Review: The Go-Go’s keep reunion party going with fun concert ...Middle East

Halfway through an amazingly disjointed version of “Fading Fast,” the reunited Go-Go’s abruptly stopped the music and tried to figure out what was going on.

“Did I (expletive) up?” vocalist Belinda Carlisle asked her fellow bandmates, who immediately took their share (and then some) of the blame. But then The Go-Go’s do what they do — and kept right on going.

“If you fall down,” bassist Kathy Valentine reasoned, “get up again.”

So, this signature lineup of the band — which also features rhythm guitarist Jane Wiedlin, lead guitarist Charlotte Caffey and drummer Gina Schock — decided to try the song again. Of course, the ever-humorous Wiedlin warned the crowd that the tune still might not turn out that great.

“I can’t guarantee I won’t (expletive) it up again,” she (seemingly) joked.

The second try was, well, better — let’s just leave it at that. But the whole situation just underscored that The Go-Go’s, even following a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2021 and a career that has resulted in millions of albums and singles sold, are still more about punk than polish.

And that’s exactly how the fans like them.

The 2,300-capacity Warfield was absolutely jammed with old-school listeners who were so excited about the chance to see these reunited Go-Go’s, who have called it quits on several occasions — the most recent being in 2023.

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Yet, there they were, bouncing about the stage with tons of energy and plenty of chops as they ran through an 18-song set in a surprisingly brief 75 minutes. And they came into the 103-year-old theater on Market Street on a winning streak, having drawn much attention for their Coachella performances and with a definite buzz going on as they head for the giant ’80s music fest Cruel World at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena this weekend.

Taking the stage at right around 9 p.m., in front of a backdrop of five faux stained glass windows that spelled out “G-O-G-0-S,” the quintet immediately hit the crowd with its finest single — the title track to 1982 sophomore effort “Vacation” — and then continued to roll through “Tonite” and “How Much More.”

Those latter two numbers — as well as the pair that followed, “Skidmarks on My Heart” and “Lust to Love” — all hailed from 1981’s “Beauty and the Beat,” which was definitely the platter du jour. In all, ten of the evening’s 18 tracks came from that game-changing debut album.

The first part of the show was a bit rough around the edges, epitomized by a second take on “Fading Fast” being deemed necessary, but the crowd stuck with the band and danced along to such middling Go-Go’s tracks as “Automatic Rainy Day” and “Unforgiven.”

“We (expletive) love San Francisco,” Wiedlin told the audience. “You’re the best.”

The Go-Go’s did take time to touch upon their long history with the City by the Bay, which began with playing gigs at the legendary punk club Mabuhay Gardens (aka, “The Fab Mab”) on Broadway. They also pointed out that some other Fab Mab alums — the Avengers and Jello Biafra of Dead Kennedys fame — were in attendance at the Warfield gig.

The Go-Go’s took the whole party to a higher level with “Head Over Heels,” the big smash from 1984’s often-overlooked “Talk Show,” and then stayed the course with a superb take on “This Town.”

That helped tee things up nicely for the one-two punch of the iconic singles — “Our Lips Are Sealed” and “We Got the Beat” — which pretty much guaranteed a successful finish to the hour-plus-long main set. The group then returned and closed this uneven, yet enjoyable show with a two-song encore that felt anticlimactic, but was still appreciated.

“This has not been the most perfect show,” said Schock, providing a fitting summary for this concert. “But it’s been really (expletive) fun.”

The Go-Go’s setlist: 1. “Vacation” 2. “Tonite” 3. “How Much More” 4. “Skidmarks on My Heart” 5. “Lust to Love” 6. “Get Up and Go” 7. “Fading Fast” 8. “Automatic Rainy Day” 9. “Unforgiven” 10. “Automatic” 11. “Head Over Heels” 12. “This Town” 13. “Stuck in My Car” 14. “The Whole World Lost Its Head” 15. “Our Lips Are Sealed” 16. “We Got the Beat” Encore: 17. “Fun With Ropes” 18. “Can’t Stop the World”

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