A four-band bill of new wave thrills hits London!
My goodness, the O2 Arena, it’s been a very long while! We at Punktuation don’t often find ourselves at venues of this size, but when these two titans of American new wave decided to join forces (along with some sterling support, we might add) for a couple of UK dates, we knew we had to be there. The place isn’t quite sold out, but it’s respectably full, and the crowd is certainly a colourful bunch, with plenty sporting those famous red Devo ‘energy dome’ hats.
The new wave movement certainly had its fair share of eccentrics, and Lene Lovich ranks among the best of them, taking the stage obscured in a huge wig before casting it aside a couple of songs in. The venue is rather sparsely populated – it’s only half past six, after all – and there are a few sound issues, but she delivers old favourites like ‘Lucky Number’ and ‘Home’ with no little panache, and leaves us warmed up for what’s to come.
The Rezillos kick things up a notch; with the buzzsaw guitars of the opening ‘Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight’ and ‘Flying Saucer Attack’ cutting through any of our remaining heat-induced stupor from earlier in the day. Clearly determined to make the most of their shortened set, they air a couple of new numbers – a bold move, but ‘Curse Of The Pretty Man’, in particular, is prime Rezillos. Like the headliners, they’re accompanied by some fabulous visuals on the giant screen behind them, and – pleasingly – lose none of their intensity in the O2’s cavernous surroundings. Great stuff.
Devo indisputably have the finest sense of the ridiculous of this evening. How can they still be doing this as pensioners – as the uninitiated might ask? Probably because they still look as gloriously awkward as they did back in the day, plus they’re armed with no end of songs that simply refuse to age. Initially taking the stage in suits to an epic-sounding ‘Don’t Shoot (I’m A Man)’, there’s something heart-warming about seeing them don those trademark red hats for ‘Girl U Want’ and a turbocharged ‘Whip It’, and by the time they get to a late ‘Jocko Homo’, the yellow boiler suits are on.
It speaks volumes that they’re the first band of the night to truly get folks out of their seats and dancing, and as they close with ‘Freedom Of Choice’, it’s clear that – both for them and for us – Devo are still very much a band to believe in. Folks, the bar has been raised, and then some.
Like many other B-52s fans, we were somewhat alarmed by that footage of their lacklustre performance of ‘Love Shack’ in Las Vegas – this is the “World’s Greatest Party Band”, after all. Thankfully, they’re in more enthusiastic form this evening, even if – for our money – they don’t quite hit the heights that Devo reached. It would be unfair to expect them to go as crazy onstage as they used to, but vocally, Kate Pierson and co are on top form, and those harmonies on a wonderful mid-set ‘Roam’ really hit the spot.
Of course, it takes the set-closing ‘Love Shack’ to really make the entire O2 rise from their seats, and – quite rightly – sensing victory, the band return for a supremely groovy finale of ‘Planet Claire’ and ‘Rock Lobster’ – the latter complete with someone in a lobster costume dancing onstage. Not the absolute best we’ve seen from the B-52s, but a fine reminder of how much we’ll miss them when they’re gone. A great end to an evening of top-quality new wave – cheers to all involved!
All Photos: ALEX GOOSE
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I spend my days teaching English to foreign students, and my evenings attending as many gigs as possible. Raised mainly on a diet of 90s third-wave punk, my tastes have grown to include just about anything from trad ska to thrash metal. The Ramones are my musical gods.
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