Concert Review
Abducted By The 80s
Wang Chung
The Motels
Naked Eyes
Friday June 14, 2024
Sharkey’s Bar & Grill
Liverpool, NY
Review/Photos: Joseph Suto
There was something about experiencing the decade of the 1980s. If you lived it you know what I am talking about. If not there is so much pop culture that included movies, musical artists and video games that still take one back to that period of time today. Abducted By The 80s was created to transport us back in time to that era to remember the great times and fun we had. These may not be the biggest bands from that era but bands that are forever enshrined to that period of time.
Naked Eyes got things started Friday night. These days only Peter Byrne remains as the sole member from the duo as Rob Fisher sadly passed away in 1999. Byrne still loves going out to perform the songs that put the band on the map. No Naked Eyes show is complete without “Promises, Promises” or the top-10 smash “Always Something There To Remind Me”, thew two that ended their brief set.
Up next was Martha Davis and the Motels. These days Davis along with sax/keyboardist Marty Jourard remain as the constant holdovers from the bands glory days. Not a surprise that the majority of their set was culled from its two gold certified albums All Four One and Little Robbers. It’s interesting to note that their best known songs “Suddenly Last Summer” and Only The Lonely” both peaked at #9. Davis even strapped on the guitar for a few songs. Overall an extremely satisfying set for everyone whether an old fan or someone who recently discovered them.
Closing out the show was Wang Chung. The band still features the principle players in vocalist/guitarist Jack Hues and bassist/multi-instrumentalist Nick Feldman. Despite a ton of airplay on MTV they only have one certified album which is Mosaic which reached gold in 1986. Their bread and butter were the singles they released. “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” peaked at #2 and “Let’s Go” cracked the top-10. Quite a few songs crossed over on the Billboard Dance charts as well. These guys put on a fabulous set making sure everyone lived up to having fun that night.
Tours like this are all about the nostalgia but these artists also mixed in a few songs of other material which was a breath of fresh air. One can hope this isn’t the last we see of these type tour packages in the future.
Set Lists
Naked Eyes
(What) In the Name of Love
Voices in My Head
Piccadilly
Promises, Promises
Always Something There to Remind Me
The Motels
Tipping Point
Suddenly Last Summer
Danger
Take the L
Total Control
So L.A.
Remember the Nights
Only the Lonely
Wang Chung
Wait
Fire in the Twilight
Space Junk
Rent Free
Hypnotize Me
Instrumental
To Live and Die in L.A.
Let’s Go
Should I Stay or Should I Go
Everybody Have Fun Tonight
Dance Hall Days
