Top five live shows of 2022

Duran Duran

Live music was back to a new abnormal in 2022: More bands returned to touring, but many did shorter stints with fewer stops. Among those was Duran Duran, who embarked on a 14-date North American tour as summer turned to fall. 

It's no surprise that the band leads our list of top live shows of the year. The new wave icons impressed the crowd in Fort Worth, Texas, on Aug. 30 with its biggest hits and a few "old friends." Duran leaned in to nostalgia, playing "Union of the Snake," "Friends of Mine," and "Careless Memories" back to back, a new holy trinity of its 2022 U.S. shows. But even the most time-worn songs, when performed live, restored all faith in this band. Read more: Duran Duran leans in to future, past in Fort Worth

Cy Curnin, right, and Jamie West Oram of
The Fixx. All photos by Christopher Windle

The Fixx 

The Fixx returned to Omaha on June 28 with its "Every Five Seconds" tour, treating fans to new and classic songs. The Fixx, with its socially conscious music, moved the audience lyrically as well as rhythmically with its show at the Waiting Room. Cy Curnin and the band were in top form as they showcased several tracks off the new album, which fit seamlessly with the band's slew of new wave hits. Read more: The Fixx dive deeper with new songs and classic hits

Mudhoney

Growing up in the grunge era, I never got to witness Mudhoney live, even though "Superfuzz Bigmuff" and "Mudhoney" were some of my favorite albums of the time, especially from the genre. But in 2022, Mudhoney made an unlikely stop in Omaha, playing the Slowdown in May. The band did not disappoint, playing classics like "In And Out of Grace," "Touch Me I'm Sick," Vortex of Lies," and set closer "Here Comes Sickness." — Christopher Windle 

Boy Harsher

Boy Harsher has been an obsession of mine for years now. The electro-pop group’s sold-out show in Kansas City in July proved that many others are just as obsessed. Boy Harsher turned the recordBar into a pulsing dance club on a Monday night with songs like "Fate," "Modulations," "Morphine," and "Pain." And singer Jae Matthews encouraged the crowd to dance even more ("We make dance music, so dance!"). If you haven't yet, be sure to check out Boy Harsher. — Christopher Windle

 

Circle Jerks

Circle Jerks played Lawrence, Kansas, in March with 7 Seconds and Negative Approach opening — how could this combination not hit the top five? Negative Approach kicked off the show in full force, playing classics like "Fair Warning," "Live Your Life," and "Why Be Something That You're Not." Then 7 Seconds came out swinging with trademark songs like "Regress No Way," We're Going to Fight," and "Here's Your Warning." But the headliners were not going to be outdone. Circle Jerks played a 33-song set, including tracks from all six of the band's albums. The crowd, along with the Jerks, went bombastic throughout the set. The band played classics like "I Just Want Some Skank," "Wild in the Streets," "Moral Majority," "Red Tape"... I could keep going, but you get the gist. — Christopher Windle

Honorable mentions: 

Frontline Assembly at the recordBar (pictured), The Cult at the Admiral Omaha

The Fixx dive deeper with new songs and classic hits in Omaha

The Fixx returned to the Waiting Room in Omaha on June 28 with its "Every Five Seconds" tour, treating fans to new and classic songs for the second time in just over seven months.

Frontman Cy Curnin and the band were in top form as they showcased several songs off the new album, "Every Five Seconds," which fit seamlessly with the band's slew of new wave hits.

Photo by Alexandra E. Andersen

Photo by Alexandra E. Andersen

The band opened with "Touch" and launched straight into a new song, "Take What You Want," before driving the crowd to dance and sing along to 1990s single "How Much Is Enough?"

The Fixx specializes in socially conscious music that moves the audience lyrically as well as rhythmically. On hits like "Stand Or Fall," Curnin speaks of "ugly scars" that divide a nation where "morale has hit rock bottom." The song's message is as timely as ever, and the music just as catchy. 

The band played five new songs in its 18-song setlist, the most classic-sounding being "Wake Up," which again mentions morale being down, this time in a "sleepy town."

"I heard somebody ran out," Curnin sings. "Somebody broke free / I hope they make it to tell them / We're suffocating and can't breathe."

Photo by Shannon Gunderson

Photo by Shannon Gunderson

The seemingly ageless Curnin delivers those poetic lyrics in an almost Shakespearian manner. And the band — the classic lineup of guitarist Jamie West-Oram, keyboardist Rupert Greenwall, drummer Adam Woods, and bassist Dan K. Brown — almost always lends a danceable groove to the oftentimes deep lyrics. 

The concert built as the band played its biggest hit, "One Thing Leads To Another." There were more hits to come — "Stand Or Fall," "Driven Out," and "Red Skies" — before the band returned for a dynamic encore.  Another new track, "Lonely As A Lighthouse," was followed by two more hits, "Saved By Zero" and "Secret Separation."

Photos above and at top by Christopher Windle

The Fixx shows no signs of slowing down in its 40-plus-year career. Though "Every Five Seconds" is the Fixx's first studio album in more than 10 years, the band is a touring mainstay, and its music remains relevant as well. 

"We still feel really honored to be together," Curnin recently told Forbes magazine. "We have so much unlived potential still that we're looking forward to keeping it going."

The Fixx rocks Omaha ahead of tour postponement

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.

All photos by Christopher Windle