It was a bittersweet Saturday night because we got one more night of Front 242 at Metro, but it also was the last night we’d get Front 242 ever as this was the end of their last ever tour before they head home for a couple final shows there and then ride off into the sunset. This night was something incredibly special, and somehow it felt like this sold out show was even more full than the night before and they made sure to get there early to not miss a single moment.
First up was Kanga. This female solo artist plays dark electronic pop music. Her songs are easy to dance to, as evidenced by her seductively dancing all over the stage while she performed. It was hypnotic watching her, at least as much of her as you could see as she was playing in near darkness most of the time. Her set was awesome though, and you must see her perform if you ever get the chance.
Front 242 took the stage for the final time next. They started out the same as the night before with the video and opening the set with the amazing, “W.Y.H.I.W.Y.G.” and the next three songs were the same as the previous night as well, but then they started to change it up a bit. Their performance was somehow even more energetic than the night before, which was easily one of their best showings ever. It was quite clear that the band was going to go out on the highest note possible, and give their American home city the best performance of not only their farewell tour, but possibly their career! Everything that was great about the night before was made greater in every way. The performance was stunning, the sound was crystal clear and powerful, the lightshows were crazy and in your face, the visuals were awesome, and Jean-Luc and Richard danced their asses off and gave the vocal performances of a lifetime.
The band ditched “No Shuffle” this show and replaced it with “U-Men”! That was a real treat in itself, but even more was trading “Hide and Seek” for “Gripped By Fear”!!! That’s one of the best songs from their Tyranny For You album and hearing that played at their final show was something really special. They also treated us to “Punish Your Machine” at the expense of “Commando Mix”, again a perfectly fair trade! From there they took us home with the same songs as the night before, and plenty of between song banter. Front 242 has always had a great love for this city and has always been very vocal about that every time they played here, but they really drove the point home this evening about how special Chicago is to them and their career.
After “Welcome to Paradise” the band left the stage for a few minutes before returning for the encore. Before they started playing again, a birthday cake was brought to them in honor of Patrick’s birthday which was that day. The entire audience sang happy birthday to him too. Imagine how emotional that must haven been for him to have the crowd of one of the most important cities in your band’s career sing you happy birthday and show you so much love on the night that you’ll be playing that stage for the last time ever. Hell, it was emotional being a member of the audience that night! After that, the band played the two song encore that concluded with “Headhunter” and then gave such a heartfelt thank you. While they were saying goodbye you could see tears in Jean-Luc’s eyes, and you could see tears in various audience member’s eyes as well. The band came back a few moments later once again for the retrospective video and to take a bow before leaving the Metro’s stage for the last time ever.
How do you say goodbye to such an important, beloved and influential band that has brought this city so much joy over the past four decades? It’s never an easy thing to say goodbye to a band that you love, especially one that was so groundbreaking and was part of the fabric of this city and a music scene. We as fans should be very thankful though because usually you don’t get much, if any, warning that a band is going to call it quits, or if they do they may have already worn out their welcome. Front 242’s decision to retire and the way it was handled should be a lesson on how to do it to the entire world. There was an entire week of events celebrating the band and it brought an entire scene back together for one last hurrah, and the band put on two of the best performances of their lives to leave a lasting memory of them going out while they were still totally on top of their game. Thank you for the four decades of music and how you helped create an entire music genre and scene Front 242. Enjoy your retirement gentlemen, you more than earned it and your legend will live with us forever.
