Concert review: The Fixx at Ribfest in Naperville, Illinois · Jul 6, 04:23 PM by Don
In my post previewing this show, I sarcastically referred to Ribfest as “prestigious.” After seeing the Fixx play on Monday night, however, I have decided to pull back from that sarcasm and look at the whole thing a bit more objectively. Yes, playing Ribfest is not the same as playing Pitchfork or Lollapalooza. It’s not a “cool” gig. But it’s a gig. The Fixx is still around bringing its music to the people. And most of the original lineup is intact: Cy Curnin on vocals, Jamie West-Oram on guitar, Rupert Greenall on keyboards, Adam Woods on drums. The only exception is the bassist, Gary Tibbs, who joined in 2000. But his new wave resume is unimpeachable; he’s played with Adam & The Ants, Roxy Music, and the Vibrators. Plus, he played a bassist in the 1980 music drama, Breaking Glass.
I arrived late (rush hour in Chicago is always a headache), missing the Alarm. As I walked the Ribfest grounds in search of the correct stage, I heard the last half of “68 Guns.” The crowd in front of the Main Stage looked thick, but as I got closer I saw that it would be no problem getting to the front. This illustrates one aspect of the small regional festival gig: a good chunk of the audience has no idea what artists are playing. They are going to the fest to eat (ribs and pulled pork, in this case), drink beer, and hang out. Attendees want to hear music, but most don’t care what it is. It could be the Fixx, or it could be Blue Oyster Cult, Heart, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, or Dark Star Orchestra, all of whom performed at this year’s Ribfest.
There was a small group of hardcore Fixx fannz who responded well to all of the songs, even the newer songs that I was admittedly unfamiliar with. The only big response from the crowd at large came when the band played “One Thing Leads to Another,” which is, by far, the band’s biggest hit. It peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1983. More recently, it was featured in the video game, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. I like that the Cy and the guys played the song third instead of using it to end the set or in an encore, almost like they wanted to get it out of the way, as if to say: “Here’s what ya came for, now you can wander off in search of more ribs!”
The set did lean heavily on hits; six of the night’s 11 songs can be found on One Thing Leads to Another: Greatest Hits. Three songs are unreleased as far as I can tell: “Giving Up,” “Life Goes On,” and “Everyone Believes in Something.”
The Fixx @ Ribfest, Naperville, IL 7/2/07: Giving Up / Life Goes On / One Things Leads to Another / Everyone Believes in Something / Secret Separation / Fatal Shore / Stand or Fall / Woman on a Train / Deeper and Deeper / Red Skies / Encore: Saved by Zero
Overall, the Fixx gents were in good spirits and put on a good show. In my preview post, I quoted the All Music Guide, which described the band as “keyboard-driven.” Yes, Rupert Greenall is a key member of the band and, in the studio, his contributions carry the same weight as Jamie West-Oram’s guitars, but live, West-Oram dominates. One song that benefited from this was “Woman on a Train,” off Phantoms. Though I would have chosen a different Phantoms song (any of the singles or “Lose Face” or “Lost in Battle Overseas” or “I Will”), “Woman” was compelling enough.
mp3: The Fixx – Are We Ourselves? :: from Phantoms (1984)
Check out more Ribfest pics at The Fixx’s official site.
Video: The Fixx – “Woman on a Train” :: live in Las Vegas (2006)
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Songs in the MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 format are offered for a limited time only. Songs that are no longer downloadable from Timedoor can be streamed for several weeks courtesy of Hype Machine’s Timedoor Pop-up Flash Player. Dead mp3 links take you to the top of page one.
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Great review. You’ll find “Fatal Shore” on the band’s “Elemental” album.
— muserella Jul 9, 07:23 AM #