The things that dreams are made of

Some serious Dad dancing went on last night as I revelled in not being one of the oldest in a gig for once.  In fact I was probably mid-range, if anything slightly younger than most.  Age has not been kind to all of us.  Some were looking more old romantic than new, but then I caught a look at myself in the mirror and realised that I have nothing to shout about either. 

The occasion was The Human League, playing in Bristol.  The Colston Hall is a great venue; intimate, with great accoustics and facilities. 

The League (as we in the know call them) were in great nick and it was a great performance.  A few bum notes but then Dare was released in 1981, we should be grateful to still have them.  They clearly enjoyed themselves too.  Slightly bizarrely, a frequently heard comment on the way out was that, "They were better than I expected", which does make you wonder how bad paying punters expected it to be.   

It was a long held ambition to see the band, I missed the opportunity to see them years ago in Chippenham of all places because it clashed with college.  How diligent / stupid was that? What a creep I was. 

Can't swear to the set list but this one from the gig before in The Royal Albert Hall looks like it's the same.  No 'Empire State Human' (a personal favourite), 'Being Boiled', 'Hard Times', or 'Human' but you can't really quibble much with what they did.  One of the stewards told us that we were in for a surprise with something unusual as the final song.  Guess he doesn't know a lot about the band. 

A great night out, time flew, and much needed relief after a rather daft day.  Here's what they did: 

1.            Sky

      2.            The Sound of the Crowd
      3.            Open Your Heart
      4.            Heart Like A Wheel
      5.            All I Ever Wanted
      6.            The Things Dreams Are Made Of
      7.            Seconds
      8.            The Lebanon
      9.            Louise
    10.                  One Man In My Heart
    11.                  Night People
    12.                  Electric Shock
    13.                  Love Action
    14.                  Tell Me When
    15.                  Fascination
    16.                  Mirror Man

Encore

    17.                 Goodbye Bad Times
    18.                 Don’t You Want Me

Second Encore

    19.                Together in Electric Dreams

Martin Rushent - A Top 9

Picked up on the news a little late that Martin Rushent died last weekend. Best known for the production he did on Dare by the Human League - which still sounds excellent today - as this list shows he was no one trick pony. Some great things on here.

I was aiming for a top ten and then decided to limit myself to one track per artist (and then cheated by including something from the remix album, Love and Dancing. They are all tracks I have owned at some stage (except Love and Dancing which was my sister's but much played). They are also in order. The Buzzcocks would certainly come with me onto my desert island and Sound of the Crowd would make it most weeks too.

Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen in Love With Someone (You shouldn't have fallen in love with)
Human League - Sound of the Crowd
Dr Feelgood - Milk and Alcohol
Altered Images - Happy Birthday
Stranglers - No More Heroes
The League Unlimited Orchestra - Hard Times
Hey Elastica! - Party Games
XTC - Are You Receiving Me?
The Associates - Waiting For The Loveboat

Love and Dancing can be listened to it's entirety here in Friends Eclectic on the top right hand side of this blog.