Because the CD is so new, I had to rely on setlist.fm for some song titles. According to it, the first ‘song’ was Decimal followed by Please Remain Silent. I don’t know what to make of them as they’re sound bites. I thought I would be hearing music but it sounds experimental, with robot-like voices or recorded messages of the kind you get when you reach a phone number that’s out of service. I think the band like to call them ‘soundscapes’. The first actual song recognisable as such is Metroland. The crowd is responsive but seems to be waiting for a hit or two. Andy McCluskey gets them clapping. Sorted. Oh, hey, Malcolm Holmes: wicked drum kit you have there. Nice resonance and power behind it. After this song was done McCluskey relieves the audience with a jovial “Don’t worry, they’re not all new” before he straps on his bass guitar. Messages is the song, and it sounds slightly updated and the audience is happy. The next song also comes with a disclaimer “This is new. Don’t Worry. Just (expletive) dance.” Sounds alright. McCluskey asks the assembled masses if they remember an album from 30 years ago called Dazzle Ships – many apparently do. The song they chose from it starts out with robot sounds and is Radio Waves. As an intro to History of Modern Part 1, McCluskey announces he has good news and bad news: “good news: the sh—bass playing has stopped, the bad news is the sh—dancing really starts”. The audience doesn’t mind, especially as he makes an effort to make hand contact with a number of people in the front rows. He also plays to the house – trying to draw as many people in as he can. Seems to be fond of a crucifixion pose, which is, interesting. A little banter between McCluskey and Paul Humphreys as it’s the latter’s turn to be centre stage for a song. McCluskey assures him it’s safe for Paul to sing and is himself quite secure at one of the Roland XII keyboards as ‘he only has 3 notes to play’. It’s (Forever) Live and Die and it sounds a bit like the vocals on Humphreys are a smidge too high. What he’s singing is noticeably louder than what the 2 keyboards and the wicked drum kit are doing. Still as lovely a song as ever, though. To introduce the next song, McCluskey says it’s one people love to hate or hate to love. He credits it with ‘ruining their career’ as they ‘used to be quite cool once’. What else could it be but If You Leave? For the bridge, Martin Cooper pulls out the saxophone and as the song is gearing up towards the end the audience start to get louder and more persistent with their clapping. They sustain it after it ends and it is even louder once the cheers and general applause come in.
McCluskey wasn’t kidding about the dancing: he’s at times a bit of a flailer and other times like a fish flopping. Seriously. Humphreys has the easier job even though he’s right up in the front as well, but safely behind his instrument. Even for the next one when it’s his turn again at the microphone. McCluskey is back on bass guitar and introduces it as a song from 1981 (my God, is it ever). It’s the short and plaintive Souvenir and this one is perfectly balanced for him. It’s rather perfect all around, I’d say. Time for a song or two from the new record and the first is called Night Cafe. It’s certainly in keeping with their traditional synth-pop style, and as McCluskey says at its conclusion “Nothing to worry about, eh? New stuff is (expletive) good.” Right, the next two surprised me a little – I didn’t know they had such a Joan of Arc fixation. The next song was actually called Joan of Arc (before my time) and featured McCluskey in his full notes-stuck-in-the-throat glory. It’s very distinctive – not my favourite way of singing, as it’s a little like gargling. Then was Maid of Orleans in all its keyboard glory. I was surprised I recognised it as quickly (first chords). It was never my favourite but familiar nonetheless. Sustained applause and cheers at its end, louder than before I think. Must’ve been other people’s favourite. McCluskey is elated and says “no wonder we wanted to start the tour in Vancouver”. As information about the song to follow, he says they wrote it when the probe Voyager 1 passed Jupiter (according to Wikipedia, that was in 1979) but is on the new release: Our System. Looking a little out of breath, McCluskey talks about robots for the next introduction. Something about when your wife is a robot / your robot is a wife (Atomic Ranch). The audience was invited to discuss, but not at the expense of Kissing the Machine. It featured sweeping keyboard parts which I kind of liked. After it’s done McCluskey takes a look at the setlist and exclaims “Oh my God, it’s all the fast ones now. Get me some oxygen and a hospital bed.” I guess So In Love can be viewed as a fast song, he’s playing to the crowd again, focussing on making contact with as many hands of audience members on the stage left side. Another saxophone solo for Cooper. As the end of the song is just repeats of the chorus, it could’ve gone longer, the audience would certainly have followed where the band led. As it was, McCluskey asked to be ‘allowed to save your souls’ ahead of Sister Marie Says. Again with the anthemic keyboard part. The crowd eats it up while McCluskey agitates for participation (we’re nearing the end, I’d say) – he even gets a few people in the mezzanine clapping. Locomotion is the epitome of synthesised sound – Cooper `plays’ trumpet on his keyboard and Humphreys `plays’ steel drum on his. Sailing on the Seven Seas came next and it sounds positively country – vocally, rhythmically, the formula is there – except where you’d hear a steel guitar solo, Cooper takes the solo on keyboard (not with synthesised steel guitar, mind, it’s ‘saxophone’). Again the applause and cheers lingered until well after the song was done. Another “we knew there was a reason to start the tour here” with a note of appreciative amazement. For Enola Gay, McCluskey was back on bass and there’s a full-on multi-colour light show to take everyone through the song with high energy. The song ends with a recorded loop so all members of the band take their turn to be acknowledged by the still enthusiastic audience with profuse thanks from both McCluskey and Humphreys as they leave the stage.
At this point, it’s 5 minutes before midnight and the audience was not leaving. No. Uh-uh. The floor is bouncing – there are so many people stomping their feet, in addition to cheers, whistles, applause. OMD return in under a minute and McCluskey thanks everyone again for being an amazing audience. He also relates how walking off-stage he remarked something to Humphreys along the lines of “why the hell am I doing this? I’m 53 years old” to which Humphreys was said to have replied with “This is why”, meaning the `demands’ for an encore by the crowd. This was really a `mutual appreciation society’ moment which became suffused with church organ sounds from the keyboard signalling the beginning of Walking on the Milky Way (from 1996, McCluskey says) with some nice asked-for (and received) assistance from the audience for the “hey hey” parts. The song I’ve always called “mine” (for obvious reasons I think: look at my name, now look at its name) Secret is the next song of the encore. McCluskey is on the bass guitar again and Humphreys takes the lead on vocals. Lingering and loud applause follows this song as well. What a love-in all around and everyone is soaking it up. The final song is introduced as an actual song written in 1976 (unlike one that was previously introduced as such, which apparently, was incorrect. Who knew?). The final song was Electricity and I was rather impressed by how much energy everyone on stage and in the audience still had at this late stage of the evening. It was kind of awesome.
What seemed like final goodbyes were said at about 10 past midnight. There’s still so much stomping, and hooting (and hollering), and whistling, and overall applause, and the stage lights are still on, so there’s hope. After a few minutes, the Commodore Ballroom staff maybe got the message that nothing further was coming, so the ‘80s dance party mix continued with The Cure’s Close to You (followed closely by Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fears. The dance floor has only emptied slightly. There were plenty of people from their 20s right up to mid-50s, I’d say, wanting to make a night of it.
As much as the Commodore was trying to channel the ‘80s for the sold-out crowd (playing the likes of Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Billy Idol, Depeche Mode, Human League, New Order, all of which I enjoyed), this is definitely NOT a nostalgia tour. OMD are still very much an active band – they are producing new music and are promoting a new rather techno-sounding album via this tour. There really was something for everyone – old fans, new fans, casual fans, not-yet fans – at this show and I think everyone there got SOMETHING out of the evening.
As for me, I’m good. I’m realising I’m not that much of a nostalgia person – I don’t need to relive the `good old days’, I’m peachy-keen with the present and will be fine with what the future holds musically. With the welcome and response OMD got from this crowd in Vancouver, they’ll set off on their tour with warm and fuzzies in their hearts. They can still entertain an audience, and they certainly entertained me, and I wish them well with what they want to achieve artistically. I just do not see myself following where they lead.
N.B.> For the sake of order, for the first time in a very long time, I didn’t see the opener. I would have liked to have seen Diamond Rings’ full set, but alas, I spent his final song looking for a perch, just like I’d likely spent the majority of his set looking for parking.
* if Depeche Mode decide to bring their current Delta Machine tour to Vancouver (or indeed anywhere west of Toronto) and I officially review it, you might be seeing a version of this preamble again.
Setlist:
Decimal
Please Remain Seated
Metroland
Messages
Dresden
Radio Waves
History of Modern (Part 1)
(Forever) Live and Die
If You Leave
Souvenir
Night Café
Joan of Arc
Maid of Orleans
Our System
Atomic Ranch
Kissing the Machine
So In Love
Sister Marie Says
Locomotion
Sailing on the Seven Seas
Enola Gay
Encore:
Walking on the Milky Way
Secret
Electricity
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