Line-up

Venue

Rogers Arena

800 Griffiths Way, V6B 6G1, Vancouver, BC, Canada

www.rogersarena.com

Capacity: 19,700

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Additional details

Doors open: 19:00

Concert in your area for Rock, Pop, and Indie & Alt.

Find out more about Rock and Pop.

The B-52's biography

The B-52s are an American new wave band, formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976 and currently consists of Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider, Keith Strickland and Cindy Wilson.

The meeting of The B-52s could be described as a stroke of fate. After sharing some strong alcoholic beverages at a Chinese restaurant in Georgia, vocalist Cindy Wilson and her older brother guitarist Ricky joined vocalist Kate Pierson, original drummer and percussionist Keith Strickland and vocalist Fred Schneider in an impromptu musical jam. Shortly after they played their first gig as a unit at a friend's Valentine's Day party.

The band's managed to gain crucial backing from record labels in the early days partially helped by the strength of their debut single 'Rock Lobster' which charted worldwide. In 1979 The B-52's signed contracts with Warner Bros. Records for North America, South America, Australia, and New Zealand; and with Island Records for the UK, Europe, and Asia.

The debut self titled album went on to chart within the top 30 of the UK charts and top 60 in the US, a moderate success for a new artist. The next album 'Wild Planet' spawned three top 5 US dance chart hits and increased the band's chart peaks around the world. On October 12, 1985 Ricky Wilson died from the illness HIV/AIDS at the age of 32 with his other bandmates unaware he was even suffering from the disease. With Cindy Wilson devastated by her brother's death, and her bandmates too being depressed about Ricky's passing, the band went into seclusion and did not tour to promote their album nor the group, prompting a hiatus from their musical careers.

They reformed in 1989 with the 'Cosmic Thing' album which included a number of hit worldwide singles, including their biggest US Billboard hit 'Love Shack'. In 1990 the B-52's were nominated for 4 MTV Video Music Awards including Video of the Year. They won two awards, Best Group Video and Best Art Direction. Their tour schedule has been consistent throughout their career.

Live reviews

The B-52s are a slice of classic 60s style rock and they have built a loyal following for their sound over their career which has now spanned an impressive three decades. They perform with the same level of enthusiasm that first gained them attention and there is an equal emphasis on the easygoing and fun during their live show.

They warm the crowd with tracks from their latest LP 'Funplex' and they remain enthusiastic yet the real roars of approval come for the first of the early singles 'Girl From Ipanema Goes to Greenland' which is sang back in force by the room in its entirety much to the delight of the band. They applaud the crowd after their own applause die down and thank them for the continued support, citing they are fact that they continue to visit the UK. After some slick vocal acrobatics on 'Is That You, Mo-Dean?' and a great demonstration of the disjointed instrumentals on '6060-842' the audience knows the band are warming them up to a double-hit finale.

They were not wrong as the whole crowd erupts in equal amounts of joy for 'Love Shack' and 'Rock Lobster' both of which are sang back note perfectly as the band takes its final bows.

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sean-ward

I am a big '80s band concert goer and when I heard Devo was going to be playing I had to go. Only one problem, I live in Glen Burnie, MD and the concert was in Carmel, IN. I didn't know when I would get a chance to see them so I bought my ticket and drove non-stop for 14 hours to get to the show. Needless to say the show was well worth it. They played all my favorite song (Peekaboo is my favorite) and they had plenty of antics while they were on stage. During one part Mark Motherbaugh brought out a bag of potato chips and shook the whole bag into the audience. I think I got some stuck in my teeth. They also played many other songs that I enjoyed thoroughly. The antics kept going with them egging us on to sing along with them during Gates of hell. After the concert was over I drove all the way back to Glen Burnie and went to bed. Devo ever comes here I will definitely come to see them. Also caught one of their yellow suits they tore off during the concert.

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