George Michael is gone.
Prince left far too soon.
And Freddie Mercury is dead.
But 80s’ music lives.
That was evident Saturday night in Savannah Center as the band Electric Avenue ripped through a blistering set of music that shaped a generation.
These guys not only resurrected the spirits of dead icons, they also brought back those long-gone golden days of MTV.
The concert was called “The 80s MTV Experience,” and the crowd was loving every minute of it. All that was missing Mark Goodman, and Martha Quinn.
Didn’t matter to the dancers who jumped out of their seats and congregated near the stage for much of the one-hour 45-minute show.
The band started with the “Top Gun Theme,” and ended with an encore of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2).”
Electric Avenue was punctuated by the combustible magnetism and dynamic vocals of lead singer Kevin Spencer. And — as Talking Heads might say – this band “burned down the house.”
This was 80s’ rock in all its MTV glory.
“The 80s’ were the crossroads of ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s music,” a sweaty but enthused Spencer said after the show. “It was a collision of the songs, the writers and the images that came before with the new electronic technology — and MTV.
What radio did for rock music in the 50s and 60s, MTV did for the 80s.
“It penetrated your house,” Spencer said. “If you grew up then, it was in your house and you sat in your living room glued to the set. This was before the big executive sold out MTV for money. This was MTV when the music mattered.”
It didn’t take long for MTV video to kill the radio stars. A new kind of music; a new kind of image, and a new kind of singing star was created.
But there was a connection to the old days.
Electric Avenue played “Always Something There To Remind Me,” by Naked Eyes. That song stretches back to the’60s when Dionne Warwick recorded the number, written by Burt Bacharach.
“There’s a real connection there,” Spencer said.
Electric Avenue makes this music come alive with their passion for it, and talent. “The music always comes first,” said lead guitarist Shannon Pengelly. He and Spencer formed Electric Avenue nearly a decade ago.
“We play this music because we care about this music,” Spencer said. Those two, along with Clay Duke, keyboards; Tyler Sherard, bass and Will Groth on drums make up the band.
The setlist was crammed with 80s’ memories and emotion. Among the hits: “Danger Zone,” Kenny Loggins; “Friday I’m in Love,” by the Cure,” “Hungry Like the Wolf,” Duran Duran; “Take On Me,” by A-Ha; and “Maniac,” by Michael Sembello.
Just when you thought it was all new-wave gel, Electric Avenue showed its versatility. The front of the stage was filled with happy dancers when the band covered Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long.”
Then came a couple of glorious rockers: “Dancing In the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen and “Summer of ’69,” Bryan Adams. Just to keep the house rocking, Spencer delivered a silky-smooth cover of George Michael’s “Faith.”
Then came my favorite song and moment of the night. Spencer nearly needed an exorcism to rid his body of the spirit of Freddie Mercury as he tore the Queen classic, “Rado Ga Ga.” I closed my eyes and it felt like 1984 all over again.
The band hit a ferocious climax with the final song, “Let’s Go Crazy,” a musical monument to Prince.
They left the stage but soon returned for a pounding encore of Pink Floyd’s classic “…Wall” song.
“We’ve been doing this for 10 years and we get a great reaction wherever we go,” Spencer said. “This was our first time in The Villages and the crowd was great. Just like us, they care about the music, and that’s what keeps us going.”
Tony Violanti covers music and entertainment for Villages-News.com. He was inducted into The Buffalo Music Hall of Fame as a music journalist.