Summer Concert Dance Card

In terms of music, my summer is packed with concerts. And if the first 3 shows are any indication, my summer is going to pretty epic.

Thanks to a Goldstar email offer, I got a last-minute ticket to The Dukes of September ~ Michael McDonald (the Doobie Bros.), Donald Fagen (Steely Dan) and Boz Scaggs. On the Jimmy Fallon show, they covered one of my favorite songs "I'll Be Good To You" by the Brothers Johnson. That was enough to sell me. Their set was a mix of covers - rock, blues, R&B - and several of their individual hits. My thoughts:

• Michael McDonald should sing background vocals on every song to be recorded. He is THAT awesome.
• Donald Fagen is incredibly electric to watch onstage. During Kid Charlemagne, he really came alive and his presence was so commanding. He's absolutely brilliant.
• I expected Boz Scaggs to sing Lowdown and Lido Shuffle. He did Lowdown. He did not do Lido Shuffle. How does Boz Scaggs NOT DO LIDO SHUFFLE?! Pfft. He DID sing my favorite Boz song - Miss Sun - so I cut him some slack. Later, he did this insane cover of a Teddy Pendergrass song Love TKO. All was forgiven.
• I would love love LOVE to be a back-up singer for this group.

Friday night had me driving out to the middle of nowhere to catch an amazing double-bill ~ Squeeze and the B52s. As much as I love San Diego, the surrounding areas scare the crap outta me. This Harrah's Rincon Casino is an oasis in the midst of a stark, depressing town. After winding roads, no stop lights and a thisclose to three hour drive, I arrived. 

The B52s were awesome! Start to finish, it was a dance party ~ 52 Girls, Mesopotamia, PLANET EFFING CLAIRE, Whammy Kiss (which I've NEVER seen performed live). The crowd was loving it! Sadly, the casino told people the B52s were up after Squeeze, so loads of people missed the set. We were singing and dancing. It was a great time.

Saturday night, I saw the same double-bill, but closer to home. The Greek is one of my favorite venues - outdoors, great seats, good vibe but the stacked, ripoff parking is horrible. This time, Squeeze opened the show. I LOVE these guys ~ Glenn was jovial and chatty, Chris was happy and dance-y, Stephen, Simon and JB were their usual exuberant, fun selves. They played 3 new songs - Tommy, Top of the Form and Honey Trap. Just like R. Kelly says, after the show, it was the after-party. It was crowded, chock full o'people who were somebody. Or, not. I loved watching these people push their way through for face-time with the bands. Knowing everyone in the room wants face-time, too, some people just did not move on, choosing to hold tight to the moment. A girl with a beach ball asked Cindy Wilson to sign it, but the pen didn't work. The girl asked this guy with a stack of CDs and LPs if she could borrow his pen for Cindy to sign. Dude said no. Really, dude? Whoa. Girl was stunned. Cindy grabbed a pen, signed the beach ball and the girl left happy. SO interesting watching the interrupted conversations, the calculating movements, the eyes darting, stopping, dismissing. A guy leaned over to me "So, who do you know?" I stuck out my hand, introduced myself. "I know you." Luckily, he walked away as Glenn came over to say hello. I said my hellos to all, collected hugs, had lovely chats then decided I'd had enough. I collected one more hug, said my goodbyes and limped up the hill to my car with a smile on my face, lovely words in my ears and a heart full of love.

I doubt any other concert this summer will be as up-close and personal. And, I don't care.

NEXT!

"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music."

Nothin' But a Good Time!

I've worked in the entertainment industry for over ten years. I'm lucky to work at one of the most recognizable studios in the world. And, I'm lucky not to be jaded - walking on the lot still makes me giddy. 

In these ten years, I've had the chance to experience some incredible things - TV show tapings, an intimate tour of shooting locations for Blade Runner with Ridley Scott, even a movie premiere. But, last Friday night was THE MOST INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE EVER!

A few weeks ago, I sent an email offering to work the Rock of Ages premiere. Honestly, I didn't expect a response. Secretly, you know I wanted one.

So, I waited. Patiently. (Hey - I'm a Taurus, we're patient people.)

And, I was rewarded. My name was on the staff list for the premiere and after party WITH POISON AND DEF LEPPARD. OMG OMG OMG OMG! Talk about giddy - was I ever! I had two assignments for the night - inside and outside. AND - we were to dress in 80s attire! Aww yeah! I mean, really. It's Rock of Ages! THE epitome of 80s rock - big hair, acid wash, neon jewelry and blue eye shadow. COME ON! 

I only had a week to come up with an outfit. Finally, I narrowed all my possibilities down to 2 options. All the while, I'm fretting about the night because it would be my first premiere - what could I expect? What would be expected of me? What do I do? What does all this mean?! Thank God for Liz and Karen! Both assured me, reassured me and answered all of my silly questions. Beyond that, both were excited by how giddy and excited I was to attend. And, they helped with my outfit.

Fast forward to premiere day - a lot of Aqua Net and a lot of blue eye shadow. Ai yi yi! I wore my English Beat Special Beat Service t-shirt, black lace mini skirt, tights and black motorcycle boots. My hair was slicked back on one side, the other side hanging down over my eye. I wore a gorgeous orange/red eye shadow with blue eye liner that extended out to my hairline. Oh yeah. I rocked that look on one eye. I also wore one earring. Dude, I was kinda rad.

Inside the theater, I was nervous. David walked me around, showed me the sections and tried to calm me down. Once the soundtrack started, I was totally fine - I just sang, rocked it out. It was fun and we all were there for a good time, so I had one.

I think it's awesome to see movie stars. On only two occasions have I been the "loud obnoxious give me your attention" girl - the time I saw the Ocean's 11 cast playing shirts versus skins basketball (::thud::) and when I saw Ryan Gosling last week (::thud:: #2). Other than that, I'm "Hey, look" and the end.

But...put me with musicians? Oh, my. It's a different story! This theater was filled with 'em. I wanted to tell Lita Ford how she inspired me to be courageous. I wanted to explain to Kevin Cronin exactly what I felt when I drove over the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time with Roll With the Changes blaring. I wanted to yell at Debbie Gibson for throwing away the roses my friend gave to her. Segments of my life were represented in that room. I wanted to address each one. I wanted to thank or yell or hug and relive each one.

At the after party, I handled a table - making sure the guests had what they needed. I was pretty damn close to the stage. I was pretty damn close to tears. When Poison came out, all I could do was dance. So, I danced away from the table. The band ran through six classic songs - so much fun! I love it when I know all the words :)

Then, Riki Rachtman came onstage. My 15 year-old self started to shriek and yell - It was starting...

WE CAN'T STAND WAY BACK HERE! MOVE MOVE MOVE!

OK OK OK! We will. We will.

Gunter glieben glauchen globen

ALRIGHT!

My teenaged self took over at that precise moment. And, we moved right on down, in front of Vivian Campbell and Rick Savage, to the side of Joe Elliott. ::swoon:: 

Def Leppard ran through six songs ~ Rock of Ages, Hysteria, Foolin', Bringin' on the Heartbreak, Armageddon It and, of course, Pour Some Sugar On Me. Holy crap! I danced and screamed and sang and screamed and enjoyed the whole thing! It was amazing. They were so incredible! I am trying to find adequate words...I can't.

I tried to hold onto the night...did the best I could...but it ended. I know other premieres and after parties won't be like this one. That's okay. I am so ridiculously grateful to have been there, done that.

NaBloPoMo 11.22 - Crush

One of the NaBloPoMo prompts said to make a list of everyone you've had a crush on (!) then choose one and describe him in great detail. I made a mental list, because an actual writing-it-down list would take a lot of time.

I recall elementary school crushes on Eric Pyle and Tony Caruso. Eric was a tall, lanky blonde kid who broke my heart in the 4th grade on Valentine's Day when he knocked Valentines for my class out of my hand and they scattered across the playground in the wind. Tony was the captain of my 3rd grade class kickball team. All of the girls at Mt. View had a crush on him. Later that year, the city did a re-zoning of schools in the district. Tony was one of the kids being sent to Adams Elementary School the next year. I was sad, for sure. But, I was also jealous because it was the only 2-story school in town. I wanted to go there for that reason alone! Tony and I ended up at the same junior high, graduated from the same high school and remain friends in our middle age. In fact, a few years ago, we randomly ran into each other while in Hawaii. We had drinks one night after his conference and played catch-up on our lives as well as our classmates.

Eight grade had me crushing on a redhead named Dean. Boy oh boy did I have it bad for that kid! I was awkward, introverted and almost 6 feet tall. The 2 of us reconnected a few years ago on Myspace (I know, right?!) but have since lost contact. Now, I know where my affinity for the gingers came from :)

High school had me crushing something fierce on John Lyons, one of the most popular guys ever to walk across a campus. He was a football star and handsome and popular and dated all the cute little cheerleaders. By this time, I was 6'2" - hardly cute and hardly little.

The summer after high school graduation, I discovered a show called Dancin' On Air. The teen dance show was taped in Philadelphia and broadcast on KDOC Channel 56, a small Southern California station. My friend Kathy and I watched the show while working on philosophy homework. One song played caught my ear - O'Chi Brown Whenever You Need Somebody. One guy in white pants and a red shirt caught my eye. I became a huge fan of the show - and its subsequent cable spin-off Dance Party USA. I watched and recorded shows and, like a silly fan girl with a huge crush, wrote letters to that guy, Eddie O'Neil. Eventually, Eddie and I would meet; and my crush turned into a like. After 26 years, Ed and I remain in each others lives as very good friends.

Today, I'm crushing on a ridiculously smart man. I'm talking smart! He's clever and witty and intelligent and completely charming. And, he's British. Good grief, am I a smitten kitten! We'll see where this thing goes...but, I gotta tell ya, having a crush at the age of 44 is so much better than it was when I was 18 or 16 or 13 or 8...I can actually SAY something to him and know, if the crush is unrequited, life will not end!

Please enjoy a few 'crush' videos :)