Adam Ant at the Beacon Theatre

Born and raised in London, England, Stuart Goddard, better known by his stage name, Adam Ant, was at the right place at the right time when his band, Adam and the Ants, joined the burgeoning punk rock and new wave movements in 1977. The "Antmania" that ensued in United Kingdom was not duplicated in the United States, where Adam and the Ants developed a cult following. Disbanding the group in 1982, Ant launched a solo career with "Friend or Foe," to date his best-selling solo album. Ant paused his musical career in 1985 to focus on his acting career. In recent years, Ant's output in both recording and acting has diminished, but he has significantly increased his touring. His sixth and most recent solo album is 2013's Adam Ant Is the Blueblack Hussar in Marrying the Gunner's Daughter; the subsequent Bravest of the Brave has been promised since 2014 but still has no release date.

Following the success of the 2017 tour in which he played the Kings of the Wild Frontier album in full, Adam Ant embarked on a 2019-2020 tour in which he is performing his Friend or Foe album in its entirety. At the Beacon Theatre tonight, Ant and his band (guitarists Will Crewdson and A.P. Leach, bassist Joe Holweger, and drummers Andy Woodard and Jola) performed the album and then played more than a dozen other signature songs. Periodically, Ant played guitar and Crewdson, Leach and Holweger played floor tom drums for a thunderous tribal sound. The weaker moments (as in Ant's cover of the Doors' "Hello, I Love You"), the curious moments ("Goody Two Shoes" performed without horns) and the liveliest moments (the rousing "Antmusic," the big percussion sound on "Kings of the Wild Frontier," and the call-and-response of "Beat My Guest") made for an exciting show. The outcome was lighthearted party music, not messages with deep meaning, and Ant's fans would not want it any other way.

Setlist:

Friend or Foe album:

1. Friend or Foe
2. Something Girls
3. Place in the Country
4. Desperate But Not Serious
5. Here Comes the Grump
6. Hello, I Love You (The Doors cover)
7. Goody Two Shoes
8. Crackpot History and the Right to Lie
9. Made of Money
10. Cajun Twisters
11. Try This for Sighs
12. Man Called Marco

Remainder of main set:

1. Dog Eat Dog (Adam and the Ants song)
2. Kick! (Adam and the Ants song)
3. Vive le Rock
4. Antmusic (Adam and the Ants song)
5. Zerox (Adam and the Ants song)
6. Cartrouble (Adam and the Ants song)
7. Ants Invasion (Adam and the Ants song)
8. Prince Charming (Adam and the Ants song)
9. Strip
10. Lady/Fall In (Adam and the Ants song)
11. Kings of the Wild Frontier (Adam and the Ants song)
12. Beat My Guest (Adam and the Ants song)
13. Stand and Deliver (Adam and the Ants song)

Encore:

1. Press Darlings (Adam and the Ants song)
2. Red Scab
3. Physical (You're So) (Adam and the Ants song)