The Downtown
March/2004
Review By Keith MacDonald
I hadn't seen this band since their tour with The Rolling Stones
'Steel Wheels' tour in 1989. They had just released their debut album
'Vivid' and there was quite a buzz going around with this band. They
were riding the success of their hit single 'Cult of Personality' and
guitarist Vernon Reid was getting a lot of attention as the newest
'Guitar God' in an era that saw more than few outstanding
guitarists.
They were a great band then and are still now. It had been about ten
years or so since this band had been together as we saw each member do
separate projects. They finally wised up and regrouped releasing a new
album via the indie metal powerhouse label Sanctuary Records. Like Bret
Michaels of Poison always says, bands need to keep releasing new
material instread of relyimng on their catalog of hits from years past.
After listening to Collidiscope, Vernon and company have done just that.
The show at The Downtown was a rescheduled show from December. Usually
when a show is changed for wjatever reason, you tend to lose a piece of
your audience. Yet the crowd was very good, near capacity.
The band did an incredible job combining their hits with some of
their newer songs which can be hard to do. Their blend of hard rock,
metal and funk is great. Vernon's guitar work was clean and smooth.
Their bigger hits, 'Cult of Personality', 'Type' and 'Glamour Boys' went
well with newer tracks like 'In Your Name', 'A Question of When' and
'Tomorrow Never Knows'.
The only problem I saw in the show was the absence of 'Open Letter'
and that political angle. Singer Cory Glover wore a 'F**k Bush' shirt
and Vernon threw out a few anti-Bush messages. Politics and music, in my
mind, don't mix. I was there to see a great rock band, not go to some
political rally.
Set List
Crosstown Traffic
Song Without Sin
Middle Man
A Question of When
Operation Mind Control
Go Away
In Your Name
Glamour Boys
Sacred Ground
Flying
Ignorance Is Bliss
Postman
Elvis Is Dead
Type
Encore
Cult of Personality
Tomorrow Never Knows