Top five live shows of 2024

Duran Duran

More than 35 years after Duran Duran last played Omaha, the band returned for an electrifying concert to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Steelhouse Omaha in May.

The show, from the atmospheric opening song “Night Boat” to the obligatory closer “Rio,” was indeed a celebration for everyone. This included the Duranies who had waited outside the venue for over 12 hours and the well-heeled Omahans who filled the balcony, which was closed for a private party.

“Black Moonlight,” a single from their latest album, made up the heart of the show, which included the streaming smash “Invisible” as well as “Friends of Mine” and “Careless Memories.” The Omaha show was the surprise of Duran Duran’s spring tour, according to synth guru Nick Rhodes. “Wow, what an audience. I guess we hadn’t been there for a very long time, and it just all clicked together that night,” he said.

Read more: Duran Duran at Steelhouse Omaha

X

Longtime Los Angeles punk stalwarts X brought their farewell tour to the Waiting Room in Omaha in July. 

X, with all four original members—vocalist Exene Cervenka, bassist and vocalist John Doe, guitarist Billy Zoom and drummer D.J. Bonebrake—played 22 songs, a feat that many much younger bands don’t even attempt, proving all the while that they're truly American treasures.

Read more: X bring farewell tour to Omaha

Crowded House

Crowded House showcased their familiar hits and familial ties at The Astro amphitheater in La Vista in September.

The Australian-New Zealand band, led by the ever-talented Neil Finn, also features fellow original member Nick Seymour on bass, longtime collaborator Mitchell Froom on keyboards and Finn’s sons, Liam and Elroy, on guitar and drums, respectively. They were still in top form, playing songs from their newest album as well as exhilarating hits like “Distant Sun” and “Don’t Dream It’s Over.”

Read more: Crowded House at The Astro

The Psychedelic Furs and The Jesus and Mary Chain 

The Psychedelic Furs brought their current tour, with its impressive lineup, to The Astro in La Vista in October. After the death of saxophone player Mars Williams, The Furs have forged ahead, with longtime collaborator Richard Fortus joining the tour to add a new dimension to their live sound. 

The Jesus and Mary Chain, a band as formidable as the headliners, actually played three more tracks than The Furs. But The Furs, with their expertly curated setlist and dynamic stage presence, enthralled the audience until the final note.

Read more: The Psychedelic Furs and The Jesus and Mary Chain

Actors

Actors, a post-punk band from Vancouver, Canada, traveled down the West Coast (and elsewhere in the U.S.) in the fall, playing Lodge Room in the Los Angeles area in November. They brought along The Discussion and the new wave-inspired electro group Male Tears for the concert. Actors' 15-song set included favorites like “Slave” and “Strangers” as well as a new single, “Object Of Desire.” They even capped their encore with one of their most intense songs, “Bury Me.”

All photos by Christopher Windle and Karen Duran Windle.

Review: The Psychedelic Furs and The Jesus and Mary Chain at The Astro

The Psychedelic Furs brought their current tour—with its impressive lineup of artists—to The Astro in La Vista, Nebraska, on a late October evening. 

The concert was The Furs’ first in the state since 2016. Much has changed since then. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the band released their first album in nearly three decades, the excellent Made of Rain, and last year, they lost their saxophone player, Mars Williams, to cancer. The Furs have forged ahead, with longtime collaborator Richard Fortus joining the tour to add a new dimension to their live sound. 

The tour is rounded out by Scottish indie rockers The Jesus and Mary Chain, a band as formidable as the headliners. Frankie Rose, formerly of acts like Dum Dum Girls, opened the show. 

The Jesus and Mary Chain. Photo by Christopher Windle

As for the JAMC, the band showcased their songs that inspired shoegaze, with lead guitarist William Reid and the rest of the players forming a literal wall of sound toward the back of the stage, in front of amps stamped with “JESUS.” Reid’s brother, vocalist Jim Reid, occupied the front of the stage, winding up his microphone cord in his hand and singing the band’s best-known singles nearly as well as he did originally. 

And the JAMC are still going strong. Those singles include the opener “Jamcod,” off their latest album, Glasgow Eyes, which the singer closed by repeatedly chanting each word in the song’s title. Then the band launched into two of their best songs, “April Skies” and “Head On.” They also brought Rose onstage to sing with Reid on “Sometimes Always” (originally performed by Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval) and “Just Like Honey” before closing the 18-song set with “I Hate Rock ‘n’ Roll.” (That’s three more tracks than The Furs played.)

The JAMC was tough to top, but The Furs made a wise move by adding another guitarist to their live show. That, along with the expertly curated setlist and the band’s dynamic stage presence, enthralled the audience until the final note.

The English band’s current incarnation includes two original members, Richard and Tim Butler, also brothers, as well as guitarist Rich Good, keyboardist Amanda Kramer (formerly of Information Society) and drummer Zachary Alford, a New Yorker who worked with David Bowie, The B-52’s and others.

The band began its incendiary set with a newer song, “The Boy That Invented Rock & Roll” off Made of Rain, and the show built in intensity from there. A big factor behind the band’s beefed-up sound is Fortus, who co-produced their last album and played guitar onstage as well as a cool-looking electric cello. Good, who has ably handled guitar duties in the band since 2009, shared the spotlight with Fortus but was no less a key presence, venturing out to the very edge of the stage at times. Meanwhile, Richard Butler prowled the stage, his ever-raspy voice still sounding much as it did during the band’s peaks years in the ’80s. Tim Butler also roamed from side to side on bass, mouthing the lyrics of many of the songs.

Photos of The Psychedelic Furs by Karen Duran

While The Furs mixed things up by playing some deeper cuts, they still kept their biggest crowd-pleasers in the setlist, including “The Ghost in You,” “Love My Way,” “Heartbreak Beat” and of course, “Pretty in Pink”—sounding much more like the version from Talk Talk Talk than the one from the John Hughes film. They also played newer songs like “Wrong Train” (also off Made of Rain) and went back to the beginning with “Pulse.” And on tour in the U.S. during an election year, the band couldn’t not play “President Gas,” which was even more powerful with the addition of Fortus’ cello. 

Although there was no encore, the end of the setlist still had the feeling of one, as The Furs followed a blistering “Forever Now” with one of their biggest songs, “Heaven.” It capped a remarkable night of music featuring two veteran bands still in top form.

2020 was a dark year for music, but there were bright spots

Early in 2020, it looked to be a dazzling year for live music.

Bands like the Strokes, the Psychedelic Furs, and Duran Duran were planning to deliver long-awaited studio albums, with tours likely to follow. By March, around the time COVID-19 took hold in the U.S., there were already tours announced by the likes of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and dates by the reunited Bauhaus (we had tickets for both). Early in the year, I’d already seen two concerts, one by 69 Eyes and another by The Reverend Horton Heat with the Buttertones.

But live music soon came to a screeching halt amid the global pandemic. Bands like Duran Duran shelved their albums. Others went ahead with their releases, giving music fans much-needed hope during a dark time.

These are some of the great albums of 2020:

The Psychedelic Furs could have waited another year; after all, the band’s previous studio album came out nearly 30 years ago. But the Furs finally delivered “Made of Rain.” The band couldn’t back the critically lauded album with live shows, but the music will be just as fresh when a return to the stage is possible. Read the review.

The Strokes ended a seven-year hiatus with “The New Abnormal,” and there wasn’t a more fitting album for its time. The New York band combined all its classic sound with a dose of ’80s flair: the track listing included writing credits for Billy Idol and the brothers Butler (of the Furs). The Strokes released a batch of stunning videos, launched a Zoom series, performed on “Saturday Night Live,” and earned their first Grammy nomination. Read the review.

The Buttertones released ”Jazzhound,” showing all the promise that had propelled them to their status as perpetual up-and-comers. About three months later, the Los Angeles band imploded amid allegations of sexual abuse (Read more). Some fans declared the band unfairly canceled, but the silence of lead singer Richard Araiza only raised questions. After more than a month, he and guitarist Modeste Cobian released a video statement on Instagram. The duo’s denial of wrongdoing and promise of a comeback in 2021 mostly failed to resonate with the band’s core fans. 

Also in 2020: Muzz, a “supergroup” led by Interpol vocalist Paul Banks, released a self-titled effort, its debut no less. When he couldn’t tour, Nick Cave recorded the haunting “Idiot Prayer,” alone with a piano at Alexandra Palace. The Damned tided fans over with “The Rockfield Files” EP. Read the review.

As for Duran, the band wants to support any new release with live shows. While that’s not possible now, at least in a conventional way, Duran opted to largely stay quiet in 2020. John Taylor delivered an entertaining round of bass tutorials and interviews after recovering from COVID. Simon Le Bon also endured a bout with the virus and carried on with his Spotify podcast. Optimistically, the band has announced live shows for next summer.

Along with an annual list of top live shows, I also won’t be compiling Duran Duran’s top moments of the year for the first time since 2011. If Duran's 2021 concerts are able to take place, its 15th studio album may finally materialize. But it appears that a true 40th anniversary celebration for the band may be falling by the wayside due to COVID. 

True, there are more important things than music in these times. But it sure would have been nice to have had one more bright spot during a dismal 2020. 

New record review: The Psychedelic Furs ‘Made of Rain’

It’s been 29 years since the Psychedelic Furs released its last studio album. Not only is “Made of Rain” (Cooking Vinyl) most definitely worth the wait, but it has the classic sound and energy of the band’s epic live shows, too. 

As a fan who has reviewed quite a few Furs shows over the years, I was excited when guitarist Rich Good told me last year that the Furs were preparing to release the long-awaited new album. An early 2020 release turned into spring and then, delayed by the coronavirus, summer. But it’s finally here. 

The album comes roaring out of the gate with “The Boy That Invented Rock & Roll,” bringing to mind the opening of the band’s first self-titled album that helped usher in the post-punk era of the early ’80s. 

A classic album is better than the sum of its parts, and on that count, "Made of Rain" delivers.

Some of the singles that the band released leading up to the album belie the greatness of the album as a whole. Heard in the context of the rest of “Made of Rain,” songs like “Don’t Believe” and “Come All Ye Faithful” have added punch. When sprinkled among aching ballads like “Wrong Train” and “This’ll Never Be Like Love,” higher-energy tracks like “No-One” get the chance to shine. 

The album, as much as the Furs’ live show, provides the perfect showcase for all the band has to offer. Richard Butler's vocals soar, his ever-acerbic lyrics backed by Good, bassist (and brother) Tim Butler, keyboardist Amanda Kramer, drummer Paul Garisto and Mars Williams on sax. It’s also a guitarist's album; Guns N' Roses guitarist Richard Fortus serves as producer, and the album ends with "Stars," which closes with a guitar solo.

The only letdown that comes with the release of “Made of Rain” is that the Furs, like most touring acts, won’t be able to play new music in concert until next year. But until fans can see the band live again, they can enjoy an album 29 years in the making. What’s a few more months of waiting to hear the songs live?

Top five live shows of 2019

The Damned and X

Two bands that have been around for more than 40 years, the Damned and X, proved that they're still going strong at their show at Chicago's House of Blues in May. X, with its lineup of four original members, played several of its best-known songs while sounding great and having fun. The Damned's Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible, the two original members of the band, were joined by bassist Paul Gray to play the masterpiece album "Machine Gun Etiquette" in its entirety. The band ventured on to a second set of well-known songs and rarities, playing 22 tracks and two encores in all. It's rare to see not one, but two, bands that have been around for more than 40 years. To see two such bands that appear to still be having a blast doing it, well, that's pretty amazing.
Read more: The Damned and X show their punk rock staying power

Photos by Christopher Windle.

The Faint with Closeness

The Faint returned to its hometown of Omaha for a packed show at the Waiting Room in May. Closeness (pictured), Faint frontman Todd Fink's group with his wife, Orenda Fink, warmed up the audience. The Faint later stormed onstage, playing songs from new album "Egowerk" as well as the best of its back catalog of six other studio albums. The show was an intense, high-energy thrill ride, and the audience didn't want it to end.
Read more: The Faint displays the best of Omaha

The Psychedelic Furs

The Psychedelic Furs' touring machine roared into the Truman in Kansas City in May, and it was clear that the band was there to show the crowd a good time. Though the Furs got a bit political with "President Gas," the show was mainly a time to party. Like the best first wave '80s artists, the Furs offer music that fans can escape to. And the world could use an escape right now. So the Furs delivered, playing hits like "Heaven" and "Pretty in Pink." The band has since added new music to its live show and has a long-awaited new album on the way in 2020.
Read more: The Psychedelic Furs at the Truman

Clan of Xymox

The U.S. government shutdown early this year had effects that reverberated through all walks of life, including the goth/darkwave community, when Clan of Xymox was forced to postpone its U.S. tour because of delays in processing the band's visas. But the tour dates set for this past spring finally happened, with the U.S. stint by the Germany-based band beginning in Denver and hitting Omaha in November. The band proved that its delayed U.S. tour was well worth the wait. Bolstered by opening band the Bellwether Syndicate, Clan of Xymox had the crowd dancing, singing along, and even laughing to frontman Ronny Moorings' droll insights.
Read more: Clan of Xymox, at last, brings show back to U.S.

L7

The all-female grunge band brought its powerful live show to Omaha in June. The crowd at the Slowdown was treated to a 21-song set of hits and fan favorites from the band's longest-standing lineup of Suzi Gardner, Donita Sparks, Dee Plakas, and Jennifer Finch. Gardner, Sparks, and Finch took turns singing lead, performing songs like "Andres," "Dispatch from Mar-a-Lago," "Shitlist," and "Pretend We're Dead."

Honorable mentions: T.S.O.L., Interpol, the Descendents, Wilco.

The Psychedelic Furs at the Truman

The Psychedelic Furs' touring machine roared into Kansas City for a fun-filled Friday night show at the Truman on May 10.

The Furs have been touring pretty much nonstop over the past several years. Since 2013, we have seen them twice in Nebraska, another time in Kansas City, once in Denver, and once in Iowa. That's not a bad record for tour stops in and near the Midwest.

At the most recent Kansas City date, the band was supported by Royston Langdon of Spacehog fame. (Soon the Furs will be heading back out on the road with James.) Alone onstage, Langdon played an introspective acoustic set featuring songs like his band's big hit, "In the Meantime,” and David Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes."

Good, Williams, Paul Garisto, and Tim Butler. At top, the brothers Butler.
Photos by Christopher Windle.

In contrast, it was clear that the Furs were there to show the crowd a good time. Singer Richard Butler and his band, somewhat resembling a group of merry pirates with their shaggy hair, bounded onstage to "Heartbeat" and kept the energy high from there on.

The Furs played to a crowd that hadn't seen the band in their city for almost three years. The talents of guitarist Rich Good on tracks like "Mr. Jones" and saxophonist Mars Williams, adding a flourish of horns to songs including "Like a Stranger," impressed the audience. There were sing-alongs to "Love My Way," "Pretty in Pink," and the band's biggest-charting hit, "Heartbreak Beat," which closed the show.

Though the band got a bit political with the ever-precient "President Gas," the show was mainly a time to party. Like the best first wave '80s artists, the Furs offer music that fans can escape to. And the world could use an escape right now.

So the Furs delivered, with a shimmering piece of "Heaven," the '80s movie anthem "Pretty in Pink," and the driving post-punk of "India."

The Furs are one of the most consistent touring acts, with an impressive back catalog to draw from for its setlists. The only room for improvement would be the addition of new music to the show. Here's hoping a long-awaited next album is finally on the way.

The Psychedelic Furs at the Surf Ballroom

The Psychedelic Furs made a rare stop in Iowa, bringing the band's classic alternative sound to an iconic venue, the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake.

The Surf is known as the last stop before "the day the music died," when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper perished in a plane crash nearby after playing their final concert at the venue. The Surf tastefully pays tribute to the trio, as well as to the many, many musicians who have played the venue over the years.

Tim and Richard Butler. Rich Good and Richard Butler (at top).

The Furs joined those acts on Aug. 8 with a solid, 18-song setlist that spanned the band's career. Though there's not yet new music from the Furs, the band manages to make each tour special, swapping out and shifting deeper album tracks around and still playing all of the hits that the crowd expects.

Case in point, when we last saw the Furs, the band opened with "India," not quite harnessing all of the song's energy to full effect. Nearly two years later, the Furs closed the show with the blistering track off its debut album. It turned out to be the perfect song to follow the band's defining track, "Pretty in Pink."

Rich Good and Richard Butler (at top).

At the Surf, the band opened with the "Mirror Moves" hit "Heartbeat" and followed with the must-hear "Sister Europe." "She is Mine" and "Only You and I" were welcome additions to the setlist, the latter giving guitarist Rich Good a chance to let loose. The band members are always entertaining, with singer Richard Butler's trademark moves, bassist Tim Butler's interplay with the audience, and saxophonist Mars Williams' boundless energy.

There are many, many reasons the band attracts a crowd: the shimmering beauty of "The Ghost in You," "Heartbreak Beat," which always prompts a sing-along, and the ever-relevant "President Gas," to name a few. We'll be back. A Furs concert is where we met, after all.

Nearly five years later, we see a lot of concerts, but we can always count on the Furs to put on a great show.

All photos by Christopher Windle.

The Psychedelic Furs and The Church at the Rococo Theatre

The Psychedelic Furs and The Church visited the Rococo Theatre in Nebraska on Aug. 2 and left behind an audience of believers.

The British and Aussie bands, two of Duran Duran's contemporaries, have been touring together on and off for the past year in what has proved to be a successful billing.

All photos by Christopher Windle.

The Church, far more psychedelic than the Furs, provided a venerable warmup act. While most of the audience stayed seated for The Church, the band just isn't the kind of act to start a party on stage. Still, singer and bassist Steve Kilbey has been more animated of late. Perhaps Furs frontman Richard Butler's moves have had some influence on him.

The Church drew from more than two dozen albums to play what amounted to a finely curated set list of nine songs. "Reptile" and "Under the Milky Way," perhaps the band's best-known tracks, made the cut. But the audience was just as impressed with The Church's more obscure guitar-driven soundscapes.

Fun fact: Church guitarist Ian Haug's former band, Powerfinger, covered Duran's "The Chauffeur" for an Australian tribute album released in 1999.

The Furs were the main attraction. Butler and his brother, bassist Tim, are the founders, and they have formed a band of true professionals to become a well-honed touring act. As the band came onstage, Tim Butler turned an expectant ear to the crowd. It would be one of the only times during the show that the audience was encouraged to be louder.

Rich Good on guitar and Mars Williams on saxophone turned up the volume, so much so that Richard Butler could barely be heard through the sonic wall on the set opener, "India." But soon the frontman's vocals shone through, and the band proceeded to play its hits and better known tracks.

The Furs have wisely kept "President Gas" in the set list. Though the song is from 1982, off the Todd Rundgren-produced masterpiece "Forever Now," it couldn't be timelier. With lines like, "He comes in from the left sometimes; he comes in from the right," the song could be about a certain candidate for president. In a stroke of genius, the Furs added T-shirts and badges to its offerings at the merch booth that feature the campaign slogan "President Gas 2016."

The Furs only saved room for two more tracks off "Forever Now," the shimmering hit "Love My Way" and "Danger." After all, the band's set list managed to span all seven of its studio albums and included a newer staple, "Little Miss World."

Good's guitar playing, especially on tracks like "Mr. Jones" and "House," was a highlight. Williams was an energizer bunny on sax. The band was rounded out by Amanda Kramer on keyboards and Paul Garisto on drums.

By the time the Furs left the stage after playing its biggest hit, "Heartbreak Beat," the crowd had been whipped into a frenzy. The band came back for an encore of slower track "Until She Comes" and, of course, "Pretty in Pink." It's easily the most famous Furs song, thanks to it being the inspiration for and title track to the John Hughes classic.

But the way the Furs play it includes a nod to the version of the song off 1981's "Talk Talk Talk." The original song was all jangly guitar, but it got a slickly produced makeover a few years later for the movie. The guitar is there, beefed up a bit, and so is the now-famous sax that wasn't on the original. And Richard Butler both sings and mumbles (as on the original) the closing lines of the song.

The Furs show touched on all eras of the band's career. The energy the band displays on stage will hopefully materialize in a new album before too long. After all, it has been talked about for a few years.

But for now, the Furs will continue to please fans with its fantastic live show.