An Evening with Simple Minds in Austin

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SIMPLE MINDS
ACL Live, Austin, TX, November 2, 2018
By Michael Mullenix

The ACL Live Moody Theater was lit up and packed for the arrival of 80’s post-Punk legends, Simple Minds. It has been several years since they have extensively toured the US, let alone appear in Texas. A charged up crowd flooded in to hear their favorite classic hits and the debut of the long awaited new album, Walk Between Worlds. The band took the stage slightly after 8, with no opening act and set a course to play through over 2 hours of music spanning their 40-year career. Lit up like a lightshow, the band shined brightly; they danced, they vogued, and they absolutely wailed on their guitars. The performance was divided into two sets, separated by a 20-minute intermission, with the first half serving as a chance for Simple Minds to launch their newer tracks like Sense Of Discovery and The Signal And The Noise. Coming from an album over 4 years in the making it was interesting to see how the new material stacked up against their traditional fan favorites, and in some ways, it offered an invigorating return to the likes of Love Song and The American. While the first half of the set was mainly on point, the second half started to drag. More slower-burn experimental songs like Dolphin and Someone Somewhere In Summertime failed to energize the audience until we drew closer to their undeniable hit, Don’t You (Forget About Me). If anything I can concede that the flow of their setlist felt a bit disjointed, and though lead singer Jim Kerr’s banter between songs was often humorous, it did stretch out the pacing of the concert in general. However, the band regained their momentum and had the crowd eating out of their hand as they returned one last time for an encore in the form of their hits, Alive And Kicking and Sanctify Yourself.

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