Subtlety has never been Boy George’s strong suit, and his devoted followers love that about him. Dressed from head to toe in oversized, floor-dusting rainbow-striped jacket, slacks and jaunty top hat, the UK's soulful visually exquisite singer pranced his way onto the large stage at St. Petersburg’s Mahaffey Theater on Wednesday night and led the expansive 2016 lineup of his hit-making machine, Culture Club, through a non-stop, entertaining 100-minute set. [Word by Gabe, photos by Tracy.]
As stark white lights bathed the stage, a full horn section, three gorgeous, wailing back-up singers, a percussionist, a keyboard player and an additional guitarist rounded out the quartet that occupied prime real estate at the top of singles charts in every corner of the globe throughout the 1980s.
George’s dulcet croon has given way to a huskier, gruffer tone over the years, which suits the band’s superb catalog just fine. Kicking off with the punchy, faux-Motown mega-hit “Church of the Poison Mind,” George recalled the last time the Club visited the area and played an outdoor show during a typical Florida summertime torrential downpour. “Who comes to Florida to get rained on? Only the Brits!” George joked while recalling last August’s outdoor Madeira Beach concert, and was similarly wry about his own get-up: “The only thing that would be more gay would be me singing ‘Over the Rainbow’…but, I like to wear my pride!” he exclaimed, which garnered one of the nights many rousing ovations.
Reggae-disco dance smash “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya” benefited from a funky reading and a jazzy extended outro that found George shimmying all over the stage with glee. Flirting, preening, exchanging saucy repartee with front row attendees and generally showing off his delightful demeanor, George made guesses at some of his fans ages. “Oh, I can’t tell how old you are…because you’re all so beautiful!” A natural-born charmer indeed, George knows how to work a crowd.
A couple of costume changes found George donning similarly designed outfits in alternating color schemes that were no less fabulous. A black-and-white houndstooth suit and then a pastel-colored smock perfectly exemplified his style and panache. Let’s face it: Boy George could rock a garbage bag and make it look ultra-fab.
Lead guitarist Roy Hay turned in some solid piano work to accompany the lush 1983 ballad “Victims,” which also featured one of George’s most impassioned vocal deliveries of the night. “There are songs you grow out of and songs you grow into as you become older, seasoned and wise,” George pondered before breaking into a soulful version of the Gospel-tinged torch song.
The hits kept coming as Culture Club steamrolled through the funky, Philly soul-based strains of “Miss Me Blind,” the haunting light reggae of “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me” and the bombastic “War Song,” which benefited from an updated, dramatic arrangement. An inspired crowd found the only true way to honor the band and their barrage of hits was to stand, shake, boogie and let their freak flags fly — and George was all the happier to see the outpouring of emotion soar.
But this was no means a nostalgia revue: the Club rocked and got down just as hard on “Like I Used To”, a new selection that was as funky and well received as any other number on the night’s dazzling set list.
An action-packed encore found the band winding up with “Karma Chameleon” and a pair of glam rock anthems from two of George’s own personal musical heroes: David Bowie’s “Starman” and T. Rex’s “Get It On (Bang A Gong)”.
Boy George has always been a pillar of self-expressionism and of the power to be whoever you want to be. Mixing his message of pride and self-esteem amid a fun, funky dance beat has been his strong suit for most of his 30-plus year career. After facing sobriety head on and traveling down the long road to recovery (as he willingly shared during the course of the concert), George has effectively proven that he’s a survivor and an effective role model for so many. Wednesday night’s splashy, colorful show was a glittering example of the glitz and pizzazz he still has and proved his star power is still as shiny and effervescent as ever.
Setlist:
Church of the Poison Mind
It’s A Miracle
I’ll Tumble 4 Ya
Move Away
Everything I Own
Black Money
Victims
Time (Clock of the Heart)
Like I Used To
Different Man
Miss Me Blind
Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?
War Song
Encore:
Karma Chameleon
Starman
Get It On (Bang A Gong)
This article appears in Jul 7-14, 2016.