British new wave icons the Fixx delivered a set list of highlights from its 40-plus-year career at the Waiting Room in Omaha on Nov. 16, and the crowd showed up to party like it was 2019.
The people in attendance were luckier than they knew, it turns out. The band has since postponed its remaining tour dates due to "unforeseen circumstances."
The last show reviewed for this blog came exactly one year and nine months ago. Since then, of course, a pandemic has wracked the globe and the touring industry. Bands have started touring again, but in fits and starts. Just days ago, Fixx contemporaries the Psychedelic Furs canceled a tour due to "unforeseen circumstances," which ended up being COVID-19.
The Fixx had been taking novel precautions against COVID, telling NPR that the band members would forgo a green room and sequester on the tour bus, with no visitors allowed, when playing venues that didn't require proof of vaccination or masks.
In Omaha, the venue appeared packed to capacity, with nary a mask in sight and no vaccination checks.
Still, the Fixx were there to show that it's a real-deal rock band that sounds as good as ever. After opening with "Touch," the band launched into its early '90s top 40 hit, "How Much is Enough?" The crowd sang along to songs like "Are We Ourselves?" and "Deeper and Deeper."
The Fixx were making socially conscious music before it became fashionable in the mid-'80s. But the band always delivered its whip-smart lyrics with a catchy hook and a danceable beat.
The Fixx exists in its classic lineup more than four decades into its career, and that's a rarity. Frontman Cy Curnin, the rock star face of the band, sounds terrific. Guitarist Jamie West-Oram and Rupert Greenwall on keyboards are backed by the fantastic rhythm section of Adam Woods and Dan K. Brown.
There's a confidence in a band that's played together so long. The Fixx unleashed its top five hit "One Thing Leads to Another" just two-thirds of the way into its set list. More '80s radio staples followed: "Stand or Fall," "Driven Out" and "Red Skies," before the band gathered at the front of the stage for a triumphant bow.
For the encore, two more hits, "Saved by Zero" and "Secret Separation," were paired with a new song, the timely "Wake Up." That song was well-received by the crowd, but one couldn't help but notice that a nasty concert habit has survived the pandemic. Maybe it's an outdated belief, but there was a time when talking loudly throughout a performance was disrespectful and rude. Thankfully, the band's playing and appreciative crowd members singing along drowned out the chatter most of the time.
It's something to be thankful for: A rock show that goes on during this fraught time. As the Fixx says, stay safe out there.
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