Live Review: The Cars with Wang Chung at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, MO, August 16, 1984

Touring in support of their fifth studio album Heartbeat City, The Cars are at the height of their game. With big hits from the beginning (“Just What I Needed” from six years earlier), the band is in familiar territory. Of all the shows I’ve been to, no one interacted LESS with the audience than the Cars that evening. It was weird. I don’t recall anyone in the band uttering a word besides their song lyrics. Were they that arrogant or that nervous? A little of both?

Nonetheless, it was a great show with near perfection in every song. Love that band. Funny, if you knew them before the Cars when they were Milkwood, you’d be surprised. Mellow folk music. They evolved and adapted very well to the times.

Supporting their debut release Points on the Curve, Wang Chung dropped some notable singles including “Dance Hall Days,” “Wait,” and “To Live and Die in L.A.” They wouldn’t see worldwide acknowledgement for two more years when they released “Everybody Have Fun Tonight.”