All Grown Up

Friday night I was at The Horseshoe for another nostalgia night. That is, time to see another band from the 80s that I didn't see the first time around. The evening did not start auspiciously with The James Clark Institute. Their hype-woman/merch seller made perhaps too big a pitch to me because this opener did not live up to it. Though it was all recently composed, they sounded like they were playing music from the 80s. It was as if the singer-songwriter had frozen his musical tastes and haven't listen to anything new in the last 25 years. Will head-liner The Pursuit of Happiness sound equally ossified, given that they will playing actual 80s songs?

My fear was unfounded. Though they played a few songs from their later repertoire, lead singer Mo Berg promised the packed and rowdy crowd only half-jokingly that it would be "all hits all the time". So it was definitely an 80s sound complete with extended guitar solos but played with high-octane energy. Both Mo Berg and Kris Abbott channeled loud crisp guitar with the latter definitely still looked "rock-and-roll". To be fair, Berg never looked that way even way back when. He can definite sing and pen some great songs including I'm An Adult Now, Cigarette Dangles, Hard To Laugh. Through a full set and 3 encores, the audience enjoyed every moment. Some had flown in from as far away as California to see this rare appearance.