The Go-Gos
1982-01-15
Boston Garden
Boston, MA
Soundboard Recording
320 kbps
Artwork Included
01. Can't Stop The World
02. Skidmarks On My Heart
03. How Much More
04. Tonite
05. Fading Fast
06. Cool Jerk
07. London Boys
08. Automatic
09. Lust To Love
10. This Town
11. You Can't Walk In Your Sleep (If You Can't Sleep)
12. Our Lips Are Sealed
13. Surfing And Spying
14. Beatnik Beach
15. (Remember) Walking In The Sand
16. Let's Have A Party
17. We Got The Beat
On January 22, 1982, I was fortunate enough to have a ticket to see The Police at Madison Square Garden on their historic Ghost in The Machine tour. That album went to #2 on the billboard charts, while the band became the first new wave act to headline 20,000 seat arenas, such as MSG. The Go Go’s, were the lead-in band that night and their album, Beauty and The Beat, actually did one better than the Police’s disc, reaching the top of the Billboard charts! Just a few months earlier, on November 28, 1981, I had seen the Go Go’s when they headlined the Palladium in New York. That was a far better setting for the band, whose danceable hits translated much better on the small stage than in the cavernous spaces inside the World’s Greatest Arena. Whereas at the Palladium, the Go Go’s had the crowd on their feet dancing and singing from the first note to the last, they just could not generate the same energy level among the thousands at MSG. The contrast became even more stark when the Police hit the stage and were able to induce a mass sing along to Walking On The Moon. Trust me, the Go Go’s played well that night at the Garden, but the jump in arena size just wasn’t one they were prepared to make at the time. In any event, while I’ve never found a tape of the Go Go’s from that January 22 show (or of the Police for that matter), I do have this soundboard recording of the band from 7 days earlier in Boston, on January 15, 1982, 29 years ago today.