Well, as no one else I knew had even heard of Howard Jones, let alone wanted to pay $70 to see him, last night I went to see Howard Jones by myself, thus proving my undying dedication to ’80s New Wave music! Conclusion: awesome. Rolling Stone Magazine didn’t name him 1986 keyboard player of the year for nothing, and by george he’s still got it. I didn’t know if he was going to hit the high notes in “Like to Get to Know You Well” and “Look Mamma” because I’d seen some recent live footage of Peter Gabriel and he’d been forced to sing “Big Time” a little more conservatively, but Howard Jones is still living the dream…
I never thought I’d see the day when a crowd of Australians would be chanting “Howard! Howard! Howard!” again. Even funnier, Howard Jones’s full name is “John Howard Jones!” I suppose “John Jones” is a bit plain for an ’80s pop star. Advertised online was “Howard Jones plus special guests (TBA).” The special guests turned out to be Howard Jones. I’d never seen a musician open for himself before, but Howard Jones watches out for Howard Jones. He wasn’t going to leave Howard Jones hanging. So he casually walked out on stage and played some solo songs on a keyboard. It was about as acoustic as Howard Jones gets, even though it was still an electronic keyboard, but hey, I didn’t want to make a big deal of it. Then after half an hour, he went backstage, put on a tie and came out for the electro set. Outstanding!
It’s interesting, I’d put him in the same category as Phil Collins, The Pet Shop Boys and Tears for Fears and he’s had just about as many hits as them too, but for some reason Howard Jones just isn’t as famous. But that’s fine with me, because I got to see him in a really intimate setting, with maybe around 200 other people. It was like a secret show just for us. For the record, he started the electro set with “Conditioning” (which I hadn’t actually heard before, but it’s fantastic live. I just hope the version I’m downloading now is as good!) and of course he also played his other well-knowns “Things Can Only Get Better,” “Everlasting Love,” “Life in One Day” and “No One is to Blame.” I’m sorry I can’t remember the rest. I actually only heard a couple of his albums, but the great thing about loving ’80s music is I can discover songs I’ve never heard before, and to me, it’s like it’s a brand new song (although that won’t last forever, hehe). I’ve got a couple of actual 12-inch records, including the appropriately named “The 12-Inch Album,” but I plan to build my Howard Jones collection.
A slight side track… I’m not much of a drinker. In fact, let’s be unambiguous. I don’t drink alcohol. Never really cared for it. But anyway, that’s beside my point. I bought a glass of diet coke from The Gov. I took my wallet out, expecting it to be maybe in the range of $2.50 to $3, which although is by no means cheap, is the amount I expect to get ripped off when I purchase a beverage from a public house. $3.70! Outrageous. And no free-refill or anything. That was it. And it wasn’t even a large glass. I would estimate maybe 120mL. 150 tops. To give you a sense of scale, here’s said over-priced drink next to my antiquated Nokia 1600:
Ridiculous… And inevitably, the concert came to a close with Howard Jones finishing the evening with “New Song,” which is, ironically, also his oldest song. Excellent synthesiser solo. Definately worth $70.
Kind regards,
David M. Green
Yes. Howard Jones.
