Belinda Carlisle’s Triumphant Show “Decades” at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts

I’ve seen Belinda Carlisle and the Go-Go’s so many times. This is the second time I’ve watched her at the beautiful Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa. On November 2 Belinda Carlisle, the vocalist of the most successful all-female rock band of all time, The Go-Go’s, scorched the Segerstrom stage.

The crowd growled to thunderous applause as Belinda made an entrance in her shimmery pleated skirt and black fitted sweater with her usual barefoot on stage. Kicking things off with “Runaway Horses”, her third solo studio album released in 1989. Carlisle and her band took it all the way back to 1984 with “Head over Heels” the first single from The Go-Go’s third studio album, Talk Show in which the audience went bopping around. It’s my personal favorite and one of my favorite videos of all time. “(We Want) The Same Thing” the second single from “Runaway Horses” following “Head Over Heels” was when Carlisle played with the audience about what year this was released. People shouted 1989, ’88 then ’87 then finally she revealed “I think it was actually 1989, right?”
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“Do You Feel Like I Feel?” and “World Without You” followed by one of the crowd’s favorites “I Get Weak”. As Carlisle was introducing the next song, she joked “Shall we do a Q&A?” and the crowd chuckled.

Prior to singing “Summer Rain”, Carlisle also mentioned on the stage of all the songs she recorded in her lengthy career, “Summer Rain” was her favorite.

Towards the last part of the concert, Carlisle sang heavy hits such as “Mad About You” and “Heaven is a Place on Earth”. She started with a ballad version of the intro of “Heaven is a Place on Earth ” then repeated with a regular version. The crowd produced high-octane energy clapping, dancing, and singing with these hit songs.

Carlisle ended with classic Go-Go’s hits encore capped off by the all-time classic “Vacation” and “Our Lips are Sealed”. A fantastic moment for adult concert-goers whose Go-Go’s awakening similarly began during their adolescence in the early ’80s. Carlisle has maintained not just her vocal range but also her physical attributes.

More than 50 years in her career and has no sign of slowing down. “The Decades” concert tours proved that Belinda Carlisle is energetic and has real staying power.