BY CHRIS HOCKER It was a hot Saturday night in Raleigh when the Totally Tubular Festival rolled into the Red Hat Amphitheater. Despit...
BY CHRIS HOCKER
It was a hot Saturday night in Raleigh when the Totally Tubular Festival rolled into the Red Hat Amphitheater.
Despite the heat, fans were dressed to impress. Neon, checkboard, animal prints, MTV logos, crimped hair, lace, bandanas, and skinny ties were everywhere. But while the throwback fashion was fun, folks were there for the music.
One of the bands I was most eager to see was Bow Wow Wow as I have always been a huge fan of their sound. While they sounded great, they only played for twenty minutes. The great thing about the Totally Tubular Festival is also its downfall. While you get to see seven great bands from the '80s, the sets are severely truncated giving the early perfromers on the bill barely time to perform. Bow Wow Wow performed four songs, but at least two of them were "Do You Wanna Hold Me?" and "I Want Candy."
Men Without Hats gave an energetic seven-song set. Lead singer Ivan Doroschuk moves around like a man half his age. They played "Pop Goes The World," one of my favorite songs of the era. They opened and ended their set with "Safety Dance," which they also did during their 2017 set in Charlotte at the Retro Futura Tour.
Modern English was the only band on the bill with anything new to promote, having released 1 2 3 4 earlier this year. Both songs they performed from that album, "Long In The Tooth" and "Crazy Lovers," were good. Of course, they ended their six-song set with a rousing version of "I Melt With You."
Tom Bailey stole the night. Maybe it's because I'm a huge fan of the Thompson Twins and knew all eight songs he performed. But who didn't? They were all hits ("Love on Your Side," "Lay Your Hands on Me," "King For A Day," "You Take Me Up," "Lies," "Doctor! Doctor!," and "Hold Me Now") except for "If You Were Here," but everyone remembers that one from the ending of 16 Candles. Tom Bailey sounded awesome.
I had never seen Thomas Dolby perform live and didn't know what to expect. Needless to say, I was impressed. I was kind of shocked to see him kick off his set with a "cover" of New Order's "Blue Monday." While he performed hits like "Europa and the Pirate Twins," "Hyperactive!," and "She Blinded Me With Science," the standout of his set was his "cover" of David Bowie's "Heroes." He told the crowd that he wanted to take Bowie's photo when Dolby was younger, but Bowie wouldn't oblige so he shot his reflection with a Brownie. The backdrop showed photos and movies of Bowie throughout the years. It was really something to hear and see.
The Totally Tubular Festival runs through July 28th. It's a fun ride, even for cynics like me.
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- CHRIS HOCKER, Editor
- Strange Carolinas started as a hobby for Chris Hocker who often dragged his family to offbeat detours on family vacations. Hocker decided to start photographing and writing about these roadside attractions and in June 2014, launched Strange Carolinas with a story on Myrtle Beach's KISS Coffeehouse. In addition to chronicling over 400 attractions across the Carolinas, Strange Carolinas has also become an impressive music blog.
THOMPSON TWINS' TOM BAILEY PHOTOS
MODERN ENGLISH PHOTOS
MEN WITHOUT HATS PHOTOS
BOW WOW WOW PHOTOS
I'm jealous that my friend in DC got to see Wang Chung on the tour the day after Raleigh's show. I hate to say it but Fee Waybill of The Tubes sounded awful.
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