Howard Jones • ABC • Haircut One Hundred • August 17, 2024 • Sandy Amphitheater
Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe
Some concerts are better than others. I hope that’s the most obvious statement I make in this article. I go to a lot of concerts and I love it. There is something (for the most part) great in every show I have the privilege of covering. But certain concerts just check all the boxes. Howard Jones played two headlining sold-out shows at Sandy Amphitheater on August 16 and 17.
New Wave greats, ABC and Haircut One Hundred joined Howard. This was one of those shows that checked all the boxes that I look for as an avid concertgoer. Entertaining headliner, check. Support band that could be a headliner on their own, check. Opener that I have never seen and always wanted to, check! It was a great mix of music from a nostalgic early MTV era that I loved so much. Judging by the two sold-out nights, I wasn’t the only one who felt this way.
Haircut One Hundred
Haircut One Hundred took the stage with the sun still blazing on the audience. I was worried that this would keep fans away from watching their set. I’ve been to shows here at Sandy Amphitheater. And when the show has multiple openers, it needs to start early because the city has a curfew. With this the sun has yet to set and the audience is fully exposed to the heat and sunlight. I’ve seen situations where audiences will opt to run for shade rather than watch the opener perform. I can hardly say I blame them. Summer is hot and it’s only that much more scorching when you have no cover. But I’m happy to report that this was not the case when Haircut One Hundred performed. As they walked on stage, instead of seeking shade, the audience rose to their feet to welcome the band back to the US.
I have never had the opportunity to see Haircut On Hundred in concert. They haven’t performed in the United States in over forty years! This tour marked their return to The States. I thought this was the perfect tour to reintroduce themselves to us Yankees. I was shocked that it had been so long since they had been here. They have such great songs and Utah loves their 80s bands. Howard Jones knows this. But more about him later. My hope is that the response Haircut 100 received will let them know that they’re welcome here anytime.
Now it’s one thing to be excited to see a band you’ve wanted to see or have them back for the first time in ages. But the next part of that is are we going to be glad we actually got to see them. Or should we have left them back in the 80s with our memories? So often now, and understandably so, bands from our youth don’t sound quite like they used to. We’re all older. Voices change, and instruments aren’t as easy to play. But Haircut One Hundred sounded great. Like as good as they ever have great. There was literally no dropoff! It was impressive. They performed songs off of Pelican West like, “Loves Got Me In Triangles”, and “Fantastic Day”. These songs ignited the crowd. People were dancing and singing along for the whole set.
Haircut One Hundred closed out their set in just the right way. First, they played my personal favorite of theirs, “Love Plus One”. This song was perfectly timed in the set because at this point, Sandy Amphitheater was completely full. Everyone was singing so loud. I looked all over and saw some amazing 80s dance moves return. It’s amazing what music can do and while we’re all much older than we were when this song came out, there was a youthfulness to the audience. It was really fun to watch.
Haircut 100 closed with another classic, “Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets World)” and they were off. I can’t emphasize enough how much I enjoyed their set. By the looks of them, they seemed to have really enjoyed themselves and the reaction of this audience. I thought it was great that three original members were still intact. Nick Heyward sounded great. His voice was still as I remembered it and whatever he does to stay looking so long I need that secret. Leslie Alexander Nemes was as smooth and chill as you’d expect on the bass. Graham Jones interacted well with the crowd and was excellent on the guitar. I will be excited to see these guys again.
ABC
If I’m being honest, ABC was the band that I was the most excited to see. I mean no disrespect to the other artists. I have seen Howard Jones multiple times and I knew that I was in for a good show with him. And I hadn’t seen Haircut One Hundred yet and while I was excited to see them, I wasn’t sure yet what I would be getting. As I mentioned they were great. But ABC, a band that I loved growing up and still enjoy, in Sandy, Utah on a Saturday night? I could not wait! For whatever reason, I had never seen ABC in concert. So I’m sure you could imagine how much anticipation I had.
Getting to see someone live for the first time is an amazing experience. I watched this band on MTV when MTV was breaking, I’ve listened to them for as long as I can remember. So watching Martin Fry walk on stage, and getting to take pictures of him and the band was surreal, to say the least. This band that you’ve loved is right in front of you. It’s so great! I was so excited. Similar to Haricut One Hundred ABC sounded phenomenal. I was not surprised. Fry’s silky smooth vocals have been well preserved.
ABC opened with “When Smokey Sings”. I knew right away that their set was going to be a lot of fun. People were dancing, and one man was wearing a shiny tuxedo similar to the tuxedos Martin Fry is famous for wearing. Speaking of tuxedos, Fry jokingly wondered why he decided that tuxedos as the band’s signature look would be a good idea. It was really hot and those guys were up there all decked out. Someone from the audience yelled out “Take it off!” Martin replied, “No, no the tuxedo stays on until the encore. It’s just one of those things. I don’t care if I pass out and collapse. I’ll still be wearing the tuxedo.” He appropriately followed his statements by performing “Vanity Kills”
ABC flew through their impressive catalog of hits. “Poison Arrow”, “(How To Be) A Millionaire”, and “Tears Are Not Enough” went over big with the crowd. I was impressed to see some young, possibly teenage, fans really getting into it. Either they found ABC on their own, or they just have really good parents. Either way, it was fun to see them knowing every word and dancing their hearts out.
The set closed with three of my favorite ABC songs. “All Of My Heart” is a lesser-known hit, but it is a great song. It shows off Martin Fry’s vocal talents and the song is arranged really well. I didn’t expect it to be performed so late into the set, so I started to wonder if they’d play it at all. I’m sure you can imagine how thrilled I was to hear it. That was followed by ABC’s smash hit, “The Look Of Love”. This is one of those songs for me that I never anticipated hearing live. And now that I got to, It’s meant to be heard with an audience. It was so much fun.
ABC ended their time on stage with “Be Near Me”. I have so many memories of this song. I remember my big sister playing her How To Be A Zillionare vinyl and just listening to this song over and over. Fry of course sounded great. The other five members of ABC are all accomplished musicians who brought this music to life in a very special way. These songs sounded fantastic because of them. I loved getting to finally see ABC and they’re another band that I can’t wait to see again.
Howard Jones
The prime was pumped. The audience had been warmed up. Everyone inside Sandy Amphitheater was ready for Howard Jones to take the stage. The sun had set, and the temperature had dropped. We were refreshed and ready to go. As I mentioned, I’ve been able to see Howard Jones a number of times. He has never disappointed. One thing is for sure, he always brings his best. Utah loves him and I think he’s very aware of that. I remember some years back, Howard joined The Bare Naked Ladies on their tour as a support act. The show was sold out, which is great, but to make sure his Utah fans had the opportunity to see him, he booked a solo show the following night. I’m pretty sure that show sold out as well. So yeah, Howard Jones is beloved here in Utah.
Jones walked on stage in a huge multicolor faux fur coat. The temperature had cooled down, but I’m not sure enough for the fur coat to be comfortable. But the audience loved it. It had to be done. He opened with “Pearl in a Shell”. That was followed by “New Song”. We were on our way to a great headlining set. People were signing so loud that a few times I couldn’t hear Jones. I looked back from where I was taking photos and I saw a sea of smiling faces. It was an amazing visual.
The hits just kept coming. After “New Song” Howard performed “Like To Get To Know You Well”. I get to take photos for the first three songs of a show. We had already had two huge hits. I was concerned that was missing out on all the good songs. But I was quickly reminded that HoJo has so many hits that the night was just getting going.
Howard Jones recently made a social media post with a photo of him and frontman of The Killers, Brandon Flowers. Jones had just been a guest during a Killers concert in England. In the post, Howard finished with “See you in Sandy”. I made a note of that and wondered if Flowers would be returning the favor. Would we see the lead singer of The Killers walk out onto the Sandy Amphitheater stage and sing a song with Howard Jones?! No. No, we wouldn’t. The Killers were in the middle of their Las Vegas residency celebrating 20 years of their debut album Hot Fuss. I think Howard had hoped for them to get together here in Utah but that wasn’t possible due to the scheduling conflict. Fortunately for us, Jones gave us an amazing cover of The Killers’ song, “Human”. Loved it.
You’d think at this point the audience would have an opportunity to take a breath. Maybe Howard would perform a new song, or a slow song to let this Gen X audience recover from the amazing start to this show. Nope. Jones instead brought things to another level with “Everlasting Love”. The crowd was right there with him. Hey roared their approval and the amphitheater was transformed in to an 80s dance club.
Another surprise cover came when Howard Jones introduced his guitarist Nick Beggs. He told us that Beggs not only had been in the band, Kajagoogoo, but he had co-written their mega hit, “Too Shy”. Howard Jones teased whether he’d play it or not, but ultimately he did and it was one of the highlights of the night.
One of my favorite moments in the entire evening was when Jones performed “No One Is To Blame”. Howard has done a great job of stripping that song down to just him and a piano and it feels like the song is meant to be performed that way. He sounded excellent vocally. Everyone did. Because everyone was singing the words. The couple next to me shared that this was their song. It was cool to see them enjoying the moment live.
We had been at Sandy Amphitheater for three hours. But no one wanted to leave. The sold-out crowd was having so much fun. But the time had finally come for the show to end. You know, curfew. Howard Jones ended the main set with, “What Is Love” but quickly returned to close the night with an extended version of “Things Can Only Get Better”. The Sandy air was filled with “Woah Woah Woah’s”.
Howard Jones’ music has so much positivity. I left that concert feeling so good. I felt optimistic and like I just had this wave of positive energy flowing through me. A New Wave, if you will. I’m sorry! I said wave and I just couldn’t leave it there! Haircut One Hundred, ABC, and Howard Jones were a perfect combination. This was one of the best tours of the summer. I can’t wait to see these artists again.
