Furs Review

http://www.thesunnews.com/2011/07/12/2274255/psychedelic-furs-at-house-of-blues.html

If you grew up in the '80s, or even the '90s, you probably know who The Psychedelic Furs are, or at the very least you are familiar with the hit song "Pretty in Pink" from the movie "Pretty in Pink." If you are younger than 30, and don't know who The Psychedelic Furs are, but enjoy indie/alternative music, you should. The Furs took punk and new wave to a new level, combining a moody post-punk (ala Bauhaus, Siouxsie and The Banshees, early Cure) attitude with the new-romantic warmness of bands such as Modern English, The Church, Echo and The Bunnymen and more, actually being precursors to some of those bands, becoming one of the most influential bands of the '80s. The band's music was even heavily covered in the `90s by punk bands such as Jawbreaker, Face To Face, and Good Riddance, just to name a few. The band's second and perhaps most noted album, "Talk Talk Talk," was released in 1981. To commemorate the 30-year anniversary of the album, the band set out on tour playing the "Talk Talk Talk" in its entirety. Luckily, Myrtle Beach was granted with the presence of these rock veterans. This was an early show, starting at 7 p.m. sharp, with no opening act. When The Furs hit the stage, attendance was sparse yet seemed to be slowly filling up still. I don't think everyone realized how early the show was starting. The current lineup includes only two original members, brothers Richard Butler (vocals) and Tim Butler (bass), but consists of an all-star lineup of sorts. On guitar, Rich Good, who is also in the band Kings and Queens, but is mostly noted for being in the band The Pleased, which included semi-famous freak-folker Joanna Newsom, before going solo. Mars Williams, on saxophone, has played with The Waitresses (remember "I Know What Boys Like"?), Billy Idol, Ministry, and many other bands. Amanda Kramer, on keys, is mostly noted for playing with '80s electro-rock band Information Society. Paul Garisto, on drums, has played with Iggy Pop, Ryan Adams, David Gahan (of Depeche Mode) and many more. They opened the set with the lush and dark "Dumb Waiter" which seemed like a good opener to ease into the night, but then jumped right into the biggest hit "Pretty In Pink," which seemed like a bold move, but gave everyone the notion that they weren't fuckin' around, and were there to party (despite the line of water bottles and red bull cans on the drum riser, ala typical aging rock stars). Richard Butler has held his attitude through all the years, if not gaining some, coming off more like a sassy cockney punk rocker than a gloomy crooner, an image which he has been known for in the past. The on-stage chemistry with the band was that of a new one, as the players seemed to be simply having loads of fun with each other, and lacking the resentment and humdrumness that is sometimes displayed by veteran bands due to years of going at it. The first set, which was the entire "Talk Talk Talk" album (not in order), ended with "She is Mine," which included a long instrumental break with Williams taking lead on sax, and featuring Good's lush guitar, bringing to mind just about every John Hughes film I've ever watched. After completing "Talk Talk Talk" the band took a short break. When they returned to stage they started with the dark and sensual "Sister Europe," where Richard Butler acted out every word of the song, including mimicking smoking a cigarette. The second set quickly became even better than the first, with the hit "Love My Way" and "President Gas" setting the mode to the more anthem-like side of The Furs. In "High Wire Days" Richard Butler even pulled out a megaphone and sang through it for the later potion of the song. They ended this set with another hit, "Heartbreak Beat," which seemed like a great way to end the night. But then the band came out for an encore with some deep cuts, such as "My Time" and "Forever Now." The show was over by 9 p.m., just in time for all the old rockers to get home for the 10 o' clock news, while all the young indie rock kids stayed at home listening to Arcade Fire, failing to go straight to the source, and missing out on an important history lesson. Eh, kids these days.

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