Thomas Dolby was an early contributor to the development of synthesizer based techno style music, a successful entrepreneur and founder of polyphonic ringtone software used today by Nokia, a soundtrack composer for video games and movies and a multi-Grammy nominee. Wow, with this list of accomplishments, Thomas Dolby obviously doesn’t need to tour every year to be remembered and in fact he hasn’t for almost 20 years.
Introducing and setting the mood for the evening, WXRT’s on-air personality declared, “This is the live music venue we all die for” and in fact it was the perfect setting to see and hear live music if you don’t mind standing up. Thomas Dolby, now completely bald, enters the stage equipped with enough wires attached to him as if he was preparing for an extraterrestrial journey and looked very much like the mad scientist persona he created in the videos from the 80’s. The fact he looked a bit cramped on the stage with what appeared to be sophisticated paraphernalia and a 50” wide projector screen did not prevent him from delivering the goods Chicago has been patiently waiting since his last visit to the city way back in 1988.
Packed with a crowd full of loyal fans, Dolby clearly made up for lost time. “I did make a mental note to come back to Chicago every 18 years” he jokes. Opening the night of what he’s calling his Sole Inhabitant tour began in a some what mellow fashion with the tune, “Leipzig”. This is one of several ballads where Dolby makes an effort to explore the themes of war this evening. With an endearing British accent and tons of charisma, Dolby takes the time through the course of the evening to interact and to properly introduce each song, explaining its meaning and background much like a VH1 Storytellers segment.
His set tonight includes several well-known tunes from his MTV and five Grammy nominated album, “The Golden Age of Wireless” (an obvious pun considering the album was released in 1982) not to mention “One of Our Submarines”, “Windpower”, “The Flat Earth”; each one backed-up by intense lighting and vivid imagery projected on the wide screen which only enhanced the overall experience.
The crowd’s enthusiasm increases midway as applauses start to go on incessantly after Dolby plays the emotional ballad “I Live in a Suitcase”, which in turn seems to almost embarrass or perhaps confuse the mad scientist. Of course Dolby ends the evening with the one-hit-wonder (ok, make it two) of “Hyperactive”, and “She Blinded me with Science”. Songs accompanied by the videos that literally, in his case, rocketed his career to the moon in the early 80’s.
In the end, the concert not only reinsures us there is still talent in Dolby but it is the warmth of his character that shines with the fans this evening. We all went home agreeing Thomas Dolby is an icon in more ways than one and lets hope we will see him play live again before another two decades go by.
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