[…Continued from last post]

MODERN ENGLISH

Modern English played next after a short break as the harsh summer sun was finally receding behind the trees on the horizon. One of Raleigh’s best attributes were the numerous trees downtown which were now providing useful shade as the stage light began coming to life in response. This was a band that was a regrettable New Wave Blind Spot™ of mine in spite of having heard the evergreen New Wave near-hit-turned standard “I Melt With You” hundreds of times [or more] over the ensuing decades and never tiring of it once. Before the show, I was under the impression that I’d only ever heard the three singles of Modern English. “I Melt With You,” “Hands Across The Sea,” and “Ink + Paper,” but I was woefully wrong!

For a start, I’d forgotten all about the band’s participation in the legendary first 4AD This Mortal Coil project! The 12″ single of “Sixteen Days/Gathering Dust” was an A-side of two Modern English songs, perhaps better known for the song on the flip side of the 12″ single, “Song To The Siren,” but as I once owned it, I had heard their re-recording of their 1980 single with the 4AD all-stars. So I’d heard “Gathering Dust” before; albeit with ululating Liz Fraser lead vocals instead of Robbie Grey’s dulcet tones.

The band were crisp and Grey was clearly singing with gusto on the 44 year old track which had been their third single in 1980; their first after signing to the legendary 4AD label. Their guitar based Post Punk with atmospheric phased guitars was an ideal placement after the Synthpop of Men Without Hats. And I was wrong twice this day as the next song was the less heralded follow-up single in America to “I Melt With You.” I can recall seeing the video for “Someone’s Calling” for about about a month on MTV, but it’s subsequently been lost to the mists of time as history has enshrined “Melt” as the go-to Modern English classic. So I was familiar with these first two songs, even if I didn’t remember that I had been. The ringing, angular guitar lines of “Someone’s Calling” were still calling back to the Post-Punk guitar playbook written by John McGeoch in a delightful way.

Next we got the big shocker of the day thus far as Grey announced that they were going to now play two songs from the brand new Modern English album, “1 2 3 4!” I was embarrassed that I’d not heard the news about their first new album in eight years, but that quickly faded when presented with new material that slotted perfectly into their set. I was happy that at least one of the bands today was working new material into a set at a festival’s whose raison d’etre itself was crowd pleasing. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Grey announced from the stage that the band were doing an in-store signing the next day at the venerable Schoolkids Records in Raleigh at 2:00 PM. Where, coincidentally, my new friend Todd Lewis and I were already planning on visiting that day after breakfast! So now the stakes were higher. This would be terrific. Believe it or not, Ye Olde Monk had never been to an in-store signing before. For a start, the bands that made their way to sleepy Orlando for a signing when I was growing up were generally not the bands I was into. As for the bands that I did like, I remember hearing about the legendary XTC appearance at Peaches Records on Colonial Drive some time later after the event had taken place. In that pre-internet world, don’t ask me how one found out about these things!

Modern English set:

1. Gathering Dust
2. Someone’s Calling
3. Long In The Tooth
4. Crazy Lovers
5. Hands Across The Sea
6. I Melt With You

TOM BAILEY [OF THOMPSON TWINS]

As Tom Bailey got ready to take to the stage, it was finally twilight at roughly 8:30 PM and the stage lighting that Bailey brought to the event was flickering to life. The stage was peppered with three foot long strip lights standing vertically like neon saplings on the Red Hat stage. Production values! I was ambivalent to see Bailey. I loved the first three Thompson Twins albums. The rest? Not too much. I only bought their top selling “Into The Gap” in 2008 after Edsel reissued the DLX RM with two discs packed with mixes. Apart from a handful of tracks, I can see why I passed it up in 1984. I bought a CD of “Here’s To Future Days” in 2002 and sold it off in 2007. It was weaker that “Into The Gap.” I passed on the DLX RM from Edsel. I bought “Big Trash” when it came out. It’s better than those two but nothing to write home about.

Famously, I had bought tickets to two “Gap Tour” performances strictly on the basis of OMD being the opening act. My first OMD concert was in late 1985 in Atlanta. The friends I had traveled 10 hours in a car with all felt the same way as me. Four songs into the Thompson Twins [we had all liked the earlier albums] we decided to leave the show. We had been so jazzed to see OMD that it was anticlimactic. Driving home the next day, we got the news that the tour had booked a stop in Lakeland, Florida the next month, so in January of 1985, I found myself once again at a Thompson Twins tour date! This time with a completely different trio of friends, including The RAHB® – who was sitting to my right, this very day. And yes, one more time, four OMD fans decided that there was little point in seeing Thompson Twins in concert. Since we all wanted to see Thomas Dolby, that was definitely not happening this evening. How would it go over 39 years later?

Bailey arrived onstage with his all-woman band I’d read about when he started doing live shows again about seven years ago. Everyone was dressed in white and Bailey himself looked ill worse for the nearly 40 years of wear. His hair now gray being the only real indicator of the ravages of time.Right away, the show began with a bang… “Love On Your Side,” possibly my favorite Thompson Twins single from the “Side Kicks” {album as it was called in America] started the show off on a high level. The onstage lighting added lots of glitz to the show and Bailey was in great form, playing guitars, synths, and the occasional percussion as he moved all over the stage. The three piece band [drums, bass, synths/cello] were taking these familiar songs to other places. I liked that the arrangements were fresh and different from the songs that we knew forwards and backwards. Things started off on a great footing.

“Lay Your Hands On Me” from “Future Days” was next, and time hadn’t made that one any more interesting to me. Then Bailey cited “Sixteen Candles” in the next introduction, signaling the deep cut “If You Were Here;” a welcome part of this set. Especially when the slight and subdued three minute pop song was fleshed out to almost twice as long this evening with no complaints from this quarter. The tepid pop of “King For A Day” followed and I found my enthusiasm waning once more. At least I could fall back into the color shifting light sticks that added visual fizz where the music lay comparatively flat. And at least were were getting new arrangements here that weren’t playing these overplayed songs in a rote fashion.

I was actually happy to hear that the next song was “You Take Me Up” with its distinctive percussion/harmonica intro. This was always my favorite single from “Into the Gap” and while it was their top charting hit in the UK at #2, in America the third single from the album faltered badly at #44! There’s no accounting for taste, and tonight it was a delight to hear. I imagined up front that in America it was less than a deep cut and unlikely to manifest. Bailey brought out a red weather balloon for added stage zing that inevitably found its way into the audience. Next came “Lies” and we were reminded of the time when Thompson Twins were actually hip in America! The lady playing bass nailed the sinuous groove on this one like the pro she was.

I had seen earlier shows where Bailey had set lists of up to eleven tracks, but tonight Thomas Dolby was closing out the show, so I wasn’t sure how much more we would get, but he had to play “Doctor Doctor!” And obviously “Hold Me Now.” Which is exactly what transpired. I was a little shocked that their first big US calling card, “In The Name Of Love” was not played this evening. After all, the song topped the Billboard dance chart for 1982. It was how I first heard the band on college radio and made a bee line for their album of the same name [a re-dressing of their “Set” album]. But it was not to be this evening. Since that was one of the songs from the sprawling 7-piece Thompson Twins [that I actually favor to the cute trio that conquered the charts] maybe I was naive?

So anyway, this evening a corner was turned and for the first time ever, I saw some real merit to the next song that was actually played – “Doctor! Doctor!” The sequencer intro was methodical and the vibe that built up in the largely minor key track, was actually filled with mystery and intrigue, now that I was considering it in a new light. Sure, sure… the big chorus was still a puppy dog begging for belly rubs, but I found myself overlooking its obviousness for the first time to actually enjoy the song tonight in spite of my history with it. Bailey’s vivacious synth solo in the middle eight [paging Billy Currie to the white courtesy phone…] didn’t hurt!

Looking back, it’s amazing to consider that a polished piece of work like “Hold Me Now” failed to make number one on any world charts except the Billboard Dance chart! Top ten around the world was a given, but number one was denied this song. Looking back I find that hard to believe. I guess Prince, Culture Club, Duran Duran, and …Lionel Ritchie were monopolizing too much of the airwaves for even the Twins most winsome hit not to hit a glass ceiling. I actually liked it the first few times I heard it, but after 500 more plays, it took a beating in my ratings. But tonight the crowd ate it up with a spoon. And with that big finish, it was time for Mr. Dolby to close this mother down.

Thompson Twins set:

1. Love On Your Side
2. Lay Your Hands On Me
3. If You Were Here
4. King For A Day
5. You Take Me Up
6. Lies
7. Doctor! Doctor!
8. Hold Me Now

THOMAS DOLBY

After Tom Bailey and band left the stage the roadies were dismantling the light sticks that were still all over the stage. Our crew got to bantering about New Order for some reason. The three guys in our group had all seen New Order before. Indeed, the St. Pete show I caught on the “Technique” tour of 1989 was with The RAHB in the company with my friend Doug as well. Who I think was the driver. Anyway, Todd was discussing how New Order were always a poor concert back in the days when Bernard Sumner had a drinking problem as he related tales of his alcoholism. The break between sets was extremely short as I saw that we would be getting one of Thomas Dolby’s legendary One Man shows like the ones captured on his fantastic “Sole Inhabitant CD/DVD sets!

This was going to be great! When I saw Dolby in 2012, he was with two and three piece backing bands which moved the vibe needle closer to the Pop/Rock spectrum. I like Dolby in such a context. His last two albums thrive in that sort of setting due to where his songwriting head was at in those times. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say that ultimately my preference was for the early, synthtastic portion of Dolby’s career. If he would ever do a full “Golden Age Of Wireless” tour I’d have to go! More to the point, my favorite Dolby album is now the live “Sole Inhabitant” set where it’s him alone building up the loops to flesh out tracks in real time. And that’s what was on offer this evening.

But the first song was an ironic stunner, given our conversation. With a canon of impressive songs at his disposal, Dolby opened with a cover version. The distinctive drum program left no doubt in our minds… this was to be a cover of the iconic New Order track “Blue Monday!” Dolby built the music bed an element at a time; recording live loops on his main keyboard and processing the elements into a rich strata of sound that moved the vibe of the cut further from the Rock zone [without Peter Hook on bass this was inevitable] and deeper into the Dancefloor Zone. One he had the complex backing track cooking, he was living the golden age of wireless with his handheld keyboard and headset mic sending his vocals into the vocoder as he left the keyboard behind to work the large stage, fully mobile. Sort of like this!

A bracing opening salvo to be sure! And the second big surprise in the evening following Modern English playing two brand new songs in what was very much a throwback event. So the next move was to play my very favorite track from “Wireless” next, the always exquisite “Europa + The Pirate Twins.” Rendered here this evening as a sleeker, pulsating vehicle for cruising the autobahn. Best of all was that Dolby still played the clattering, synthetic drum fill manually on his octopad, just like he did in the video.

Next he went for the gusto with the always sterling “One Of Our Submarines Is Missing.” Played close to the vest with the requisite sound effects samples peppering the mix, but he still managed to pull a few rabbits out of his hat on this one! Jaws dropped when he interpolated the iconic synth riff to Gary Numan’s “Cars” flawlessly into the middle eight while still singing his own lyrics! Then in the coda to the number, he let the music play from his music bed while singing the lyrics to The Cure’s “Love Song” to them as the song ended. Well played, Mr. Dolby!

The the second cover version of the evening manifested but the connection to this one were well established. At first it began as a video and photo collage with Dolby recounting the day he played music director for David Bowie at Live Aid. But as the video continued and it showed Bowie taking to the stage after arriving at the site by helicopter, Dolby began re-creating his arrangement of “Heroes” from that day, building up his loops in Logic as the video of Bowie had his isolated vocal singing the lead while Dolby played; now in silence. Super classy, and a fascinating glimpse at the Live Aid event which I actually abandoned watching very early on.

Following this line in the sand, the rest of the program was a dip in to the cartoon Funk that is my bête noire with Dolby, We got “Hyperactive” and “She Blinded Me With Science” and the latter at least had the novelty of video soundbites of a wide variety of celebrities and actors I didn’t recognize saying the “Science!” tag line instead of Dr. Magnus Pyke. The one person I recognized early on got a laugh out of me… President John Kennedy!

With the last “science!” Dolby left the stage and as no one all day had any encores, we were ill prepared for the fact that Dolby was having one and a roadie had to come on stage and rouse the audience into acting like they wanted it before he returned to the stage for an anticlimactic “Hot Sauce.” As much as I love Funk and George Clinton [I’ve seen him numerous times], this was never an area where I felt that Dolby was living up to his potential. But at least he didn’t play “Airhead!”

Thomas Dolby Set:

1. Blue Monday
2. Europa and the Pirate Twins
3. One of Our Submarines
4. “Heroes”
5. Hyperactive!
6. She Blinded Me With Science
7. Hot Sauce

Well, it had been a long, hot day, and the bulk of the performances were great to fantastic. I still shake my head at what was going down with Fee Waybill. There were 44 songs played from 5:45 to 10:30 and all of it was from bands that I liked to loved. Many that I have deep collections of. Some, like Modern English, that I should have deep collections of! My friend The RAHB perhaps put it best when he said “I’d have paid $54 just for the Thomas Dolby!” For indeed, the tickets were priced to move and delivered far in advance of their costs in musical value. Though there was considerable “sweat equity” that we all invested this day!

I’d never seen a package tour like this one before and it was indeed like a festival condensed and simmered into a potent reduction. With a wide variety of styles and approaches for our review. I wish there had been maybe another female onstage singing lead like Annabelle Lwin. And she could have stood with another couple of songs in her too brief set. I was very happy to see Dolby doing a very different performance compared to my two previous shows with him. I ended up liking Tom Bailey a lot more than I was anticipating. Only a churl would begrudge him for his lively approach to his set, and it was surprisingly magnanimous of him to let Dolby take the closing spot considering that he had four times as many top ten singles in his canon as the newly tousled Dolby.

TOTALLY TUBULAR TOUR REMAINING DATES

• July 19 – Atlantic City, NJ
• July 20 – Bushkill, PA
• July 23 – Montreal, Canada
• July 24 – Toronto, Canada
• July 26 – Detroit, MI
• July 27 – Cincinnati, OH
• July 28 – Cleveland, OH

If nay or all of these bands are your cup of tea, then I can whole heartedly endorse the event and suggest attending while there’s still time. The revelatory experience for me was catching Men Without Hats playing for keeps on that stage with a sheer vitality that was completely unexpected for me. Suffice to say, I have signed up for their mailing list and will make the effort to catch some more of that powerful mojo once more in [hopefully] a headling set of more than a half hour long!

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