The Psychedelic Furs and co-headliners The Jesus & Mary Chain revived ’80s darkness at Uptown

Nick Spacek,
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The Psychedelic Furs. // photo by Nick Spacek

The Psychedelic Furs
with the Jesus & Mary Chain and Frankie Rose
Uptown Theater
Wednesday, October 23

On paper, the Psychedelic Furs headlining their tour with the Jesus & Mary Chain makes sense. They have the bigger selection of hits and arguably the more popular name recognition, but in practice, they ended up getting smoked by their opener.

Not for nothing, Jim Reid’s vocals for the Jesus & Mary Chain are spot-on decades after their heyday. A little more raspy, yes, but solid and clear, whereas the Furs’ Richard Butler still has his croon, but anything in the upper register starts to get a bit wobbly. Oddly enough, the opening cut, “The Boy That Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll,” comes from their latest, Made of Rain, released just four years ago. it sounded rough, and it took several songs in before he found his vocal footing.

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The Jesus & Mary Chain. // photo by Nick Spacek

I don’t know how long it’s been since the Jesus & Mary Chain played Kansas City, but it’s been long enough that seemingly everyone of a certain age involved in music in any way, shape, or form decided to pack the Uptown early on a Wednesday.

After listening to the band for most of my music-aware life, seeing them live was wildly rewarding. They are big and loud and send waves upon waves of washing sound over the Uptown. The venue sometimes struggles with louder bands, but even standing out by the bar, the band sounded crisp and clear—no mean feat for an act that can get a little noisy.

Also, after about five songs, suddenly, it hit me that Blur swiped a solid amount of J.A.M.C.’s poppier material in their early days. It is, as my wife ably pointed out, “very Glastonbury,” and the light show made for a particularly intense set of tunes.

Bringing out opener Frankie Rose for both “Sometimes Always” and “Honey” also leaned to the overall indoor festival feeling. While the crowd might not have been as familiar with their overall oeuvre quite as much as the Furs’, the rapturous reception of the “Be My Baby” drums which open “Just Like Honey,” more than made up for the polite response to other, lesser-known cuts.

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Frankie Rose. // photo by Nick Spacek

Frankie Rose is formerly of several bands from the ’00s garage rock revival, such as Dum Dum Girls, Vivian Girls, and Crystal Stilts, and her music is a melange of all those acts. Imminently danceable, slightly garagey tunes all tinged with hints of New Wave, it’s all of about the same tempo from song to song, but managed to be fascinating thanks to its presentation. Rose traded between drum pads and guitar, her guitarist occasionally fiddled with something that may or may not have been synths hidden in a cabinet, and the bass player bopped up and down like he was mounted on strings. There were two red lights at either side of the stage, which alternately brightened and darkened, with the prime stage lighting being a screen onto which were projected an array of black and white visuals.

It was, as they say, a vibe.

All photos by Nick Spacek

The Psychedelic Furs

The Psychedelic Furs setlist
The Boy That Invented Rock & Roll
The Ghost in You
So Run Down
All That Money Wants
Only You and I
Wrong Train
Love My Way
All of the Law
President Gas
Pretty in Pink
Mr. Jones
Pulse
Heartbreak Beat
Forever Now
Heaven

The Jesus & Mary Chain

The Jesus & Mary Chain setlist
Jamcod
April Skies
Head On
Happy When It Rains
All Things Pass
Chemical Animal
Some Candy Talking
Cracking Up
Far Gone and Out
Venal Joy
Blues From a Gun
Between Planets
In a Hole
Sometimes Always (with Frankie Rose)
Nine Million Rainy Days
Just Like Honey (with Frankie Rose)
Taste of Cindy
I Hate Rock ‘n’ Roll

Frankie Rose

Frankie Rose setlist
DOA
Know Me
Trouble
Had It Wrong
Sixteen Ways
Red Museum
Moon in My Mind
Minor Times

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