"It came from Planet Clare." "You're living in your own Private Idaho. "It was a rock lobster."
If you know the lyrics, you remember the songs and the band. The B52s, one of the grooviest, shake-your-bootiest bands of the '80s landed in NYC's Highline Ballroom on Tuesday, July 6th to a sold out show. Gay or straight, in their 20s though 60s, the sweat-coated fans bounced, jumped and shimmied elbow to elbow, to a band whose vocals and energetic, tongue-in-cheek style really hasn't changed much since they first hit the new wave scene in the '70s and more forcefully in the '80s.
It was the first '80s "nostalgia" show I think I'd ever been to. The last time I'd seen a band perform from that era was in the '90s, which were not that far off from the original decade.
Now that a good 25 years have elapsed, you can see a trace of aging in the faces of the band members and their fans, but that's it. Looks aside, the cool harmonizing vocals of Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson and the campy singing and posturing that is Fred Schneider were still very much in tact. The band sounded exactly the same as they did when they first played, and on their original recordings.
By starting off their show with "Wig," the B52s pointed and postured to their fans with a song that proved that they are a group about, well -- fun! The female vocalists in the band, with heavy but tasteful makeup and colorful garb from the '60s, didn't let anyone forget that!
They performed lots of hits, notably "Planet Clare," "Love Shack," "Strobe Light," and the final encore, "Rock Lobster" to a highly enthusiastic crowd. Although it was about 90 degrees inside and outside the venue, it didn't deter the fans from showing their excitment through dancing, rocking and shaking!One of the reasons I think the B52s still have energy to wow a crowd is because they are not just rehashing their hits from days past, but doing new work. "Funplex," which in 2008 was their first album released in 16 years, retains the group's energy and style, with more updated lyrics relevant to our times.
In this regard, the B52s score points with their incisive lyrics about American culture, an ingredient of a message stirred into the fun stew. In the title track from "Funplex" Schneider sings, "Shoppin' for a new distraction/ I'm a pleasure seeker/Lookin' for some platinum action," and "Faster pussycat, thrill, thrill/I'm at the mall on a diet pill"
The B52s was a show worth sweating for; I look forward to their new projects and future concert dates.
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