Only thought of putting this up now. Sorry it's dated.

Saw two great old 80s bands in March of this year. The Beat and the Waterboys. Both shows were marvellous.

The Beat played a pretty small but notorious spot called The Horseshoe. Brilliant place to see anyone. They covered pretty much all the wonderful standards from their early career (Mirror in the Bathroom, Save it for Later, Tears of a Clown, etc.). Regrettably they skipped my personal favourite Whine & Grine/Stand Down Margaret. They also covered all the biggest of General Public's hits (I'll Take You There, General Public, Tenderness). The only real disappointment was the fact that Rankin' Roger wasn't part of the lineup. I was stunned by the number of Rude Boys, Skinheads and general old faces that showed up. It was just a perfect Friday evening with skankin' like there was no tomorrow. I recommend this show to anyone if you still get a chance to see them.

The Waterboys played Toronto a couple of weeks after the Beat. Much bigger venue (The Warehouse) and it was completely sold out. Seeing as we were drinking too long at the pub before the show, this meant that we had to stay close to the bar and not waste time trying to get near the stage. Mike Scott was in full mythological form and his voice was strong and true all night long. Too long ago to remember the full setlist but they played something from everything. A high point was We Will Not Be Lovers and a faster/harder version of Strange Boat than is on Fisherman's Blues. The new material was powerful and much more like their rockier style prior to Fisherman's Blues. Old standards Whole of the Moon and Don't Bang the Drum from the album This is the Sea received tremendous ovations. Heavy, hard-hitting with a little bit of fiddle and acoustic in the middle. Powerful and magical as only Mike Scott can. Keep your eyes open for this one if they're still out on the road.