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In Performance • THE B-52’s • DTE Theatre • Aug. 20 The Original Shake Society Rolls into Town By Bob Martin Exclusive Photos by Kay McEntee Almost a decade into the 21st Century and it seems our collective gestalt is clutching to the 1960’s stronger than ever. Perhaps it’s the strength of the vibe fueling our nostalgic yearning for a time when America dominated culture & industry, cars were sleek, stylish, and the size of a whale; women shimmied in lurex mini-skirts; and the 3-martini lunch, as epitomized in the hit TV series Madmen, was a commonplace component of carving an edge and closing the deal across the Boardrooms of America. Since The B-52’s cut their niche into the musical grooves of America during the first crest of the ‘new wave’ back in 1976, they’ve set a singular standard of potent, intoxicating, hook-laden, inventive rock ‘n roll with a posture that avoids the passive retrospection of nostalgia by consciously counter-balancing it with the futuristic. And it helps to have fresh songs & new material as vital as the classics that inspired the revival of bouffant hair-dos and booty shaking from sea to shining sea some three decades ago. Performing to a surprisingly near capacity crowd at DTE Energy Theatre on August 20th, the vocal power-house of Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson has neither faded nor cooled over the years, but still shines bright as a comet fueled with Cosmopolitans. Whether soaring in the sonic vocal stratosphere on newer songs like Ultraviolet and Love in the Year 2000, or mining the embers from such classic gems as Planet Claire or Strobe Light and Private Idaho, Kate and Cindy each still possess an uncommon clarity and power behind their vocals that continues to hold the pitch and sustain of the high notes, milking nuggets of lyrical emotion to the marrow of each measure. And while Fred Schneider is still the king of raconteurs – a non-stop mix of spoken quips and witticisms that fill out the mix like a carefully crafted layer cake; it was the guitar-work of Keith Strickland that propelled the entire musical foundation with crisp, full, carefully delineated chunks of rhythmically melodic wonder. From ancient and forgotten gems like Mesopotamia, which received live resuscitation from the rather stolid production of ex-Talking Head David Byrne on the original recording; to their largest selling hit Love Shack, the appreciative crowd was out of their seats and dancing for a full 90-minutes, proving that the ability of this band to bring life, energy, and happiness to the beleaguered Motor City in this day and age is a testament not only to their staying power, but more importantly, their timelessness.
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