Despite steady touring activity abroad, the Scottish alternative rockers Simple Minds hadn’t visited Chicago since a 2018 performance at the Chicago Theatre.
With clear skies and a warm breeze, the group’s Friday night concert on the lakefront at Huntington Bank Pavilion was the perfect way for local music fans to celebrate the first day of summer and the return of a band that rocketed to mainstream acclaim in 1985.
The band’s recent output includes 2022 studio album “Direction of the Heart” and this year’s “Live in the City of Diamonds.” However, much of Friday’s set savored the 40th anniversary of three 1985 events.
The first milestone of that year was the inclusion of chart-topper “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” on the soundtrack for director John Hughes’ era-defining teen film “The Breakfast Club.” Soon afterward, Simple Minds performed to a global audience via Live Aid.
October 1985 saw the release of “Once Upon a Time,” an album featuring the Top Ten single “Alive and Kicking” that gave the band’s current tour its name.
Founding members Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill led their seasoned band through a show serving popular favorites alongside occasional surprises. Burchill’s guitar slashed, echoed and chimed through opening song “Waterfront.” The anthemic homage to the band’s hometown of Glasgow was drawn from 1984’s “Sparkle in the Rain” album.
Keyboardist Erik Ljunggren played the sound of fluttering Scottish pipes to accompany Burchill’s muscular power chords during “Let There Be Love.” Kerr climbed the stage barrier to clasp hands with fans while singing the song.
Kerr was a perpetually beaming frontman, limber at 65 and radiating goodwill while singing the band’s uniquely uplifting art rock. “Long live hope,” he sang during the title cut to “Once Upon a Time.”
Kerr sang the shimmering “Promised You a Miracle” from 1982’s “New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84)” album in a rich and tremulous baritone. It was one of the three songs Simple Minds performed in their pivotal Live Aid set, and it was still delivered with optimism and age-defying energy.
Ged Grimes deftly played the dizzying bass line to “Glittering Prize.” Burchill’s skittering, scratching guitar and Grimes’ propulsive bass during 1981 instrumental “Themes for Great Cities” featured the sound that would soon be borrowed by U2 for “The Unforgettable Fire” album.
Irrepressible drummer Cherisse Osei followed with a bombastic and dazzling drum solo. “That’s what Simple Minds call girl power,” said Kerr afterward.
The singer brushed off a rare false start to “All the Things She Said” with some good-natured cursing. “Sometimes we f— up,” Kerr admitted.
The sublime melody of “See the Lights” was elevated by Sarah Brown’s gospel-influenced vocal support. The song also featured Burchill’s ringing arpeggios and stratospheric solo.
The crowd sang the “la-la-la-la” coda of “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” at gale force to close the main set. Kerr praised the audience with a self-deprecating joke. “I should be paying you,” he said. “But I’m a Scotsman, so I can’t see that happening.”
Brown took the spotlight with an encore of the dramatic “Book of Brilliant Things.” The concert concluded with the soulful thunder of “Sanctify Yourself,” revealing the surprising influence of Sly & the Family Stone. That group’s “Dance to the Music” was heard as walkout music in honor of bandleader Sly Stone, who died earlier this month.
Simple Minds’ status in Europe and elsewhere exceeds its standing in the United States, and the Alive and Kicking Tour is tailored to reinforce stateside connections. Songs from “Direction of the Heart” and UK #1 single “Belfast Child” were bypassed in favor of a deeper dive into “Once Upon a Time.”
The group’s 20th album is underway. Fans can anticipate Simple Minds’ return with new material to remind audiences here why the band remains relevant and revered around the world.
Two additional ‘80s mainstays appeared on the bill, mixing old favorites with fresher fare.
Concert openers and English new wave veterans Modern English had even security personnel singing the “stop the world” chorus to jangling acoustic strummer “I Melt with You.” Gabriel Sullivan’s surging guitar propelled urgent post-punk single “Long in the Tooth” from last year’s album “1 2 3 4.” Robbie Grey’s lyric proposed that although bodies deteriorate, minds gather wisdom that only arrives with age.
Synth-pop duo Soft Cell also opened. Singer Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball offered “Purple Zone,” their dance club-friendly collaboration with Pet Shop Boys from 2022 album “*Happiness Not Included.” The pair also performed 1981’s inventive and icy goth-pop hit “Tainted Love,” which still sounded alien and futuristic after 44 years.
SIMPLE MINDS SET LIST:
Waterfront
I Travel
Glittering Prize
Midnight Walking
Let There Be Love
Once Upon a Time
I Wish You Were Here
Oh Jungleland
Someone Somewhere in Summertime
Theme for Great Cities
Cherisse Osei Drum Solo
Promised You a Miracle
All the Things She Said
See the Lights
Don’t You (Forget About Me)
ENCORE:
Book of Brilliant Things
Alive and Kicking
Sanctify Yourself