Live: The Psychedelic Furs and X – Andrew J. Bird Music Center – Cincinnati, OH – July 20, 2022

“This place is like the Borg cube of music venues.”

That’s how my friend described the Andrew J. Bird Music Center in downtown Cincinnati. It’s an interesting performance space with good acoustics, but the interior “has no personality,” as she put it. It has a stark industrial feel, and hosting some industrial or goth shows in the place would be ideal. The only fixed seats are in the multiple balconies. The main floor is open, but rows of seats were added for The Psychedelic Furs and X.

This was the second time I’ve seen the Psychedelic Furs. The first was on their “Singles Tour” and this one was promoting their latest record, Made of Rain. First up, however, were L.A. punk legends X. Bassist John Doe mentioned how they’d been playing in a lot of beautiful theaters, but “I keep expecting Tina Turner to come out and tell us we’re in the Thunderdome in this place.” They put on a fun set, with Billy Zoom still shredding both guitar and saxophone, Exene Cervenka blessing the crowd, and D.J. Bonebrake playing both drums and xylophone. People were dancing in the aisles the whole time, and one guy was pogoing front and center for nearly their entire set. Billy Zoom came back out after their set and signed a few autographs.

I knew we were in for a good set from The Psychedelic Furs when they opened their show with “I Wanna Sleep with You” – one of my favorite tracks that I wasn’t sure I’d ever hear live. “Mr. Jones” followed and then the first of many great tracks from Made of Rain, “You’ll Be Mine.”

“Dumb Waiters”

Other sharp new tracks included Made of Rain‘s opener, “The Boy Who Invented Rock and Roll,” “Wrong Train,” “This’ll Never Be Like Love,” “No-One,” and “Ash Wednesday.” “Their new songs are beautiful,” my friend said. She’s right. Guitarist Rich Good puts more emphasis on the psychedelic part of the band’s sound on these new tracks.

They played plenty of classics, of course, with “The Ghost in You” being the loveliest and “Love My Way” being even more popular with the happy crowd than “Pretty in Pink.”

“Imitation of Christ”

The encore included a solid version of “Heartbreak Beat” that had everybody dancing and a stunning, beautifully chaotic (as they’d describe it) version of “India” – the first track on their first album. It was another song I wasn’t sure I’d ever hear live, and it was a killer end to a great show. Saxophonist Mars Williams played so hard and with such frenetic passion that we all thought he was going to pass out on stage at one point.

Another highlight is how Richard Butler‘s voice never seems to age, or perhaps it just gets better. He’s still on top of his game, as is the whole band. His brother, Tim Butler, still has that rockstar style and slight menace about him, and the bottom end of his bass is the band’s secret weapon. Keyboardist Amanda Kramer doesn’t go overboard with her playing, which means she’s secretly doing a lot of stuff you can barely comprehend – and she adds a mystery to the band’s stage presence behind her ever-present shades (as does Tim Butler). The band’s new drummer, Zack Alford, has serious chops and ups the volume with pure rock beats.

Richard Butler ruling.

Keep your mind open.

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Live: Psychedelic Furs and Bash & Pop – Chicago, IL – October 17, 2017

One of my best friends and I first saw and heard the Psychedelic Furs in the early days of MTV and thought they had the weirdest name of any band we’d seen.  They soon became favorites of ours and I’ve been keen to see them for years.  The day finally arrived when I could see their first of two nights at Chicago’s Thalia Hall (one of my top three favorite venues in the city) on October 17th.

Rockers Bash & Pop opened for them, and my friend, Steve, and I got there in time to check out the last three songs of their set.  They had a good blend of hard rock and a bit of garage punk.

Bash & Pop

It was a good crowd for a Tuesday night, and an interesting blend of aged punks, young hipsters, and music fanatics.  The Psychedelic Furs came out and opened with “Dumb Waiters.”  I’d guessed this would’ve been their closer, but they unleashed it right away and grabbed everyone’s attention.

Getting right down to business with “Dumb Waiters.”

What especially grabbed my attention is how lead singer Richard Butler‘s voice has seemingly not aged.  He sounded great, as did the entire band.  Mars Williams, the saxophone player (who also used to play for the Waitresses), shredded the entire night.

L-R: Mars Williams, Richard Butler, Tim Butler, and Amanda Kramer

The double whammy of “Pretty in Pink” followed by “Love My Way” had the entire crowd jumping.  One guy to my right was almost in throes of ecstasy by this point.  “Until She Comes” and “The Ghost in You” were also especially sharp.

“Pretty in Pink”

The lyrics of “All That Money Wants” is rather biting in this country right now, and they ended with “Heaven” before coming out to two encores.  The first had a powerful rendition of “Sister Europe” that cooked up a witches’ brew of post-punk, acid jazz, and shoegaze.  The second was a performance of the song I thought they’d have as the opener – “President Gas.”  Like “All That Money Wants,” you can’t help but hear the lyrics in a new light right now.

A killer rendition of “Sister Europe”

It was worth the wait to see them, and $40.00 for a signed tour poster was a steal.

Keep your mind open.

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