You know when you see a retro 80’s band and they sound like,
well, a retro 80’s band. That what I was
expecting when I saw Adam Ant on Saturday at Milwaukee’s Turner Hall. Fortunately I was pleasantly surprised,
seeing a mature, harder rocking pop singer.
I bought all the records and liked Ant in the early/mid 1980’s. But I really like this new Adam Ant as he
enters his forth decade of making music.
The first two songs, “Plastic Surgery” and “Dog Eat Dog” appeared to be
his warm up, at times performing with his back to the audience. “Beat My Guest” kicked it into high gear and
he was ready to go. No longer sporting
the face make-up, but wearing glasses (very Johnny Depp), Mr. Ant was here to
perform and not much else. He wore a Napoleonic hat during the performance and
rightfully so, as he took the entire crowd under conquest for the evening. Stage
mannerisms and banter was at a minimum.
It was a night of greatest hits and deep cuts from his entire catalog. “Cleopatra”, “Zerox”, “Cartrouble”, “Kick”,
and “Whip In My Valise” all coming from the 1979 punk and glam release “Dirk
Wears White Sox”. The hits were all
there as well. “Ants Invasion” and “Desperate
Not Serious” sounded very current not dated.
The band had a bigger, heavier feel to them with hammering and forceful guitars.
He had his signature two drummers on stage and I must admit, Lola was one of
the best drummers I’ve seen in awhile. From his 1995 solo album “Wonderful” he
performed the Beatles-esque title track. During “Goody Two Shoes” and “Ant Music”, the
crowd sang in unison with him. Unfortunately,
the die-hard fans could not do the signature arm dance to “Prince Charming”
because it was packed tight up front. In
fact the only song that sounded retro was during the encore for Marc Bolan’s “Get
It On”. I’m not sure it’s possible to
play that song any other way. Almost two
hours later and 28 songs (including encore) he immediately left the stage. There was also one new song, “Vince Taylor”
from an album expected to release in early 2013. Played before “Strip”, it fit
in well with the rest of set. I think it
is a good indication Adam Ant is strong as ever and not ready for the county
fair circuit any time soon.
Read more here
http://motorcityblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/concert-review-adam-ant-brother-of.html
http://motorcityblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/photos-adam-ant-crofoot-ballroom.html
Read more here
http://motorcityblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/concert-review-adam-ant-brother-of.html
http://motorcityblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/photos-adam-ant-crofoot-ballroom.html