Pop Reviews : Fans Don’t Forget About Simple Minds

One doesn’t have to look far for an apt metaphor to describe Simple Minds’ performance Wednesday at the Universal Amphitheatre. The set was much like one of the group’s songs itself: slow and rather ponderous at the start, but building to an invigorating crescendo.

The difference was lost on the devoted crowd, packed into the hall for the first L.A. show in five years by the sporadically chart-making band. The audience cheered for new songs and old, good songs and bad, sincere remarks from lead singer Jim Kerr (the first time he asked, “Everything OK?”) and stupid ones (the sixth time he asked).

None of the show’s first half-hour deserved much applause. “Real Life,” the sublime title cut of the group’s new album, was overwhelmed by a cascade of smoke, lights and Kerr’s grand gestures, perhaps borne of routinely playing stadium-size venues in Europe. “Travelling Man,” another of the album’s uniformly strong numbers, fared little better.

Not until Simple Minds plunged into “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” their 1985 No. 1 hit, did the set jell. Fueled by the authoritative guitar playing of Charlie Burchill, the group ultimately earned the adulation of the audience with enjoyable versions of past hits and future candidates, including the appealingly wistful current single “See the Lights.”