Thursday, June 25, 2009
Regeneration Tour 2009
A couple of months ago, Mary Elizabeth told me that she was getting a group together to go to Wolftrap to see the Regeneration Tour. My first thought was, "Wolftrap is So Far Away" & my second thought was "I really didn't like the music when it was new. Can I like it now when it's cult classic?" Let me just say that Wolftrap really isn't that far away. It's just that I need a passport to get out of Alexandria. I really like Wolftrap. It's a great venue for live music. It's "green". Meaning that it's a very woodsy amphitheater where there are separate trash cans for glass, paper, etc... You can sit either in the covered pavillion or on the lawn. If you have lawn seats; you are allowed to bring coolers, food, & blankets.
I decided to go & I have to say that I had an incredible time! (We, of course, went the Lawn seat route...) Breakdown:
* Cutting Crew was the first band up. The first thing said was, "Here's a song from our new CD!" I was confused. I thought the whole purpose of the concert was 80's revival. We nod along to a couple of new songs & then they did "Died in Your Arms Tonight". The crowd woke up for it.
* Wang Chung was next & they didn't mess around. They started out with "Let's Go". Did a couple of lesser known songs & went straight into "Dance Hall Days" which got everyone on their feet. They finished off with "Everybody Have Fun Tonight". And I asked around: "Is there a Wang Chung dance? Like the Electric Slide or something?" The song implies it. Just wondering....
(I have to say at this point that, even though I wasn't into the songs when they first came out; I somehow managed to know every single word. And I wasn't ashamed to sing them really loud and out of tune!!)
* Berlin was next up & OMG!! Terri Nunn is as hot as she was in the 80's! They opened up with "Masquerade" & the crowd went insane! The live version of "No More Words" was awesome. And then she did something completely unexpected. She started talking about how she knew that, as a woman, she was going to have a hard time breaking out of the mold that had been created for women singers in the 80's. She went on to say that, as a very young girl, she saw a concert where a woman kicked ass as much as the man she was singing with. She then sang "Somebody to Love" in a way that would make Grace Slick PROUD! Her voice was so fucking strong; it was religious. After that, she did "Take My Breath Away" (Top Gun). They did an extended version of "The Metro" which was freaking awesome! Then she invited anyone that wanted to dance on stage to come on up! She did "Dancing in Berlin" and danced with everyone that made it up on stage. In my opinion, Berlin stole the show.
* Last up was ABC. We all know them for "Poison Arrow" and "When Smokey Sings". They did those punctuated with new songs that no one really cared about. (Again, it's a Revival!!) I liked their new songs kinda but realized why I couldn't really get on board with them. Martin Fry has such a distinct voice (in a lounge singer sort of way) that you can't get past it. Every song sounds the same.
All in all; it was a great time. Good food, good drinks, good weather, & great company. Perfect way to spend a summer evening!
peace
I decided to go & I have to say that I had an incredible time! (We, of course, went the Lawn seat route...) Breakdown:
* Cutting Crew was the first band up. The first thing said was, "Here's a song from our new CD!" I was confused. I thought the whole purpose of the concert was 80's revival. We nod along to a couple of new songs & then they did "Died in Your Arms Tonight". The crowd woke up for it.
* Wang Chung was next & they didn't mess around. They started out with "Let's Go". Did a couple of lesser known songs & went straight into "Dance Hall Days" which got everyone on their feet. They finished off with "Everybody Have Fun Tonight". And I asked around: "Is there a Wang Chung dance? Like the Electric Slide or something?" The song implies it. Just wondering....
(I have to say at this point that, even though I wasn't into the songs when they first came out; I somehow managed to know every single word. And I wasn't ashamed to sing them really loud and out of tune!!)
* Berlin was next up & OMG!! Terri Nunn is as hot as she was in the 80's! They opened up with "Masquerade" & the crowd went insane! The live version of "No More Words" was awesome. And then she did something completely unexpected. She started talking about how she knew that, as a woman, she was going to have a hard time breaking out of the mold that had been created for women singers in the 80's. She went on to say that, as a very young girl, she saw a concert where a woman kicked ass as much as the man she was singing with. She then sang "Somebody to Love" in a way that would make Grace Slick PROUD! Her voice was so fucking strong; it was religious. After that, she did "Take My Breath Away" (Top Gun). They did an extended version of "The Metro" which was freaking awesome! Then she invited anyone that wanted to dance on stage to come on up! She did "Dancing in Berlin" and danced with everyone that made it up on stage. In my opinion, Berlin stole the show.
* Last up was ABC. We all know them for "Poison Arrow" and "When Smokey Sings". They did those punctuated with new songs that no one really cared about. (Again, it's a Revival!!) I liked their new songs kinda but realized why I couldn't really get on board with them. Martin Fry has such a distinct voice (in a lounge singer sort of way) that you can't get past it. Every song sounds the same.
All in all; it was a great time. Good food, good drinks, good weather, & great company. Perfect way to spend a summer evening!
peace
