I can still recall the first time I heard the B-52s. I was getting a ride to high school from Bruce Gress in his silver Buick Skyhawk. He listened to WKNC, NC State’s college radio station. Without any warning, the stereo played the B-52s’ “Strobe Light.” After a lifetime of listening to soft rock in my parents’ car (since they controlled the dial) or the local rock station that played all the Led Zeppelin clones, this was a jolt to my ears. No one coming through car speakers had sounded like Fred Schneider to me. Mixing his voice with the Kate Pierson and Cindy Williams was beautifully unique. This was New Wave. This was the song of my people. I hoped the D.J. would come on and identify the band before we got to the parking lot at Cardinal Gibbons. He did. I memorized their name. On that morning in 1981, I became a fan of the B-52s. It was easy to imagine that the B-52s were an obscure band. They had sold over a million records at that point in their career. They were big enough to be third slot on the first night of the US Festival in 1982 with the Talking Heads and the Police to come. They walked onto that stage in front of over 100,000 people and took them into a strange new space. The B-52s Live At The US Festival takes us back to that night.
The set starts off with Fred wearing futuristic sunglasses and yelling “Surprise” as the band gets into “Party Out of Bounds.” The band might seem restrained in their wardrobe, but it was over 100 degrees on the day of the massive show. Fred quickly gets down to a white tanktop. It’s a miracle that that Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson didn’t melt under their enormous wigs. This is a band that understands playing in hot clubs so what’s a dry heat to them? They were ready to bring the party to San Bernandino, California. Cindy Wilson gives a plaintive “Give Me Back My Man.” Then the band takes us away to “Planet Claire.”
The concert took place after the B-52’s released their Mesopotamia EP. This was supposed to be a superstar team up album with David Byrne from The Talking Heads as the producer. Something went and we only got six songs. The band performs the two best tracks “Throw That Beat In the Garbage Can” and “Mesopotamia” on stage as the sun sets. We also get the greatest song about a lava lamp in “Lava” as the darkness takes hold. “6060-842” is a number from their first album.
“Big Bird” is a song that wouldn’t be on vinyl until their next album Whammy. The last five songs have the crowd bouncing up and down under the moon. “52 Girls,” “Dance This Mess Around,” “Private Idaho,” “Rock Lobster” and “Strobe Light” (as the encore) pretty much elevated any party in the ’80s. Watching Ricky Wilson on guitar is a delight. He wasn’t there to put his spin on the blues. He figured out chords that were just for his band. The same goes with the unusual drum set up used by Keith Strickland. Kate plays keyboards during the set. Cindy switches between keyboards and percussion while doing a shimmy with her Candy Johnson-esque dress. Fred delivers cowbell on “Rock Lobster” and lays down the glockenspiel during one song. The only extra players are two horn guys who also play a mean duck call.
There are short interview bits with Fred, Cindy and Kate inserted between a few of the songs where they reflect upon the night. They talk about Ricky who passed away three years after this show.
The B-52s Live At The US Festival shows the original version of the B-52s at their prime. The band that put Athens, Georgia on the musical map arrived that night in California ready to play and enjoy themselves on stage. Everyone is in fine form. I can’t imagine the audience had much energy left for The Talking Heads and the Police. Why aren’t the B-52s in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? They haven’t even been nominated since they became eligible in 2004. Because there’s a lot of people with ballots who just don’t grasp the joy of hearing “Strobe Light” at 7 a.m. going into school.
The set list includes:
Party Out of Bounds
Give Me Back My Man
Planet Claire
Throw That Beat In The Garbage Truck
Lava
Mesopotamia
6060-842
Big Bird
52 Girls
Dance This Mess Around
Private Idaho
Rock Lobster
Strobe Light
The Video is 1.33:1 full frame. While the show was taped on standard definition video, they’ve done a good just upgrading for the Blu-ray. You get a great sense of what Ricky Wilson was doing on the guitar. The Audio is LPCM 2.0 stereo.
Trailer (1:05) is Cindy Wilson talking about what her brother did to get his guitar sound.
MVDVisual presents The B-52s Live At US Festival. Directed by Glenn Aveni. Starring Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, Cindy Wilson, Ricky Wilson and Keith Strickland. Running Time: 60 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: November 8, 2024.
