I grew up listening to 80s and 90s pop and rock before getting more into heavy metal music. While I had my select favs of heavy metal back then, my radio (yes, radio) was primarily pop and rock music. And it was good! So many bands from the 80s and 90s had such great influence on music and provided people with singles they attached to and remember so vividly. And this was so true of the British rock band Tears For Fears and the American rock band Garbage. Both of these artists hold special places in my heart with fantastic memories of their songs and videos. When I heard I was approved to review their performance at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre in Tampa, FL I was elated.
It was a rainy drive from Orlando to Tampa that day and the weather had me concerned the show could be potentially canceled. But, the rain stayed away, though we had a really nice breeze to help cool the air at the amphitheatre that night. It was nearly a sold-out show that evening as the amphitheatre was absolutely packed. The merch lines were line right before the start of the show, concession stands were busy, and there was this buzz in the air of anticipation for the artists ready to perform. And I completely understood why. This was exciting to see two legendary artists performing together on The Tipping Point World Tour in support of Tears For Fears’ newest album.
Garbage was the opener for that night, a band out of Madison, WI and Scotland. The lineup for Garbage has remained the same since their inception back in 1994 when Butch Vig (drums), Duke Erikson (guitar), and Steve Marker (guitar, keyboard) traveled out to London to see a vocalist named Shirley Manson. While the initial audition did not go well, the four were convinced they could make it work and gave it another go. Forming as Garbage they released their self-titled album in 1995, which would become a massive hit and sell over 4 million records worldwide. Their follow up album Version 2.0 in 1998 which would also go to sell over 4 million records worldwide. Garbage went on to release two more studio albums before taking a hiatus in 2005. They would return in 2007 with some one off appearances before getting back into the studio to release Not Your Kind of People in 2012. They’d release two more studio albums with the most recent being No Gods No Masters in 2021.
The moment they stepped on stage with touring bassist Eric Avery the crowd were on their feet and cheering. Shirley was beaming in appreciation and the band kicked off with “Automatic Systemic Habit” from their 2012 Not Your Kind of People. Filled with electric pop and synth sounds they had the crowd already bouncing and dancing in their seats. They followed it with “The Men Who Rule The World” from their recent No Gods No Masters. Shirley was very vocal after finishing the song screaming into the mic “Protect our children!” which seemed to be a message in relation to the unfortunate recent school shooting in Uvalde, TX. The fans were back on their feet for “Stupid Girl” from their self-titled debut album in 1995. There’s nothing like hearing Shirley Manson delivering that chorus in the low, soft vocal to run shivers down your spine with a very EDM-like music behind it. By far one of my favorite Garbage songs.
The rest of the set that night felt like the Greatest Hits of Garbage collection. “Special” from Version 2.0 was performed perfectly. Shirley dedicated “Queer” from the self-titled debut album to the LBGTQ+ community promoting a message of love to everyone. Shirley asked the crowd if they had ever wanted to be serenaded a Bond theme song directly to them and the reaction was lackluster. She seemed quite shocked and said she felt heartbroken in a joking manner right before they performed “The World is Not Enough” the title track to the James Bond movie, which is a fabulous song. One of the funnier moments of the show was when they started performing “Wolves” from No Gods No Masters. Shirley was walking across the stage to the left as the music started and suddenly stopped and turned around stating “I apologize guys but we have to stop.” For a moment, I thought she saw something in the crowd she wanted to attract attention to like someone injured. Butch, Duke, Steve and Eric all looked confused and stopped playing. Shirley then explained how she forgot the first line of the song as she had some random thoughts running through her head and started laughing. The rest of the band also started laughing as well and they restarted and she got it right the second time around. The crowd definitely took it in stride and appreciated the honesty and ensuring they got it right.
The band overall performed so well that night. Butch played amazing and I really loved his enthusiasm and even poses he gave the crowd during songs. Duke provides such chilling rifts during his playing hitting every note just perfectly. Steve is so animated behind the guitar running around on stage and also running back to the keyboards throughout songs. He plays both so well. Eric was very stoic during his performance mostly staying in one spot but delivering those basslines as he’s been part of the band since the start. And what more could I say about Shirley? Her vocals are perfect, she energy is infectious, and she knows how to control the crowd.
I loved getting to hear “Only Happy When It Rains” from the self-titled album, “Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!) from the 2001 Beautiful Garbage was a nice surprise, and “Push It” from Version 2.0 got a huge pop from the crowd. I think my only criticism from their performance was them not performing “I Think I’m Paranoid” which I feel is one of their most well-known songs. Otherwise, what a fantastic performance from Garbage that evening. You can find their music, merch, and tour news over at their website https://www.garbage.com/. Their setlist that night was:
- Automatic Systemic Habit
- The Men Who Rule The World
- Stupid Girl
- Special
- Wicked Ways
- Queer
- The World is Not Enough
- Wolves
- Only Happy When It Rains
- Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)
- Push It
- You Look So Fine
Tears For Fears formed in Bath, England when Roland Orzabal (vocals, guitar) and Curt Smith (vocals, bass) met as teenagers and had their band Graduate. They released one album under that name before reworking the band under the new name Tears For Fears and signed a record contract with Phonogram Records in 1981. Their debut album The Hurting was released in 1983 and had the hit singles “Mad World”, “Suffer the Children”, and “Change”. It wouldn’t be until 1985 when they released Songs from the Big Chair that would garner them international success, especially in the U.S. with their hit singles “Shout” (went #1 in the U.S.), “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” (also #1 in the U.S.), and “Head Over Heels”. The album hit #1 in the U.S. and sold over 5 million copies in the United States. They followed that in 1989 with Seeds of Love and then Curt Smith departed the band in 1991. Two studio albums were produced without him but he would then return to join Roland to release Everybody Loves a Happy Ending in 2004. While Tears For Fears would continue to tour periodically it wouldn’t be until 18 years later than the two would release their most current album The Tipping Point which went to #1 on three U.S. charts and #2 on the UK charts. The band was joined on this tour by musicians Charlton Pettus (guitar), Jamie Wollam (drums), Doug Petty (keyboards), and Lauren Evans (vocals, backing vocals).
The moment Roland and Curt stepped on stage the crowd were immediately on their feet and erupted in cheers. The roar of the crowd was deafening and Roland and Curt looked overwhelmed with the response. They opened with “No Small Thing” from The Tipping Point which brought a more folk feel to the song with the acoustic guitars. They followed up with “The Tipping Point” the title track from the new album. It’s a fantastic rock song that shows the vocal power of both Roland and Curt performing as a duo. It has such a chilling sound to it as well. It’s no shocker why this song has become so popular. But, then they let the flood gates loose when the opening notes of “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” from Songs from the Big Chair hit the speakers. Everyone was on their feet once again and singing along with Curt as he led on vocals. Fabulous performance of the song that night.
The rest of their setlist was such a great mix between classic Tears For Fears songs and newer songs. “Sowing the Seeds of Love” from 1989 The Seeds of Love had people singing at the top of their lungs word for word. “My Demons” from The Tipping Point was a huge change of pace for Tears For Fears. I really love this song because it’s so different and unique than other music they released. It has a very rave-like feel and the lighting they used was perfect. But, I have to call out the performance of Roland with Lauren for the songs “Suffer the Children” from The Hurting and “Woman in Chains” from Seeds of Love. Lauren absolutely blew away the crowd with her vocal performance when she was solo and did a wonderful job when singing in tandem with Roland. Those two songs may have been the highlight of the evening because the performance of those songs was mind-blowing. Charlton, Jamie, and Doug performed fantastically that night nailing these Tears For Fears songs note for note and beat for beat. Kudos to them on their wonderful work that evening.
Tears For Fears wrapped up their set with “Head Over Heels/Broken (reprise)” from Songs from the Big Chair before performing their encore. When they came back they closed out the night with “End of Night” from The Tipping Point, “Change” from The Hurting, and closed out with none other than “Shout” from Songs from the Big Chair. A completely fabulous performance from Tears For Tears on their headlining tour. If you want to pick up music, merch, or see future tour dates go to their website at https://tearsforfears.com/. Their setlist from that night was:
- No Small Thing
- The Tipping Point
- Everybody Wants to Rule the World
- Secret World
- Sowing the Seeds of Love
- Long, Long, Long Time
- Break the Man
- My Demons
- Rivers of Mercy
- Mad World
- Suffer the Children
- Woman in Chains
- Badman’s Song
- Pale Shelter
- Break it Down Again
- Head Over Heels / Broken
Encore:
- End of Night
- Change
- Shout
This was just an overall fantastic night of music between Garbage and Tears For Fears. Both bands are still at the top of their game making new music and still performing the live with such energy and passion. Fans of either band will absolutely love this matchup on tour. Catch them while you still can!
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