The Human League, Soft Cell and Alison Moyet Fascinate Detroit

Jun 24

Written By Mikel Pfeiffer/Digital Racket

Wednesday night it was back to the 80's with some of the best artists of the era for Detroit. The Human League, Soft Cell and Alison Moyet put together a show that thrilled the Masonic Temple crowd from beginning to end.

Alison Moyet opened the night with a set set of songs from her solo material and a few Yaz (or Yazoo if you prefer) favorites. She played her own show here some months ago at Saint Andrews Hall and this was a chance to perform for even more fans and charm us with her still incredible vocals. Standouts from her set, and I'm partial to her Yaz years, included Nobody's Diary, Situation and Don't Go.

Soft Cell kept the energy going with a set focused on some of their more disco-oriented songs. Starting with one of their first singles, Memorabilia, Marc Almond, immediately got the crowd singing along. Soft Cell's set pulled from all different points of their career, with one of their earliest songs A Man Could Get Lost to their latest single, Danceteria and ending with everybody's favorite Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go.

I'm not even sure the last time The Human League played Detroit but it was my first time seeing them and they exceeded expectations. From playing songs with extended intros (mostly to give Phil Oakley time to change into his many outstanding outfits) to songs that showcased the other members. Their setlist was full of their dazzling, greatest hits with a few surprises thrown in. Phil was all over the stage the entire show and his brilliant vocal range was on full display. They encored with their early single, Being Boiled and Philip Oakey/Giorgio Moroder's Electric Dreams.

The Human League