve never seen are the Romantics and Tommy Tutone, each of which I presume will get at most three songs in their mini-sets. With Dolby and Bailey as the two top liners they’re probably the only ones getting any substantial time to play. It’ll no doubt be fun, like all the 80s package shows I’ve caught over the years since the actual 80s departed! I do prefer seeing fewer bands play longer sets, but the sampler approach is usually all you get.
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Taffy – Dolby is worth the time and effort. Though amazing doing a solo laptop gig like “The Sole Inhabitant,” he’s also effective in a trio format. The second time I saw him was with a bassist as well as guitarist and drummer. With the Jazz DNA in his makeup it just works. Given that the tour is large and he’s a headliner, let’s hope that the budget is there for a bassist. I just got tickets for my two friends and I after TM fees for $174 which I almost feel guilty over…but I’ll get over it. Unlike the PTSD inducing Simple Minds tickets of 2018, I daresay it was a pleasent and simple experience. Gulp!
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