A Joyful Night of Classic New Wave with Howard Jones and ABC

I’ve seen more opening acts than I can count, but I’ve never seen anything quite like the presentation that started things off at Denver’s Mission Ballroom Tuesday night. Richard Blade, a legend in ’80s music culture, performed a deejay set of sorts that chronicled the origins and evolution of new wave. For 45 minutes he alternated between stories, photos and original video. Tracing the rise of the genre through bands like Kraftwerk, Gary Numan, The Go-Go’s and Duran Duran. It was fun and entertaining and the crowd ate it up.

Blade segued into the first performance with a video montage of a band that squarely fit on the list of wave titans: ABC. The group emerged decked out in suits (a look that has defined them since the beginning) and were off and running with “When Smokey Sings.” They sounded as good as ever as they made their way through 13 songs that included “King Without a Crown,” “Be Near Me” and of course, “The Look of Love.”

Howard Jones‘ set included many of his hits. Songs and lyrics his fans have likely heard many times, but that seemed to take on an extra poignancy Tuesday evening. A poignancy that was reflected in moments like when Jones said “you should be able to be who you love, and love who you love.” A fitting into into a four song stretch of songs that were, in fact, all about love.

The energetic front man swapped out both clothes and instruments. He started with a furry, multi-colored coat and matching keytar, before switching to a combo of sparkly jackets and a synth. Jones mixed things up with some different song arrangements too. The highlight of which was probably a fresh and stripped down version of “Life in One Day.”

Jones closed out the show with “Things Can Only Get Better.” A song that may be 40 years old, but still seems just as relevant today. Music. Joy. Art. These are all things we could use more than ever now. And if you’ve been fortunate enough to catch these new wave legends on this latest tour, that’s exactly what you got.

Check out more photos from the show below: