80s Mania: Cutting Crew, Paul Young, Wang Chung, Go West, Taylor Dayne – ASB Theatre November 5, 2017
Five 80s hitmakers descended on Auckland last night serving up nostalgia wrapped in pastels and latex.
Actually, it was the audience that showed up decked out in brightly-coloured latex outfits, which, for me, only re-enforced my trepidation of taking a musical journey back to this most dreaded decade.
I know, for some, the 80s represent the last of the golden pop years. This attitude, no doubt is dependent upon when you were born. If you were a teenager in 1983, it’s no surprise that you might want to re-live your infatuation with the likes of Paul Young.
The 5-act show began with Cutting Crew, or at least lead vocalist Nick Van Eede. The rest of the band was fleshed out by a quartet of house musicians (drums, guitar, keys and bass) and, for Cutting Crew and additional guitarist who may have also been an original member.
They quickly ran through their allotted 20 minutes, featuring their biggest hit (I Just) Died In Your Arms in fine fashion. The sound seemed a bit muddy, but I wrote this off to being early in the evening, surely it would improve. The fans seemed not to notice.
Up next, surprisingly, was Paul Young, who I would have thought would have been allotted a later, longer placement. He whipped through four songs in 20 minutes…Wherever I Lay My Hat, I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down, Every Time You Go Away and Come Back And Stay.
Young’s voice seemed a bit ragged, but he looked good and seemed to be having fun. Unfortunately, the sound in the venue wasn’t improving.
I admit that the prospect of sitting through Wang Chung was just too daunting for me, so I took the opportunity to take an ice cream break in the lobby. I could not bring myself to Wang Chung tonight.
Shortly after, the rest of the crowd poured out for a brief intermission.
When we reconvened, we were faced with Go West. I immediately felt for vocalist Peter Cox. Not because he had to sing We Close Our Eyes for what must have been the 1000th time, but because the sound situation got considerably worse with the band being mixed so loudly that the vocalists had to scream to be heard. The resulting sound was almost unbearable.
Not surprisingly, fans began leaving the venue before headliner Taylor Dayne could take the stage. Who could blame folks for wanting to preserve their hearing?
Taylor gave it her best shot, beginning with a cover of Barry White’s Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe. She is endowed with a voice that was made to cut through the mess that the sound engineer had provided for her and just sang through it.
It wasn’t subtle, but she was heard.
Unfortunately subtly was called for during Nothing Compares 2 U, her tribute to Prince. Instead, Taylor belted it out and the audience continued to depart. By the time she got to Tell It To My Heart, the atmosphere was quite “intimate”.
Most folks who remained looked like they were determined to have a good time…and they did. But both the performers on stage and the fans in the audience deserved better.
Marty Duda
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November 6, 2017 @ 4:05 pm
Gareth Moulton has been the lead guitarist with Cutting Crew for the last ten years – the original guitarist Kevin died several years ago of lung cancer. You are correct about the poor distorted sound quality for Go West but from where I was (3rd row on lower level) the three bands before the interval were fine. Nick Van Eede of Cutting Crew still has a fantastic voice, ranging from the ballad hit I’ve Been In Love Before, One For the Mocking Bird and the “hit” at the end that even NZ must have heard of
Paul Young was “husky” which is perhaps no surprise after nearly 40 years in the business. Still got the showmanship that saw him appear on iconic 80s show The Tube two weeks running back in 1983.
You really should have stayed for Wang Chung – Gareth Moulton guested as vocalist/lead guitarist alongside Nick Feldman (singer Jack Hues was unable to tour) and they had the time of their lives belting out some great USA hits (Let’s Go, Dance Hall Days, Everybody Have Fun Tonight) that little old New Zealand may not have heard.
After the interval someone must have tweeked the sound mix as it was distorted and Go West’s singer Peter Cox was difficult to hear in the mix. The keyboard player kept waving to the sound man at the side of the stage to make adjustments – you could hear a radio station playing through the amplifiers in between songs and even a couple of the band were talking to each other about that. Go West carried on regardless and still had a great time.
Taylor Dayne – wrong end of the era in comparison to the other four acts, and more of a disco act so out of place here. Not sure “headlining” is the correct word as she closed the show – not always a good slot given the audience demographic in terms of age and babysitters – hence the emptying theatre.
Still a great night, and good to see these bands appear on our shores for the first time .