Boy did the 80s suck.
On a personal level it was a disaster that nearly killed me.
On a musical level it was a disaster that nearly killed me.
And on Wednesday night at Roseland it was a disaster that nearly killed me.
Two of the biggest bands of the decade, on the same stage, in the cozy confines of Roseland Ballroom, how could it go wrong? Around the third song of the GoGo’s set they had a momentary lull that lasted all the way to the last four songs of the set. That’s what happens when you have less hits then you think you have, and that’s what happens when your prepackaged dash through your first two albums and five certifiable hit singles, is so preplanned it feels like it is prefabricated.
The B-52’s have no such problem, and if there is something very very rote to their set, well it is rote with a huge back beat that keeps the band moving through its 90 minute set. Having said that, I spent $100 to stand for hours pushing back over affectionate forty year old couples and dodging wildly dancing menopausal women, without any close circuit TV at all. It is one think to charge forty bucks for a tix at Webster Hall and dump the close circuit TV, another thing entirely at Roseland.
And you were not exactly inundated with hits, either:
Rock Lobster
Party Out Of Bounds
Love Shack
Private Idaho
How many of those hit the charts? On the other hand, how many bands have Gus Van Sant name his greatest movie after one of their songs?
I’m not quite complaining that the B-52’s were not a hit making machine, on stage they ride one bass hook after another for 90 minutes, interspersed with one liners and smart beats. It is nostalgia, yes, but only to the degree you want to meet it as nostalgia: they haven’t changed but with dance, unlike pop, the music is so utilitarian it slips out of its 80s dayglo and becomes timeless sounds to move to.
The Go Go’s suffer through a similar lack of hits and until the last four songs all I notice is “Vacation”. The dodgy mix of nostalgia with songs we are not nostalgic for makes the Go Go’s a drag; then after a blast of energy before the encore, the band introductions stops the concert dead once again and then they throw in “Lust To Love” just to make sure we’ve lost interest before the obvious last song “Head Over Heels”. They stalled the set the way it had stalled on them all night long. The all girls together onslaught of kitschy friendship is wearing very thin since bassist Kathy Valentine quit and sued her “sisters” earlier this year, on stage they seem awful fake to me. The energy level on stage is high but contrived. How contrived? Not a song off God Bless The Go Go’s and still it dragged.
Till the end, where they played “Skid Marks On My Heart”, “Our Lips Are Sealed” “We’ve Got the Beat” and Kiss’ “Rock N Roll All Nite” in succession and broke right through. Sure, that is the kind of 20 minute span that is gonna get any audience howling for more. Belinda is a smart front woman who moves well, and the entire band (except for new bassist Abby Travis of course) take turns cracking wise. And, in one of only two other stand out moments,Gina introduced their Stones cover of “Paint It Black” by introducing her brother from the stage and telling how she used to sneak into his bedroom and scratch up his vinyl! But it isn’t nearly enough.
I love the B-52’s because I love disco, but I don’t appreciate waiting around till 10pm to see em. By the time they came on my legs were buckled and while I am sure lots of other people can take 40 minute breaks between sets with alacrity, I think it is ridiculous plain and simple.”We were right about Mesopotania” Fred cjokes before playing the song. I respond very well to Schneider, he is, in fact, not very camp at all, and he works the past without ever veering into misty eyed nostalgia. It is that there is something tough minded about the B-52’s; it’s, in some ways, what I imagine Talking Heads being like today if Byrne hadn’t left with his bat and ball. There is no twinkling, no playing off the past: it is by the numbers but the numbers add up
The Go Go’s – C+
The B-52’s – B+