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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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