All Photos © Steve Galli + Story by Chloe Catajan
A wise man once said,
“We can dance if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
‘Cause your friends don’t dance
And if they don’t dance
Well they’re no friends of mine”
But it wasn’t just any wise man—it was Men Without Hats. Their 1982 song “Safety Dance” was an anthem for freedom of expression at the time. It embraced unconventionality and dancing to your own beat.
It goes without saying that the 80s were a decade for dancing. It was poetry in motion. Everyone Wang Chunged and everyone had fun. And while TikToc is just now tapping into the movement, Totally Tubular Festival is here to remind us that 80s new wave is forever.
Totally Tubular is a traveling festival dedicated to new wave greats. This summer, it made stops in 23 cities, with the historic Meadow Brook Amphitheatre in Rochester Hills, Michigan being the third to last date. The scene at the amphitheater was close to capacity. Nearly 7,000 fans, many dressed in neon and Memphis design prints, showed up ready for Eddie Munoz of the Plimsouls to take the stage first.
Munoz performed four Plimsouls songs, “Everywhere at Once,” “Oldest Story in the World,” “Now,” and “A Million Miles Away.” He kept things tight on his Rickenbacker as his band, dubbed “the Plimsouls Collective of Random Bitchin’ Musicians,” ripped through their riffs.
Tommy Tutone had four songs on his setlist as well, including a cover of Cat Stevens’ “Wild World.” Rocking a pair of wayfarers, a fedora, and his Fender strat, Tutone was just as sharp in style as he was with his chops.
He also took a moment to introduce the real namesake of his hit song “867-5309/Jenny,” which ended up being his guitar.
Bow Wow Wow was up next, with singer Annabella Lwin leading the crowd in a singalong to their famous cover of The Strangeloves’ “I Want Candy.” As all sets were at this fest, Bow Wow Wow’s was short and sweet—but with an extra dose of spunk. Songs like “Love, Peace and Harmony” and “W.O.R.K. (N.O. Nah No! No! My Daddy Don’t)” especially bumped up the bpm.
“For those who arrived late,” as lead singer Ivan Doroschuk said, Men Without Hats treated fans to “Safety Dance” twice. They opened with the song, revisited other songs from Rhythm of Youth, Pop Goes The World, and Folk of the 80’s (Part III), and circled back to the hit as a closer. The Canadian quartet showed up chic in all black, and sounded equally cool. Ivan Doroschuk moved across all ends of the stage, his baritone vocals iconic with every note. And yes, everyone danced because they wanted to.
Wang Chung brought synth bliss to the Meadow Brook Amphitheatre during their set. While songs like “Wait” layered on heavy riffs for a punchier sound, “Dance Hall Days” had tones that were smooth and heavenly. You couldn’t help but feel nostalgic.
The English new wavers rounded out their set with a cheeky cover of “Should I Stay Or Should I Go,” replacing the titular lyrics with “Should we Wang or should we Chung now?” before leading into “Everybody Have Fun Tonight.”
Modern English rocked the stage with their range, from the crunchy distortions of “Gathering Dust” to the rawer punk elements of new cuts like “Long in the Tooth” and shoegaze sounds of “Hands Across the Sea.” The Essex band played a couple songs off 2024 release 1 2 3 4 and revisited After The Snow, Mesh & Lace, and Ricochet Days the rest of their setlist.
Naturally, they closed with a love song for the ages, “Melt With You.”
Tom Bailey of the Thompson Twins brought a cosmic sound to the Meadow Brook stage for the second-to-last set. Flanked by a trio on their own risers, Bailey and company looked formal and futuristic dressed in all white. The trio provided synths, drums, and bass guitar, as Bailey delivered his iconic vocals and leading riffs. His setlist included “If You Were Here,” which was famously featured in John Hughes’ Sixteen Candles, as well as another epic love song, “Hold Me Now.”
Thomas Dolby rounded out the evening by kicking things off with New Order’s “Blue Monday,” a cover fit for new wave festivities. In his signature military coat, he opted for a trance-heavy rendition of the song and went on to play songs mostly off 1982’s The Golden Age of Wireless. While most acts came with touring bands in tow, Dolby impressively held the stage down by himself, alternating between his keyboard, drum pads, and Macbooks on his sounddeck.
Dolby’s set continued with a hauntingly beautiful cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes” and closed with “She Blinded Me With Science” and “Hot Sauce.”
All Photos © Steve Galli + Story by Chloe Catajan
