The most surprising thing about the Go-Go’s sold-out performance at the 930 Club Thursday night was that the band didn’t play like a nostalgia act. Even though 2001 saw the quintessentially Californian quintet release “God Bless the Go-Go’s” (their first new music in 17 years) their reputation is still based on the ebullient and frothy summertime singles they made in the early 1980’s. But with one notable exception, their hits---radio nuggets like “Head Over Heels”, “Vacation” and “Our Lips Are Sealed”---were rendered with pleasant formality, while new tunes and lesser-known older songs provided the 90-minute show’s real spark.
In town to play Friday’s private benefit for Larry King’s Cardiac Foundation, the group were more playful pop stars than rock and rollers at first, but by the time guitarist Jane Wiedlin dug into “How Much More”, they had found their peppy groove. Singer Belinda Carlisle is the visual star, of course, but songs like “This Town” and “Unforgiven” revealed drummer Gina Shock as the true source of the Go-Go beat. Wiedlin was the most fun, however, from her skidding power chords to her scouring the crowd to find herself “a corrupt politician boyfriend”.
The evening’s musical highlight (aside from a hyper surf version of “Beatnik Beach”) was the encore: their best new song, “Throw Me A Curve” paired with the bondage homage “Fun With Ropes”. The evening’s highlight, though, was the set-closer where the gals were joined by Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, who sang along to a brakeless version of “We Got the Beat”. It was a rock and roll glamour moment, but somewhere underneath the idea that the ongoing Go-Go’s revival is a good thing just wouldn’t go away.
Washington Post, 2002
