NEWER POST
Long ago, this was an "our song." Now it's my song.
"We Close Our eyes" by Oingo Boingo is song of the day on Battlestar Eclectica. I had the great good fortune as a teen to see this band three times in concert. Two of these gigs were the band's annual Dead Man's Party, mega-concerts with Danny Elfman leading his huge Big Band-style lineup of musicians.
You can imagine the audience's excitement when the band launched into the song "Dead Man's Party" or Elfman's atmospheric cover of Cab Calloway's 1931 hit "Minnie the Moocher." You know the one, with those call and response portions: "Hi-dee-hi-dee-hi (hi-dee hi-dee-hi-dee hi)". . .
On one occasion, I saw the event at the Irvine Meadows' Amphitheater and that night, by some ghostly coincidence, the venue was naturally shrouded in fog. It made for a peak experience.
I have also seen Oingo Boingo Dance Party live, once at a little '80s club in the San Gabriel Valley and another time at the Coach House in beautiful San Juan Capistrano. The boys from the band, like Oingo Boingo's bassist and music producer, John Avila. There's a new frontman, a charismatic and good-looking guy by the name of Brendan McCreary. He bears a faint resemblance to actor Jason Schwartzman, though McCreary is lankier.
If you are a Boingo fan, I highly recommend you take in Oingo Boingo Dance Party if you have a chance. Unlike the various doppelgänger replacements for Steve Parry that Journey has employed McCreary doesn't try to directly imitate Danny Elfman. He has a great vocal range and exudes the proper angst and simmering insanity necessary to pull off songs like "Weird Science," "Private Life" and the exuberantly titled "Wild Sex in the Working Class."
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