Show Pics: OMD at ACL Live (6/3)

I have said it before and will say it again, I will see Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark any chance I get. The depth of their catalog and their shaping of new wave, synth pop, 80’s Top 40 and beyond.

This show had to be rescheduled due for several, not the least of which was a shoulder replacement for Andy McCluskey. Only natural given the perpetual motion machine that he is on stage, not an inch of it left untouched by the end of the first three songs. Paul Humhreys is the rock, anchoring most tracks with glorious hooks and occasionally stepping out to provide his vocal. They love these songs so much and it shows. The crowd can’t help but be persuaded.

Walt Disco and I missed our chance to connect because they were among the early Sunday Kilby Block Party performers that were bucketed on by rain. Luckily, I knew I’d get to catch them opening at ACL Live a couple weeks later and they showed why they garnered a best of SXSW 2022 award from RayRay.

Click through for a coule more notes and pics.

Walt Disco lean on the drama generated by Jocelyn Si’s vocal, a powerful warble of emotion and strength with underlying vulnerability. Behind Si is no-nonsense support handling musical duties. As Ryan mentioned about them in 2022, despite playing a dodgy stage set up in a random parking lot, they just got on with it in a very punk way and sounded great. You get the feeling they could set up in an arena (which they have opening for the likes of Primal Scream, Simple Minds and Duran Duran) or a backyard party (SXSW) and put it down. “Cut Your Hair” was the hit of the night for the crowd up front learning about the Glaswegians.

Speaking of the crowd, there were certainly many more younger fans in attendance this show. Several up front commented that they learned of OMD after the band was cited as an influence to other, newer bands. Loved seeing it.

OMD. What can I say that isn’t redundant? Well, a couple new songs snuck up on me, “Look At You Now” and “Don’t Go” were outstanding. They felt so in place with even the earliest of tracks like “Secret” and “Electricity” (which happened to close out the set). The darker new romantic tracks like “Messages” layed contrast to the absolute pop hits of “Locomotion” or “Seven Seas”. The highs for me are always when they strike the balance between the two; “So In Love” and “If You Leave” are great examles as the crowd is torn between dancing it out or belting every lyric. I got a few texts after the show, people I didn’t expect would be there that saw me shooting, saying they loved the whole thing and were surprised by how good it was. Lesson being, just go see them.

YES. I OVERSHOT THE SHOW. But it was fun.