No More Heroes: Happy Mondays/Psychedelic Furs

By Emily Carney

The Ritz, Ybor City (Tampa) FL
September 29, 2009

When I discovered that the Happy Mondays were coming to town (shortly after the Gogol Bordello War of 2009), I was beyond psyched. I was a massive fan of this band in the early 1990s. While my fellow middle-school-aged peers in Florida were jamming along to the sounds of Stevie B. and Taylor Dayne, my musical world was fully entrenched in “Madchester”—with bands like the Stone Roses, the Inspiral Carpets, and of course, the Mondays. So one can imagine my excitement as I commuted an hour away from my apartment in St. Petersburg, Florida, to see the band; I even momentarily forgot that the Psychedelic Furs were also on the bill that evening.

I arrived quite early and found some very cool, old school Furs fans waiting in front of the Ritz. We bonded over rock war stories and generally just had a great time chatting—I find that I always meet the coolest, most authentic fans at smaller shows (the crowd that night was tiny and sedate in comparison to the out-of-control audience at the Gogol Bordello show). I scooped up some Mondays-related merchandise (a green T-shirt festooned with the legend “Happy Mondays”) and at long last the bouncers let us into the show.

I saw the Happy Mondays
and all I got was this stupid T-shirt.

The opening band (Islands) was actually quite good, and had an electronic-glam sound that recalled seminal new-wavers like Missing Persons or Berlin (except without a heavily made up female lead singer—this band was all male). When their set ended, we waited with baited breath for the Mondays to arrive. And waited. And waited. . . they were about half an hour late to the stage.

I’ve actually heard that this isn’t a bad wait for this band; one of my best friends saw them back in the day, and relayed that they were two hours late because Shaun Ryder was being treated for “the clap.” Also, Bez—the infamous freaky dancer so lovingly commemorated in the 2002 Michael Winterbottom film 24 Hour Party People—tripped over my friend’s shoes and collapsed. But these are all moot points. The band came on stage at long last and I was instantly. . . just disappointed.

First of all, the original members of the Happy Mondays—with the exception of Shaun Ryder—were not present. No Bez, no Rowetta (the Mondays’ backup singer on their seminal albums); the band seemed entirely comprised of backup musicians in awful clothes and a Rowetta stand-in (who, by the way, ended up being a powerhouse vocalist who redeemed the entire show).

Shaun Ryder looked fully tranquilized; he moved like a walrus on Klonopin (i.e., he didn’t move at all). His lyrics were displayed on a (very visible) teleprompter, and most of the time he sang (well, mumbled) Mondays’ hits like “Kinky Afro,” “Loose Fit,” and “Step On” while looking at his nails, and he pulled a plastic mackintosh over his eyes for the last half of the band’s performance. He looked like a bloated, toothless version of the Unabomber. Just lame. I was embarrassed since I had rhapsodized at length about the band’s “greatness” to my newfound friends just moments ago. It was a classic case of performers just “phoning it in.”

After the Mondays departed, the Psychedelic Furs saved the night for me. The band immediately launched into a spirited version of 1982’s “Love My Way,” which was just amazing. God only knows how many angst-y times I listened to this song in my room as a kid. It was kind of strange to see it live and right in front of me. Richard Butler showed no signs of strain or age, and did his patented “twirly” dance as the band played hits such as “President Gas” and “Heaven.” Unlike Shaun Ryder, Butler fully interacted with the audience and seemed very enthusiastic about the entire performance.

The Furs certainly didn’t disappoint on that muggy night in south Florida. I can’t say the same thing about the Happy Mondays, unfortunately. As I walked to the Ybor City parking garage, a group of guys who had just exited the Ritz yelled at me, “Happy Mondays!” I really wanted to tell them to fuck off, but my inherent sweetness prevailed and I managed a weak smile as I shoved a resigned cigarette into my mouth.

The Happy Mondays’ set list:
1. Kinky Afro
2. Monster
3. Close the Dam
4. Loose Fit
5.Reverend Black Grape
6. Hallelujah (Note: The band did not perform this song.)
7. Andy Warhol
8. Jelly Bean
9. Mumbo Jumbo
10. Step On
11. 24 Hour Party People (They didn’t play this song, either.)

While The Psychedelic Furs do not currently have an official website, you can visit singer Richard Butler on MySpace. The Happy Mondays, however, do have both an Official Website and MySpace page.