Not so human

Last Saturday, I was drugged and dragged to a club in San Francisco called the Mezzanine to see The Human League, a band I thought had taken a permanent vacation in The Land of the Happily Forgotten. Evidently, these tired old 80s bands have regrouped, plugging into the power of nostalgia, and have found new life on tour. The opening act for The Human League was another name from the 80s, Naked Eyes. I actually preferred them to the headliners. The lead singer had the look of someone who had lived a hard life, had a good sense of humor, and engaged the audience in a way that said he didn't take things too seriously. The Human League, on the other hand, left me cold with their sterile electronic and robotic performance. Maybe that's the ironic point of the name of the band, reflecting the dehumanizing influence of technology. Midway through their performance I was fantasizing that Neil Young might unexpectedly show up, crash the stage, and take over with an extended version of Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.