The Go-Go’s, one of the ‘80s most popular and iconic pop rock bands, and before that an L.A. punk band of note during that scene’s origins, spent their summer on a farewell tour which came to an end at the Greek Theater on Tuesday. It was a rocking culmination of a great, if intermittent, run that featured The Go-Go’s busting out all their classic hits. However, the band then decided to begin their final encore ever with a cover of Miley Cyrus’ aching ballad “Wrecking Ball.”
While Cyrus wasn’t born until many years after The Go-Go’s seminal album Beauty and the Beat, the song choice still felt perfect for the band. Sure, nobody was going to complain about the band’s song choices at their farewell show, but the fact that “Wrecking Ball” is such a good song in and of itself doesn’t hurt. Their version is pretty barebones, but it works, and the emotion of the song is still there. Also, clearly there are a lot of people in the audience who weren’t terribly familiar with the song, because they keep breaking into applause thinking it’s over.
After covering “Wrecking Ball,” The Go-Go’s followed up with their own songs “Get Up And Go” and “Head Over Heels.” Not every farewell tour ends up being a true goodbye. However, if this is sincerely the end, this is a fine way to go out. Hopefully, Cyrus is happy to have her song be a part of the moment.
(Via Stereogum)
