Photos & Story by: Kimberly Kanuck
Simple Minds band members were “Alive and Kicking” more than ever last night at the Sands Event Center in Bethlehem, PA. Simple Minds kicked off their first full North American tour in over 25 years and fans of all ages came to be a part of this special show. They started things off with a song from their new album Walk Between Worlds, “The Signal and the Noise.” Lead singer Jim Kerr displayed passion, intensity, confidence, and even agility on the stage. His voice sounded amazing as if I were listening to one of their albums from 30 years ago. The next few songs took us back to the 80’s like “Waterfront” and “Love Song” where we got to see guitarist and original member Charlie Burchill also play keyboards. Then they jumped to the 90’s with “Let There Be Love” and another new song, “Sense of Discovery.” They moved back to the 80’s with “Promised You A Miracle” and “Hunter and the Hunted.” Then they played “Stand By Love.” They closed the first set with another song from their new album, “Dirty Old Town,” which is actually a cover song dating back to 1949. This song has been covered over the years by bands like The Pogues. Sarah Brown did a great job with this folky tune and performed a more spiritual gospel-like version of the song.
The second set opened with an instrumental song, “Theme for Great Cities.” Kerr came back out for “She’s a River,” which flowed into the title track “Walk Between Worlds,” “Hypnotized,” “Someone Somewhere,” and “See the Lights.” They finally got to another huge hit that got the fans re-engaged, “All The Things She Said,” that took us right back to 1985. They played “Dolphins” and then closed the show with “New Gold Dream” from 1982. But let’s not forget about their most popular song, the one everyone had been waiting to hear, “Don’t You (Forget About Me).” Everyone was smiling and singing along as I’m sure most fans had waited all night to hear this song!
For the encore, Sarah Brown came back out to sing “Book of Brilliant Things.” And then they played another one of the songs I had been waiting for, “Alive and Kicking.” You can imagine the excitement from the crowd as they moved to the front of the stage to cheer and sing along. Simple Minds ended with another big hit “Sanctify Yourself,” which left fans on a natural high.
Overall it was a really fun show, with a good mix of songs from all decades. What really stood out to me was the bands’ true appreciation for their fans. Throughout the entire night Kerr would get down on his knees to be closer to fans, point to them, thank them, shake hands, and give high-fives. Kerr told the fans how glad they were to be there and how it was special because it had been so long. He said they had a lot of music to play for us. And they weren’t kidding! They played for over 2 hours and only had a short intermission. Fans definitely got their money’s worth and more! For tour info, please visit, www.simpleminds.com/tour/. And for more exciting concerts at Sands Event Center, please visit, www.sandseventcenter.com.
