Electronic pioneers Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark were greeted with a heroes welcome as they performed to a packed out Civic Hall, delighting the crowd with a show that took in all of their well known hit singles along with a broad selection of cuts from recent studio album Bauhaus Staircase. The principal duo of Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, along with Martin Cooper (keyboards, saxophone) and Stuart Kershaw (drums), were in fine form on a night that saw the show have to be paused on a couple of occasions to deal with some members of the audience unfortunately passing out due to the extreme heat in the room.
Visually, the band make for an interesting dynamic in that only McCluskey is not tied to his instrument, and therefore the only one free to roam the stage. That said, he did an excellent job in making the most of the available space and ensuring the crowd were on side from the first song to the last. Played early in the set, ‘Messages’ and ‘Tesla Girls’ soon had everyone dancing and singing along, with the production making good use of the rear screen visuals. Humphreys got his turn in the spotlight as he and McCluskey traded places for the outstanding ballad ‘(Forever) Live and Die’. This was followed by arguably the highlight of the evening as the band revisited their ground breaking album from 1981, Architecture & Morality, for the showstopping trio of ‘Souvenir’, ‘Joan of Arc’ and ‘Maid of Orleans’.
Although they will be best remembered for their early work, twenty first century OMD are still writing some terrific songs, exemplified by the stunning film-noir inspired ballad ‘Veruschka’, where Andy’s voice scaled new heights. Followed by the emotive ‘Healing’, it made for an impressive pairing that shows the band still have plenty to say about the world we live in. ‘Locomotion’, ‘Sailing on the Seven Seas’ and ‘Enola Gay’ closed the main set with a flurry of nostalgia, and the whole evening represented a welcome reminder of OMD’s innovative journey that still makes them a tour de force more than forty years since the show closing ‘Electricity’.
Setlist
01. Anthropocene
02. Messages
03. Tesla Girls
04. Kleptocracy
05. History of Modern (Part I)
06. If You Leave
07. (Forever) Live and Die
08. Bauhaus Staircase
09. Souvenir
10. Joan of Arc
11. Joan of Arc (Maid of Orleans)
12. The Rock Drill
13. Veruschka
14. Healing
15. Don’t Go
16. So in Love
17. Dreaming
18. Locomotion
19. Sailing on the Seven Seas
20. Enola Gay
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21. Look at You Now
22. Pandora’s Box
23. Electricity
