March 5, 1980 review: Pearl Harbor and the Explosions in UB's Fillmore Room

 


Another almost-forgotten Fillmore Room frolic.

March 5, 1980 

Pearl Harbor Blasts

Are Right on Target

         Look. Out in the lobby. It’s … no, it can’t be. The woman has to be a punk-rock refugee from McVan’s. It’s the hair – short on tip, straggly in the back. But wait, what about those gorgeous cheekbones? Even under all that makeup, they could only belong to Pearl E. Gates.

         Once she’s up there in front of the band Tuesday night for a couple hundred kids in the Fillmore Room of Squire Hall on the State University of Buffalo Main Street Campus, it all falls into place. This is Pearl Harbor and the Explosions. Their mission: Get you dancing.

         Everything they launch is right on target. Short and punchy, their songs take flight on the bass and drums, soar on their harmonies and zero in with just the merest splash of rhythm guitar. In this band, they applaud the drummer.

         But that’s after they cheer Pearl. A former dancer for the Tubes, she’s always in motion, always banging on some rhythm instrument, always belting out the vocals. Somebody calls her “the Ronnie Spector of the ‘80s.”

         Their arsenal includes some well-chosen borrowings: David Bowie’s “Boys Keep Swinging,” an old blues tune from Bo Diddley, which gives guitarist Peter Bilt his best shot, and that great old novelty number from the ‘50s, “Black Slacks.”

         But in the main, their ammunition comes from their debut album. “So Much for Love,” “Keep Going” and “Drivin’” – the single that catapulted them out of their native San Francisco – are melded into a bang-up medley. “Shut Up and Dance” ends their campaign on a high note. They mop up the rest in two encores.

         Opening was Dirty Looks, an almost tuneful English New Wave trio signed to Stiff Records. A study in black suits and white shirts, they played as colorlessly as they dressed. Perhaps they’ll be more vivid when they open for Sylvain Sylvain March 20 in Stage One.

* * * * *

IN THE PHOTO: Pearl Harbor and the Explosions in a record company publicity photo.

* * * * *

FOOTNOTE: Pearl Harbor and the Explosions disappeared almost as quickly as they materialized. It didn't help that radio stations resisted them because of their name. Pearl left after the second album in 1980 and wound up married to bassist Paul Simonon of the Clash, thanks to her connections in London. They separated after their plans for a band together evaporated. Pearl returned to the Bay Area and continues to be involved in a variety of projects.

        There has been more than one band called Dirty Looks. This was the one from Staten Island that joined up with British bands for the Son of Stiff tour. They issued a second album in 1981 and broke up.

        Setlist.fm doesn't say much about what Pearl Harbor and the Explosions played. The UB date isn't even mentioned. Best indication comes from their March 14, 1980, show at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz, Calif.:

Shut Up and Dance

You Got It (Release It)

Get a Grip on Yourself

Up and Over

The Big One

So Much for Love

Black Slacks

Drivin'

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