Check off yet another group on my 80’s bucket list: Janice and I got to see The Psychedelic Furs in concert! Due to an epic fail on my part, I had tickets to their sold out show at The Belly Up on June 1st. But because I wanted actual tickets rather than tickets printed from my computer, I thought I would wait until closer to the show to go to the venue to purchase real tickets. Thank the retro gods that they were the headlining act for The Rock n Roll Marathon on June 2nd. In an ironic twist, the show was FREE! No ticket stubs from this show, but I did get my shirt.
Fresh faced with no make-up at 10am!
We arrived at our secret parking place at 10am and walked over to Petco Park, where the end of the race festivities were being held. It was pretty crazy and hectic when we arrived. I believe the half-marathon runners arrived as we got there, and I wish I got pictures of the crazy amount of people in the parking lot. Once we got in, we made our way upstairs to search for the stage area. After finding it, we made our way down and sat just a few rows away from the stage, which allowed me to take the amazing pictures in this post. This had to be the earliest I had ever watched a concert in my life! During the show, I spotted my friend Eileen and her sister, who actually ran in the marathon. Realizing I was just there to see the show, I felt slightly inadequate. I think I need to make running in a marathon also a part of my bucket list.
“The Ghost In You” 45 vinyl single from my personal collection (original video here).
After a few celebratory congratulations to runners from all over the world, The Psychedelic Furs strolled up to the stage. They played all the songs I had heard on 91x for so many years: “Heartbreak Beat”, “Heartbeat”, “Heaven”, and of course the hit from the movie, “Pretty In Pink”. I know a lot of people think the song was made for the 1986 movie of the same name, but the song was actually a remixed version of their original from the album Talk Talk Talk back in 1981.
I wanted to make sure I got these signature moves from “Love My Way”. See the original moves in the video here.
When my standout favorites “Love My Way” and “The Ghost In You” come on, I felt complete. When I think of “Love My Way”, I think of the first time I heard it during the movie “Valley Girl” back in the 80’s. When I was telling my husband that Janice and I were going to the show, he said he recognized that Furs song from “The Wedding Singer”, a movie about the 80’s. What prompted me to really want to see the Furs was hearing the live version of “The Ghost In You” played on Friday’s Resurrection Daily on 91x. Steve and Oz decided to play the song in honor of their Belly Up show, and mentioned that if you missed the show on Saturday, they have a free show at Petco Park. At that point, I was on a mission to see that song live, and I’m so glad I did. “The Ghost In You” is a gorgeous song that gives me goose-bumps each time I hear it, and just floored me to hear it live. Richard Butler still sounds fantastic to this day, and I am so glad we woke up early on a Sunday to see this awesome show live. Hope you had a great weekend!
I don’t quite remember the order of songs from the concert, but the set list below seems to be very similar.