Dexys Midnight Runners are an English band led by singer and songwriter Kevin Rowland. Best known for their 1982 hit Come On Eileen, they have reinvented their sound repeatedly over more than four decades, from brass-driven soul to folk-tinged pop, while keeping the raw emotional intensity that defines their music.
Last Sunday, Dexys Midnight Runners had a tour opening night promoting the latest album LOVE in Stockholm. In short, the concert was a non-conformist love letter to life and all that comes with it.
From the very lobby, Göta Lejon greeted you with a buzz of excitement. It felt like a close-knit group of people who could not wait to hang out with old friends they had not seen in a long while.
The show was structured in two acts – the first one focused on the new album, while the second one tapped into the old hits. As the name suggests, LOVE is focused on what it means to love and be loved. The band set up a lovely play-by-play of daily relationship scenes – arguments, flirting, love confessions and dialogues between friends. It added lots of dynamism to the performance and truly involved the audience. You follow the lyrics and the action as if it were a theatre play. At all times, the band was radiating happiness and contentment with life. This way, the show had this mature, self-realised feel to it that shared confidence and calm assurance with the audience.
The band leader, Kevin Rowland, once again proved himself as a powerhouse of a singer. His smooth, composed yet slightly cheeky delivery made the show work. And, without a doubt, Rowland’s voice is positively embracing and impressive. Unlike many other singers who have lost their voice strength with time, he is far from it by the sound of it. Enough to say that he sounds even better in person than he does on the recordings.
The highlight of the show, apart from the number-one hit Come On Eileen, was Old Love, a song that reads as a monologue about getting old. At this moment, you look around the audience, see people of all ages and notice on their faces how much they identify with it.
Rowland’s voice directly sent to your soul an aggravating feeling of being seen as old before anything else, even to those who are at a different stage of life. On a deeper level, the message worked as a wake-up call for the judgemental lot who jump to labelling people. And by that, I mean myself here. It often happens that when you see a person, you intrinsically classify them, put them in a box and go on with your day. It seems quite benign when you are the one doing it and yet, it has a major impact on the people receiving the labelling.
The last, more energetic and lively part of the concert cemented the feeling, acting as a prescription against boring ageing. Getting physically older and mentally older do not have to be the same. Whatever age you are, you leave the Dexys concert feeling a little bit lighter and a little bit younger.
