Dear Friends,
Last night, Bill and I went out to Wild Horse Pass and caught the Gentlemen Afterdark/Modern English show. All I can say is “Wow.” Both bands brought their A game and the crowd seemed to love them.
Stupidly, many in the crowd left after GAD’s stellar set. I guess I can’t judge others who may not know how great Modern English is live. Until last night, I didn’t know that either. I was standing there, after watching my friends Barry, Brian, and Harry absolutely kill it with their bandmates Stuart, Winston, and Robin, I couldn’t help but think that Modern English were up against it.
It was fun as hell to see Brian cavorting around the stage and having fun. After talking with him about the show a couple of weeks ago, the joy on his face was so great to see. Not that our conversation was negative in any way, but I know how important it was for him for things to go well.
Barry and Winston kind of stole the show, though. Barry is just such a talented man. He added so much to the sound with both the keyboards and violin. Huge swells of sound came from him that added layers to GAD that were nothing short of great. And Winston, holy hell! The man is one of the best drummers I have ever seen.
I was talking to Harry after their set and asked him if it was fun to play bass alongside Winston. The smile on his face said it all. Last year I wrote a bit about the importance of playing with a good drummer and it was clear that Harry felt the same way. A good drummer allows the rest of the band to know exactly where to be and at what time in every song.
This is not to say that the rest of the band weren’t great. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole GAD set. I hadn’t seen them since I was a teenager, and it was cool to see them again. If they had been headlining the show, no one would have been disappointed at all.
As much as GAD were a tough act to follow, Modern English came out and turned the level of killer and no filler up about five notches. I was blown away by how great these dudes are. Bobby has been telling me for a long time about how good they are live, and I didn’t listen. I regret it way more now than I did 24 hours ago.
As a devout lover of post-punk music, Modern English is easily one of the finest purveyors of great music out there today. They played a few of the songs off their upcoming record and it is going to be a scorcher. I can’t wait to hear it.
How great must it be for a band to have had such an iconic song that paid for them to have a nice life and allowed them to make great music that sounds nothing like it, too. If you’re reading this and not familiar with them outside of “I Melt With You,” please check out their other material. Start with their first record, Mesh & Lace.
You won’t be disappointed.
*****
J1
Impish and clever,
the twinkle in your eye is
easy to forgive.
I1
Kindness, caring, and
the smile of an angel.
You changed my heart twice.
I2
Loud and impartial
to any distraction, you
brought energy, too.
*****
See you tomorrow.
Last night. Modern English.
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