06 November 2022 (gig)
09 November 2022
It's hard to imagine that The Tubes' most successful album, "Outside Inside", will celebrate its 40th anniversary next year.
A song from that disc, "She's a Beauty", was an unexpected hit during the spring of 1983 and is The Tubes' sole Top 10 charting single. It was most surprising as, at that time, US radio stations were shifting their focus more toward the second wave of British Invasion acts, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" (which was still a fairly new release), and the then brand new Irene Cara song, "Flashdance...What a Feeling".
The Tubes (Fee Waybill, vocals; Roger Steen, guitar/vocals; Prairie Prince, drums; Rick Anderson, bass; and David Medd, keyboards) had previously enjoyed Top 40 success with "Don't Want to Wait Anymore" in 1981. But, "She's a Beauty", and its popular video, turned the group into one of the darlings of MTV for a spell.
The Tubes performed at The Cabot (the best theater north of Boston) in Beverly, Massachusetts on November 6, 2022.
After opening with "What Do You Want From Life?", the band began performing the "Outside Inside" disc in its entirety, starting with the record's first cut, "She's a Beauty". While performing the song, it was clear that Waybill's energetic stage presence has not dimmed one bit over the years. He effortlessly banged the song out with all the animated aura that the carnival barker character he played in the song's video did decades ago. Beyond singing, Waybill has also dabbled in acting, appearing in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" and as the tragic singer, Lou Corpse, in "Ladies and Gentlemen...The Fabulous Stains" (the entire band also performed a song in the 1980 musical-fantasy "Xanadu").
Following up with a pair of fun rockers, "No Not Again" and "Out of the Business", the band surged on with their cover of Curtis Mayfields' "The Monkey Time".
As the quintet continued with the full-album performance, standout cuts were "Drums" (essentially a drum solo from Prince) and "Tip of The Tongue", an irresistible '80s-funk pleasure. Waybill stated prior to playing the song that "Tip of the Tongue" was co-written by the late Earth, Wind and Fire mastermind, Maurice White. White also assisted The Tubes in the studio during the recording of the song.
The band ended the full-album set with "Outside Lookin' Inside" and then drastically changed course. Waybill, who left the stage during the prior song, emerged donning a black leather pants and jacket outfit. He then pulled off a cool cover of "Trouble", a Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller penned song most famously sung by Elvis Presley in the 1958 movie "King Creole".
Not done with the theatrics, Waybill once again did a costume change, emerging this time as a glam-rock character named, Quay Lewd, complete with a blond wig and huge platform shoes (so big that they appeared to be twice as high as the ones KISS' Gene Simmons wears in concert). The Tubes then ended their set with "I Was a Punk Before You Were a Punk" and the legendary, "White Punks on Dope".
They returned for a two-song encore with a cover of The Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Talk to ya Later". Waybill then graciously thanked the crowd and revealed that this was the final gig of their 2022 tour, making the night even more special.
