Everybody Had Fun That Night: Wang Chung and Men Without Hats Turn The Parker Into Dance Hall Days

All images by Larry Marano

The "Abducted by the 80's" tour landed at The Parker in Fort Lauderdale on October 16th, delivering exactly what its name promised: a full-throttle time warp that had the crowd dancing like it was 1985 all over again.

Wang Chung opened with a deep cut, "Wait," immediately establishing they weren't here to merely phone in the hits. Jack Hues' vocals remained surprisingly intact, cutting through "Fire in the Twilight" and "Hypnotize Me" with that distinctive new wave urgency that made them MTV staples four decades ago. The band smartly paced their set, building from lesser-known album tracks toward the inevitable crowd-pleasers.

The real emotional peak came during "To Live and Die in L.A.," where the cinematic sweep of William Friedkin's thriller seemed to materialize in the venue's atmospheric lighting. When they launched into "Dance Hall Days," the floor became exactly that—a writhing mass of Gen-Xers reclaiming their youth one synthesizer line at a time. The cheeky "Should I Wang or Should I Chung" medley, riffing on The Clash's classic, showed a band that doesn't take itself too seriously. Naturally, they closed with "Everybody Have Fun Tonight," and everybody did.

Men Without Hats, led by founding member Ivan Doroschuk, proved the more adventurous act of the evening. Opening with "The Safety Dance" seemed risky—why blow your atomic bomb first?—but it freed them to explore deeper catalog territory. "Antarctica" and "Moonbeam" showcased the band's art-rock ambitions beyond their novelty-hit reputation, while "Pop Goes the World" reminded everyone they'd crafted more than one earworm.

The surprise highlight came with their cover of The Rolling Stones' psychedelic "2000 Light Years From Home," a bold choice that actually worked, the band's synth-heavy approach adding eerie texture to the space-rock original. They circled back to "The Safety Dance" for an extended club mix finale that felt less like repetition and more like victory lap.

Both acts delivered professional, energetic performances that transcended nostalgia tourism. These weren't has-beens going through motions—they were musicians reminding South Florida why these songs mattered then and still connect now.

Wang Chung:

Men Without Hats: