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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

The Bangles in Melbourne, Australia, 9th October 2008 Part 2

Now i just go back to my fond Bangle memories of the happy days in the 80's,because the band i have seen tonight is just a pale imitation with very few hints of former glories and i'm really sorry to say that. But i want to be honest. I owe them that much,after all in my kiddies days they were my musical heroes. I just wish i would have seen them back then,not today. With the entire line up and less dudes on stage. I want more estrogen and less testosterone! Oh well,at least Susanna Hoffs still looks hot. I would go to another Bangles concert but only if it features the entire line up,otherwise no. This whole we three Bangles and assorted bassist thing doesn't cut it with me,its just a promotional afterthought to sell them as the original line-up and not the partial line up they actually are,or just some cheap shot at Michael. Just read the early reunion interviews where they stress how important the inclusion of Michael Steele is,as opposed to their current bassists are interchangeable speeches. Partial line ups don't sell well in the nostalgia circuit,and i don't like "my girls" being bitches,so i hope its the sales argument that motivates them to talk nonsense. Susanna Hoffs still had a cheap shot at Michael during the concert,and claimed that the current dude is the only happy bassplayer she knows,some thinly disguised attack against Michael and her short lived replacement Abby Travis and well,all the bassists they ever "employed". Well,Sue,have fun,this Bangles fan will forgive but not forget.now go and shave your legs and learn some lyrics,you have much work to do. Micki Steel,her music and influence is missing everywhere already,their sniping doesn't help. Perhaps they are just bitter because they are very much the greatest hits band they say they don't want to be,but that's not Michaels fault.. . A friend of mine from the Uk met Micki in the late 80's and he said she is a total sweetheart and a babe,too,shy but approachable without any attitude or arrogance just a glowing person. Bangles take note how to be a class act,especially Vicki Peterson.she just excudes boastfulness with everything she says and does. I mean she is the little known guitarist of some forgotten 80's act with a partial line up and still in Susannas shadow! Nothing to write home about. Michael Steele just doesn't deserve the cheap shots from the Bangles and she doesn't shoot back,she has too much class..But enough about that. There are plenty of faceless 80's acts out there with interchangeable bandmembers,and stupid feuds going on,i don't want "my girls" to suffer the same fate. Irrelevant fodder for 80's festivals bitching about former bandmates,ugh,thanks i'll pass. But if you want to stare at the naked legs of some fifty year old woman,or peek under her skirt like a horn dog,while she sings about being in your room,a Bangles concert is the right place for you. People stuck in the 80's might be happy to be there as well,because they played all the hitsand maybe gullible kids who know next to nothing about the "real" Bangles and think the current line up is the real deal because Vicki Petersopn says so. I know how rude that sounds,but i'm just a little bitter as a longtime fan about their current sorry state. But there are more important things than some 80's girlgroup anyway. When its over,when its done,let it go.......i just wish i had a timemachine. Thomas

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

The Bangles in Melbourne, Australia, 9th October 2008

Hi,my name is Thomas and i am a fan of The Bangles for 22 years and i finally managed to see them tonight! I was a proud member of their Bangles'N'Mash fanclub in the 80's. Yes sir! First of all a remark about that interview bit posted here. To be fair,Michael Steele didn't want to be an 80's act either, but unlike Hoffs and co,she stays true to her words,while they do nothing else but Ladies of the 80's tours for the last couple of years and their new musical output is next to nothing. Where are those new songs they talk about for years? But i still did go anyway,and i was excited! The show lasted little more than an hour,but i was warned already they would leave the stage rather quickly. I guess they just lack the body of work. Four albums in 27 years just isn't much for any band. They started off with a blunder and messed up Hazy shade of winter,but they were never known for perfection anyway. I expected a more energetic performance too,but then again,they are fifty somethings in miniskirts and it shows. Skimpy clothes doesn't turn a crone into a young girl,and it makes me wonder about their "we don't want to be sex kittens" talk of their early reunion days,too. But they are not big anymore,they use everything they have to make $$$ and i can't blame them. We all have to pay our bills. The performance of the next couple of songs wasn't any better,but the lead vocals were done well,unlike the harmonies,and they had some funny stage banter occasionally,even if the "jokes" sounded rehearsed. Vicki would say something,Susanna giggles,Debbi comments after a pause like you see it in sitcoms. Until September Girls that is,were their harmonies fell apart like a cardhouse and Hoffs proved that she can't sing it like Micki Steele does,the often ignored,belittled and despised former singer,songwriter,guitarist,bassist and on-stage powerhouse for the band. Hoffs lacks the earnest emotion,she just wants to sing pretty and doesn't really understand the song. By the way, Vicki Peterson introduced the song but didn't waste a word about Michael Steele. It was kind of ignorant and cold but who knows what kind of crap goes down between them. September Girls is Michaels song,to play it without a word about her is insulting. They continue to insist on every occasion that they were always a trio and that bassists are a revolving door thing for them. As a longime fan,i find that sort of talk rather revolting,insulting and stupid too. Its like someone saying that black was always white,even if they told us for decades that black is black,we are just too stupid to understand that this was never the case. But all the generic Bangle-Orwellian talk aside,the real fans know how significant and essential Michael was and still is for this band. That they still play one of her songs,and still use her pictures at their website proves just that,no matter what they say or rather don't say. I always hoped Michael would return to them,but they seem to be busy to burn down the bridges and eliminate everything she did for this band and what is left they take over and shit on it with a bad performance re: September Girls and her verse in egyptian. Thats just sad and shortsighted but the break up of 89 shows that there was always bitchiness and pettiness in this band going on and that hasn't changed one bit. Or so it seems. But back to the concert. The real highlight for me was Get the girl,a song they recorded for the soundtrack of the second Austin Powers movie and they actually nailed that one. Especially the bass playing was great,powerful and determined. Their singing was actually fantastic. I hoped they would pick it up from there and finally get into their act. Unfortunatly they quickly went back to the standard of the first half of the concert and singing and playing took a turn for the worse again. The bassist however,standing away from the band and hidden in the darkness,played always well. I wonder about that whole "all female" thing anyway,with so many guys on stage. Two out of five performers are men,thats not what "all female" means. But "THE ORIGINAL MIXED GENDER BAND" doesn't sell tickets i guess. Some songs of their Doll Revolution reunion album were played as well,but they were always rather forgetable pop fluff and i just can't remember which songs they did,they all sounded the same to me. Apperantly they were forgettable for them too,after all Susanna Hoffs didn't sing a verse for one of the Doll Revolution songs even though she sang lead! Maybe its the age who knows. I ordered that album years ago as an import and a rather expensive one at that. I really liked it,but it wasn't outstanding,just a solid album. Michaels songs however were superb,and some of Vicki Petersons stuff wasn't too shabby either. But most of the songs lacked cohesion and energy. It was just like Everything,their last 80's album,four solo artists squashed onto one album and Michael Steele head and shoulders above the others with Vicki a close second. Eternal Flame was nice, but the harmonies,the most famous yet weakest musical thing tonight,were lackluster once again. They all looked like they were tired of this song as well,with Vicki Peterson virtually rolling her eyes and Susanna Hoffs standing around,waiting for the bus but what was she supposed to do? Well,don't look bored out of your skull,lady. The people paid good money to hear that song. They should show off some respect for their fans and at least try to sound good,no matter how much it annoys them. Hello? Some common sense here? It was one of their big hits,they don't have that many! Fortunatly they did Hero takes a fall near the end and finally,for once,they rocked,showed off their 60's roots and Susanna belted it out with heart. Even Vicki's playing was suddenly good and i liked the jam,even though it is as rehearsed as their jokes. They just play it at every concert the same way,at least those i saw over at youtube,to rehearse a jam is not the point of a "jam"! A real jam is off the cuff,its not "learned"! I probably make too much ado about nothing,but i don't like anything that is fake. If you can't jam,don't pretend you do it. The worst performance however was Walk like an egyptian,their signature song and biggest hit. I don't know what happend with Vicki and Debbi Peterson,but their lead vocals were terrible here,out of place,out of tune,out of everything. Michael Steele would spin in her grave if she were dead,but she always hated the song anyway. But she still didn't rape it with a dildo strap on like the Petersons did. They probably tried to evoke musically the scene with the prostitute in the Brad Pitt movie Seven.With their belt sized miniskirts and fuck me boots they had the look down for sure. The Magic Bus bit in the middle was completly pointless and seems to be more an ego trip for Vicki peterson. She just HAS to sing one more line in this song,or she suffers a spontaneous self combustion. Its their biggest hit after all,and she was the "leader" of this band,until Susanna took over and broke up the band to pursue some short lived solo career just to run back to them when this didn't work out. Both,Susannas solo career as well as Vickis additional line in egyptian,are evidence that bloated egoism sometimes ruins good music. To get into the bangle mood again I watched some youtube Videos recently and they played a bit of Mrs Robinson by Simon and Garfunkel in some of those. It sounded much much better with rich,warm harmonies. Perhaps they can't pull them off anymore. But thats it,it was over and they ran off the stage to count the money. I didn't bother to stick around to receive an autograph or take pictures. One of the guys in the band might scribble on my All over the place copy i brought with me and draw a dick on Vicki Peterson to make it look like she is wanking a load over her sister,no thank you sir. wink I might have forgotten something here or there,but thats very much the gist of it all. I didn't comment on a lot of songs,because there wasn't much outstanding going on,apart of what i said. Two excellent performances in little more than an hour for 99$ and nevermind the driving! I feel very much ripped off but its the Bangles after all,my old childhood heroes. A few of them anyway. The other songs were rather lackluster but mostly listenable. Some more,some less. I didn't see anyone running away,but there wasn't much excitement in the audience either. The lead vocals were mostly ok except September Girls and the egyptian fiasco,the energy was lacking,the musicianship was ok but still with a lot of mistakes except the bassist,lyrics were forgotten and sometimes one could see why they were a hot act in the 80's but these days are long gone. Perhaps the band was tired,but some of the youtube videos i have seen were very much in line with this concert even those in california. I've seen other 80's acts doing much better,and these bands didn't insist to be some "busy hardworking creative unit" in their interviews. Perhaps this band should hone their musical skills finally,write some new songs,talk less and they might actually live up to the hype they try to stir up with their interviews. Or soil more memories with whatever new album and tour,who knows. Oh,and learn the lyrics to your songs finally. Its not that hard. Micki Steele's departure sure killed this band off for good,due to the lack of determination and talent of the rest of the gang but at least they were great once and still listenable,just not great nor special anymore. Especially with the current mixed gender outfit they are certainly not a role model for girls to form their own bands anymore but at least they were,once upon a time. Thats already more than many other bands can claim.

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