LIVE: The Zombies at B.B. King Blues Club, NYC (8/8/14)
Full disclosure: I am no stranger to the Zombies. This show was the third time I’d seen them in the past year or so, including attending the premiere event for their first music video ever last fall. And yet, no matter how many times I witness Rod Argent, Colin Blunstone and company step onto a stage, no matter how similar the set list, or even the banter, it’s a completely fresh, spirit-lifting experience.
The reason is simply that these guys fill the room with youthful energy. (Funnily, Blunstone pointed out during the show that, “We don’t look that old, but we’ve actually been playing for 50 bloody years.”) The lead singer’s face still comes alive with that same mischievous grin that captured hearts in the ’60s, while Argent pounds those screaming keyboards like they’re a well-worn set of drums.
Not to mention the able musicians that constitute the rest of the lineup (Tom Toomey, lead guitar; Steve Rodford, drums; and former Kinks bassist Jim Rodford) are all seasoned veterans and make some of the rather complicated arrangements look effortless. Plus, everyone is in top vocal form. (Argent told me last year that Blunstone is obsessive about daily vocal practice and warm-ups — it shows!)
Looking dapper and dandyish, Argent and Blunstone opened with the Zombies’ 1965 classic “I Love You,” a chance for Blunstone to really rev up those pipes. Flowing into the bluesey “Can’t Nobody Love You” from the same album, the band took a break following the number, during which Blunstone proclaimed New York “a second home.”
The band then launched into the first of a few songs off their latest record, Breathe Out, Breathe In, beginning with the title track. The Zombies is one of the few bands that, when it dares to perform dreaded “new music,” doesn’t have the whole audience suddenly bolting for the bathroom. Sure, there’s an odd person here or there obnoxiously yelling, “Tell Her No!”, but when that happens, the heckler is quickly silenced by a fan that actually wants to hear the song. (A novel concept, I know.)
Luckily, the set list included more than enough material from the group’s storied catalog to keep the casual fans singing along, including my personal favorite, “She’s Coming Home.” A real highlight and treat of any Zombies show is the very carefully-orchestrated medley of songs from their’ cult favorite album, Odessey and Oracle. As Argent explained onstage, “It sells more records now than it ever did in the first place.”
There was something theatrical about the parade of melodies, from “A Rose for Emily” to “This Will Be Our Year” (during which an older couple in front of me stole a kiss – aww), and of course, “Time of the Season,” which featured a red-hot keyboard breakdown from Argent. The band worked the room into such a frenzy that it earned its first standing ovation of the night as the last note bounded off the walls. Any lesser showmen might have hung it up after that and headed back to catering, but the Zombies? Hell no.
Argent and Blunstone never shy away from their solo projects and are careful to speak precisely about the nature of their post-Zombies songs, but nevertheless, work them into the show. Blunstone treated the crowd to “Old and Wise,” a song from his stint with the Alan Parson’s Project, on which Argent dutifully provided an elegant melody.
Likewise, Blunstone joined in on “Hold Your Head Up,” Argent’s hit with his eponymous post-Zombies outfit (founded with bassist Rodford). The entire venue reverberated with its buzzing beat, the nearly sold-out crowd clapping and stomping along to the song’s title refrain. Truly, B.B. King’s typically draws a, shall we say, tamer type of entertainment, and I was relieved that its foundation held out during the maximum rockage.
Finishing with “She’s Not There,” the band exited before Argent and Blunstone alone reappeared, once again mining their catalog for closer “The Way I Feel Inside,” a gorgeous, simple tune that shows the Zombies don’t need bravado or compensatory flash to stun an audience.
After a half-century in the business, Argent and Blunstone could comfortably retire into nostalgia (or retire altogether), but that’s just not the kind of band the Zombies is. It’s vital, it’s important, and, best of all, it rocks. As Blunstone said, amidst the seemingly neverending applause that permeated the evening, “It makes us feel about 18 years old to be up here every night.”
(Cover photo by Dino Perrucci.)
