Re: Howard Jones/Midge Ure concert tour

Got to finally (since I didn't get to see him when I was little) got to see Howard Jones with opener Midge Ure.

- it was in a essentially a retirement community venue that mostly does tribute bands. Apparently, Fabulous Thunderbirds are booked for later this year, so that would be the second non-tribute act they get.

- no non-listed opener. Midge opened with "Dear God" - which seemed eerily appropriate (again) given the situation in our world right now

- the keyboardist for both acts looks exactly like Colin Jost from SNL- my girlfriend said it was Colin Jost's stunt double

- no video for Midge, but Howard was accompanied with video and light show

- both artists went instrumental on several songs so that the audience could sing along. Howard stopped and re-started "Life In One Day" a few times because everyone did the "ooh-oooh-ooh" part for him

- both artists were really having a lot of fun, as was everyone in the crowd

- only concert I think of, possibly ever, where a Christmas song ("Do They Know It's Christmas") was played in the middle of summer

- because it was at a retirement community, there was no bottlenecking to get out (standard for most "big" concerts) and everyone got out right away

- definitely the concert I needed to be at right now

Definitely recommend going if tickets are still available.

Good review. I'm going to see them in a couple of weeks. Normally when Jones comes to town he plays at the venues that skew older but this time he's at the 930 Club which is the hip club in DC. I don't know why maybe because it's harder to book act in the middle of summer and he was the only one?

Interesting. My wife and I had loose plans to road-trip to Long Island to see Midge Ure in February 2020 (I enjoy Ultravox and Rich Kids, but my wife is quite a big Midge Ure fan). At the last minute we decided we were both busy with work, so we passed. Little did we know that was the last safe opportunity for live music for what feels like far too long! Maybe this will be the show that brings us back out into the world.

I saw Ure at a 300-person capacity club here in Austin a few years ago. It was full but not sold out. I wondered how he felt playing such a tiny place when he's used to arenas at home. But, to your point, he was clearly having a good time playing, and I don't think it mattered at all the size of the venue or crowd. It's always nice to see the veterans still obviously loving playing music, even the hits they've played a million times.

The first time I saw Midge Ure [after 36 years of fandom] was playing a dive bar in Atlanta called The Earl in 2016. My wife saw the capacity listed at the bar as 106. Admittedly, it seemed close to or at capacity. He was with the electric power trio he now will use for shows in America [thank goodness he's now doing more than acoustic solo shows!] and he was on fire 8 feet in front of me. With Ure and his bassist doubling on keys it gave his set a lot of Rock crunch that benefited material like "If I Was" that I was never sold on. Better yet, I emailed his management before the show since it was a smoking venue, but the artist could have a no smoking show upon request. I knew if it was a smoking show my wife [ex-smoker] would be out of there in a snap. Mr. Ure was more than happy to make it happen. Whatta solid dude! He's got no diva in him if he'll play The Earl. And he always has time for his fans. After the show my wife told him we'd be there on his next leg a few months later at the much tonier City Winery there.

Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

[postpunkmonk.com]
For further rumination on the Fresh New Sound of Yesterday®



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/29/2022 07:56AM by Post-Punk Monk.

I was looking at Setlist.fm to see if I could figure out which Austin show I saw - he did three at the 3Ten in the space of a year and a half. He was in trio mode when I saw him, so I bet it was the same tour. Which would probably make the show this one. I don't remember the setlist well enough to be sure, though, and there aren't setlists for either of the other 3Ten shows. You'd think I'd remember him playing "Starman."

Monk, I caught Midge Ure on the same tour, I believe.