A great evening with two bands that I have waited too long to see live. First up was Haircut One Hundred, whose new album Boxing The Compass marks a welcome return for this early 80s British group. The band wedged their entire set into a half-hour slot, and had the audience dancing along, and even cheering for an encore as they took their final bows.
After a low-key, yet well-received set by Adam Ant, Squeeze hit the stage with a trio of songs that reminded you who they were. “Up The Junction”, “Throwing Mussels From A Shell”, and “Another Nail In My Heart,” all delivered as if the songs were new. The band then settled into their new album, Trixies, in its entirety. Bandleaders Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook wrote the concept album in 1974, and recently recorded it after having found a cassette of the songs. The songs on Trixies show the early influences of the two., leading more into 60s and 70s British psych and orchestral pop. Thankfully, the album still sounds like Squeeze, and got a nice response from an audience that seemed surprised by the setlist.
Augmented by a nine-piece band, Squeeze pulled off the new album, and their bevy of classic songs that sounded like you hoped they would. Special credit to Tilbrook for nailing his trademark vocals, and playing his leads through a B-Bender Telecaster.
