Audience at Blossom enjoys nostalgic show with Psychedelic Furs
by Chuck Klosterman
Published on Friday, July 14, 2000, in the Akron Beacon Journal.

Though rock purists will tell you they go to concerts to experience the sonic energy and to see what they can't hear, most normal people merely want to listen to a bunch of songs they can sing along with.
Folks in the latter category would have been very pleased by last night's triple bill at the Blossom Music Center, which showcased the Psychedelic Furs, the Go-Go's and the B-52's.
It was an evening where chunks of nostalgia twisted and turned like the panels on a Rubik's Cube, earnestly enjoyed by an audience of people in their late 30s who made questionable fashion decisions before leaving the kids with the baby sitter and partying like rock 'n' roll lobsters.
The Psychedelic Furs performance started strong but quickly faded. Pretty in Pink got a standing ovation, but it's hard to ignore the fact that almost all of the songs were very much the same -- they all share an identical sardonic melodrama. What was surprising was that the Go-Go's took the stage soon after the Furs; most of the crowd (myself included) were under the impression that the Go's would play last.
The Go-Go's opened with Vacation and played every one of their signature tunes. On the whole, the live versions were heavier and (obviously) a bit more raw than what you've heard on the radio, which is mostly good. The exception to this was We Got the Beat, which came across muddled and underwhelming.
The group also unleashed a few new songs: I'm Sorry, a boogie ballad penned by bassist Kathy Valentine, and a solid power pop number titled Kissing Asphalt. The night's high point was probably Head Over Heels, which featured Charlotte Caffey doing her best imitation of Mott the Hoople organist Morgan Fisher on the keyboards.
As always, the best part of listening to the Go-Go's is Gina Schock, a mildly underrated drummer. Singer Belinda Carlisle still has all her stage moves but now wears exclusively black outfits, probably because black is slimming. However, it's actually a bit admirable that Belinda feels comfortable looking like a normal-sized woman when she's on stage.
The B-52's have been telling the same musical joke for 20 years, but it's still pretty funny. More importantly, it's easy to forget how effective some of this material is; the band has clearly perfected the formula for prompting audiences to bob in unison.
Last night's show wasn't all that different than the one they put on at Blossom two years ago with the Pretenders. They played stuff from the entire 52's catalog, punctuated by hits like Roam and Private Idaho but sprinkled with obscure material that pleased serious fans.
Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson appear to have lost none of their vocal range, and -- as always -- Fred Schneider's banter was periodically clever and only mildly annoying.

Chuck Klosterman is the Beacon Journal's movie critic. He can be reached at 330-996-3758 or cklosterman@thebeaconjournal.com