Belinda Carlisle put on a lively show last night at B.B. King in Times Square, performing a three-encore set that included songs from every album she's ever recorded but one. ("Talk Show" was canceled.) Sounding and looking great, she and her four-piece band performed a wide range of hits and album tracks from her solo catalogue -- from 1986's "Belinda" all the way to her 2007 French album, "Voila" -- peppered with Go-Go's classics "Vacation," "Our Lips Are Sealed" (Farfisa-organ version!) and "We Got the Beat." I hadn't seen Belinda solo since her first album came out -- my friend Mark and I were lurking outside St. Andrew's Hall in Detroit back in '86 waiting for her to arrive when one of her roadies asked us to drive him to the store to get something they had forgotten, yet all we got for our effort was a signed promotional flat -- so it was fun hearing all of her material that came after the fact. (I'm a big fan of just about everything she's done, sans "California," which I think is one of the most embarrassing pop songs ever written: "I remember I was in the tanning salon when I heard that River Phoenix was gone"!) Loved that she focused heavily on "Runaway Horses," which she confessed was her favorite pop effort to date (I tend to agree), especially when she launched into "(We Want) The Same Thing" and "Valentine," a song I had been known to get drunk and sing at the top of my lungs during The Derek Years. Belinda claims the Go-Go's will call it a career after next summer's tour -- I'll believe it when I see it -- but either way, fans can rest assured she'll likely be in good form for years to come.
See professional photos HERE.
Set list:
Runaway Horses
(We Want) The Same Thing
I Get Weak
Vacation
In Too Deep
Circle in the Sand
Vision of You
California
Summer Rain
Valentine
Leave a Light On
Mad About You
Our Lips Are Sealed
Heaven Is a Place on Earth
Encore 1
Big Scary Animal
We Got the Beat
Encore 2
Emotional Highway
Live Your Life Be Free
Encore 3
Avec les Temps
PREVIOUSLY:
Taken at her June 24, 1986, show at St. Andrew's Hall in Detroit.
2 comments:
Kenneth..I'm going to challenge you to recognize the sheer brilliance of that California couplet -- it is the most honestly
LA thing ever!
I feel as though Rufus Wainwright's "California" is a much more interesting version of the BC song of the same name. Rick Nowels has nothing on Rufus!
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