Review: Go-Go's Mark 30th Anniversary of First Album with NYC Concert

The Go-Go's at Irving Plaza: Charlotte Caffey, Belinda Carlisle, Kathy Valentine, Jane Wiedlin. (Not seen: Gina Schock, on drums).

It's been 30 years since the Go-Go's first album, "Beauty and the Beat," and Friday night they returned to New York, the city where it was recorded. Despite all the years that have passed, the Go-Go's still sound great. Belinda Carlisle's voice is still in fine shape, and the playing sounds as good as ever. Friday's show sounded as good as the last Go-Go's show I saw, at the Nokia Theatre Times Square, which was to mark the 25th anniversary of "Beauty and the Beat" (and which featured the band playing the album start to finish).

After an opening set by the Dollyrots (whose song "Because I'm Awesome" I've been a fan of for the last nine months or so), the Go-Go's took the stage and kicked things off with "Vacation." Though it's one of their biggest hits, it was one of only a few songs from that album that the band played. Most of "Beauty and the Beat" found its way into the setlist, and I was glad to hear not just the hits but tunes like "How Much More" and "Skidmarks on My Heart." (I would have been even happier to hear "Can't Stop the World," but I'll live.)

Belinda Carlisle, Kathy Valentine, and Jane Wiedlin.

A few songs you won't find on a Go-Go's album: a cover of Carlisle's "Mad About You" ("Go-Go-fied," as the band put it); "Cool Places," which guitarist Jane Wiedlin recorded with Sparks; and the Rolling Stones' "Mother's Little Helper," which they said they played because it was older than their songs. The band also played "Surfing and Spying" (an old B-side) and "Fun with Ropes," which had been previously unreleased until the "Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's" album.

"Talk Show," which I've always felt was a very good and underappreciated album, was represented by just one song, the single "Head Over Heels" (which Wiedlin said was her favorite Go-Go's song).

 The band seemed to be having a ball, and I hope this means that they will keep an open mind to continuing their tour or staging another one. These ladies can still rock.

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UPDATE: The Go-Go's had to postpone two gigs (official statement) after the NYC show (Atlantic City and Foxwoods Casino) because Belinda Carlisle had vocal problems and was advised by a doctor to rest her voice. You can check the official Go-Go's Twitter account (@officialgogos) for updates. No word yet on when the Go-Go's will reschedule these dates. The tour will resume tomorrow in Westbury, NY.

Music Notes: Go-Go's & The Cars Playing NYC, Google's Music Cloud, Prince's 21 Nights in L.A., Bob Mould Memoir

Video for "Blue Tip," a song from "Move Like This," the forthcoming album from The Cars.

There's music news from the cutting edge of technology and the punk and new-wave days of the 1980s this week:

* The Go-Go's have rescheduled their reunion tour, which was cancelled last year when guitarist Jane Wiedlin suffered a knee injury while hiking. The Go-Go's and their "Ladies Gone Wild" tour hits New York's Irving Plaza on June 3rd; tickets are available here. Their planned tour last year was billed as a farewell tour, but this one isn't—I'm hoping that means that the band isn't planning on this run of shows to be its last. The tour coincides with the 30th anniversary of their blockbuster debut album, "Beauty and the Beat."

* The Cars on tour: I mentioned a couple of months ago that The Cars were coming out with a new album, "Move Like This," in May, and now they've got some tour dates planned. They're playing New York's Roseland Ballroom on May 25th, and you can look for tickets here.

* Google's cloud music player being tested: Amazon.com launched its cloud media player last week, and apparently Google's entry into the market is undergoing testing by the company's employees. Although Amazon's service seems to have run afoul of the music companies by not getting licensing rights, CNet wrote a few weeks ago that Google is in negotiations with the companies for rights to stream music from the cloud.

* Prince will play a 21-night residency in Los Angeles, starting this Thursday, April 14th at the Forum in Inglewood (where the Lakers used to play). The next shows will be April 21st and 22nd; the rest have yet to be announced. Tickets for the shows went on sale this morning. It's unclear where the rest of the Prince concerts will be; info on dates and locations are being made public on short notice. But here's a nice, fan-friendly twist to Prince's "21 Nite Stand": supposedly close to 85% of the tickets will go for $25, including fees.

* Bob Mould autobiography coming: I didn't know that the Minneapolis rock icon was working on a memoir, but someone mentioned it on Twitter today and there it was on Amazon.com: "See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody"comes out on June 15th and is available for pre-order. From the description (which I'm guessing comes from the publisher):

For the first time, Mould tells his dramatic story, opening up to describe life inside that furnace and beyond. Revealing the struggles with his own homosexuality, the complexities of his intimate relationships, as well as his own drug and alcohol addiction, Mould takes us on a whirlwind ride through achieving sobriety, his acclaimed solo career, creating the hit band Sugar, a surprising detour into the world of pro wrestling, and most of all, finally finding his place in the world.

That's definitely a book I'll want to read.

Go-Go's Cancel Farewell Tour After Jane Wiedlin Suffers Injury

The Go-Go's farewell "Happily Ever After" tour isn't happening, and it's not a happy situation. The band is canceling what was to be its final series of live shows after guitarist Jane Wiedlin suffered a fall while hiking and injured both knees, requiring surgery.

Rock n' Load, the band's PR firm, send out a press release today that says in part:
"It is with great regret that the Go-Go’s announce today the cancelation of Happily Ever After, their summer farewell tour. The tour was scheduled to kick off July 7 at Lilith Fair San Diego, and conclude in Austin, TX on July 27. The band will also be unable to perform live on Good Morning America, scheduled for July 16 in New York’s Central Park.

The news comes as a result of guitarist Jane Wiedlin injuring herself after a 20-foot fall while hiking near her home in Northern California a couple of weeks ago. Jane is scheduled for ACL replacement surgery for her knee in the coming weeks, with a prognosis of up to a year recovery time...."

The release goes on to say that refunds are available at point of purchase.

While Go-Go's fans (including me) are no doubt bummed out about the tour being cancelled, it's definitely the right call: doing a farewell tour with a replacement for Wiedlin just wouldn't do. Get well soon, Jane!