Well,all in all it was a pretty cool night in Baltimore considering it was raining like hell for the better part of 3 hours!
THE ALARM: This was the band I was expecting the least from,to be honest. They took the stage at 6 o'clock exactly. I hadn't seen them since the mid 80's. After 3 songs from Mike Peters & Co. I leaned over to my lady and said something like "this fucking band feels like they are shot out of a cannon and have something to prove". Little did I realize how much. After about the 3rd song Mike Peters relayed the story of his last show in Baltimore at the Hard Rock about 3 years ago and how he had played about 3 or 4 songs and left the stage. He apologized and said when he got back home he realized he was a lot sicker than he thought. The guy has leukemia and has been battling it for the past few years. He's been on some serious chemo and a lot of drugs trying to beat the thing. He said at this time last year he was lying in a hospital bed on chemo...bald,weak and wondering if he was gonna live to see 2007. For a guy with cancer he was all over the stage,in full voice and tearing it up! The band was tight and the guy played with shitloads of passion. I was impressed and it takes a lot to knock over the cynical bastard that I am.
THE FIXX: Was never a fan of the band and I had never seen them live. Will have to say that I was kinda digging Cy Curin's arrogant Brit demeanor that he cultivated during the evening. The band was all pretty much the original lineup and worked thru all the hits(of which there are a whole boatload)these guys tore up the charts for a while. Cy was also drinking wine from a long stemmed glass during the set and probably downed 5 or 6 glasses during the course of the set.Don't see many rock singers pounding wine these days. It was an enjoyable set,but again I was not a fan in their heyday,way to many other really good bands to listen to at the time. OK.
THE FURS: I've seen them at least 8 or 9 times including the first 2 times back in the 80's for Talk,Talk,Talk & Forever Now.The last couple times I saw them in the past 5 or 6 years I wasn't wild about 'em, to be honest,but as the set wore on last night I was sucked in and it felt like the great days of the first 3 albums.
They did the longest set of the night and got really hot as the night gained steam. I had to deal with all the "hits" that I just don't want to remember. Heartbreak Beat,Pretty in Pink,Heartbeat and Love My Way. But the setlist sure was a lot better than in recent years. I got Alice's House from Mirror Moves,Into You Like a Train from Talk Talk & an encore of Sister Europe,President Gas & India that was just perfect to end the show with! They had a girl playing keyboards and a new drummer who stepped in at the last minute when Hugo Burnham from Gang of Four had to cancel. Shit,I woulda loved seeing Hugo bangin the skins. Good show from the Furs. I was really happy except for the pretty shitty sound mix that they had carried over from this past New Years show at the State Theater in Falls Church. Must be the same dude on tour with them still! I think you gotta pretty good time coming you're way. 25 bucks for 3 bands and a prime spot to watch the fireworks. Not a bad deal at all.
Originally posted by vansmack:
Originally posted by Dr. Anton Phibes:
Believe it or not.....Psychedelic Furs,The Fixx & The Alarm at Pier Six in Baltimore.....and get to stay afterward and check out fireworks from the pier.....
Kindly report back on that show. We've been thinking about catching it out here - I'm a big Richard Butler fan. [/b]
