B-52s #1

" T-shirts (flower embroidered, band logo iron-ons), thermal underwear shirts, solid color sweaters (occasionally cowl neck), button-up plaid shirts (tucked in)"

"Not so The B-52s. While on paper this double-bill seemed to make sense -- both groups probably sharing a fan base of thirty- and forty- somethings, thus able to package themselves as a sort of new-wave nostalgia bill -- in execution the disparity in their styles was jarring. Whereas The Pretenders are the model of a conventional rock band, The B-52s -- at least as they came across in concert -- are a cartoon of a band, and a stale one at that.

This isn't to say that the B's, as they are known among fans, are without substance. Some of the group's best songs played on Sunday night, including "Rock Lobster," "Party Out of Bounds" and "Quiche Lorraine," are subtly subversive. "Rock Lobster" starts out as the tale of a fun day in the sun, but turns into a nightmarish fantasy of oceanic horrors. "Party Out of Bounds" asks the age-old question, "Who's to blame when parties are poorly planned?", and "Quiche Lorraine," which begins as an ode to a favorite pet canine, winds up in the doghouse."