ANAHEIM,
CA – Philip Oakey, Joanne Catherall and Susanne Sulley, respectively—took
the stage dressed in dark clothing and complementarity dark glasses. But
approximately an hour and a half later, the solemn entourage ended their
show by wildly dancing to “Together In Electric Dreams.” In the time between
these two behavioral/emotional extremes, Oakey restlessly roamed the stage
and sang with an end-of-17-date-tour scratchy voice, while Catherall and
Sulley 
flanked
him by looking consistently bored and slut-y – as expected. The Human League
is not as Gothic as it tried to appear at the beginning of the night, nor
is it as happy-go-lucky as it seemed to be at the end of the evening. Instead,
it is something in between, and perhaps that’s what still makes it an attractive
live act – even after all these years. It either brings an edge to its
pop, or pop to its edge, depending upon how you choose to look at it.
This
group has been alternately praised and blamed for jumpstarting the synth-pop
movement of the ‘80s. As Oakey has oft stated, the band originally aimed
for something somewhere between chilly Kraftwerk, and hot Donna Summer’s
“I Feel Love.” But you don’t have to be a techno-head to appreciate what
the League has given to the pop world, because underneath all its electronic
gizmos, exists one fine pop band.
Although
the group opened with a series of obscure and steely numbers (ones only
hardcore fans likely recognized), and got a little bogged down in politics
along the way with “The Lebanon” and “Heart Like A Wheel,” it didn’t take
long before the hit single “Human” came along in the set list. This moving
ballad is nothing, if not a morality tale about trying to make excuses
for adultery. It was also the one lone moment when Sulley took the vocal
spotlight for a spoken word female perspective on the song’s subject matter.
Sulley, by the way, was/is the most overtly sexualized female onstage.
Indeed, she many times (too many times?) exposed her slightly oversized
mid-riff. Catherall also took a turn singing lead on “One Man In My Heart,”
which featured an actual acoustic guitar played by the band’s Gothic-looking
guitarist/keyboardist.
Oakey
is the ringmaster of this neon circus, however, and it was his energy that
always kept the show moving right along. It was simply impossible to resist
shaking one’s stuff to his performances of “(Keep Feeling) Fascination,” 
“Don’t
You Want Me?” and “Love Action (I Believe In Love).” On the last of these
three, he even climbed atop a monitor to belt out its pseudo-rap. Even
nowadays, quite a few years after its heyday, The Human League is still
“feeling fascination.”
General
Public opened the “Rock Of The Eighties”-themed double bill, but it was
ultimately a bit of a misnomer. You see, Dave Wakeling is the only remaining
original member of the “band” General Public, which was once a duo that
also included toaster Ranking Roger. Wakeling must be the legal owner of
the band name, and probably uses it to draw bigger crowds than his surname
alone might otherwise attract. The rest of the musicians onstage with him
were obviously hired guns. It’s also worth noting that he only sang three
actual General Public songs, but a whole eight English Beat tunes. He may
not own the English Beat name, but this beloved act will always be the
combo with which he is most closely associated. During Wakeling’s days
with the Beat he did his best writing. Although aligned with the Ska movement
of the Eighties, The English Beat was so much more than just another trendy
musical import. As you may or may not recall, it gave us the biting dance-rock
of “Mirror In The Bathroom,” and the wonderfully melodic “Save It For Later,”
and Wakeling performed each of these enthusiastically throughout the night.
