Review by Val Tapia
Photos by Fred Kuhlman
Promoter: Live Nation (https://www.livenation.com/ )
Venue: Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre (https://www.facebook.com/TalkingStickResortAmphitheatre/ )
Date: Sunday May 25th, 2025
Tour: Alive and Kicking Tour 2025
There’re few things better in life than a live concert during a holiday weekend. Sure, for some it may have been a tad warm. But it was still a gorgeous (late) spring night when 80s “new wave” juggernauts Simple Minds took the stage at the Pavilion (note: it’s currently called the Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre) on Sun. May 25.
Despite the fact that attendance was far below capacity (Note: about 4500 people turned out, according to a Live Nation staffer on site) for the aptly-named Alive and Kicking tour, that didn’t deter the enthusiasm of the fans–or the veteran band itself– one bit.
Having said that, I think the Mesa Amphitheatre would’ve been a far better venue for this tour. Not to mention the band is no stranger to it either, given that they played there at their absolute height in April 1986.
Fun fact: The Call opened that show, in case any of you were wondering. Probably a “dream tour” for many a teen at that time.
One thing you can say about Simple Minds’ lead singer Jim Kerr: the guy still loves being onstage, even as he approaches the age of 66 in July. Not to mention his voice is still undeniably strong after four decades of performing.
Kicking off the (roughly) 100-minute, 17-song set with Waterfront and Speed Your Love To Me (from 1984’s Sparkle In The Rain), respectively, it was clear that Simple Minds made no bones about wanting to stay faithful to the records as much as realistically possible… something I always prefer when it comes to live music.
I should add there was one exception where they veered off from the record, and not in a good way. More on that shortly.
For the Alive and Kicking tour, the “Minds” decided to focus on their U.S. breakthrough album Once Upon A Time. No less than five songs were played from it.
I was impressed how musically tight the band is, and equally surprised how loud they were. Kudos to the sound technicians for a job well done on that front.
I can honestly say that it was one of the best sounding concerts I’ve ever heard at the Pavilion, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have reviewed plenty of shows there over the years.
The current incarnation of Simple Minds consists of sole original members Kerr and lead guitarist Charlie Burchill, with bassist Ged Grimes, second guitarist Gordy Goudie, keyboardist Erik Ljunggren, backing vocalist Sarah Brown and drummer Cherisse Osei rounding out this exceptional lineup.
Kerr took a little break from singing when the band broke into a cool instrumental called Theme For Great Cities off the 1981 double-album Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call. It was a nice change of pace in the set.
It’s hard to hear a song like See The Lights (from 1991’s Real Life) without hearing a similarity to U2. Rightly or wrongly, that comparison remains a millstone around the necks of Simple Minds …to this very day.
On the other hand, it’s important to say that U2 and Simple Minds were and are contemporaries, for all intents and purposes. Regardless of the endless comparisons.
As I stated in the headline, there was one bitterly glaring omission in the set. In short order, I was shocked and disappointed that She’s A River wasn’t played Sunday night. Bad move on their part.
I will gladly go on record here to say it’s the greatest Simple Minds song ever recorded, in this writer’s humble(?) opinion. Frankly, it would’ve been the perfect song to follow Osei’s brief drum solo as well.
Dare I say, I’d also place She’s A River as one of the top 100 rock singles of the 90s. It was a brilliant “re-invention”, if you will, of Simple Minds during that decade. They nailed it.
What made things worse was the fact that the predictable main set closer, Don’t You (Forget About Me), lasted 11 minutes long— unnecessarily I might add. Talk about taking up space in the worst possible way. Way too many “La-La-Las”. But I digress.
To be fair, despite (or maybe in spite?) of the paltry length of the show, they should be commended for finding a balance of hits and obscure songs for the hardcore fans who have stood with them all these years.
According to Setlist FM, they’ve been rotating two or three songs a night (give or take) since the tour commenced earlier this month. If nothing else, I sincerely applaud them for exploring their catalog in a way that most artists from the 80s and 70s (again, ones with sizeable catalogs) refuse to do.
In other words, those bands just don’t want to rehearse more songs than they have to. Simple as that— pardon the pun.
The show concluded with a three-song encore consisting of Book of Brilliant Things with Sarah Brown taking over on lead vocals. Two more tunes from Once Upon A Time closed the night, the mandatory Alive and Kicking, followed by Sanctify Yourself.
In many ways, Soft Cell and Modern English were the perfect opening acts for the Alive and Kicking tour.
Kicking things off at 7:00 p.m. sharp, Modern English played a brief yet effective 30-minute set that kicked off with Gathering Dust and newbie Long In The Tooth (released last year), respectively.
To my ears, they were definitely more on the “punk” side of things than new wave. They were definitely more guitar-centric than I remember them to be, truth be told.
As for Soft Cell, their 40-minute, 9-song set also went down pretty well with the largely Gen X audience. Opening with Memorabilia, it included snippets of Madonna’s Holiday, Into The Groove and Like A Virgin, respectively.
Two recent songs (from 2022’s Happiness Not Included) also made the cut, Purple Zone and Nostalgia Machine. Good on them for still having the creative will to write new material.
The final verdict? Overall, the Alive and Kicking tour is a well-oiled machine from start to finish. If you like the 80s, you’ll like this tour.
Four out of five stars… it’s a fun night out.
Simple Minds
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2025, All Rights Reserved
Modern English
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2025, All Rights Reserved
Soft Cell
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2025, All Rights Reserved
Simple Minds set list:
Waterfront
Speed Your Love To Me
Sons and Fascination
Let There Be Love
Once Upon A Time
Someone Somewhere In Summertime
Sweat In Bullet
Hunter And The Hunted
Oh Jungleland
Promised You A Miracle
Theme For Great Cities (followed by a brief drum solo)
See The Lights
All The Things She Said
Don’t You (Forget About Me)
Encore:
Book Of Brilliant Things
Alive and Kicking
Sanctify Yourself
