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Pop icon Adam Ant at the Roundhouse in London
Pop icon Adam Ant at the Roundhouse in London
British rocker Adam Ant, shown Dec. 1, 2016 at a concert in the Roundhouse in London
British rocker Adam Ant, shown Dec. 1, 2016 at a concert in the Roundhouse in London
Adam Ant will always be remembered for “Goody Two Shoes,” the horn-driven early ‘80s hit that made him a star on MTV.
On Wednesday, the New Wave icon played the Charline McCombs Empire Theatre and showed there’s more to the story than a quasi-novelty hit and pre-Johnny Depp pirate fashion. OK, the swash buckling still goes on. But Ant did score musical points.
For one, he’s downright edgy. And his band plays through Marshall and Ampeg amps.
He came to deliver, top-to-bottom the seminal album “Kings of the Wild Frontier,” which came out in 1980 and was credited to Adam and the Ants. It established him as a glam star in Britain. The sound — pounding drums, layered harmonies and odd hooks — became a template for those who would follow a couple of years later.
One listen to Duran Duran’s debut and it’s clear the group studied “Kings of the Wild Frontier.”
The songs, “Dog Eat Dog,” “Antmusic,” “Feed Me to the Lions,” “Los Rancheros,” “Ant Invasion” and the rest don’t exactly transcend time but they do reflect the same creativity and pop fun they did when it was first issued.
It’s not clear if Adam Ant is trying to prove he wasn’t a one-hit wonder. But he owns it. And the pre-hit legacy is surely worthy of revisiting.
Hundred of fans showed up to scream approval. Some dressed in pirate garb; many wore Adam Ant T-shirts.
Backed by two drummers, bass and guitar, Ant brought the rock noise, a perfect example of that early ‘80s sound.
He remains slim and trim, and in full garb is a timeless figure. The show rocked hard, as hard as his contemporaries.
But they weren’t cursed with a monster hit. “Goody Two Shoes” dwarfed everything.
But not here.
The screams were all too real on Wednesday. This was more of a time capsule than nostalgia trip. The show was loud, raw and exciting.
Musically, the show rocked harder than Duran Duran or Psychedelic Furs in those bands’ modern incarnations.
It’s small wonder why those musicians would’ve watched from the wings. He was that good and still is.
He can’t help it if he’s Adam Ant.
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