ERASURE, Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, Monday
Take some classic new-wave hits, mix them up with some country acoustic arrangements and you have Erasure in 2006.
Vocalist Andy Bell and guitarist Vince Clarke are still going strong and have added another layer to their '80s synth-pop style. What took place at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center on Monday was a set worthy to be aired on "Austin City Limits."
While Clarke still seems comfortable in the background with the rest of the touring band, Bell is still the flamboyant front man, leading the audience through the new arrangements of Erasure's heyday classics.
The band kicked off with the countrified "Boy," which was originally released on the "Cowboy" album.
Bell's voice still rang with clarity, desperation and passion. And the sound mix was clean.
The group — consisting of Bell, Clarke, guitarist/arranger Steve Walsh, two backup singers, a bassist, a steel-slide/dobroist and a percussionist — made the most of the Wagner acoustics and played as a tight, well-oiled machine.
Erasure's classic list of "Victim of Love," "Love to Hate You" and the more obscure "Breathe" were well received as the band found its groove.
Bell even dedicated a couple of songs to local fans. "Blue Savannah" was sung for a couple who named their daughter Blue Savannah, and the aforementioned "Breathe" was dedicated to a trio of "handsome cowboys" in the audience.
"Oh L'Amour" became a sweeping acoustic ballad, while the pop bounce of "Sometimes" turned into a sing-along with the audience filling in the "oohs and ahhs."
One of the passionate highlights was the emotive version of "Spiralling." The work came just before "Sometimes," and Bell's heartfelt delivery resonated throughout the hall.
"Piano Song" was another crowd-pleaser as was "Rock Me Gently," with its angelic background vocals.
The show-cappers, which included rousing versions of "Stop," "Chains of Love" and the encore piece, "A Little Respect," had the sold-out audience on its feet and singing along.
For a new-wave pop band to perform an acoustic set 20 years after its breakthrough is nothing short of daring. But the show brought out the group's deeply rooted talent and testified that there is life after the '80s.
E-mail: scott@desnews.com