[…continued from last post]

ABC★★★

I am aware that Howard Jones was the headliner, but the fact is, were ABC★★★ not on the bill, this trip would never have happened. That $100 dollars would have stayed in my bank account. So they are in the headliner position for these reviews! The stage crew quickly broke the Haircut 100 set and the drumkit was split between both bands, with the drum tech swapping out the branded bass heads in a slick move that cut 30 minutes out of the wait between sets! The stage left keyboard rack was onstage [but not used] by Haircut 100 and they simply turned the riser 180˚ and we were ready to rock.

In short order, Martin Fry and the five piece band took to the stage with their top charting US number five single, the ebullient “When Smokey Sings.” There were two keyboard players, but the second synth at stage right also doubled on saxophone. There was enough bandpower to run the gamut of the ABC★★★ canon as long as we weren’t expecting real strings.

Next up was a “Lexicon of Love” deep cut, but when an album sounds like nine hit singles, can a showstopper like “Show Me” truly be called a deep cut? The tight band rendered the crisp classic with a stronger Rock flavor than the more florid album track and that would be the complexion of the show this evening. Where the discs ran the gamut from Rock to beatbox disco funk, this show would hew closer to Pop/Rock status due to the band. And I love it when the live show doesn’t replicate the album experience.

But I really love it when the band are ripping out my favorite ABC★★★ classics I never tire of hearing, like “[How To Be A] Millionaire!” Certainly a top 3 ABC★★★ track of mine for at least the last 20 years. The synth quotient for this one certainly used both of the key players this time but it’s the curdled sentiments; spat out with a delightful mixture of brio and disgust that made this an evergreen classic to my ears. I was so glad that it made the set list this evening.

And I was happy to hear the excellent “Viva Love” in the set afterward. As an ABC★★★ fan who really enjoyed the last three albums a great deal, “Viva Love” sat very comfortably in the set like the modern classic that it was. I was still hoping against hope that I’d get my favorite ABC★★★ song, the title track to “Skyscraping” this evening, but I didn’t peek at set lists beforehand so it would play out in real time with no expectations.

We next marveled at what was for me, the quintessential ABC★★★ song, the brilliant “Poison Arrow.” As it was a sweltering evening in the 105-year old venue [there probably wasn’t any any air conditioning in there] Martin Fry took the time to lament his penchant for having everyone stage in tuxes or suits, but he vowed to keep them on the whole time like the pro he was. I could relate since I attended the show in a crisp black dress shirt while rocking the 1” wide silver lamé tie my wife gave me ages ago that I had been waiting for the ideal circumstances to wear. Lamé is not for every day, but if I couldn’t wear it to an ABC★★★ show, where could I?

I was surprised to hear “King Without A Crown” from “Alphabet City.” I figured that one would be one that slipped through the cracks but as it turned out, that album got decent representation this evening. If that was a surprise, then the next song was a shocker! The brilliant [but divisive] “That Was Then, But This Is Now” from “Beauty Stab” was given a thunderous airing that didn’t lack for the muscular power that this band was capable of delivering it with this evening. When the stunning high-energy coda was unfurling, I was shocked that I had the presence of mind to capture a bit of it to share here as the sax player came to the fore while the drummer pummeled the skins and also provided the falsetto BVs!

After that rapturous peak, we got another track from my fave “Zillionaire” album. The delightfully catty “Vanity Kills,” which should have been a bigger hit. Especially with the lush Peter Care video the US got for the release of the single. Then the “Alphabet City” triptych was finalized with a muscular take of “The Night You Murdered Love.” Did I say muscular? That’s even begin to describe what came next with the band’s debut single being given a big re-think as “Tears Are Not Enough” cut a swaggering figure close to the original 7” version. I was supremely looking forward to the legendary harpsichord break but this evening, the band extended the magic by several bars with additional guitar and bass solos that ramped up the pressure cooker of a song.

We next heard the best song on “Lexicon Of Love” with the sumptuous heartbreak of “All of My Heart.” It’s still the best song that the Walker Brothers or Gene Pitney never recorded and Mr. Fry can certainly milk it for all of the melodrama with the best of them. This was maybe the only song that really needed that string section to shine in its brilliant coda that was the best part of the song.

“Be Near Me” followed on its heels with the band’s second Top 10 US hit. I loved that 12” single when it was released as an import and I was always stunned that it was the US that took this period of the band to its collective bosom moreso than the fickle UK. When I heard the tune the first time I was certain that it would be a smash the world over.

What else could follow but the band’s calling card…”The Look Of Love?” And with that it was over. A solid hour of thirteen ABC★★★ classics and zero duds. It says a lot that the band can effectively play a set that was 85% of the “Absolutely” greatest hits album, but the three changes they made to the set that differed from that disc [swapping out “One Better World” for almost anything else would be a huge win] gave it even better legs. As classics like “Show Me” and “Viva Love” proved conclusively.

I was savoring every minute of this, but a week later I can cite a few small regrets. I would have liked more than one song from the last 30 years of ABC★★★, for a start. This band in particular, could really do justice to the more Rock oriented material on “Skyscraping” or “Traffic.” And an hour was shorter than I would have preferred, though Howard Jones 90 minute set that followed was only a single song longer than this! How did that happen? Yet against all odds, I finally saw Martin Fry singing the material that gave him fame right from day one and for great reason. I thought that I would never crack this particular case and now I can only hope for the wonder of an ABC★★★ headlining set one day! But if it doesn’t happen, I’ll always have Cleveland.

-30-

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graphic design | software UI design | remastering vinyl • record collector • satire • non-fiction

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