I heard the frontman fired two members, so it's not the lineup from last time...
The Dears
Black Cat
May 7
Woo hoo!
Both Georges Denoso (drummer) and Patrick Krief (lead guitar) quit about a year ago. The conversation I had with them included the words "underpaid" and "underappreciated". Krief is now leading a band called "Black Diamond Bay" and Georges is drumming with him. Around the same time, Murray fired Valerie (keys) and her husband Martin (bass). That pretty much left the band to be just Murray and his wife Natalia.
While Murray is definitely the creative heart and soul of The Dears, I think it was Krief and Georges who provided the energy for the live performances. A couple of the ladies in Pony Up! have joined the band as well as some others I'm not really familiar with. Obviously, I can't pass judgement until I see the new outfit live, but I have a hard time believing anyone can replace the intensity Georges and Krief brought to the stage.
Enough of being pedantic. I'm sure they'll put on a good show but I don't think we can expect anything close to they way it was before.