Howard Jones Returns to Orange County

Howard Jones National City Grove Anaheim March 2015

Howard Jones at National City Grove Anaheim March 2015

Before there was EDM or Electronica there was Howard Jones with his synth/electronica genre, at least in my opinion. Howard Jones, the famed English singer/songwriter who had top 40 hit singles in the UK and his 1984 album Human’s Lib went to number one in the UK.

This is not the first time I’ve seen Howard Jones. In fact, every time I go to his concert he gets better and better. HoJo as the Gen-Xers call him, was one of the staples of MTV in the early years. AllMusic, an online music guide service website described Jones as “one of the defining figures of mid-’80s synth pop“.

Howard Jones Live

On March 6, Thursday night, HoJo came to town and performed to his loyal fans at City National Grove of Anaheim. His falsetto voice is still intact and able to hit the high notes with no trouble while still doing his moves around the stage – turning the concert hall into pure awesomeness. What made it even better was his magical keyboard and classic tunes such as “What is Love“, “No One is to Blame“, “New Song“, “Everlasting Love“, and “Things Can Only Get Better” in which he gave the audience a contemporary feel of his electonica prowess. His two-man backing band who are natural electronica talent were amazing. At the middle of his concert his audience turned into a full chorus when he performed “No One is to Blame” which is my absolute favorite.

Howard-Jones-Back-up-Band

Howard Jones performs all his classic hits

Howard Jones performs all his classic hits

Feili Lee who’s been a fan of Jones since her high school days in Taiwan said, “Watching HOJO live in concert is a dream came true for me, I couldn’t ask for more. What a great experience to meet him in person afterward!” Also, a fan named Michelle Nguyen from Palos Verdes said, “One of the great talents that shaped the 80s electronic pop and our youth. His songs are happy and brilliant.”

Howard Jones performs at OC

You would think that the audience would only consist between the ages of late 30s to 65 years young but when I was in the pit, there was this 18-year old boy who was singing his classic hits and a father who brought his 2 teen-ager kids who are also fans of Howard Jones.
After the concert, the fans lined up to buy some merch and have a photo-op with Howard Jones. This was an awesome concert. I was able to chat and had a photo-op with HoJo. My night was complete.

Howard Jones fans

Howard Jones cheerful audience

Feili and Howard Jones

Feili and Howard Jones

Michelle and Howard Jones

Michelle and Howard Jones

Popbuff blogger Ruchel Freibrun with Howard Jones

Popbuff blogger Ruchel Freibrun with Howard Jones

Comments

  1. Sandy Alvarado says:

    I was at that show!

  2. I so wanted to go to that show! Glad to so it was a hit:)

  3. I have loved Howard Jones since i was 15 (i will confess, thats 31 years ago). And look what he inspired me to learn and do! (ok sorry, was hoping there was option for me to upload a pic of me playing keytar.). I love synth based pop. And HJ is a master at it. And piano!

  4. Thanks, HoJo, for keeping the 80s alive. Love the article.

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