There are concert tours built around nostalgia, and then there is the Totally Tubular Festival. A steamy and humid midweek summer evening at Ferg’s Pavilion in St. Petersburg, FL, became a musical time machine, transporting the crowd straight back to the MTV era with an impressive lineup of artists who helped define the sound of the 1980s. Thomas Dolby & The Lost Toy People, A Flock of Seagulls, Men Without Hats, The Producers, Animotion, The Escape Club and Tommy Tutone all took the stage, delivering a night packed with synthesizers, new wave, pop, power pop, dance music and—perhaps most importantly—songs that everyone in the crowd remembered.
The show is not simply a collection of bands trying to relive their glory days. It is a celebration of a particular musical era, when MTV could turn a song into a cultural phenomenon overnight and when a great keyboard riff or instantly recognizable chorus could stay lodged in your head for four decades. For me, there was an added layer to the night. This was the music I grew up with. As someone who eventually found his musical home in heavy metal, it might seem like a strange admission that I would enjoy an ’80s new wave festival so much. These songs were part of the soundtrack of my formative years, alongside as my musical tastes became firmly rooted in metal. Even after that many decades, the lyrics are still there in my head. I may spend plenty of time listening mostly to metal but put on an ’80s classic and instantly I know every word.
The evening featured plenty of those moments.
Tommy Tutone brought the crowd one of the most recognizable songs of the decade with “867-5309/Jenny.” Everyone knows the song—and most people probably think they know the story behind it. But Tommy offered a different twist during the performance, explaining that the famous 867-5309 wasn’t about a mysterious girl named Jenny after all. According to the story he shared from the stage, the number is actually the serial number of his 72-year-old guitar. Whether you’ve spent the past 40-plus years singing “Jenny, Jenny” or simply know the number by heart, it was a great bit of concert trivia—and a reminder that sometimes the stories behind the songs are almost as entertaining as the songs themselves. That was a fun start to the night.
For additional photos of Tommy Tutone’s performance, see here.
After The Escape Club kept the energy high and the crowd on their feet for “Wild, Wild West”, the musical highlight of the night came early for me with Animotion. Lead vocalist Astrid Plane and Bill Wadhams, on lead vocals and guitar, are both original members and playfully delivered what I think was the performance of the night with their mega hit “Obsession.” Interacting with one another and using body language and facial expressions to convey every aspect of a given love interest infatuation and the crowd fully on their feet and singing every word, myself included.
For additional photos of The Escape Club’s performance, see here.
For additional photos of Animotion’s performance, see here…