Concert Review: Simple Minds Light Up A Sweltering Chicago Night With A Synth-Powered Spectacle

Jun 22, 2025 admin_bitlc Features, Music News, Reviews 0

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By James Currie

This past Friday night as the sun blazed over Northerly Island, Chicago’s lakefront became a retro-futurist paradise with a triple bill of ‘80s icons proving they’re still in command of a stage. The temperature hovered over 90 degrees, the winds so strong the house lowered the stage and sound system swayed, concertgoers packed the Huntington Bank Pavilion fanning themselves with whatever they could find, sipping frozen cocktails, and embracing the heat for an unforgettable night of synths, nostalgia, and sonic brilliance.

Opening the show was Modern English, the new wave romantics best known for their eternal anthem “I Melt with You.” Apropos to the current situation. But the band didn’t just coast on old hits—they shredded expectations. With a tight, energized performance, they turned their jangly post-punk classics into something bigger and more muscular. Frontman Robbie Grey danced with an ease that defied the sweltering conditions. Their newer material blended seamlessly with fan favorites like “Hands Across the Sea,” reminding the crowd that Modern English has never really left—they’ve just been evolving quietly and confidently. The only downside to their set, was that it was only 30 minutes. A true crime.

As the sun slipped deeper down the Chicago skyline, Soft Cell took the stage under neon-streaked lighting, casting shadows on a crowd eager to dance. Marc Almond’s voice, still haunting and theatrical, filled the open-air pavilion with velvet melancholy. “Tainted Love” of course brought an eruption from the crowd, but deeper cuts like “Memorabilia” and “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye” turned the set into an immersive synth-pop séance. Accompanied by pulsing electronic backdrops, Soft Cell’s set was moody, decadent, and utterly hypnotic.

Sun finally down, next up, Simple Minds, walking onstage to the roar of a crowd already primed from two impressive openers. As the opening chords of “Waterfront” rang out, frontman Jim Kerr emerged beaming, every bit the seasoned showman. Forty years after their global breakthrough ‘Alive and Kicking’, Simple Minds are against odds and time, somehow in their prime again.

Kerr’s voice soared with clarity and conviction, and guitarist Charlie Burchill, his musical brother-in-arms since the beginning, delivered shimmering riffs that danced like heat waves over Lake Michigan. The two, seemingly unseperable kin from their youth in Glasgow and backed by a powerful rhythm section and stunning backup vocalists, the band moved effortlessly through a career-spanning set.

Highlights included a pulsing rendition of “Glittering Prize,” the ever-haunting “Someone Somewhere in Summertime,” and a sprawling, ecstatic version of “See The Lights” that had the crowd on its feet, arms raised toward the city skyline. “Promised You a Miracle” and “All the Things She Said” kept the momentum red-hot, but it was the inevitable closer, “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” that brought the house down. Thousands of voices echoed the iconic “la-la-las” into the night sky like a defiant prayer of gratitude. Tears were welling.

After a brief break, they came back with a one two punch. “Alive and Kicking” and “Sanctify Yourself” made for a perfect ending to a nostalgic night.

Through it all, behind the stage, the shimmering Chicago skyline seemed to dance along, towering above the lakefront like a benevolent witness to the decades-spanning power of music. As boats bobbed in the distance and the sky turned navy blue, Simple Minds gave their all to a crowd that gave it right back.

Three legendary bands, one sweltering night, and a waterfront view worthy of a postcard. Nostalgia may have brought many to Northerly Island, but the energy, artistry, and genuine joy of the performers made this a night firmly grounded in the now. Simple Minds aren’t just surviving—they’re thriving. And judging by the roaring ovation and endless singalongs, so are their fans.

For more on Simple Minds, click here

For photo gallery of Simple Minds, click here

For more on Soft Cell, click here

For photo gallery of Soft Cell, click here

For more on Modern English, click here

For photo gallery of Modern English, click here

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• Alive and Kicking, Chicago, concert review, Huntington Bank Pavilion, In The Loop Magazine, live nation, Northerly Island, simple minds, tour

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