Song of the Day: 'Everything Counts' by Depeche Mode

Damian and I had a hoot at the Depeche Mode concert on Monday night at Madison Square Garden. The boys were in fine form -- Dave Gahan ran and spun around the stage like a 20-year-old -- and only performed four songs off their new LP, all of which were quite good. They even tinkered with the set list so that people who had gone Saturday would get a few surprises.

Boys say go!

Broken-record alert: Ironically, the band performed the lion's share of material from "Music From the Masses" and "Violator" -- both of which are decades old -- yet I still came up short in "Kenny" songs, as they only performed one from their first four LPs. (They only played one from Damian's favorite as well, 2005's "Playing the Angel," but it happened to be "A Pain That I'm Used To," one of his faves!) It didn't cramp my style much -- you don't have to be an early '80s purist to know and appreciate "Policy of Truth" (its tour debut), "World in My Eyes," "Enjoy the Silence," "Never Let Me Down Again," an acoustic "Strangelove" (sung by Martin Gore,  who normally does "A Question of Lust") and "Personal Jesus." 

I took copious notes all night only to find this online when I got home!

But am I allowed to say "told you so" by pointing out the one song they did from my "era" -- "Everything Counts" -- was the song that brought the house down and led to a 10-minute singalong? I completely understand that artists like to mix things up. And I also understand the desire to look forward. But if "Everything Counts" got the reaction it did, it's not hard to imagine what throwing in "Just Can't Get Enough," "New Life," "Dreaming of Me," "See You" or "Get the Balance Right" would have done to the crowd's spirits. Sometimes I wonder if my favorite artists are afraid of killing us with joy ...

More photos HERE.

Song of the Day: 'One Way or Another" (Etc.) by Blondie (live at Madison Square Garden)

Thanks to the incompetent hosting efforts at Westville Chelsea, we missed the first song and a half at when Blondie opened(!) for Morrissey at Madison Square Garden in June. This video corrects that error -- and lets those of you who weren't in attendance see what you were missing.

Win 2 Tickets to See Morrissey and Blondie at Madison Square Garden!

Tickets on sale now HERE.

All week I have been yammering about the upcoming Morrissey show -- with special guests Blondie -- June 27 at Madison Square Garden. Now I am pleased to announce I have two tickets to give away. (Travel and accommodations not included.)

To enter, just answer one of the following questions:

On which tour did I see the Smiths live in concert?

Or

What's your favorite Moz song?

Email your answer HERE by 5 p.m. on May 15, with the subject Morrissey, and I will draw a winner from the pool of correct answers to be announced Monday 18.

Good luck -- heaven knows you'll need it now!

Fleetwood Mac Wows 'Em at Madison Square Garden

Incredible seeing the reunited classic Fleetwood Mac lineup last night at Madison Square Garden, where the band put on a nearly three-hour show of nothing but their classic catalogue. I'd seen them without Christine McVie back in 2003 or so, but her absence was sorely missed, as her brand of mainstream pop is the perfect balance to the more self-indulgent work of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. The setlist (below) pretty much says it all -- there was absolutely no subjecting the loyalists to new material -- with perhaps the only surprise being that they played heavily off the line-up's 1975 self-titled debut. Nine out of 11 songs off "Rumours" were performed, each reminding us how much that album has been the soundtrack to a certain demographic's life. (When Lindsey and Stevie squared off during "Go Your Own Way," I turned to my date and said, "Mom and Dad are back together!") "Tango in the Night" is my least favorite album of theirs, yet "Little Lies" stood out as one of the evening's highlights because of the way it utilizes the strengths of the three vocalists. Christine was demure and sweet and had a real "Aww, shucks" attitude about being welcomed back into the fold, while Stevie kept the crowd enchanted from beginning to end, telling stories about the early days of meeting Lindsey and opening for the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Credence Clearwater Rival. (Her "Gypsy" story is classic.) While there are other female vocalists I may "adore" more, there's no denying Stevie has a hold on me like no one else. A simple head turn, hand raise or spin can send me into full fan-boy mode in a way that not even Debbie Harry or Chrissie Hynde's best moments can. She may seem flaky, but she's entirely genuine, like the kooky aunt you love more than any other. With any band with as much material as Fleetwood Mac, of course there would be quibbles about the setlist. But they were few and far between. I enjoyed the three-song "Tusk" arc, although given my druthers I'd have taken "Angel" over "Sisters of the Moon." And as mentioned, playing six of the 11 songs of the '75 album was a surprise, although I'd have opted for "Monday Morning" (a personal fave) or "Crystal" over "I'm So Afraid" and "World Turning." (Or why not let Christine coo how she needs a "Sugar Daddy"?) Hearing any of those album tracks, though, was a real treat. My only real issue was their excluding "Sara" from the lineup, which they seem to have done at other shows. (Yes, I peaked.) Not sure why they did this -- when pressed, I cite "Sara" as my favorite Mac song -- but with "Landslide" and "Silver Springs" on the roster, it made forgiveness easier to manage. (Oddly, they also didn't do "Hold Me," which is one of their biggest chart singles.) A recent interview with Lindsey made it seem like this was definitely the band's last hurrah, but from the looks -- and sound -- of things, it seems hard to believe they will hang it up anytime soon. A long-overdue sixth album has been discussed too, and based on last night's show, that's a concert promoting new material I'd definitely be up for.

My rating: Go if you can -- they're not getting any younger!

Madison Square Garden
Jan. 22, 2015
Setlist

The Chain
 You Make Loving Fun
 Dreams
 Second Hand News
 Rhiannon
 Everywhere
 I Know I'm Not Wrong
 Tusk
 Sisters of the Moon
 Say You Love Me
 Seven Wonders
 Big Love
 Landslide
 Never Going Back Again
 Over My Head
 Gypsy
 Little Lies
 Gold Dust Woman
 I'm So Afraid
 Go Your Own Way

Encore 1:
World Turning
Don't Stop
Silver Springs

Encore 2:
Songbird