Tears for Fears bring new songs and greatest hits to Concord

BY HELEN LAME’

Riding the wave of critical acclaim for their first new studio album in 18 years, the English new wave rock band Tears for Fears delivered a lively performance Wednesday night at Concord Pavilion worthy of a group that first sought to rule the music world some four decades ago.

Touring in support of The Tipping Point, just released in late February, founding members and co-vocalists Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith relied heavily on their newest material to make a statement but left few disappointed considering the quality of the album and the inclusion of so many early classics in the nearly 20 song setlist.

Selling over 30 million albums worldwide spurred by the success of their three 80’s albums and their good timing of breaking big during the birth of the MTV generation, the band’s debut album, The Hurting released in 1983, reached number one in the UK. Two years later their second album, Songs from the Big Chair, did the same in US, achieving multi-platinum status in both the UK and the US and propelling the band to a spot at Live Aid. 1989’s The Seeds of Love would continue the trend of global success.

Taking the stage as dusk was rapidly approaching and opening with “No Small Thing” and the title song from their latest effort, Orzabal and Smith quickly demonstrated major confidence in the depth of their catalog by showing no hesitancy to play one of their signature tunes, “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” as just their third song of the night, with Orzabal’s guitar riffs sounding particularly animated.

With the video screens adorning the stage displaying colorful imagery throughout the show, Orzabal and Smith’s harmonies and established chemistry shined during the uplifting singalong “Sowing the Seeds of Love,” which is undoubtedly on any shortlist of the band’s best and most recognizable songs. A four song mini suite from the new album featuring “Long, Long, Long Time,” “Break the Man,” “My Demons” and “Rivers of Mercy” would follow, providing a majority of the seven songs from Tipping Point played during the show. They meshed well with the band’s early material.

Asked in a recent interview how the duo selected the new album’s title, Smith stated “We felt the world was very much at a tipping point. The rise of the right wing, Trump being elected, the Black Lives Matter movement, the pandemic, the climate crisis. And I think, for us, going through this experience together was a tipping point personally because there were so many false starts. It seemed like an apt title for us.”

Any crowd anxieties about the early abundance of new material would quickly be forgotten as the second half of the concert was basically a dazzling trip through Tears for Fears Greatest Hits. Reaching all the way back to their debut 39 years ago, “Mad World” and the band’s very first single “Suffer The Children” quickly refocused the audience on what most came to hear from the group’s heyday.

As the hour grew later and the sky turned to black, the full effects of the video monitors provided an even more powerful backdrop to the pristine sound radiating thru most of the Pavilion. “Woman in Chains” and “Badman’s Song” set the stage for the minimalist but beautifully sung “Pale Shelter” before a truly unmistakable piano intro ushered in the cascading “Head Over Heels” from Songs from the Big Chair, much to the audience’s delight.

Returning to the stage following a brief encore break, the band revisited their latest effort one final time, presenting the lush neo-psychedelic “End of Night.” They then set the house on fire yet again with the intense jangling melodies of “Change,” and a roaring version of the anthemic “Shout” as the crowd stood to both sing and salute Tears in unison. Memories Fade, but Orzabal and Smith’s Advice for the Young at Heart clearly lives in their music as they approach the fifth decade of their partnership.

Tears for Fears featuring opening act Garbage with Shirley Manson continues their tour Thursday night at the Shoreline Amphitheatre before heading to Southern California for a show at The Forum on Saturday. Tickets for both venues are still available.