New Wave Archives - Utah Concert Review

September 5, 2024September 5, 2024

Howard Jones + ABC + Haircut One Hundred

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.

May 6, 2022

The English Beat

The English Beat w/ The Mad Professor• April 29, 2022• The Commonwealth Room

Reviewed by Kevin Rolfe

There are times when I’ll see a concert on the calendar and know without any doubt that it’ll be a good time. That’s exactly how it was when I saw The English Beat on the schedule. I grew up with The Englis Beat, or The Beat, as they’re known in England being played on early MTV and on my brother’s record player. The songs are so familiar and always take me back to that young time in my life. As I’ve aged, (boy have I aged!) I’ve been able to appreciate the music more and more. They were one of the major bands of the ska music revival in England and a huge player in the New Wave, Post Punk generation.

The English Beat has a dedicated fan base here in Utah. They’ve played everywhere from Red Butte Gardens to the Complex to Soda Row in Daybreak. Their shows are always well attended and the crowd is always a lively bunch.

August 20, 2019

Lost 80’s Live! August 15, 2019, Sandy Amphitheater

By: Kevin Rolfe

Nostalgia can be a beautiful thing. And Sandy Amphitheater was full of it on August 15. The amphitheater was full of people thinking back to their youth and to the songs that made up the soundtrack of their lives back then. Many of those songs were on display during the Lost 80’s Live Tour. With a lineup including A Flock of Seagulls, Wang Chung, The Vapors, Boys Don’t Cry, The Escape Club, Real Life, and Farrington & Mann(Original Members of When in Rome UK) you get the most bang for your buck. Several bands performing some of the ’80s most iconic songs in one show. When I was stationed by the soundboard to take pictures a man stopped to chat with me. I asked him what he thought of shows like this. He thought it was great. He stated that he could see all these bands at once whereas he might not be able to see all of them if they toured individually. We also discussed that this gave these bands the opportunity to play to a larger audience then they might if they toured on their own. He shared that he had seen A Flock of Seagulls way back in the early 80s and was excited to see them again. He also stated that he had never seen When in Rome when they were first on the scene so he was excited to finally hear “The Promise” live by original vocalists Farrington & Mann.