As for openers the Romantics, it is unfortunate that the band may best be remembered for a song that gave its name to an innocuous '00s CW sitcom. They're so much better than that, much closer to a '60s garage-rock band well-versed in both the Byrds and the Stooges -- they're from Detroit, so you know they're legit -- who took a couple of songs to pick up steam then spent the second half of their hour knocking one glowering, jagged-edge Kinks or Who riff right out of the park.

So just based on Friday's show alone, the answer to the question, "Were the '80s fun?" has to be "yes."

Personal Bias: Outside touring and the occasional album, neither group has done a whole lot in the past 25 years. Had I been fully engaged in music when these bands were "active" (for lack of a better word), I would have been big fans of both. Still am, especially after finally seeing them live.

The Crowd: Sparse at first, but filled up nicely by the end without getting uncomfortably crowded. One of the increasingly rare shows where I felt like the youngest person in the room. And more females than males, which is never a bad thing.

Overheard In the Crowd: Not much from where I was, but supposedly the couple who got up and danced during "Sole Salvation" was so engrossed in their own conversation that at first they didn't even notice Wakeling tapping them on the shoulder to go onstage.

Random Notebook Dump: English Beat had about 15 kinds of T-shirts at their merch stand. The Romantics had one black men's shirt, and then pink and black ladies' tank tops.