The Go-Go's at Irving Plaza: Fading Beauty, Emboldened Beat

Saw the Go-Go's Friday night at Irving Plaza with Michael. My friend Christopher had gotten tickets for me to go with him, but a last-minute vacation -- all he ever wanted -- meant he had to miss the show, so Michael gamely jumped in to fill his shoes. 

The concert was a lot of fun. Belinda looked fab, while Charlotte's tranny tendencies were out in full force and Jane still needs to lose the bleached hair. (Kathy, who had grown into her looks, is still holding on while Gina is a straight-up truck driver these days.) But what they lacked in youthful glow they more than made up for in increased musicianship, sounding as tight as I've ever heard them in 30 years. (OK, the first time I saw them live was in 1982, so 29 years.) 

They opened with a slightly reworked "Vacation" and then it was very "Beauty and the Beat"-focused -- even "Skidmarks"! -- but no "Can't Stop the World" (poor Kathy, always a bridesmaid ...). 

A cover of "Cool Places" -- with Belinda filling in for Russell Mael -- and Kathy singing the Jane "lead" part when Jane was too busy singing "cool, cool, cool places" toward the end -- "Mother's Little Helper" (when Belinda announced "what a drag it is getting old" I thought it was just a general statement of fact, then the music started), a Go-Gofied version of "Mad About You" (introduced by the no-longer-bitter Miss Valentine) and "Fun With Ropes" (from the band's early punk days) were the other surprises, then only the absolutely necessary songs off the other LPs: "Get Up and Go" (which is actually totally unnecessary in my home), "Beatnik Beach" (with a "Surfing and Spying" intro), "Has the Whole World Lost Its Head" and "Unforgiven." The encore was "Head Over Heels" (which Jane introduced as her "favorite Go-Go's song"), and the only one from "Talk Show" (guess they didn't want that little weirdo to freak out again and storm off the stage, so they decided to play it safe). (I ended up reading over the weekend that Martin Rushent -- who produced the gals' third album -- had died at just 63. Was a HUGE fan of his work from the Human League and XTC to the Go-Go's and Altered Images. A big loss for the music world.) 

As always, the brilliance of the "Beauty" album tracks jumped out at me -- "Tonite," "This Town," "Fading Fast" -- 30 years later and there's still nothing like 'em. 

A big thanks again to Christopher for the tickets! Wish he'd been there, though. Michael and I had fun, but he "prefers Belinda's solo material," so you can only imagine the strain that has put on our relationship.

Photo from HERE.