By Christie Bilbo
The House of Blues in Dallas hosted the iconic bands Naked Eyes, The Motels, and Wang Chung on May 19, 2024. Everyone in the house got to take a trip back to the 80s and relive the most epic era of all time. When the music was great! The jeans were tight-rolled. Hair was teased, and cans of Aqua Net were in demand. If you didn’t live life in the 80s and weren’t old enough to go to the clubs, then you were actually missing out on some of the most amazing times.
The music in the 80’s was going through a huge transition. You had Punk Rock (Black Flag, Ramones), Rock (Naked Eyes, The Motels, Wang Chung), Heavy Metal (Metallica, Slayer), Country (George Strait, Dolly), Techno (Flock of Seagulls, a-ha), and so much more. Everything back then was edgy and different.
Not that today’s music isn’t unique. But listening to what we had in the 80’s is timeless. The music was groundbreaking. We had so many new sounds coming out of that era that nobody had ever heard. Plus, MTV made much of the music that we now have defined that era.
Pete Byrne “Naked Eyes”
When Naked Eyes came to Dallas, they began the evening by bringing back a lot of wonderful memories of my younger days. I remember back in the day, along with a ton of other bands from the United Kingdom. But their song “Always Something There to Remind Me” was their biggest hit from 1983. When they played this song, they brought the house to their feet, singing along. There wasn’t a person who wasn’t singing along.
Martha Davis
We were then blessed with Martha Davis and The Motels, a new wave band that I truly loved. I remember this band so well from my younger days. Back in their prime, hits like “Only the Lonely,” “Suddenly Last Summer,” and “Danger” were played a lot on the radio. They were gracious enough to play these hits for us, including “Total Control,” which had everyone standing and singing with Ms. Davis and the band.
The headliner of the night was Wang Chung. When they played “Fire in the Twilight,” from the movie Breakfast Club, it brought back so many memories of my teen years. I remember wanting to be Molly Ringwald so badly, but unfortunately, I was an Ally Sheedy then. I had to smile when they played “Dance Hall Days,” “Eyes of the Girl,” and Should I Stay or Should I Go.” But what warmed this 80’s teenager’s heart the most was when they played “Everybody Have Fun Tonight.” I had to stand and sing along. It reminded me of dancing in the gym in Lake Worth with my friends. The bonfire that night of the homecoming. Memories of hanging out in a field drinking trash can punch with my friends and listening to music.
This indeed was an evening of being Abducted By the 80’s that warmed my heart!
