It has become a custom for classic musicians to perform one of their albums in its entirety, like the Stiff Little Fingers’ current Inflammable Material tour. 80s New Wave star and pioneer of the “New Romantic” style, Adam Ant, has just announced that he will be bringing Friend or Foe to the United States next year. The tour begins on April 24, 2020, at The Chumash Casino in Southern California and culminates May 17, 2020 at the Spreckels Theatre in San Diego. The Los Angeles concert at the Greek is the penultimate performance, so the band should be pretty tight by then. Today is the last day for presale, ending at 10 PM. General tickets are available from Friday, September 27 at 10 am local time.
This paragraph from our Music Editor, Bob Lee’s, 2017 review of Adam Ant at The Fonda Theater provides the best description that I’ve ever read:
“Adam And The Ants were a whole lot of fun when they showed up in the early eighties. Big thumping drums, spaghetti western guitars, and a flash dancing dandy up front, yodeling his masochistic desires. Kind of like the Rocky Horror Picture Show, they became a focal point for those kids who were just finding out about weird art and sex stuff and wanted to turn toward it and away from their Foreigner-listening peers. It really was one of the most un-Foreigner-like things you could experience on MTV at the moment. They were a willfully odd pop band, Glam Rock revivalists at heart with more modern outfits, and a post-punk sensibility underlying these catchy hit songs. Adam Ant’s return to the Fonda last week, following a roughly twenty year absence from LA, surpassed any reasonable expectations.”
“Friend or Foe” was Adam Ant’s first solo album after his band, “Adam and the Ants” disbanded and it went gold. The title song, as well as “Desperate but not Serious” and “Goody Two Shoes” were all top ten hits in the UK, with the latter reaching #1 with a bullet. OK, I don’t know if it was “with a bullet” but I like sounding like a DJ.
This album is a bit more rockabilly than the earlier albums were. He abandons Adam and the Ants’ trademark African drumbeat and brings in brass. A lot of brass. He also ups the sultry factor in the videos for this album, earning himself the title of “Sexiest Man Alive.” So there’s that. Oh, and also an unexpected cover of The Doors’ “Hello, I Love You.”
For more information, visit the website.
Previously on The LA Beat:
Adam Ant’s ANThems Sizzled at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay
TOUR DATES:
Friday, April 24, Santa Ynez, CA, Chumash Casino
Saturday, April 25, Phoenix, AZ, Orpheum Theatre
Sunday, April 26, Albuquerque, NM, Kimo Theatre
Tuesday, April 28, Dallas, TX, Majestic Theatre
Wednesday, April 29, Houston, TX, Revention Music Center
Friday, May 1, Austin, TX, Paramount Theatre
Saturday, May 2, Oklahoma City, OK, Tower Theatre
Sunday, May 3, Kansas City, MO, Uptown Theater
Tuesday, May 5, Denver, CO, Paramount Theatre
Wednesday, May 6, Salt Lake City, UT, Eccles Theater
Saturday, May 9, Seattle, WA, Paramount Theatre
Sunday, May 10, Portland, OR, Roseland Theater
Tuesday, May 12, Eugene, OR, McDonald Theater
Thursday, May 14, Oakland, CA, Fox Theater
Saturday, May 16, Los Angeles, CA, Greek Theatre
Sunday, May 17, San Diego, Spreckels Theatre
Adam ant is the best performer on stage of all time. He is really the greatest. I am a die hard Adam ant fan.