Missing Persons

Missing Persons was part of the lineup at Saratoga's Mountain Winery concert event, "Lost 80s Live," and they are one of my favorite bands whom I've never seen live, and I was looking forward to it. Neither had I ever gone to the Mountain Winery before.

The Mountain Winery is way on top of a mountain, as the name suggests. It is absolutely beautiful up there. The layout is very well done--they have restaurants, vendor booths and bars, and a tasting room. Drinks cost more than what a baseball stadium charges but are very tasty. Vineyards surround the entire plaza.

Unfortunately, I was not thrilled at how this event was organized. They crammed over 10 bands into only 3 hours, and all was done by 9:30pm! Some artists only got to play one or two songs! Most played no more than 3 songs and were barely warming up by the time they had to leave the stage, including Missing Persons, who sounded OK but probably would have done a better job had they been allowed to actually play a set. It didn't help that the stage had to be reset for 20+ minutes after each artist. WTF? I managed to enjoy myself overall, but I don't think I'm going back to the Mountain Winery, who clearly has more interest in making money at their bars than offering a good value in music concerts. I'll keep an eye out for Missing Persons headlining a small club next time, so that I can actually enjoy a concert from them.

I recently saw that Missing Persons was playing with Dale Bozzio and Bow Wow Wow at the Dead Horse Cantina & Music Hall in Mckees Rocks, PA, which is pretty close to me. I thought it would be fun to hear the music I grew up to live, so I convinced a couple friends to come out with me. As I thought, the crowd was mostly people our age who remember Missing Persons from their youth, and it was great to get out and party with people from my generation again. Missing Persons played a mix of their familiar peppy, upbeat 80's style electronic pop like Words and what seemed to me to be a heavier, modernized version of some of their songs like Mental Hopscotch. It was great to hear the songs I remember from so long ago, and interesting to hear them reworked into a modern format. The heavier guitar and deeper sound of the modernized songs still fit them well and flowed naturally and even though the background music was louder and more intense, Dale Bozzio's voice still shone through with the high quality sound she's always been known for. The light show was intense, and the high energy, electronic music kept people up and moving from start to finish. I was glad to see that they are scheduled to play here again this fall.

Missing Persons play a unique blend of hard rock and New Wave that could only have been a product of the 80s. The band however have no intentions of keeping their sound trapped in a decade of the past and are doing their best to spread their sound into the 21st century.

The first thing you’ll notice about the band is undoubtedly their on-point musicianship which is no surprise given that this band over the years has had members that have played with the likes of Frank Zappa and Duran Duran. There’s tumbling drum fills and roaring guitar tones that do a fantastic job of bringing some of that wild 80s excess into the modern age. It’s all topped off by singer Dale Bozzio who has been at the forefront of the band’s iconic image since the 80s. It’s easy to see why as even today, she’s lost none of her poise or skills and can absolutely dominate a stage especially with guitarist Warren Cuccurullo alongside her. You might think this band would just be another 80s relic but they have proven to be a stunning live act that is well worth your time even in 2014.

New wave was not just a huge trend in the UK during the 1980s, our Stateside cousins also adopted the phenomena and one of the better products of this was Californian quintet Missing Persons. Blending the genres of synth pop, new wave and post-punk, the group had the animated appearance synonymous with the genre and enough energy to power a city.

The MTV favourites have gone through various lineup changes yet have still remained a frequenter of the live circuit so therefore the fanbase appears to have never really lost interest despite various hiatuses for inter-band reasons. Recharged and re-energised, tonight is all about the hits as the band delves into its back catalogue to dust off the likes of 'Here and Now' and 'I Like Boys'. The crowd is ready to dance from the offset and the group are happy with the enthusiastic reaction. They capitalise on this and perform with their own amount of chaotic energy all the way through before it culminates in a fist pumping version of 'Walking In L.A'.

Im glad i got to see them.super energetic and just full sound.one of my favorite bands a foot away from me wow! It was Rad to the max.like for sure. Totally