With a career spanning thirty-odd years, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark are a difficult band to categorize; they’re really a band with two distinct styles, dabbling equally in experimentalism and carefully crafted pop singalongs, mixing the two in varying degrees at any given moment. One half of their catalog plays neatly alongside Kraftwerk, Gary Numan, and other electro pioneers, the other half is inextricably linked to romantic scenes in 80s teen movies. It’s a difficult divide to negotiate, and accordingly, there’s two pretty distinct strands of OMD fans. I was curious to see what material they focused on, which aspects of their music they showcased when playing live, given that this was their first US club tour in years… And somehow they put on a show that satisfied EVERYBODY.
The set covered all the facets of their sound: the post-industrial wasteland ballads, the thumping proto-techno, the saxophone-led slow dances, the jittery dancepop. Songs from last year’s History Of Modern stood proudly alongside their pop anthems and their earliest singles, and the reception from the audience was universally approving. Recent single “Sister Marie Says” had the crowd jumping, “If You Leave” and “Dreaming” led to mass singalongs, and “Enola Gay” closed the set in rapturous fashion. The keyboards blared, the mix was loud and forceful, the beats ticked and clattered, lights blasted and exploded, and everyone in the room danced together, sharing in the dreams of love and the humanity of technology.
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Photos © 2011 Marnie Ann Joyce. Additional photos from this event can be seen here.