Berlin and the Fixx

I have been so busy, I haven't gotten around to writing about my most recent concert. I was my second of the summer, having seen the Killers and Keane in early June (phenomenal show!!!) I saw Berlin and the Fixx on July 21st at the 9:30 Club. Although I would have paid to go, the nice folks at DC101 saw that I didn't have to. My new most favorite station. You know, I enjoyed the show, but emotionally for me there is this huge disconnect...

Terri Nunn is a great performer, but she was a little too risque for me (when did that happen?) in terms of stage performance. A big part of the act was flirting (for lack of a better term) the whole front row, regardless of gender. During "Sex," the whole performance seemed to have been cranked up a couple of notches from the 80's. I felt way old and prudish.

When she played the older stuff, she kept referring to the band onstage as "we" as in "when we recorded this" or "on our first album." I was thinking it must be the "royal we", because those kids she's playing with now might have been old enough to remember "Take My Breath Away" at age four or five (like me remembering the first time I listened to Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" or the Eagles or something), but weren't even playing their instruments when Pleasure Victim and Love Life were recording. I never realized how completely partisan I am to the boys, especially Ric and John, until I went to that show. I am very sad that I missed going to "Bands Reunited" to see them play together one last time.

With that said, Terri has some incredible talent backing her up, especially Mitchell. He is amazing. I can't wait to hear some of his electronic stuff. Dude is crazy talented. I talked to him for a few minutes after the show - I showed him my twenty year old Love Life t-shirt and he started talking about the care he has taken in the programming to recreate those original sounds from the first two albums. He did a great job, he really did. I wish I had seen Dallan play - he was their guitarist and I gather he left fairly recently. I picked up their new album 4Play and he was on the cover of Depeche Mode's "Never Let Me Down Again." He has an amazing voice. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Carleton and Chris both were great live as well.

The opener was the Fixx... they were pretty tight and probably should each turn over half their take for the night to the soundman. He was working so hard, playing attention to every detail while they were onstage. "Red Skies" was perfect, absolutely perfect. Cy Curnin was a trip - he came out looking less like a rock star and more like a college professor. He must have downed like six glasses of wine while he was on stage. Seriously. He was trying to keep count, but found it difficult since, as he told all of us, he had taken a valium or two before taking the stage. Didn't affect his vocals at all, but I thought it a swift wind had cut through the 9:30 Club, he would have done a face plant off the stage.

It was a great show. Probably the first show I have been to in ages where I wasn't the oldest person there. At an 80's show, I am about average. I hear ABC and the English Beat are coming - I might actually have to go. I had a really good time at this show, reliving the better parts of my youth.