After I was able to cross Kraftwerk off of my “bucket list” of bands to see, I was happy at the prospect of never going to see another band live again. When my cousin called me and said she wanted to go and see the B-52’s live, I was a little apprehensive at first, but in looking back over my concert going career, they where one of the bands that I always loved (before the Love Shack/Roam invasion) but had never seen live. I thought, “WTF” I’ll go. And I was glad I made that decision.

They rocked it. The crowd was a mix of folks my age with their kids (it was an open show and I should have taken my daughter who is also a fan), my parents age, and a younger college crowd which was nice to see. Also, the hispter factor was at an all time low which was another plus.

They played the obligatory “Love Shack” and “Roam” and of course “Rock Lobster”, but the most impressive aspect of the show was that the play list consisted mostly of songs from their “Wild Planet” album. They played maybe 3 songs off of their new album “Funplex”, but the fact that they went back to the “Wild Planet” to get most of their material was the best.

Keith Strickland is an amazing guitar player, and for each song they played, the roadie supplied him a fresh guitar. Even when during the beginning of “Party Out of Bounds” when guitar handed to him was out of tune, he stopped the song much to the amusement of the other band members and they began again. Its was hard to remember that he was the original drummer for the band before Ricky Wilson’s untimely death in the late 80’s. The spirit of Ricky is still strong in those early guitar rifts that Keith now belts out. I wish they had played some songs off of my favorite album “Whammy”, but that was the last album Ricky and his sister Cindy Wilson worked on before his death. I can imagine that some of those songs still carry a sting to them.

It also was inspiring that Cindy Wilson, who left the band back in the early 90’s to have a career as a housewife and a mother could come back now, with a voice as strong as ever, to rock it just as she had back in the late 70’s. Kate Pierson is an amazing vocalist, and it was the same with her; like she had just stepped out of a time capsule, only a little older and wiser. Fred Schneider was in “Full Frontal Fred” form, with his microphone, Spock/Kirk “Phaser Set to Stun” baseball tee, and cow bell. Fred rapped way before it was the norm, a credit due to him which I think is tragically overlooked.

If you get a chance to see them live this summer, don’t pass it up. It’s like turning down a chance at tasting a vintage wine or wondering how good the soup might have been vs the salad. The B-52’s are a true professional band and they will not disappoint. And another plus-NO AUTO TUNE!

I’ll give you fish. I’ll give you candy. I’ll give you everything I have in my hands…