Echo and the Bunnymen with Violent Femmes

Echo and the Bunnymen, obscured on the darkened stage in Kansas City. Photo by Christopher Windle.

It's a pairing that doesn't quite make sense on paper: the quirky, borderline novelty act Violent Femmes and the dark and brooding Echo and the Bunnymen. But the passage of time means that the two bands have been categorized together as '80s alternative, and in 2017, it somehow works.

The bands brought their co-headlining tour to Kansas City's Crossroads on July 25, with the Bunnymen taking top billing on this particular date. A packed house danced through Femmes hits like "Blister in the Sun," "Gone Daddy Gone," and "Add it Up." And then they all stayed for the Bunnymen.

The set list was short but sweet. Singer Ian McCulloch had taken ill at a previous show in St. Louis, where the temperature had hit 108 degrees. With it again hovering around 100, perhaps the Bunnymen weren't taking any chances this time.

Still, the band hit on most of the highlights of its catalog. "Going Up," "Rescue," and "Do It Clean" was the opening salvo. The Bunnymen later returned to more of its classics from debut album "Crocodiles," with "All That Jazz" and "Villiers Terrace."

The band touched on several other albums, with "Over the Wall" from "Heaven Up Here,"  and "The Cutter," of course, off "Porcupine." Even 1997's superb "Evergreen" was represented, with a version of "Nothing Lasts Forever" that veered into Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side" and back.

While the show was good, it wasn't nearly as good as the first shows of the band that I caught nearly 18 years ago. Guitarist Will Sergeant's guitar work is as solid as ever. McCulloch still is a mysterious figure in black shades and leather jacket. Though he wasn't chain smoking on stage as he did then, he still lit up from time to time.

McCulloch in 1999 at First Avenue. Photo by Karen Duran.

McCulloch now sounds best in his lower register. And during the "Pretty in Pink" hit "Bring on the Dancing Horses," the echo of his vocals seemed to throw him off altogether. Only the crowd singing along to the song kept the band from having to restart it.

The lower-register portions of "Bedbugs and Ballyhoo" and "Lips Like Sugar" off the band's self-titled 1987 release sounded great. So did "Seven Seas" and The Killing Moon" off "Ocean Rain" (though the title track was notably absent).

Still, anybody who hadn't seen the band in its earlier days would be impressed. The Bunnymen know how to put on a show that satisfies.