Last night, I got to see the Hoodoo Gurus on their first US tour in 13 years. And with the exception of frontman David Faulkner’s hair, they still got it. They were every bit as good—if not better—than in this 1985 live clip of “Like Wow, Wipeout!”
This live clip of “Middle of the Land” rocks also.
“Bittersweet” remains one of my favorite songs.
I had Mars Needs guitars in my tape deck for so long it got stuck in there. When I sold the car last year, it went with it.
That one and Blow Your Cool are the only things I’ve been tempted to buy off of itunes.
Never saw them live though, execpt on TV after some high school prom I went to with a girl who didn’t drink. The only good memory I have of that particular night.
I wonder if that clip came from the same show? Now I’m all misty-eyed and nostalgic.
Stoneage Romeos just came back into print also.
They played “Bittersweet” last night. It was the closest they got to a ballad all night.
What a blast from the past. They were always one of my faves in college and I was lucky enough to see them live back then. Had no idea they were touring now, though.
I agree about Bitterweet, but I was partial to Poison Pen and Hayride to Hell.
Put me down for “In the Middle of the Land” and “I Want You Back” (the first song my five-year-old learned to—kinda—sing).
Glad you enjoyed the show. Hopefully, it was weighted to the pre-Miss Freelove days.
Back in the day, I was schooling in Ames, IA—the town thanked in the liner notes to Mars Needs Guitars. I saw them at least once on just about every tour.
Last night, they played “Poison Pen,” but no “Hayride to Hell,” though they did take requests. It’s a tribute to them that you could have had a great set of songs they didn’t get to play, including “Hayride,” “(Let’s All) Turn On,” “Leilani,” “My Girl,” “In the Wild,” “All the Way,” “Mars Needs Guitars!,” “I Was the One,” etc.
They opened with a thundering version of “I Want You Back.” Last night’s version of “Middle of the Land” was even better than this one.
The set was weighted a bit toward the earlier stuff, though they did play “Miss Freelove ‘69” and one from each of the two albums they never toured in the US.
Coloradans and Caifornians can still catch ‘em:
Mar 26 2007 8:00P
BellyUp – Aspen Aspen, Colorado
Mar 27 2007 9:00P
Belly Up Tavern–San Diego Solana Beach,
Mar 28 2007 9:00P
El Rey Theatre–Los Angeles Los Angeles
Mar 30 2007 7:45P
House of Blues–Anaheim
Mar 31 2007 9:30P
Cafe Du Nord–San Francisco
That’s a duplicate link. Oops.
To make up for that, here’s the studio clip for “I Want You Back.”
I just watched the video for What’s My Scene. What a great song.
That was one of the big sing-alongs.
When Blow Yor Cool first came out, they were opening for The Bangles—even before the gals hit big. In clubs, the Gurus would encore by having the Bangles’ road crew go-go dance on milk crates while the abnd played Gary Glitter’s “Rock & Roll Pt. II” (before that song became a staple of sports events).