Boy George and Culture Club, Howard Jones, Berlin romp through '80s classics on summer tour

BRISTOW, Va. – Never underestimate the power of nostalgia.

Summer amphitheater tours are frequently packaged affairs stocked with likeminded – and era-specific – bands.

The Letting it Go Show, featuring Boy George and Culture Club, Howard Jones and Berlin, is a gift to fans of ‘80s music, primarily because the artists all still offer potent collections of brain-ingrained hits.

At Jiffy Lube Live amphitheater in Virginia Friday – a couple of weeks into the tour that will wrap Aug. 20 in Concord, California – a generation-spanning crowd patiently awaited the trio of acts after a lengthy lightning delay.

Their reward was a heady package of musical memories.

Here are some highlights from the show, along with the artists’ abbreviated set lists.

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Berlin makes the most of a short set

With arms outstretched, Berlin mavenTerri Nunn , 62, greeted an effusive audience that was appreciative to see the band, but also thankful the show started after a nearly 90-minute wait.

Unfortunately, Berlin was forced to be especially economical with their set, performing four songs in 20 minutes.

Understanding the time crunch, the five musicians sharing the stage – including founding member John Crawford and ‘80s-era member David Diamond on guitar – immediately tore into the New Wave magnificence of "No More Words" and "The Metro," their cascading synthesizers still evocative and their melodies indelible.

Nunn, sporting trademark black streaks in her white-blond hair, sounded record-perfect  as she soared through the band’s No. 1 hit, the everlasting "Top Gun" ballad, "Take My Breath Away." The diminutive singer, clad in a sleeveless black dress, walked (with a bodyguard) a few rows into the crowd to sing, facing the back portion of the venue and leading fans in swaying their arms overhead.

Longtime followers of the band were undoubtedly thrilled to see Crawford trade lyrics with Nunn on “Sex (I’m A …)” as they stalked each other on stage, bringing more heat to an already steamy night.

Berlin set list

1. “No More Words”
2. “The Metro”
3. “Take My Breath Away”
4. “Sex (I’m A …)”

Howard Jones marks 40 years of ‘New Song’

The genialkeyboardwizard started his set with an easy mandate: “We play with total energy and you sing every song,” he said.

Backed by a four-piece band including intriguing bassist/Chapman stick player Nick Beggs, Jones, 68, bopped around several neon-glowing poles stationed around the stage, sometimes leaning over his synthesizer, other times grabbing the mic for an impassioned note.

A revamped piano take on “New Song” included Jones, his upper range in fine form, hitting some long notes seemingly effortlessly. At 40 years old, the song still retains a springy youthfulness.

Personable and gracious during his 30-minute set, Jones tucked away his cheerfulness for his plaintive ballad, “What is Love?,” which he infused with pathos as it escalated into a dramatic wall of sound of keyboards and electric guitar and ended on a literal high note.

Jones wrapped his efficient set with “Things Can Only Get Better,” the audience happily shouting the “whoa, whoa, whoa-oh-o” part of the chorus as Jones smiled his way through the perky bop.

 Howard Jones set list

1. “Like to Get to Know You Well”
2. “Everlasting Love”
3. “New Song”
4. “What is Love?”
5. “Things Can Only Get Better”

Culture Club gleefully romps through ‘80s classics

Few can make an entrance as gleefully as Boy George and on this night, he and Culture Club opted to start with a song they had been saving for the encore at previous shows – a smoking version of the Rolling Stones’ "Sympathy for the Devil."

"When I die – if I die – I wanna be Mick Jagger," he said with the first of many wicked grins flashed throughout the hour-ish set.

Flanked by fellow original Culture Club members Mikey Craig on bass and Roy Hay on guitar and keyboards, Boy George, 62, looked flawlessly glamorous in layers of black and blue fabric, a gray hat tilted on his head.

Culture Club unspooled their realm of hits with layered precision by springing for a four-piece band – including a percussionist and saxophonist – and two impressive backup singers.

Boy George shimmied and gestured his way through "It’s a Miracle," his voice creamy and soulful before teasing "Shall we tumble?"

That led, naturally, into the slinky groove of "I’ll Tumble 4 Ya," followed by a reggae-fied cover of Bread’s "Everything I Own."

Boy George appeared genuinely happy throughout the set, smiling as he skipped around the stage. He led the band through ‘80s time capsules, including "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" and the spotlight of the night, "Church of the Poison Mind," which was ingeniously meshed with Wham!’s "I’m Your Man" in a pleasant marriage of cadence and spirit.

The encore included mainstay "Karma Chameleon," but more satisfying were the glistening soul of "Time (Clock of the Heart)" and "Miss Me Blind," given a ‘70s club vibe thanks to Hay scratching out a disco rhythm on guitar.

Culture Club set list

1. “Sympathy for the Devil”
2. “It’s a Miracle”
3. “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya”
4. “Everything I Own”
5. “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?”
6. “That’s the Way (I’m Only Trying to Help You)”
7. “Church of the Poison Mind/I’m Your Man”
8. “Time (“Clock of the Heart”)
9. “Miss Me Blind”
10. “Karma Chameleon”
11. “Bang a Gong (Get it On)”

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