By the time my children are 18 they will undoubtedly have
seen hundreds of concerts. Adam Ant’s show at McGlohon Theatre Monday was my
four-year-old’s third non-kid/non-Daddy’s band show of the year, but that’s not
the only reason it was special to us. Ant has been out of the spotlight for
almost two decades, unless you count his tabloid headlining-grabbing brushes
with the law due to bipolar episodes. For the last few years he’s been working
on a new record with a cast that I’m fond of by association (producer Boz
Boorer is Morrissey’s frequent co-writer and Marco Pirroni was an Ant and an
original Banshee).
By the time Ant released his new album, “Adam Ant is the
Blueblack Hussar in Marrying the Gunnar’s Daughter” (man, that’s a mouthful) I’d
introduced my kids to his music having placed “Stand and Deliver” on an early
mix. By February of this year my oldest insisted I cut his hair like Ant’s and that
he dress as Ant for Halloween. By April we had the new album (we found it in my
hometown in WV, although we’d looked for it locally). By June my son knew we’d
be going to see Ant at McGlohon. And by Monday we were singing “Antmusic” to
each other in the balcony along with a modest, but extremely enthusiastic crowd
that seemed delighted at the one time British sex symbol’s comeback.
Ant took the stage in the signature Napoleon pirate ensemble
that’s a throwback to his `80s stage costumes following a set by punk-glam rock
n’ roll outfit Prima Donna (the two songs we saw were great, the sound was
impeccable and then we had to run home and get the ear protection I forgot.
Oops!). Ant opened with the title track from the new album and the crowd rose
to its feet where it stood the entire set. He and his four-piece band, which included
both male and female drummers (a cool sight for my avid little drummer to see),
churned out 29 songs in roughly two hours. He hit on all of his hits and
peppered the set with new tracks that stood up to the old ones. The 17-track new
album doesn’t just play like a rehash of Ant’s new wave career. It’s strange,
fresh, and arty, but still accessible. The Nashville-nodding “Cool Zombie” -
about his time living on a mountain in rural Tennessee - came off more rocking
than on record and “Hardmentoughblokes” was a punky rave up. “Shrink,” which
addresses Ant’s psychiatric history, could easily have been a Garbage single.
It followed “Stand and Deliver” and had my little boy jumping in the isle.
We climbed to the balcony, which was fairly empty, during “Wonderful.”
Ant introduced the few love songs in the set (including, winkingly, “Whip in My
Valise”) with candor. Another new track “Vince Taylor,” which Ant’s performed
on “Jools Holland” and “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” was another highlight
from the new record. We missed a few songs to chat up the British merch guy
during our second of three bathroom breaks, but returned (thankfully) for the
snowballing finale that included “Viva Le Rock,” “Antmusic,” and “Goody Two
Shoes” and ended with “Cartrouble” and “Prince Charming.”
The group returned for a four song encore that included T.
Rex’s “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” before calling it a night. And what a night!
Ant is now 58 and seemed to revel in finally being back on stage. He’s a little
heavier and wears thick black glasses part of the time, but he certainly didn’t
seem to be eligible for AARP. The crowd, which included other children, was with him from start the
finish, seemingly starved for his comeback too.
The concert certainly inspired my son who refused to go to
bed and began performing with his violin bow as a microphone as soon as we
walked in the house. With so many artists that he likes either not touring the
states (Blur), playing 21 and up venues (Billy Idol in Cherokee), or not being
around anymore (in other words, dead like the Ramones), it was great to be able
to take him to see a veteran English artist (because so many of the bands he
likes are from England) with a vast catalog. Who knows if Charlotte will get to
see Ant again. Despite the snacks and climbing up and down the stairwell for
multiple bathroom breaks, I certainly won’t forget leaning in with my “bababababa”
as he sang “Antmusic” during the show. It was pretty much perfect.
You can check out the entire setlist here
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