Psychedelic Furs, Happy Mondays Step On Nostalgia Train

Kool Haus

Toronto, ON

on Oct 14 2009

Cameron Gordon (CHARTattack)

10/15/2009 1:35pm

A curious pairing of moldy oldies touched down in Toronto this Wednesday night, forging a bridge between new wave and Madchester, and having a lot of fun in doing so.

Make no mistake, the combination of The Psychedelic Furs and the Happy Mondays was primarily a nostalgia trip for the thousand or so bodies jammed into the Kool Haus, but cast aside the cynicism and you're left with a two full sets of retro goodness for the price of one. From a pure economic standpoint, the gig had merit.

Happy Mondays were first up, making their first area appearance in almost two decades. Now down to two original members in vocalist and co-founder Shaun Ryder and drummer Gaz Whelan (dancer Bez didn't even attempt the trip, due to long-standing issues with American border authorities), the band looked a touch weathered and yet were able to parlay a fun, funky performance in spite of the extra girth.

Sedentary lifestyles were abundant on-stage with the exception of feisty back-up singer Julie E. Gordon, who did her best to channel her inner Rowetta and by and large provided the only semblance of energy in the performance. Ryder himself was certainly no help in this regard as he moaned his way through 50 minutes, largely with hand plunged in pocket and eyes affixed to a teleprompter for lyrical support.

Surprisingly, the band leaned heavily on their more recent output, and while the slinky tracks like "Anti Warhole On The Dancefloor" were generally well received, the audience saved most of its ravin' and rockin' for faves plucked from the band's 1990 masterstroke Pills 'N' Thrills And Bellyaches. Set closer "Step On" got the biggest rise out of the crowd and the band pulled a quick one with an attempt at "Reverend Black Grape" from Ryder's somewhat forgotten mid-1990s outfit, Black Grape. From any other band, the performance might've been a snooze, but given Ryder's rep for lazy-eyed brilliance, it kinda worked as a curiosity if nothing else.

The Furs closed things out, and it's easy to forget just how many charting hits the band had in North America, considering they often played second fiddle to Depeche Mode, New Order, The Smiths and other new wave heavyweights of the era.

From set opener "Love My Way" right through "President Gas," "Heartbeat" and kiddie favourite "Pretty In Pink," the band smoothed out any rough edges in their discography and sounded positively poppy in doing so, thanks in large part to a heavy reliance on sax and keyboards to keep ever note firmly planted in the 1980s.

Vocalist Richard Butler was a bundle of energy and looking a touch prissy in a tight grey pantsuit (seriously). He minced his way around the stage like a man half his age and delivered each and every song with a ton of drama. He twisted, he twirled, and for somebody who was often quite dour on his album covers, he sure did smile a lot and genuinely seemed to be having a hoot.

The Furs also employed some tried and true stage tricks to keep things interesting, such as the deployment of a massive poof from their smoke machine during "The Ghost In You" and the periodic use of a pint-sized megaphone to give Butler's woozy vocals some added oomph.

The show closed before midnight and the crowd went home happy, sated by the twin servings of nostalgia and the chance to view two classic U.K. outfits in close quarters. It definitely wasn't a groundbreaking event by any stretch, but for sheer wistfulness, the pairing served its purpose.