Howard Jones at Red Butte Garden (Again)

I have been a huge fan of Howard Jones since I was a sophomore in high school and I have seen him in concert more times than I can count.  When he was in SLC the last time he hinted at a return visit this summer and I was thrilled when I found out about this concert at Red Butte Amphitheatre.  It is such a great venue and last night was perfect for an outdoor concert.  This time I was able to go with my sister Kristine who loves Howard Jones as much as I do!  The opening bands were All Hail The Silence and Men Without Hats.  I had never heard of All Hail The Silence before but I really enjoyed their set because lead singer Christian Burns has a really nice voice (and is pretty easy on the eyes).  I was only familiar with two of the songs in the Men Without Hats set, "Pop Goes the World" and "Safety Dance," but they were a lot of fun and got the crowd up on their feet.  Howard Jones played quite a few songs from his latest album Transform, including the title track, "Take Us Higher," "Beating Mr. Neg," "Hero in Your Eyes," "Tin Man Song," and "The One to Love You."  This album has a very house/ techno sound to it and I liked all of these songs, especially "The One to Love You."  He also played many of the hits to the delight of the crowd, beginning with a lovely version of "Hide and Seek" to start his set.  He continued with "Equality," "No One Is To Blame," "Everlasting Love," "The Human Touch," "Life in One Day," "Like To Get To Know You Well," and a fantastic version of "What Is Love?" that made my inner fifteen year old self lose her mind because I loved this song so much back in the day.  He ended his set with "New Song" which brought back so many memories because this is the song that made me a Howard Jones fan (he also had footage of performing this song in the 80s on the screens behind him).  After he left the stage, quite a few people around me started singing the chorus to "Things Can Only Get Better" and then he came back on stage to sing it for the encore.  Just like the last time he was at Red Butte Garden, this was such a great concert and I loved every minute of it (so did my sister).

Note:  Go here for the complete lineup at Red Butte Amphitheatre.  It is such a great venue for a concert.