Concert Review: Howard Jones (Carolina Theatre Of Durham)

BY CHRIS HOCKER

Howard Jones brought his Dream Into Action 40th Anniversary tour to Durham's Carolina Theatre on September 8th. Along for the ride was Haircut 100.

But before either act hit the stage, Richard Blade came out to warm up the crowd. The world-famous DJ told stories of bands from the 80s and which groups were most important to SiriusXM's 1st Wave. He had the crowd of 600+ hanging onto every word.

But while Blade's set was great, the fans were at the Carolina Theatre for the music and Haircut 100 didn't disappoint. First of all, it's totally awesome that the original trio of Nick Heyward, Graham Jones, and Les Nemes are touring together. The band sounded amazing and while only "Love Plus One" charted in the US, they performed that song and their three other UK Top 10 singles "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)" (which they closed the set with), "Nobody's Fool", and "Fantastic Day," as well as a handful of other tunes. Heyward had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. He sounded so great! Haircut 100's funkish pop sound had the crowd moving and served as a perfect opener for Howard Jones.

Then it was Howard's turn to take the mic. With the stage dark, Jones appeared armed with his trusty keytar and wearing headgear that blasted lasers all over the place. Very cool.

Depsite it being a tour to commemorate Dream Into Action, Howard Jones stared the show with two selections from Human's Lib, "Pearl In The Shell" and "New Song," the latter which really got the crowd going. Howard introduced the band, telling the crowd that each member would like to get to know the crowd well, before launching into Dream Into Action's "Like to Get To Know You Well." Before the night was through, Jones played seven tracks off Dream Into Action, four tracks off Human's Lib, and several newer tracks.

The show was phenomenal. Howard's backing band was on point. Howard Jones sounded great and his synth playing was top-notch. Despite being a lifelong fan of Howard Jones, I had never seen him live until I caught him on the 2017 Retro Futura Tour. But tonight's show blew that one away. Maybe the setting had something to do with it. Maybe it was because the crowd was so into it. Maybe Howard is just getting better with age. Who knows? What I do know is there are only eight US dates left on the Dream Into Action 40th Anniversary tour and you need to check it out if it comes to your area.

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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.