West Palm Beach **End of the Road**

This, in my opinion, was the most anticipated concert of this last century. I could not believe I would be lucky enough to see five of my favorite bands on stage at once. By the time it got to my neck of the woods, South Florida, I was sad to hear it was the end of the road. To keep it short I'll give you a run down of the evening by breaking it down by group. First Up:
Missing Person - She was a total train wreck, the voice is gone and she looks like she needs to be in a retirement home. The wig, the look, and even the musicians looked like they would have rather been home watching big brother.
Tommy Tutone - Great performer but not for an eighties reunion tour. More for a high end seaside resort. He did close with Jenny and we appreciated the moment and his hanging around after the concert for pictures and autographs. This guy is a real trooper and he deserves our gratitude.
Naked Eyes - This guy rocked and it was a rare moment to hear and ENJOY the new music. Most acts fill up their set with JUNK from the new album. This time it was really nice and he closed with the classics. His guitar playing was awesome and his sax player was on the mark. This guy brought the show to a whole new level.
ABC - These guys were great, I love Martin Fry, he's a true showman. This guy fills the stage with light and energy. My only critic is that ABC is nothing without the horns. You need the Sax to make an ABC song explode. I am just assuming that this was the end of the road and the other half of ABC, Horns and Back-up singers, had already left the tour.
10,000 Maniacs - Let me just say that I love this group but in a very different way than the ones above. Maniacs without Natalie make me uncomfortable. Plus they were the Alternative to the Eighties group in the Eighties. The Maniacs were always way ahead of their times. I am here to tell you that THEY ROCKED!!! OMG, they were soooo good. Mary Ramsey is so sweet and talented, I didn't even care that Natalie was missing, it didn't matter, I was in the presence of 10,000 maniacs. They were perfect! They should not be closing and Eighties show, they should be on tour on their own. They didn't fit in to the theme of the evening since they are an all time great band. I went looking for my Eighties favorite. Instead I just got a short yet AWESOME Maniacs concert with incredible opening acts.
Overall: I know I missed the Eighties line up I really wanted to see. I am a true fan so I'll keep buying tickets as long as they keep selling them. The filler, MP and Tutone, though inadequate didn't ruin the evening. See you next year!

I attended the show at Kravis Center in WPB on 08/31 with my two sisters (we're 38, 39 and 40 - I'm the 40-year-old). We had a blast. ABC was the highlight of the evening for us. Martin sounded great and they had the crowd on its feet for the entire set. I was pleasantly surprised to see Mary Ramsey back with 10,000 Maniacs. She's a terrific singer and viola player. But I agree they were a little out of place on this bill. They played like they were glad to be there, though. Naked Eyes were great, and the crowd went nuts when they played "Always Something There To Remind Me", quite possibly one of the most fondly remembered singles from the '80s. Dale Bozzio got off to a rough start and admitted to being nervous on stage. The backing band she had sounded good, though. Tommy Tutone seemed more interested in playing newer material and lost a lot of the crowd that wanted to hear "Jenny". I've posted a blog about the show on my myspace page, myspace.com/at40cookiejar, if anyone is interested in reading it.
Thanks.
Matt