Photos by Alex Kluft
The combination of Simple Minds, Soft Cell and Modern English at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Los Angeles is one that should get all '80s hounds salivating. And to be fair, those in attendance were super-enthusiastic. There were a few empty seats dotted around the place, but they can probably be explained by the fact that Simple Minds have been no strangers to California in the past couple of years (including a much-heralded set at Cruel World last year). But the people that were at the Forum were loving every minute.
Due to the early evening travel time from Hollywood to Inglewood, we didn't get to the Forum in time to see Modern English. By all accounts, they were superb -- sorry, lads. Our snapper did at least capture this shot.
We did get to see all of Soft Cell though, and what a treat Marc Almond's outfit served up. Opening with a version of "Memorabilia" that blended in snippets of "Turn the Beat Around" and some Madonna tunes, Soft Cell seemed determined to party.
By way of an introduction to "Purple Zone," Soft Cell's collab with the Pet Sop Boys, Almond (to paraphrase) described Soft Cell as the most influential synth-pop duo, and the PSBs as the most successful.
The covers of Georgio Moroder's "First Hand Experience in Second Hand Love" and the Four Seasons' "The Night" were majestic, while the closing "Tainted Love" (with a bit of "Where Did Our Love Go") had the whole arena standing.
Dark yet buoyant, and still wonderfully subversive, a Soft Cell show remains an amazing experience.
On to Simple Minds, who strutted on stage to the recorded sounds of Tubeway Army's "Are 'Friends' Electric?," then blasted through a killer greatest hits set that hit all of the right notes.
"Let There Be Love" was an early highlight, and the entire band sounded magnificent as they blasted through crowd favorites such as "Oh Jungleland" and "Promised You a Miracle."
Naturally, the biggest reaction was saved for "Don't You (Forget About Me)" and "Alive and Kicking." But the whole show was proof that Simple Minds still has plenty to offer.
