Aotea Centre, Auckland 17th May 2006 review

Promised you a miracle... and that was the promise back in the 80s, when Scottish new wave band Simple Minds were one of the biggest stadium-fillers in the world. After a handful of dazzling, adventurous albums, Jim Kerr and co stepped back until last year's release of a pretty average record. But then a miracle of sorts happened here on Wednesday night and Simple Minds proved the power of nostalgia, filling the Aotea Centre with an air-punching, screaming, dancing crowd, mainly of a certain age group but with a healthy proportion of teens and 20s as well.

They weren't there to hear the songs from that new album, Black and White, although Kerr did deliver some of those, moments which occasionally flattened the energy levels. No, it was the soundscape anthems of Simple Minds' classics like New Gold Dream, Sparkle in the Rain and Sons and Fascination that people had come to hear, to relive those moments when the band broke big in New Zealand and we learnt the words to Don't You Forget About Me.

The promoter shouldn't have bothered with support band, Donald Reid, whose warm-up felt like 30 bludgeoning minutes too long. All was forgiven when Kerr, looking fit at 48, bounded on stage, waving, grinning, shaking hands, before ripping into Speed Your Love to Me with super-guitarist Charlie Burchill's shimmering chords a reminder of how first-rate this band could be.

Mark Taylor provided plenty of atmosphere on keyboards and longtime drummer Mel Gaynor and bass player Eddie Duffy established a stonking rhythm, with a nice surprise later in the night with an appearance by Kiwi music producer Malcolm Foster, their bass player for six years.

The oldies and goodies were all there: Love Song, one of their biggest hits, Waterfront, Up on the Catwalk, Alive and Kicking, Promised You A Miracle, She's A River, All the Things She Said, Someone Somewhere, interspersed between some obscure later numbers. Halfway through, Kerr noted, in his delicious Glaswegian accent, that it had been 17 years since they last played in Auckland, and "you're here and as mad as ever", before dedicating the next song - Gloria - to "a girl I met here". And they were mad for it.

But by 10pm, the Aotea Centre's limitations as a venue for a huge rock sound were becoming painfully obvious. Simple Minds need a big space where the sound can travel, not bounce back in on itself. The glories of Sanctify Yourself and New Gold Dream were muddied by the centre's confines and Burchill's efforts to "freshen" up the classics by playing in different keys didn't always work. Why muck-up the greats? But overall, Kerr and his band could not have happier with what was never less than an adoring bunch of longtime fans. And, at last, came Don't You Forget About Me and the complete crowd sing-along.

Linda Herrick, Herald on Sunday

State Theatre, Sydney May 7th 2006 review

Don't You Forget About Them

Who in their right minds would pay good money to see Scot-pop has-beens Simple Minds 20 years after their peak? Children of the '80s? Ageing fans of the original new wave? Geeks? Shouldn't these people have, like, moved on, or something?

As it turns out, it doesn't matter what the answers are. Simple Minds should also be irrelevant, but their live sound, refined in stadiums back then, remains huge; many of their era-defining hits still sparkle; and the songs from the so-so current album Black & White fit into the set more comfortably than you'd expect.

It's sometimes quite difficult to watch. The tanned, slightly balding singer Jim Kerr strikes ludicrous rock'n'roll poses only his yoga guru would applaud, and actual dancing remains, uh, one of his weaker suits, but he enjoys every second, and it's contagious. Similarly, his fellow band founder and long-time writing partner, Charlie Burchill, looks as unlikely an axe hero as he ever did, yet still makes his guitar soar with skyscraping riffs.

After a worrying opening, including the swift realisation during a failed singalong of Home that most of the adoring crowd don't know the new album, the band get them on their feet for a history-acknowledging Love Song (it was their first chart hit here, and anywhere) and barely give them a chance to sit back down.

The blueprint remains technicolour walls of synth and Burchill's sometimes shimmering, sometimes pealing guitars, backed by powerhouse drummer Mel Gaynor (the only other member of the five from the peak-period line-up), with the band's more earnest and/or overblown songs (Belfast Child, Mandela Day) happily omitted in favour of the disturbingly enjoyable, fist-pumping anthems.

As Ghostdancing greets the crowd like an old friend, so, too, does an adventurous Kerr as the audience, surrounding him, cry such apt lyrics as "boy, I believe in you" back at him.

Don't You (Forget About Me) remains irresistible. Even the occasional duff track (Let There Be Love, She's a River) can be forgiven thanks to the appearance of the rampant sway of Waterfront or the techno pulse (!) of New Gold Dream. Only the hardest-hearted cynic would refuse to enjoy such a show.

George Palathingal, Sydney Morning Herald

Academy 1, Manchester Review, Manchester Evening News 13th February 2006

Still Going Strong

There was a chorus of adulation from the Academy crowd as a sprightly, denim-clad Jim Kerr walked on stage.

It has, after all, been 30 years since Simple Minds first inspired a generation with brilliant songwriting and musicianship.

And, while the group may have shied away from climbing to the dizzying heights of one-time contemporaries U2, they are still as relevant as they ever were. A two-hour set brimming with old and new tracks proved that. Opening track, Sleeping Girl, was thrust on the crowd by Kerr, guitarist Charlie Burchill, long-time drummer Mel Gaynor and bassist Eddie Duffy, with determined energy.

Clearly, those looking forward to an evening drenched in 80s nostalgia were in for a big surprise. This was more than a trip down memory lane.

The backbone of the set was provided by classic tracks: early Simple Minds fans being treated to gems such as Love Song, East Is Easter, Up On The Catwalk, See The Lights and Don't You Forget About Me.

A deafening roar exploded as Kerr began calling card, Waterfront. More impressive, however, was that songs from the recent Black And White album provoked the crowd just as much.

And while the soaring electro surge of title track Black And White echoed vintage Simple Minds, Dolphins enveloped the room with a more experimental edge. Kerr simply grinned.

The crowd grinned back, acknowledging what is something of a spiritual time in the careers of the Glaswegian veterans.

It was necessary, then, to end with Alive And Kicking. And while not wanting to play on such an obvious pun, that is exactly what Simple Minds still are.

(4 out of 5)

Belinda Hanks, Manchester Evening News

Carling Academy, Glasgow Review, 'Scottish Sunday Mail' 12th February 2006

Simple Minds have always been Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill but add in Mel Gaynor on drums, Eddie Duffy on bass, Mark Taylor on keyboards and 30 years on, they still sell out tours.

They treated fans to classics Speed Your Love To Me, New Gold Dream, Waterfront and a cracking rendition of East At Easter. And it was good to see an outing for the excellent Colours Fly And Catherine Wheel.

Newer songs A Life Shot In Black & White and Stay Visible showed they can still craft a decent tune but on the night it was the older songs that hit the mark.

(4 out of 5)

Linda McLean, Scottish Sunday Mail

Carling Academy, Newcastle Review, The Evening Chronicle 7th February 2006

Simple But Effective

The majority of the audience were 35-plus, but that didn't stop a fair number of them forgetting their age and jumping up and down like there was no tomorrow.

The last time I saw Simple Minds was back in the early 1990s when they played Gateshead Stadium. This is a much, much smaller venue, and just as well, as Kerr's voice simply isn't as strong as it used to be.

Several times during the gig you struggled to hear his recognisable tones, and now and again you thought the vocal chords may even give up.

But the consummate professional, he persevered and at times the magic of old returned as thought it had never left.

Kerr, give him his due, was on stage for just under two hours, showing terrific stamina - though the beads of sweat were evident from just minutes into the concert. A great workout, though!

The gig mixed plenty of new material with a smattering of the old stuff. Waterfront was the first number to really get the crowd going, but Someone Somewhere (In Summertime), Up On The Catwalk, See The Lights and Love Song were equally well received.

Now and then the gig lost momentum when the pace slowed down with some of the newer material, and it took a good two minutes for the fans to get behind the anthemic Don't You (Forget About Me).

That said, the night ended on a high - after two, lengthy, encores - to the strains of Alive and Kicking. Something that Jim Kerr and the band obviously are very much still.

Gordan Barr, The Evening Chronicle February 8th