Last night at Chastain they played to a packed house. The heat and humidity were one. These guys were probably my first concert ever. It was late '79 or the early 80's when I saw them for the first time at San Diego State. Outdoors. What a great show. Rock Lobster and Love Shack had me going then and again last night. I probably don't get out as much as I should and the people watching last night at Chastain was stellar. The in-town crowd had it going on with plenty of "big-hair" in the crowd. Wilson and Pierson had it back then and they still have it.
I love the energy and fun they bring to their unique brand of entertainment. Pierson's dancing is a hoot. Timeless.
Here's some background on the band.
The B-52's are a New Wave rock band formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976.
The band's name comes from a particular beehive hairdo that is wrapped around, instead of teased, with an open "hole" in the top. During their early years, wigs of that style were often worn by the band's female singers Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson. The band was not named after the airplane of the same name.
Wilson and Pierson formed the band with drummer Keith Strickland, guitarist Ricky Wilson (Cindy's older brother) and vocalist Fred Schneider after a drunken night at a Chinese restaurant and played their first gig in 1977 at a St. Valentine's Day party for friends. The B-52's sound is marked by the vocals and lush harmonies of Wilson and Pierson, and the generally spoken-word or sprechgesang vocals of Schneider.
The band's quirky take on the New Wave sound of their era was a combination of dance and surf music set apart by the unusual guitar tunings used by Ricky Wilson. Their costume thrift-store chic set them apart as well. During the Mesopotamia tour, the band's famous wigs were under the care of Jackie Slayton, one of Athens's leading artists and long-time friend of the band.
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