A stellar 80s new wave bill came to Montclair Monday night making it feel like the days when MTV played videos. Legendary singer, songwriter and keyboardist Howard Jones made his way back to New Jersey this time with ABC and Haircut 100 in tow. The sold out show at the Wellmont Theater was filled with hits from all the bands, lots of dancing and smiles.
Haircut 100, led by Nick Heyward, played a short set to open up night but they played it flawlessly. This tour is the first time the band has toured in more than 40 years and they are certainly making up for lost time. They ended their set by banging out the monster hits “Favorite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)” and “Love Plus One”. ABC took the stage to a screaming crowd that had most of them standing up and dancing in their seats. Martin Fry’s voice sounded great, as if I was still in the 80’s. With hits like “How to be a Millionaire”, “Poison Arrow” and “The Look of Love” they had the crowd singing along like a bunch of little kids.
What can I say about Howard Jones other than wow. Jones played a really cool set with hit after hit from “No One is to Blame”, “Hide and Seek”, “Everlasting Love” and ending it with the classic Things Could Only Get Better”. About halfway through his set Jones introduced his bass player as the founder of the band Kajagoogoo and they performed their hit “Too Shy”. Everyon, of course, sang along.
All in all, it was a great show with all three bands playing sets that showed them still enjoying being on the stage and performing to thousands of people.
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