Happy
40th Birthday to Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark. For my 40th birthday year,
I had a baby, whereas OMD has put together a world tour featuring 20 UK
dates.
This
is the first time myself and my plus one Lisa, have seen OMD live. In fact
between us, we don’t own an album, yet their songs from the ’90s punctuate our
uni years and those from the ’70s and ‘80s were part of our childhood.
They
have been on my ‘go to see one day’ a while now and 30 October was the day I
could tick this band off my list, but would I want to see them again?
The
air was filled with enthusiasm and excitement at this sold-out leg of the tour
at Sage 1 Gateshead. There was quite a varied age group amongst the audience
but there was a high inference of baby boomers and generation x in place, I
love being a X.
I’ve
seen many an OMD performance on TOTP (Top of The Pops) and I always thought
Andy McCluskey’s movements were exaggerated for the benefit of TV but by what
we saw on stage at Sage is David Bent’s dancing style originates.
McCluskey
windmills around the stage like nobody’s business, owning his definitive style.
He commands the audience with aplomb. The slightest gesture of a ‘come hither’
finger got us to our feet declaring we’d witness some “old ones, new ones and
weird ones. The rest of the night pretty much everyone was on their feet.
I
was blown away at just how good the vocals and music was. The tone of both
Andy’s and then Paul Humphreys (when he got out from behind his keyboard) was
so distinct. Martin Cooper with the best chin dimple made me smile and Stuart
Kershaw was great on drums, even during a one-armed rendition where all four
guys were stood in a row.
Pandora’s
Box, Locomotion, Sailing on the Seven Seas got me and my plus one singing and
dancing along with the rest of the crowd and “we’re going to end where we
began,” was how he introduced the ultimate song ‘Electricity’. This was their
debut single back in 2079 (I was four). Whilst I rarely mention peoples ages,
McCluskey mentioned it first and for a 60-year-old he is awesome as are the
rest of the gang.
The
band genuinely seemed humbled by the reaction of their audience and tonight I
fell a little bit in love.
Now
would I go and see them again? ABSOLUTELY. The night rates a strong 9/10. The
only reason it has dropped a mark wasn’t because of the band but the lady in
front of me who constantly watched the night through her phone which she held
above her head obscuring my view at times. I really do wish people lived in the
moment.
Setlist:
Stanlow, Isotype, Messages, Tesla Girls, History of Modern (part 1), (Forever) Live and Die, Souvenir, Joan of Arc, Maid of Orleans, Statues, Almost, Don’t Go, So in Love, Pandora’s Box, The Punishment of Luxury, Locomotion, Sailing On The Seven Seas, Enola Gay, Red Frame/White Light, Secret, Electricity
Thanks for reading,
InNewcastle
This was a post by Suzanne Whelan on behalf of InNewcastle.co.uk
Want us to review your show, event or venue then EMAIL and get in touch and Follow us on the socials:
TWITTER – @innewcastle1 INSTAGRAM – @innewcastle1FACEBOOK – @innewcastle1
