Wang Chung to the stage next with their first appearance together in New York since 1987. Jack Hues and Nick Feldman reunited and are set to release their new album, Abducted by the 80s, in 2010. During our interview a few weeks ago, Hues indicated he and Feldmnan would take a jeans-and-acoustic approach to the Regeneration Tour; with that, the duo delivered a new hybrid of the Wang Chung fans know best and the eclectic musical backgrounds of both Hues and Feldman. They led off with “Don’t Let Go,” performing it with a blues/rock influence and a heavy guitar sound. Keyboards were again exchanged for strings in “Let’s Go,” which took surprisingly well to the different sound. The set seemed to be heavily influenced by the twosome’s post-Wang Chung projects, including Hues’ new jazz band, The Quartet. Old time fans, however, might remember the Huang Chung days of more guitar and percussion-oriented sound ahead of the keyboard stylings of the Points and Mosaic albums.

Wang Chung offered fans a taste of Abducted by the 80s with their performance of “Driving You.” Interestingly, while the emphasis on the classic hits was carried by guitars and less synth, the new song was performed with more dominant keyboards. While possessing all the aspects of a quintessential 80s song, “Driving You” seems to carry a timeless relevancy and has the potential to be an international hit after the single’s release. It was back to the 1980s and back to the guitars with “To Live and Die in LA,” the only ballad hit for the band who rarely released their underrated slower-paced tracks as singles. Like the Cutting Crew, Wang Chung’s biggest hits were played at the end: the big band-influenced “Dance Hall Days” and the fast=paced “Everybody Have Fun Tonight (which started out as something of a ballad).” While the horns and keyboards were again replaced by guitars, Hues and Feldman gave concert-goers a new, expanded perception of Wang Chung and left the crowd (and this critic) in anticipation of their 2010 Abducted album.