davida@umd5.UUCP (12/13/85)
Review of Squeeze concert, Washington D.C., 12/12/85 -
WARNING: Long!
I had the pleasure to see Squeeze last night, and though I'd
post a few of my thoughts on the show. They appeared at the Smith
Center of the George Washington University here in Washington D.C.
The Smith Center is actually a basketball arena, but it was cut in
half by a partition/set of bleachers at mid-court. It appeared to
seat about 3,000, inlcuding those standing on the floor. Since it
is such a small place as concert halls go, the energy seemed a little
better - they prefer to play for smaller crowds.
The opening band, Oingo Boingo (sp?), cancelled at the last minute,
so Squeeze did an extended set to make up for it. To put it mildly,
they were HOT! They opened with 'Hits of the Year', from their new
album, and went quickly into 'If I Didn't Love You --> Pulling Mussels -->
Another Nail for My Heart'. They played very well, and had the crowd
dancing, even in the bleachers. From there, they played a string from
their new album, which mellowed the crowd out a little, but still kept
the mood going. After about 5 of these, they went back to the 'golden
oldies', including a VERY fast version of 'Up the Junction'. The last
song of the main set was 'Black Coffee in Bed', and Glen Tilbrook had
the crowd singing 4 different parts!
They came back after a break of about 2 minutes (I like that - I
hate having to wait 10 minutes for a band to decide to come back out),
and played 'Tempted' in one of the best versions I think I've heard.
After that, they left again (3 minutes this time), and Jools Holland
made a solo appearance and did a little boogie-woogie piece on piano -
superb! After he entertained the crowd with that and a little humor,
the rest of the band came back and finished the set with a jumpin'
'Goodbye Girl'. All in all, my impression was '*whew!*'. These
guys really enjoy putting on a show! They have a really great way
of starting a song, doing a bit of a jam in the middle (nothing TOO
much), and finishing fast and strong.
The stage set was very simple - black background with hangings
from their latest album on the wing hangings (flys?) The only other
adornment to the stage was a Christmas tree, which danced almost as
much as the crowd. :-) The special effects were simple (a little
fog/smoke for a couple of songs, and flashy but not overdone lights),
but really made the show superb - highlighting without overshadowing.
If anybody gets a chance to see them, grab it - they are a good
time rock and roll band, and put on a good high-energy show. Tell
'em that David sent you! :-)
--
David Arnold
University of Maryland
UUCP: { {allegra, seismo}!umcp-cs, ihnp4!rlgvax } ...!cvl!umd5!davida
ARPA: davida@umd5.ARPAebm@ingres.ARPA (Grady Toss) (12/14/85)
I saw virtually the same show here in Berkeley that David Arnold saw... the same transitions, and a large amount of material from their new LP (which they kept reminding us was out). The same 4 part audience version of ``Black Coffee in Bed'', the same boogie woogie piano solo from Jools Holland (doing his B. Bumble and the Stingers cover)... I was very disappointed that they didn't play any of their *really* old material--from their John Cale produced debut album, ``U.K. Squeeze'' (later reissued as ``Squeeze'' after problems with the band ``U.K.''). I like some of Squeeze's later material, but it had much more of a tendency to get really sappy than their early releases. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that their "oldies" were concentrated on that period of time that they broke into commercial radio (``Sweets From A Stranger''). Still, as David said, a good show. ... gt