New Wave came to Tampa, FL Friday night when Tears for Fears brought their Tipping Point World Tour to The Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre. 90s alternative gods Garbage opened. Shirley Manson was as ethereal as ever (making this old alterna-girl’s black heart happy). Her voice is as strong as ever. And who doesn’t want to be able to say they saw Butch Vig, the man that gave us Nirvana’s Nevermind. What’s even more beautiful is her humbleness. Stopping the song Wolves shortly into it, she humbly apologized because her concentration had broken and she completely forgot the lyrics. As she said, “Once you forget the first line, you’re dead meat”. They started over and made it through beautifully. Dedicating songs to the LGBTQ+ community and calling on everyone to protect our children, their set provided the perfect opening.
Tears for Fears is not new. In fact, I’d bet dollars to donuts that most reading this weren’t alive when The Hurting came out. But that’s the beauty of music. When it’s good, it’s timeless. And Tears for Fears is timeless. Although Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith have had solo outings, they’re just so much stronger together. The boys from Bath played a mix of classics and selections from their new album The Tipping Point (Break The Man deserves a listen). Nothing, however, gets the people on their feet quite like Head Over Heels (my favorite) or Shout, which closed out the night.
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