I suppose in one sense I’m embarrassed to have won tickets for this amazing show from WZBC (last pair they were giving out the day of the performance), as I could sense there was a frantic surge of hardcore Wire fans trying to score them as well. And then I pop in, completely clueless and unfamiliar with their music (but very familiar by name and reputation). To add to the insult, I brought someone along with me who was equally clueless. However, to make up for all that, I’m proud to say that there are now two brand new Wire fans, and I will be chasing down their recordings.

I know, I have no excuse, as I was most certainly around and going to shows in the late 1970s. Though, truth be told, I appreciate in-your-face noisy, full-throttle thrash far more now than I did then. Yes, you’re right, late 1970s was the time to be into punk and all that, and here I am now, 30 years later, true to form, way behind everyone else. But they sounded fantastic, and the ecstatic moshing going on, especially towards the end, was ample proof that others were experiencing the very same flashback that I was — and were loving it.

Not everything was supercharged and frenetic as that. There were plenty of songs that were just rocking, a few more “pop-ish” type things that are typically more my style these days, and one spacey psychedelic/prog number that I (and my hippie friend) loved and would not have complained had there been more of. From their great Wikipedia page, I see they did have various “phases”, and I would have to say this show touched on all of them.

While I can’t comment specifically on songs I was hearing for the first time, I can say that the energy was intense, and they sounded fantastic. Great audience too, which creates that deeply soul-satisfying experience.

(Boston set list, from the official Wire website forum):
1. Our Time
2. Mr. Marx’s Table
3. Comet
4. Being Sucked In Again
5. Mekon Headman
6. Icon In Perspex
7. Advantage In Height
8. Agfars of Kodack
9. Silk Skin Paws
10. All Fours
11. One of Us
12. Boiling Boy
13. The 15th
14. 106 Beats That
15. I Don’t Understand
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16. He Knows
17. Pinkflag
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18. Lowdown
19. Underwater
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20. Circumspect

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