Orchestral Manouevres in the Dark (O.M.D.)

Nowhere City, Syracuse, NY

I had always remembered this as being the the first real rock concert I ever attended (not counting things like seeing the Vienna Boys Choir in 4th grade). However, I have ticket stubs from both this show as well as a U2 concert in April of '85. So I guess the U2 show was my first.

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Either way, this concert was at a juice bar. New York State was raising its drinking age from 19 to 21 years effective December 1st, so some establishments (well, this one at least) jettisoned the alcohol entirely to preserve its patronage by college students. This one turned into a "juice bar"--just like a regular bar, except you could order overpriced orange juice instead of overpriced beers.

I didn't care either way; I would have gone if the show was in a castor oil bar with a two drink minimum. I had really dug O.M.D.'s 1984 album Junk Culture, and their latest (Crush) was growing on me as well. I was very curious to see how their synth-pop would translate live. Largely, I wasn't disappointed, but I now wonder how my relative inexperience at concerts of any sort contributed to my enthusiasm for the show.