Tag: Simple Minds

Top 30 Concerts of 2018: #’s 30 – 26

I saw a lot of bands in 2018. Making a list of the top 30 acts was a challenge, but here goes.

#30: Golden Dawn Arkestra at Levitation Austin – They played a wild, incense-heavy set to a fun home crowd at Cheer Up Charlie’s. They never disappoint.

#29: The Soft Moon at Levitation France – It had been a while since I’d seen the Soft Moon in concert, and seeing them at Levitation Austin was a treat. The crowd was psyched for them, and the Soft Moon fed on that energy.

#28: Simple Minds at Detroit’s Fillmore Theatre – This show was better than I hoped it would be. They played two solid sets and covered a lot of good choices from their forty-year catalogue.

#27: Garbage at Paris’ Bataclan – The Bataclan was a lot smaller than I had envisioned, so that made this set by Garage more intimate, louder, and a great time.

#26: Windhand at Chicago’s Subterranean – I’d seen Windhand earlier in the year at Levitation Austin, but not their full set. This full set in a small Chicago dive bar was so heavy that it threatened to open a black hole in the room.

Tune in tomorrow to see who made the top 25!

Keep your mind open.

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Live: Simple Minds – Fillmore Theater, Detroit, MI – October 14, 2018

When one of my best pals from high school said he had a free extra ticket to see Simple Minds in Detroit, I jumped at the chance to (1) hang out with him and (2) finally see a band that was a big part of our high school years.  I mean, come on.  1985’s Once Upon a Time is one of the best albums of that decade.  Plus, the tracks they played from their new record, Walk Between Worlds, aren’t too shabby either.

They started with “The Signal and the Noise” off that new record and then unloaded two sets’ worth of classic hits and new material including “Up on the Catwalk” (which I hadn’t heard in years), the lively “Promised You a Miracle,” “Midnight Walking,” before ending the first set with a cover of “Dirty Old Town.”

“Theme for Great Cities” opened the second set, and they were cruising by then.  The title track off the new record was well-received, as were “Someone Somewhere in the Summertime,” “All the Things She Said,” and “Don’t You (Forget about Me)”.

The encore included “Stand by Love,” “Alive and Kicking,” and “Sanctify Yourself.”  It was a fun show, with a happy crowd of Gen X’ers and even younger folks.  One woman was in happy tears as we were walking out.  “So many feels!” she yelled.

Keep your mind open.

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