On Tuesday August 23rd, the Celebrity Theatre was transformed into the 1980s as Culture Club came to town. Culture Club is an English band that was part of the MTV generation in the 80s. Up until MTV, bands had to make it by radio coverage and touring. But with the introduction of MTV, bands could just make music videos and reach out to millions of fans. Boy George, the lead singer for Culture Club told us that when they came to the US they did not do a nationwide tour because it was just easier to reach their fans by doing the music videos. He told us that this current tour was the first real nationwide US tour. This maybe the reason that a lot of the audience was so stoked to finally see them live. I really liked MTV (in the early days before the reality show phase) because it did expose us to more bands and we could actually see them even if the videos were staged and choreographed. But a lot of us really missed the band tours like they did in the 70s.
Culture Club consists of Boy George (Lead Vocals), Roy Hay (guitar/keyboards), Jon Moss (drums) and Michael “Mikey” Craig (bass). They were backed by 3 backup singers, a keyboardist, another guitarist, a 3 person horn section and a percussionist. Amazingly this all fit on the Celebrity Theatre’s round stage. They even had the stage rotate during the performance. Boy George was fantastic, he roamed the stage and at times even went to the back of the stage and sang and talked to the audience. A number of time between songs, Boy George would talk to the audience and even ask them questions. This personal touch was really nice and, for the fans, it was great. The audience was definitely an older crowd
that grew up during the MTV era. During most of the show, the audience was up and dancing to the music and sometimes even singing along, especially during Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? and Karma Chameleon. The rest of the band also looked like they were having a great time, especially Mikey as he was constantly smiling and dancing around the stage as he played bass.
Overall the show was very enjoyable and the audience had a great time. Just before the end of the show, Boy George had a little girl (probably under 10 years old) that was dress to look like him back in the 80s come on the stage. He talked to her and even did a cell phone selfie with her. There were rumors that Boy George’s voice would not last the entire show, but that did not occur. He voice was as strong at the end of the show as the start. If you were a fan of Culture Club in the 80s or just enjoy good music, then this is a great show to see.
Review and photos by Fred Kuhlman
Promoter: Danny Zelisko Presents
Venue: Celebrity Theatre
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2016
Culture Club Setlist: (Album)
Church of the Poison Mind (Colour by Numbers)
It’s a Miracle (Colour by Numbers)
I’ll Tumble 4 Ya (Kissing to Be Clever)
Move Away (From Luxury to Heartache)
Everything I Own (David Gates cover)
Black Money (Colour by Numbers)
Time (Clock of the Heart) (Kissing to Be Clever)
Like I Used To (Tribes, New album not yet released)
Different Man (Tribes, New album not yet released)
Miss Me Blind (Colour by Numbers)
Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? (Kissing to Be Clever)
Victims (Colour by Numbers)
The War Song (Waking Up with the House on Fire)
Encore:
Karma Chameleon (Colour by Numbers)
Get It On (T-Rex cover)
