The first time Tears For Fears played in Utah - back in the days when their "Shout" was an anthem of adolescent pain instead of just a nostalgic tune for twentysomething concertgoers - the duo drew 11,000 fans to ParkWest.
Eight years, three albums and one major personnel shift later, it's a different story. Only about 1,500 people showed up for the Tears For Fears concert Thursday night at Saltair. And that's a shame, because Roland Orzabal put on a great show.The other half of the original duo, Curt Smith, left the group before the latest album, "Elemental," was created. Some critics have decried the absence of one of the Tears ("Without Mr. Smith in attendance," wrote the New York Times, "a crucial vocal and emotional balance was missing . . . "). But Thursday's show was plenty fine without him.
That's not to say that the songs from "Elemental" are as good as those on "Seeds of Love," the group's 1989 album. Those earlier songs had a complexity and a musical layering missing from the current songs. And a few of the tunes on "Elemental" are just plain cluttered and boring - definitely not the kind of thing you want to risk losing your hearing over at a concert.
But Orzabal's voice is worth the price of admission. It's powerful, even on the quieter songs like "Famous Last Words," and his "Woman in Chains" - sung this time around with bass guitarist Gail Ann Dorsey instead of Oleta Adams - showcases Orzabal's strengths as both as songwriter and singer.
Perhaps he owes his vocal ability in part to the size of his mouth, which is truly enormous. In person, in fact, Orzabal is somewhat unappealing (this may be a case of "singers should be heard and not seen."). But a friend of mine who stuck around to meet Orzabal after the show said he was "earnest and gracious" and hoped everyone had found his show spiritually uplifting.
Well, possibly. He left out some of the more inspiring songs from "Seeds of Love." But the show was definitely fun. Orzabal and his five backup musicians did old favorites like "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and new favorites like the irresistable "Break It Down Again." Saltair is a perfect setting for the kind of music you can't sit down for: There are no seats, which leaves the audience free to roam, sway and dance.
It also gave the audience something in common with the drummer of Jellyfish, the opening act. Andy Sturmer stands when he drums; and as if that weren't unusual enough, he also is the lead singer, and a pretty good one at that. The group's melodic songs and harmonies are reminiscent of the Beach Boys, updated for the '90s.