CONCERT REVIEW: Miles Hunt, New York City
- Bob Gajarsky
The Wonder Stuff never achieved the commercial success in the United States as in their native England, but that didn't stop a legion of the group's core fans from seeing the key remnants of that group - former lead singer Miles Hunt and guitarist Malc Treece - on the last legs of the duo's American acoustic tour at New York City's Mercury Lounge.
While Hunt lacked the enthusiasm and sneering wit which has become his trademark, the songs still sounded as fresh as ever. And on an evening where artists were being rolled up onstage one after another, the only regret was that Hunt and Treece only had time for a set of less than 40 minutes.
Other than those issues - which were out of the artist's hands - Hunt gave the crowd what they wanted. Mixing Stuffies tracks such as the opening crowd-requested "Circlesquare" and "Piece of Sky", along with new cuts such as "Manna From Heaven" and the catchy-as-ever "Immortalizing Chase", and finally closing with one of the tracks which helped break the Wonder Stuff, "A Wish Away", Hunt and Treece left the audience feeling as if they had eaten at a Chinese restaurant one hour prior - totally satisifed with the performance they had just heard, but wanting more. Much more.
For more information on Hunt's activities, purchasing an acoustic live show (_Common Threads Live) CD from 1998, or catching samples from 3 of the songs which may appear on Hunt's forthcoming 1999 album, check out the Gig Records website at http://www.gigrecords.com
