Enuff'z'Nuff @ The Barfly [Live]

London - 15 June 2010

There was a time in my life when I wouldn’t miss an Enuff’z’Nuff gig for the whole world. I saw them in the UK, Italy, California and even Texas. Many would think I’m insane: after all, they’re just one of those 80s hair metal one hit (‘New Thing’) wonder, who took advantage of those days of shallowness to get some attention through the usual long hair and make-up combination… Wrong. Absolutely, horribly wrong. In fact, all that 80s hair metal thing did for Enuff’z’Nuff was to collocate them in the wrong niche, and all it did to most potential listeners was to deprive them of what Enuff’z’Nuff really is.

There’s not a single note in any single Enuff’z’Nuff song that could vaguely be associated with the word “metal”, be it hair metal or any other kind. What we always had here, and we still do in 2010, is quality power pop, influenced by the Beatles and long missed icon John Lennon, to whom lead singer Donnie Vie presents a scary resemblance. In all these years, a faithful fan base has been rewarded with regular releases, each one containing more than a few gems; sadly, most went by undetected, as their CDs were mistakenly thrown in the ‘spandex dinosaur’ pile, and from there in the bin for not being hard enough.

Tonight’s line up sees charismatic Vie back next to bass player and founding member Chip Z’Nuff, while we have a new guitarist replacing Johnny Monaco, and behind the drums… I realise this is the first time I see the band without Ricky Parent, and something seems to grab my lungs and stop me from breathing for a few seconds when I don’t meet his big smile back there. Rest in Peace my friend. And on with the show…

If I had to pick my personal highlight, it would have to be ‘Baby Loves You’; uplifting and sweet like ‘New Thing’ but much better, I could never get tired of that song. The rest of the set list picks from old and new, some stuff I must confess I missed, some requests from the audience that Donnie can’t stop thanking for being there year after year. And you would think, when they ask their fans what they want to hear, one unique loud voice would answer ‘New Thing’ or maybe ‘Fly High Michelle’… Nah. They want ‘Wheels’, dated 1997, when even grunge had passed its sell by date. Awesome choice, and although it’s never been part of their live repertoire Enuff’z’Nuff make a great job with it.

The encore HAS to be ‘Fly High Michelle’ and ‘New Thing’. I remember Vie once saying he hated singing it. Sure it doesn’t look like his heart is in it, but it’s definitely still with us. He tries to buy us time for one more song, and when the man behind the desk says no, you can read the disappointment on his face. It’s over for tonight.

Without the shadow of a doubt, one of the most underrated pop bands of the past 30 years, and true victims of that unforgivable sin we all commit way too often when it comes to music: taking labels (and I don’t mean record labels) way too seriously.