RE: http://www.thealarm.com/archtour.asp?id=3139
Since no one seems to have posted anything about the show last night, I'll start.

I live in Chicago and never considered myself a real "Alarm Fan" until I saw them play a string of concerts in bars like the Elbow Room and the Abby Pub in Chicago a couple years ago.

I was blown away and figured, due to Mike's illness, I would never get to see them again in the USA.

When I heard they were playing a "Rib Fest" in the Chicago suburbs, I couldn't believe it.

In my completely bias opinion, The Alarm rocked last night!

It seemed that most people were there to eat ribs or see the Psychedelic Furs, so it was easy to make it to the front of the stage. Mike even stepped down to shake hands during the set.

He seemed genuinely (there's a shock... it's Mike Peters!) glad to be playing and seemed to make an effort to jump around a more than usual.

He seems really comfortable with this band. I've seen this configuration 4 or 5 times now, and they keep getting better.

Now both the drummer, as always, and the basest seem to be having fun. The guitarist (sorry I don't know names) still seems a little less happy (more focused?) to be there than the rest.

During the set, I had to juggle my kids with my wife, so I missed some of it. The songs I remember were:
* Rain in the Summertime
* Absolute Reality
* Spirit of '76 (a very long version with 45 RPM thrown into the middle)
* 68 Guns (for closing)

I'm sure I'm missing two or three songs from that list. The set was very short. Way to short for my liking!

The Alarm came out first, before The Fix and The Furs, so they had to warm up a distracted and sober crowd. But, after all the shows were over, I overheard two people say, "The Alarm was awesome!"

While The Fix received an ovation and The Furs had a larger crowd (maybe because they played last), all three bands did a stand-up job.

This is not an 80's reunion tour. These are three talented bands who love what they do and continue to work hard at their craft, and it shows.

You and I both had a good time there! Thanks for sharing your details. I hope by now you found my comments in another thread (on 7/1 show). And Bill giving the playlist in full, thanks for that.

Given the Rockin the Colonies three-band mix...I was really thinking all three bands would get pretty near equal time. But it didnt play out that way. You gotta take quality not quantity! I agree...the other bands did a good job. The brand of music the Alarm brings....well cant match that though.

I hope your wife and kids enjoyed the show. It was kind of cool that right next to me for the Psych Furs, again I was 10 yds or so from stage, was a young girl maybe 10 or 12 with her parents....and she was really into it and knew all of their songs, and had a couple of stuffed animal friends with her to rock along. It was cute

Great reviews! Being a fan of all 3 bands but more so THe Alarm and THe Fixx I was very pleased to hear what fans from these other boards are saying. I only found this board last year after seeing Mike Peters at my local musicfest. I have been on the Fixx's Message Board for over 2 years with almost 800 posts. I hope to grow old with this board as well! Thanks to whoever posted some photos of the Alarm!