Oingo Boingo – Lawlor Events Center, Reno, NV – 1986/1987

For whatever reason, Oingo Boingo was one of the only bands who regularly came through Reno on their tours. I know I have seen them at least five times, but I only have one ticket – from their farewell tour I saw in San Diego.

The first time I heard Oingo Boingo was in the car (Al’s infamous Green Duster, to be exact) on the way to my second Thompson Twins show in Reno (referenced in the previous post). Afterward, I remember acquiring my first Oingo Boingo cassette, Nothing to Fear, at a pawn shop in downtown Carson City. My friend KR and I really wanted some tapes they had, and they would do a two for one straight trade. So we walked all the way back to my house (a good 30 minute hike) and back, with crappy cassettes we didn’t want in order to acquire the Oingo Boingo cassette for me and the Violent Femmes for her.

I also remember telling a friend of mine that I was going to see Oingo Boingo and a few days later she said, “What’s the name of that band you like? Hooga Booga?” We laughed about that for ages.

Anyway, the 1986 tour we saw must have been for the Dead Man’s Party tour. As reviewers on Amazon declare as well, it was a quintessential 80s album in my mind. Simple, catchy, fun songs, kinda dark and cynical at times, yet always fun to dance to. In 1987 they were likely touring on BOI-NGO, the weird album where they tried to change their name and get a little more serious.

I have scattered memories of both shows, and I’m not sure which is which. As for the music, Oingo Boingo was always tremendously fun to see on stage, tons of energy, great sound, a fabulous supporting horn section.

For both of the shows I was there with my same core group of friends that we always had together for such events. A few things I remember, randomly:

· One show my friend DA wore his Friday shirt – a nickname we had for his favorite Hawaiian shirt he wore every Friday. He loved that shirt, a nice brown and white simple design. However, during the concert, a girl who had a big crush on him grabbed onto the shirt and ripped it. He tried to sew it up, but alas, the Friday shirt was never the same again.

· During perhaps the same show, a bunch of us were waiting around outside to see if we could see the band leave. There was a guy we knew vaguely from school who thought it was really cool to shout “ASSHOLE” over and over again during the concert. We thought he was a complete dork, but evidently the band thought he was okay, because he got invited backstage. Go figure.

· The dancing on the floor could be pretty intense at times. One time I came out to catch my breath and when I looked down, my shirt was completely unbuttoned and I had been walking around with it wide open.

· Final random event – after one of the shows we went to the MGM (may have already changed to Bally’s by then, don’t remember when that happened) to eat at the coffee shop and hang out. While there, we saw the bassist from Oingo Boingo and most of us got his autograph. It amazes me that I can’t even seem to find that ticket in my piles.