The Go-Go’s
Thirty eight years after crawling out of the burgeoning Los Angeles punk rock scene to become one of the biggest bands of the new wave era, The Go-Go’s could be finally calling it a day. At least that’s what the name of the current tour suggests. Postponed from 2010 when Wiedlin was forced to take time off to recover from a knee injury, the Go-Go’s official “Going Going Gone; The Farewell Tour” has sadly come to pass.
Openers Kaya Stewart and Best Coast collectively did a great job of warming up the crowd as they filled the seats, wine and beer in-hand. But it was clear that the gathered crowd, whose age rage spanned a several decades but generally tilted towards the 50s, was there for the headliners. So when the band finally took the stage to Grand Funk Railroad’s “We’re An American Band,” the house lit up.
The Go-Go’s
While Kathy Valentine officially parted ways with the band in 2013 amidst acrimony, the rest of the Go-Go’s (including Abby Travis on bass) could not have looked happier to be on stage together, all smiles as they danced along to the intro music before kicking straight into “Vacation,” as a barefoot Belinda Carlisle spun around the carpeted stage.
Not surprisingly, the setlist drew heavily from their 1981 breakthrough debut, Beauty and the Beat. But what made the night particularly special was the nod to their roots with a pair of pre-Beauty songs, “Screaming” and “Fun With Ropes.” It’s hard to imagine, but yes, the Go-Go’s started as a punk band and even as they progress through their 50s, that ethos remains to this day.
The Go-Go’s
The Go-Go’s
The Go-Go’s
The Go-Go’s
In short, the band looked and sounded great. Even an out of tune guitar and a few forgotten lyrics on “Fading Fast” were easily handled with a joke as the band blasted through the too short hour and ten minute set that wrapped with every person in the venue on their feet for “Our Lips Are Sealed” through the encore of “Head Over Heels” which had the set time nearly running up against the 10:30 curfew. Charlotte Caffey could not have said it better when describing the band … “bad ass.”
The tour wraps up on August 30 at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles but, given the enthusiasm on and off stage as well as the fact that Belinda left open the possibility for more, let’s all hope that this was more of a “Farewell For Now” tour than a “Farewell Tour.”
The Go-Go’s
The Go-Go’s
The Go-Go’s
The Go-Go’s
The Go-Go’s
The Go-Go’s
The Go-Go’s
The Go-Go’s
The Go-Go’s
The Go-Go’s
The Go-Go’s
The Go-Go’s
The Go-Go’s
The Go-Go’s
The Go-Go’s
The Go-Go’s
BEST COAST
Best Coast
Best Coast
Best Coast
Best Coast
Best Coast
Best Coast
Best Coast
Best Coast
Best Coast
Best Coast
Best Coast
Best Coast
Best Coast
KAYA STEWART
Kaya Stewart
Kaya Stewart
Kaya Stewart
Kaya Stewart
Kaya Stewart
Kaya Stewart
Kaya Stewart
Kaya Stewart
Kaya Stewart
Kaya Stewart
Kaya Stewart
Kaya Stewart
Kaya Stewart
Kaya Stewart
Kaya Stewart
Kaya Stewart
Kaya Stewart
SETLIST
Vacation
How Much More
Tonight
This Town
Mad About You (Belinda Carlisle song)
Insincere
Screaming
Fun With Ropes
Good Girl
Fading Fast
Cool Places (Sparks cover)
Cool Jerk (The Capitols cover)
Skidmarks on My Heart
La La Land
Our Lips Are Sealed
We Got the Beat
ENCORE
Get Up & Go
Head Over Heels
