As I sit and write this review of tonight’s performance featuring Lene Lovich, I think to myself about the magnificence of this show and the trajectory that brought Madame Lovich and Co to the rainy Thursday stage at Parkway Theater. Prior to my grand entrance through the pearly gates of the theater parked halfway between Town Hall Tap and the Creekside Supper Club on Chicago Avenue, I thought, surely- this 76 year old icon of avant garde majesty will put on a show to be remembered; perhaps strike the nostalgic synthesizer heartbeat that reverberated through so many 80s new wave listeners. And I was right. Let me take you to a place of tasteful shrieking, a band in color-coordinated garb, and a setlist that had the whole crowd in ovation by the encore. 

As we arrived in our seats, sponsored graciously by RadioK (Real College Radio), I asked my guest the immediate, relevant prompts: estimate the crowd size and median age. At twenty five, I think we sat as outliers. Greeting us on the large screen of this historic movie theater was a montage of 80s music videos, as tunes by Klaus Nomi, Pete Shelley and the like situated the crowd in the period when Lene joined the post-punk scene. A lot of salt peppered the audience, and we all took to our seats as the inaugural saxophone was brought onto the stage.  It's 7:33pm and the lights dim. A projection of Lene from her shoot with photographer Brian Griffin fades onto the thick black velvet curtains that close out the series of eighties favorites. The crowd silences as a haughty synthesizer begs the band to approach the stage. We watch a five-piece group of instrumentalists prepare for the high-energy experience. Draped in a black sequin veil, our renowned vocalist approaches the stage to a drowning applause. Starting the show is “Savages” from the album “No Man’s Land” from 1982. Following song one, we hear “Blue Hotel” off the same album as the veil is shed to reveal a red and black turban atop Lene’s head. The remainder of the band kicks into high gear, all dressed in red and black, sporting attire ranging from Patti Smith merch to a magician-adjacent formal red button down with black suspenders. By song two, the trio of long-time friends in front of me begins a bouncing that will only gain energy as the show progresses. 

Our band keeps pace with Lene’s energy, echoing the shrieks and emotive vocalization that has established Lene as a prominent artist. By the end of the third song, “Maria” off of the same 1982 release, lights fade as does my glass of house white. The most formal introduction we are given of the band is in the nature of chirps between tracks. Song eight from Lovich’s album “Flex”, recorded in 1979 is “Monkey Talk”, played next. This album is cited as stirring up controversy from the Baptist church in the United States, which took issue with the “witchcraft” that Lovich’s album evoked. While I cannot speak to the practices of Lovich and band, I can confirm that the set they provide is enchanting nonetheless. 

Halfway through the show, Lene begs the patient audience. “What do you want? What do you want?”. “Lucky Number, New Toy….. We want YOU!”, reply the vocal patrons. Lovich concedes and the band strikes up the introduction to the song that reached the top 100 singles charts in both the UK and Australia,  “New Toy”.  At this point, dancers begin to migrate stageside and will remain for the duration of the evening. As this section of the show quiets, a patron returning to their seat exclaims “I f***** love that song” while passing by, a sentiment that can be felt throughout the sea of listeners.

Lene reveals herself as the perpetrator who will treat us to the jazzy saxophone, met in step by a cymbal-heavy metronome. The talented vocalist literally blows us away with the song “Writing on the wall” off of the debut 1978 release, “Stateless”. This song reminds us that the emotive lyricism and longing of lost love punctuate the otherwise upbeat tempo that keeps art-pop fans happy. 

 The following repertoire includes “Bird Song” and “Home”, songs that surely must’ve inspired contemporary artists that echo this whiny, full vocal range of pitched yelps and haunting vibrato. On cue, the hit song “Lucky Number” strikes its opening chords, and like clockwork, the crowd migrates towards the stage to groove to this Lene Lovich staple. The dance moves of this mobile mob incriminate the listeners as long-time fans. We hear “Angels” next, approached by the crowd and band alike with the hand symbol “A” held with pride above silvering hair. “So much fun, time to go, bye bye” says Lovich, and just like that the ensemble disappears to the green room. After a bit of “tinkerbelling”, the band emerges for an encore and directs fans back to their seats for two final songs. The show is appropriately closed with the song “Home”, and with that I’ll leave you with lyrics borrowed from this tune “ Home is so suspicious/Home is close control/Home is where you miss us/Home is... I don't know/Let's go to your place”. 

Show Review: Elizabeth Wash