A heat advisory was issued for Pine Knob Music Theater Saturday night and it wasn’t just for the 95 degree heat we been having here in Michigan lately. A trip down memory lane was in full swing Saturday night with most including myself reliving our youthful high school days with friends just chilling on the stoop, along with those backyard sing-along parties near the bonfire. Billed the Alive and Kicking tour 2025 headlined by Simple Minds the tour gave us a mix of old and new. Special guests Modern English and Soft Cell, who haven’t been around these parts since 2002. The trio sounded like they did some 40 plus years ago strong and vibrant and much to my surprise feeling youthful going coast to coast on stage greeting their fans throwing some love to those in attendance.
The night kicked off with Modern English playing a nice 6-song set including a track from their “1234” album released last year. Lead singer Robbie Grey strutting around on stage like a 20-year-old didn’t care about the heatwave taking place nor did original bassist Michael Conroy sporting his leather jacket who can still terrorize the guitar strings. The band ended the set with the classic hit “I Melt with You.” Next in line to rock the stage was Soft Cell who haven’t played in Michigan since 2002. Marc Almond and David Ball the electronic duo greeted their fans with a few memorabilia snippets from Madonna’s “Holiday” and “Into the Groove” along with the classic hit “Turn the Beat Around” by Vicki Sue Robinson. The 9-song set ended with the band’s icon hit song “Tainted Love.”
The night would get a little more heated with Simple Minds taking the stage shortly after nine. The 95-minute set was filled with all the classic’s we grew up too. Genres of all ages filled the venue just like seven years ago the last time Simple Minds was in town, just a smaller sold-out venue in downtown Detroit at the historic Fillmore which I also covered. The band known for their 1985 chart busting smash hit “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” featured in the hit movie the “Breakfast Club” came to party with a few thousand close friends and family.
Jim Kerr still sounding strong as ever belting out track after track like “Once Upon a Time”, “Midnight Walking”, and “Let There Be Love” Kerr jumped into the very tight (no room pit) to engage with his fans on this tune. The stage had plenty of visual’s, huge screens lined the back behind the drummer. Speaking of the drummer Cherisse Osei, put on one hell of a solo delighting the crowd along the way right into “Promised You a Miricale.” Guitarist Charlie Burchill amazed like no can during such hits like “I Travel” and the instrumental “Theme For Great Cities” can you say WOW! The 16-song set pretty much focused on the Simple Minds of the 80’s. A handful of songs came from “Once Upon a Time” the bands most successful album to date. Sarah Brown backing vocals was spot on during “All the Things She Said” and “Book of Brilliant Things.”
The highlight from the set ended with a massive sing-along that could be heard in surrounding cities with “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” with Kerr coaching the crowd helping sing parts in three different languages. Closing out the set with “Book of Brilliant Things” with Miss Brown on vocals and finishing the night with “Alive and Kicking.” The tour is one for the books, the 80’s book’s that is. The band will be heading across the pond for some shows you can check those dates here.
Simple Minds performing live at Pine Knob Music Theatre Saturday June 21, 2025
