Squeeze, Adam Ant and Haircut 100
by Kevin Wierzbicki
Squeeze brought their "Tried, Tested and Trixies" tour to metropolitan Phoenix and they brought pals Adam Ant and Haircut 100 with them.
Squeeze with Adam Ant and Haircut 100 - September 20, 2026 - Wild Horse Pass Resort and Casino, Chandler AZ
It was a night filled with hits from the 1980s from Squeeze and two support acts, Adam Ant and Haircut 100. Haircut 100 got the show started.
Haircut 100
The joy was palpable as this great pop rock band from England performed hits from their 1982 debut album Pelican West along with some new music from their recently-released album
Boxing the Compass. Augmented by a trumpet player and a sax player, the Haircut 100 lineup featured all four of the original band members, and if the huge grin on singer Nick Heyward's face was any indication, the guys were having the time of their lives. The show began with three cuts from
Boxing the Compass, the big, brassy "Someone" which moved to a thumping rhythm, the soulful groove (with a killer saxophone solo) of "Vanishing Point" and the bouncy pop rock of "Raincloud" which was totally upbeat and not at all troubled by any pesky weather. After Heyward called out to the crowd asking what they wanted to hear the band launched in
Pelican West's "Fantastic Day" which included an audience clap-along at the end. The crowd was on their feet for the remainder of the brief set which closed with big hits "Love Plus One" and "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)" which was introduced as "your last chance to dance," and many did.
Adam Ant
Ant's music is known for being extremely rhythmic and dominated by drums and this show was no exception as Adam's band featured two drummers, including Jola who wore a big bouffant hairdo and a cat mask over her eyes. For his part, Ant sang and danced just a little, eschewing stage patter with the exception of the occasional "thank you" and a bit of commentary at the beginning of "Kings of the Wild Frontier" where he stated "every time I sing this one it seems like the first time." Indeed the song sounded as fresh and vibrant as it ever has. Adam played guitar on a couple of cuts, like on "Car Trouble," but mostly he just sang. And the hits just kept on coming: "Dog Eat Dog," "Vive le Rock," "Friend or Foe," "Prince Charming," "Desperate But Not Serious" and "Antmusic" were all performed. The show closed with fan favorites "Good Two Shoes" and "Stand and Deliver."
Squeeze
This Squeeze tour is called "Tried, Tested and Trixies" because, with the first part of the name referring to the band's vast catalog of hits, they also performed their latest album
Trixies in its entirety. With the band totaling nine members overall, Squeeze founders and front men Glenn Tillbrook and Chris Difford afforded all of the material, which began with four vintage cuts, a very full sound. Squeeze opened with "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)," a pop gem that showed right off that lead singer Tillbrook's instantly-recognizable voice was still in fine form. The first four cuts were played in rapid succession, almost segueing together, and included "Up the Junction," "Another Nail in My Heart" and "Is That Love." It was then time for the
Trixies portion of the show, and Tillbrook gave a brief explanation of how the songs were written long ago and could have been the first Squeeze album as opposed to being recently released. Highlights of the nine
Trixies cuts were the dreamy "What More Can I Say," the frenetically rocking "Hell on Earth," the harmony-filled and steel guitar augmented "The Jaguars" and "It's Over" where Difford took a turn at lead vocals. It is a tribute to Squeeze and how adored they are that the crowd responded positively to all the Trixies songs, which likely they were hearing for the first time. And of course the songs displayed the band's craft as fans expect. After
Trixies the guys started a closing set that began with "Hourglass" and included favorites "Black Coffee in Bed," "Cool for Cats" and five others; as you might expect the massive hit "Tempted" was saved for the next to the last song. The show ended with "Take Me I'm Yours" which incorporated band introductions; everyone took a little solo as they were named and background vocalist Danica Dora sang a couple verses of Dolly Parton's "Coat of Many Colors" in her spotlight.
Squeeze's Tried, Tested and Trixies tour with Adam Ant and Haircut 100 continues in the U.S. through September 26; after that the band has dates in Europe and elsewhere. Find all tour dates here.
