Re: Chameleons - 10 Sep 23, W Palm FL

Respectable Street Cafe:

Mark Burgess' thundering bass and passionate vocals, ripped through a set of songs with all the urgency of 1981 gold medal winning track star in four white striped on blue adidas shoes.

9/11 23 : Here's what I can make out of my gin smeared chicken scratch parchment that survived in one of my pockets

‘Paper Tigers’
‘A Person Isn’t Safe Anywhere These Days’
‘Here Today’
‘Pleasure And Pain’
‘Monkeyland’
‘Looking Inwardly’
‘Perfume Garden’
‘Up The Down Escalator’
‘Singing Rule Britannia
‘Soul In Isolation’
‘In Shreds’ (raised the hair from the back of my neck)
‘Second Skin’
‘Swamp Thing’
‘Don’t Fall



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 09/11/2023 03:32PM by STEVE.

I think I'm gonna go see them in a few weeks too. I will endure The Mission, I suppose.

Yeah, the show started at 7pm and the chameleons we on by 8:30 and were off the stage at 9:30

That's exactly the way we timed our entrance in and out of the venue as well.
I guess everyone planned it that way because Chris Oliver nearly plowed me over when he hit the exit stairs full on.
Next was Reg, but he hit his brakes, stopped and shook my hand.

I'm seeing them in Tampa tomorrow (Tue). Very excited, even for The Mission. I started digging into their stuff over the past few weeks and am enjoying it.

They're playing Seattle on the 27th. I have an early start the next day, but I may have to just tough it out. I missed their last Seattle show ... and Mark isn't getting any younger.

This tour hits Austin this coming Saturday at our local goth club. Alas, it’s the same night as the Ron Carter Trio (and John McLaughlin’s Shakti, for that matter), so I’ll have to miss it. Carter’s 86, speaking of not getting any younger.

[Sorry, I didn't realize this was a repeat of my earlier post. If this could be deleted, that would be great.]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2023 12:23PM by Michael Toland.

That is the correct response… for $10,000 and a BRAND...NEW...CARRRR!!!

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

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For further rumination on the Fresh New Sound of Yesterday®

My thoughts from the show last night in Tampa.

First and foremost, I was expecting a setlist similar to the one Steve posted (14 songs), so when they ended after 8, I was sorely disappointed. But when I checked setlist.fm this morning, I saw that every other set thus far on this tour has been 8-9 songs, including the show Steve attended in West Palm Beach. So, I think Steve's napkin may have been a bit more gin-smeared and chicken-scratched than he realized. Love ya, Steve, but just setting the record straight for the good of the forum. :-)

Short set notwithstanding, I concur with Steve--the band was in top form and playing with a ton of energy. When I saw them 4 years ago, as much as I enjoyed the show, it was clearly Mark and a pick-up band. With Reg back in the fold and top-notch drummer Stephen Rice (who has been with Mark for a while now), this band is just far superior. As a guitarist, I was so excited to see Reg play his original parts. Mark was very animated and theatric. Oh, and his voice sounded great, even if they played down a step on a few tunes. Setlist as follows (I may have jumbled the order a bit):

A Person Isn't Safe Anywhere These Days
Monkeyland
Looking Inwardly
Soul in Isolation
Home Is Where the Heart Is
Swamp Thing
In Shreds
Second Skin

For the closing minute or so of Second Skin, Mark jumped off the stage and finished playing the song in the crowd. This was right in front of a mom and dad and their young children (middle-school age tops), so I'm sure that was an extra special treat for them.

Theatre of Hate kicked off the evening, and I really enjoyed their set. They also opened last time I saw The Chameleons, and other than "Do You Believe in the Westworld," I couldn't have told you if they played any of the same songs from 4 years ago. I want to dig into their music. There is something different about them I find appealing.

The Mission were better than I expected. Before catching up on the band over the past month or so, I incorrectly thought it was Wayne Hussey with a rotating cast backing him. Turns out, other than a new drummer, it's the same bassist and guitarist that played on their first 3 albums. This has apparently been the case since 2011, so that was cool that I got to see the "classic" lineup for the most part. Other than some early sound issues, their set offered little to complain about. Hussey sounded great, and they played just about every song a casual fan such as myself would want to hear. It was sweltering hot in the venue, which Hussey commented on after the second song...but the guy didn't drink a drop of water for the duration. I'm guessing he did when they left the stage before the encore, but who knows. The Chameleons guys were chugging water after every song.

All in all, a great night. My ears are still ringing, but I had a blast.

I mentioned the upcoming Mission/Chameleons show to Leilani, the DJ who has the Friday night slot ahead of mine. She instantly piped up with, "Oh, you just reminded me! I have two tickets that I'm not gonna be able to use, 'cause we'll be out of town. Want 'em?"

So I guess my decision is made.

I missed them when they came through these parts, but in hindsight, I would have made it a priority to see them if the song "Less Than Human" had been on the setlist. I am drawn to atmospherics in music, and the aforementioned track and "View From A Hill" are pure New Wave stylings reminiscent of U2 and Echo And The Bunnymen.