Tag Archives: OMD

January Record a Day Wrap Up: Days 22 Through 31

Jan 2014 Record a Day 22

It’s time to wrap up the “January Record A Day” Instagram photo project with records 22 through 31.  I’m already into week one of the “February Record A Day”, and I’m finding it a little bit tougher than last month’s because I’m having to really dig for items like a re-press or marble colored vinyl, but I’m definitely up for the challenge.  Cheers and have a great weekend!

(Top Photo) Day 22:  Double LP – “20/20” by Dilated Peoples. Another from the hubby’s collection.

Jan 2014 Record a Day 23

Day 23:  Red colored record – German import of “Never Let Me Down” by Depeche Mode.

Jan 2014 Record a Day 24

Day 24:  Favorite Record Friday – “All I Need is Everything” by Aztec Camera. Such a wonderful & happy song!

Jan 2014 Record a Day 25

Day 25:  Rainy day record – “Rio” by Duran Duran. I can listen to this album during any kind of weather!

Jan 2014 Record a Day 26

Day 26:  I don’t own any vinyl that’s split color. So here is my sister’s OMD dual color picture disc in pink & blue for the song “Locomotion”.

Jan 2014 Record a Day 27

Day 27:  Album on classic black vinyl – “Mistrial” by Lou Reed. My husband bought a bunch on boxes filled with records, not knowing what was inside. There were a few gems & this was one of them.

Jan 2014 Record a Day 28

Day 28:  More than 2 colors – “New Sensation” picture disc by INXS.

Jan 2014 Record a Day 29

Day 29:   1st record I bought – “That’s Rock n Roll” by Shaun Cassidy. I was 7 & my sister was 4 when she drew all over it in red crayon!

Jan 2014 Record a Day 30

Day 30:  Any album before the 80s – Mott The Hoople “Greatest Hits”, from my hubby’s collection. I think this is from 1977.

Jan 2014 Record a Day 31

Day 31:  Any record you want – “Cookin’ on the Roof” by Roman Holiday. Finally found this at Amoeba Hollywood a couple of years ago. “Don’t Try to Stop it” & “Stand By” are my favorites!

If You Don’t Know This Next Song, You’re at the Wrong Gig!

Hooray for set lists!

A couple of Sundays ago, my sister and I saw OMD again, this time at the beautiful Humphreys by the Bay.  I already reviewed this concert earlier this year (see post here), so I’m just going to touch on the highlights of this fun concert.  People were definitely happy in the haze of a drunken few hours, yours truly included.  The opening act from Australia called Washington, was oh so good.  Lead singer, Megan Washington has a hauntingly beautiful voice and is quite the comedian (“I’ve never played at a gig like this, or seen so many ducks!”).  I don’t know much about them, but I really enjoyed their set and you can be sure that I’ll be on the look out for more.

Smiles partially induced by Stella Artois

Aussie awesomeness: Washington

Then OMD came out as if unleashed, with all of the enthusiasm and energy they had back in March.  Andy McCluskey thoughtfully stated that this venue was lovely but “far too sophisticated” and reminiscent of a high school graduation (funny, Alan Wilder said the exact same thing about his Recoil gig last year).  By the encore, he had encouraged the crowd to “rush the stage”, which just meant a surge forward of stumbling intoxicated middle-aged one time New Wavers.  I don’t remember it being so difficult back in the 80’s.

(Please note that this time, I finally got to meet DJ extraordinaire, Steve West of 91X.  Hard to believe that I first listened to him back in 1983 at the tender age of 13!)

A song that was definitely included in this set because Andy mentioned that they received hate mail for not including it previously was “Secret”, to which the crowd enthusiastically sang word for word.  My sister was quite delighted because it’s her all time favorite and because the lead vocals were provided by Paul Humphreys (Andy jokingly stated that he owned the venue).  I would have included it here, except that the song was practically drowned out by some fantastically inebriated fans next to us.

Please find below a song that I did capture quite well, “If You Leave”.  Andy introduced it by saying “If you don’t know this next song, you’re at the wrong gig!”  Yes sir, a perfect post title was built right in, enjoy!

Talking Loud & Clear: OMD in Concert

First and foremost, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SISTER RHOLNNA!

On Sunday, I took my sister to see OMD in concert as a birthday present. We went with my best friend Janice, then met up with a few other friends at the actual show. OMD is for my sister the way Depeche Mode is for me.  I made a statement that we would not only see OMD in concert, but we would have to meet the band somehow because I had already met Alan Wilder. The last time I actually saw OMD in concert was with my sister back in the late 80’s. The next time I saw any advertisement of a show was in London in 2008, and my husband and I were not staying long enough to see the concert. When I saw the ad for OMD in San Diego on Facebook, I knew I was on a mission for my sister’s birthday.

I decided to wear my Joy Division shirt to the show because I know that OMD and Joy Division had toured together in the very early 80’s. In fact, the song “Statues” by OMD was written in part for Ian Curtis after his death. Later when we arrived for the show, I was intrigued and pleasantly surprised to see that I was not the only one wearing a Joy Division shirt (I saw 3 other people wearing them). I had also been stopped several times by people telling me how much they liked my shirt. To me, that signified that this crowd were truly OMD fans who understood and appreciated their history.

Outfits:  Previously remixed – Joy Division t-shirt; Jeffrey Campbell shoes/Not worn yet – H&M blazer; Guess skinny jeans; Betsey Johnson cross-body bag

On Rholnna – Mossimo jacket; Oh La La tank; Paris Blues jeans; Wild Diva boots

On Janice – Soho t-shirt (souvenir from NYC from yours truly); NY & Co jeans; Cathy Jean boots; Harajuku purse

The evening actually began with dinner at the Sushi Deli in Downtown San Diego, which was walking distance from the concert venue. My sister and I had never been there before, but Janice had previously been to a different location. The food and drinks were great, and the bartenders were fun. It was nice to just sit and enjoy a good meal before going to a highly anticipated show. Once we arrived back to the venue, 4th & B, we had discovered that the line had wrapped around the building! We were glad to see that there was still interest in OMD, because it would mean a lively crowd.

The opening act was a local band called Inspired Flight. I really wanted to give this band a chance, as they did hail from San Diego. They really had an eclectic sound, going from danceable synth-pop to slower driving hip-hop. But the hot room and crowded floor made us all the more anxious for the main act to hit the stage.

Steve West, one of my favorite deejays from 91X (a local alternative radio station), came onstage to introduce the band and mentioned that this show had sold out. Once OMD arrived onstage, they did so with purpose:  we were about to be fully entertained. They started off the night with “New Babies, New Toys” off of their new album called “History of Modern”. Although I’m not too familiar with the whole album yet, I recognized “History of Modern (Part 1)”, “If You Want To”, “New Holy Ground” and “Sister Marie Says”. The rest of the evening was a must see for any OMD fan, as they went far back into their early history with tracks from albums such as  “Architecture & Morality”, “Junk Culture” and “The Pacific Age” all the way to “Sugar Tax”.

The highlights were songs I had been waiting a couple of decades to hear again live. Songs like “Tesla Girls”, “Locomotion”, “So in Love”, “(Forever) Live & Die” and “Enola Gay” made me jump up and sing every word. A surprise for me was “Talking Loud & Clear” as I had not seen this on set lists when scouring the forums for any and all information of what they might play.  This post was coincidentally titled prior to knowing they would play the song in concert. My sister, already full of emotion, nearly cried when “Souvenir” and “Dreaming” were played.

One of the biggest hits played was “If You Leave” from the “Pretty In Pink” soundtrack, to which they prefaced by saying that this was a song highly criticized for being their “sell out” song.   Despite this admission, they kept true to the long-time fans and played songs like “Messages”, “Joan of Arc” and another surprise which was “Radio Waves” from the album “Dazzle Ships”.  They closed the show with their first single “Electricity”, which perfectly described Andy McCluskey’s dancing. He reminded the crowd that he is now past 50, so we would have to just accept his dancing, although it was humorously stated quite differently in concert. An obvious omission I noted was “Secret”, a big hit from the album “Crush”. I will have to investigate why this was not played among all of the excellent selections for the evening.

A treat for all of us was that we were able to meet Paul Humphreys and Andy after the concert, as they came outside and signed autographs and posed for pictures with around at least 30 die-hard fans. Luckily our car was parked directly outside the backstage doors, so we were able to see the crowd develop and stuck around just in case. Paul and Andy were gracious and funny. They wished my sister a happy birthday, and Andy gave me a big hug saying “Look at you in your Joy Division shirt!”

If you are at all an 80’s music fan, OMD is a must see in concert. They seemed genuinely surprised and happy at the reaction of the crowd, and their energy and interaction with each other made for an unforgettable night. Andy stated that they would return to San Diego, which would mean that we will definitely go back for another round of the electrically charged OMD.

(Photos and concert footage taken at 4th&B on 3.27.2011)