HEAVEN 17
@ THE DANFORTH MUSIC HALL, TORONTO
SEPTEMBER 23, 2022
It may have taken 40 years, but Heaven 17 finally made their Toronto debut on a cool Friday night. They certainly warmed things up when they hit the stage, bang on time at 9.00 pm. Original members Martyn Ware (keyboards and vocals) and Glenn Gregory (vocals) were accompanied by Kelly Barnes, Rachel Meadows (vocals), and Florence Sabeva (keyboards/vocals), and together they made an incredible sound.
The original trio (which included Ian Craig Marsh) actually made their live debut in Europe in 1999, but it has taken a few years to get the band over to North America, but it was well worth the wait! They put on an energetic, non-stop show featuring hits and a few deep cuts. They also created an incredibly intimate environment. Both Ware and Gregory exchanged stories and sincerely seemed to enjoy telling the audience about each song, the history, and the meaning to the band. Both of them talking about the origin of “Geisha Boys And Temple Girls” was worth the admission alone. “We made Kiss look like accounts,” remarked Ware as they were discussing their outlandish wear of the late 1970s in Sheffield, England.
But the night was all about music. The band played for nearly two hours, and they managed to jam a great deal of material into their set. Heaven 17 have a fairly lengthy discography, but for the purpose of the show, they focused on their first three albums (Penthouse And Pavement, The Luxury Gap and How Men Are). They did one song from their 2004 album Before After (“I’m Gonna Make You Fall In Love With Me”), which featured a playful exchange between Gregory and Barnes/Meadows. The song fit in with their classics and was well received. This clearly demonstrates that the audience would be open to some of the newer songs of the band.
But it was the classics that the crowd seemed to come to hear. “Temptation”, “Come Live With Me”, “Sunset Now”, “Let Me Go”, “I’m Your Money” and so many more. The songs were updated a little with the heavy dance beat added, but that did not distract from the overall beauty and strength of the songs. Heaven 17 always wrote incredible melodies and these classic melodies were maintained. For the record, Gregory’s voice never sounded better and one could be forgiven if one felt transported in time. Ware was equally fronting the band. In his glittery purple suit and cowboy hat, he struck quite a pose on the stage and he seemed to be having a great time recreating these much loved songs.
There were surprises, such as “…(And That’s No Lie)”, which was an astounding production, and a cover of The Human League’s version of “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”, which featured some lead vocals from Ware. The latter performed The Human League’s “Being Boiled” for the closing number of the night. Ware (and Ian Craig Marsh) were one half of the original Human League line-up. These songs came off well and was a nice tip of the hat to their origins. They also performed a convincing cover of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”. Gregory is no stranger to Bowie’s material as he is also the lead vocalist of Tony Visconti’s Holy Holy band who perform early David Bowie songs. This version of “Let’s Dance” was energetic and provided a chance for a bit of a singalong.
Overall, it was a stellar night. DJ Lazarus warmed the crowd up by spinning alternative classics and deep cuts. The crowd responded favourably to him, but it was clear they were there to hear Heaven 17. It was a great evening. Heaven 17 did not rely on a stage show, like the old days, the band was the show, and they were very appreciative of the audience. I just hope we don’t have to wait another 40 years for the band to come back and perform live.
SPILL FEATURE: WE DON’T NEED THIS FASCIST GROOVE THANG – A CONVERSATION WITH GLENN GREGORY OF HEAVEN 17
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