Disclaimer: It topped 90* today and - now that I've FINALLY finished my workday! - I am sitting out at the Tiki Bar drinking [non-watered-down] Adult Beverages of my choosing!
You *have* been warned!
So... Not sure if I ever mentioned it, but there is an 7-year gap in age betwixt hubbie and myself,
Hubs is an Old Hippy from Way-Back. HUMONGOUS Dead-head (I don't even want to guess how many cassette tapes [remember those?!] he's got, that he acquired by taping live Dead shows). I think he went to, something-like, 200+ shows in the '80s. And that - pretty-much - sums-up the ENTIRE decade for Hubs.
I, on the other hand, was "coming of age" in the 80's. I turned 21 in 1984 - and had been sneaking into bars and night-clubs prior to that (taking FULL advantage of the fact that I looked "old" at the time. Ohhhhh those were the days!!!). Anyway, there were many nights (that stretched into the wee hours of the morning) spent at Pop/Dance-Clubs and Video-Bars (bear-in-mind, this was the EARLY-DAYS of MTV) in San Francisco. And I definitely have an appreciation for "pre-techno" synthesizer-infused, bassy-thump-thump-thump, '80s Dance Music! (But - swear-to-Gawd - I *hated* Disco, okay?!)
Anyway: Somewhat-relevant Sidebar: Hubs and I both "claim" to have been in our respective Primes during the 80's. But, had we actually MET back then?! I am CONVINCED that we wouldn't have given each other the time of day!!! He would've viewed me as a Yuppie/Punk Rock Weirdo (with my short, super-gelled, spiky-hair) and I would've been all "Get a haircut! Get a job! You Hippy Freak!" LOL
And secondary, semi-relevant Sidebar: I am pleased to report that I *have* converted hubs over from Dead-Head to Parrot-Head (and there's a separate [amusing!] story for that. Not sure if I ever blogged about it - but if I didn't, and you want to hear it, post a comment and I'll post it!).
Anyhoooo... The age-gap at "this stage of our lives" really isn't a big deal (Mom and Dad had an 8-year gap and I never noticed anything, growing-up, other than the fact that they both claimed to be too goddamned *old* to do anything "fun" - like camping!).
But the Age-Difference definitely *is* becoming more apparent as we complete our annual "Concert Selections!" The Mountain Winery, in nearby (Rich-Yuppie-ville) Saratoga, has a pretty impressive concert line-up, every summer ("Impressive" - if you're old like us! LOL). Since the concerts are so expensive, we limit ourselves to two shows, per-person, per year.
Mountain Winery is actually a pretty f**cking awesome venue. Quite "intimate," actually, accommodating something like 1500 "guests." Truly, not a bad seat in the house. Annnnd - with the depressed economy - we've managed to do a simply stupendous job of scoring AWESOME seats for EVERY show! Never more than 5 rows back from the stage! (Yes, Freaking AWESOME!).
But it *is* spendy! Nevermind the $150+ (per seat) ticket price. Then, you have to add-in the ~$20.00/per ticket "Convenience Fee" (???), and $20 parking-fee, and $12.00 apiece for watered-down cocktails (srsly?!! I spent $48+ on cocktails and never even got a buzz!!!). The cheapest wine they have is $11.00 (for a tiny glass!). Figure appx $20.00/pp for dinner for burgers or fish 'n chips (unless you opt for the "Chateau Deck" dining option - which is $59.00/pp - plus tip!). Now, don't get me wrong, the food is pretty-damned good (as "Concert Food" goes), but I think you can "realistically" expect to drop WELL in-excess of $250.00/per-person, per show (and that's a conservative estimate!).
Now, I'm not b*tching when I type all this out. "It is what it is!" They ask these prices and people - including us - seem willing to PAY IT, so... Whatever!!!
Some people are into skiing and paying ridiculous prices for lift-tickets, and condo-rentals, and Hot Toddies, and whatevers... While others are into Five-Star All-Inclusive Resorts in Exotic Locales... And, still others, are TOTALLY into having kids and doing the Soccer-Mom, Boy/Girl-Scouts, Ivy-League College, yada-yada Thing... WE are into summer concerts - so I'm lumping it into a similar category!
Annnnnnyyyyywaaaaaaayyyyyy... The point of this post was NOT to b*tch about Mountain Winery Prices (Honestly, Shoreline Amphitheatre - our local "BIG VENUE" - really isn't much cheaper! And it is infinitely less "classy!").
The point of tonight's post is to Compare And Contrast Hubbie's Hippy-Shows to my 80's-Pop Shows!
So, every spring, we get an email detailing the coming summer's concert line-up, right? And we each select TWO shows that we Absolutely Must See! (And, like I said, the line-up is usually pretty-awesome and it's tough to decide on *just* two shows!).
This year, my choices were: B-52's and Duran Duran.
Hubs' choices were: "Rock And Blues Fest" (with Edgar and Johnny Winter) [Who?!] and "Guthrie Family Reunion."
We ended up missing B-52's (much to my dismay - due to the fact that my @#$%-ing psoriasis was acting up). We *had* seen them perform in previous years, and their show is pretty-much a Super-High-Energy, Super-Fun-Concert! I was totally bummed-out that we missed it this year. SUPER-bummed! :-(
So, last week, we went to the Rock And Blues Fest. Edgar Winter was pretty "engaging" with the audience. And Rick Derringer was pretty good, too. Watching Johnny Winter get "escorted:" to the stage was... Well.,.. Kinda depressing (the years have not been kind to him!). But... I have to say that, overall, it was a pretty good show. I *did* recognize a FEW of the songs that they performed but - honestly - most of it was "before my time."
(Srsly - I didn't really start actively *listening* to/paying attention to music 'til the mid- to late-70's) (We're talking "Hotel California" era!)
So then, a couple of days later, we had the "Guthrie Family Reunion" show. Honestly, I was kinda dreading that! "Folk" was never EVER my chosen genre and all I could think about was a nasally rendition of "This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land," and I kinda figured I'd rather skewer my eyeballs-out with hot-pokers than be subjected to THAT!!! (Sad? Yes, I know!!!).
But - ya know what?! - the Guthrie Family Reunion was NOT "nasally" at all! And Arlo was a *very* good "showman" and engaged the audience, and - hell - overall, it was actually a pretty fun show!! (Yes, I'd even go again!!!)
So, last night's show was one of MY SHOWS: Duran Duran. Big, Huge 80's Pop-Band, right?! Now, I can't honestly say that I was their #1 Fan - but I DO like much of what they've done, right?! Hubs met this "Concert Selection" with the same degree of dubiousness as my (previous) B-52's Selection.
"Who's Duran Duran?!" (Same question asked about B-52's, but he did end-up recognizing some of their bigger hits).
"Oh, they were HUGE in the 80's. You'll definitely recognize their stuff!"
Srsly: You had to be IN A COMA thru the 80's to MISS Duran-Duran, right?!!
We're talking' View to a Kill:
Gotta love the "Super-High-Tech" Cassette Version
of the Sony Walkman/Transmitter Thingie in this vid!
To say nothing of the friggin' GINORMOUS cell-phone!
of the Sony Walkman/Transmitter Thingie in this vid!
To say nothing of the friggin' GINORMOUS cell-phone!
(And yes, I *did* like Roger Moore as Bond! Not as much as
Sean Connery, but... I still liked him, k?!)
' And The Reflex:
And Wild Boys...
And (HELLO!!!!) Hungry Like the Wolf...
Right?!!
Well, Hubs sat through the entire concert, attempting to at least tap-his-toes in time to the music. I, on the other hand, was up on my feet through *most* of the show (you kind of HAD to stand up if you wanted to see the band since EVERYONE was up and dancing!). I even managed to lean on my cane and dance-in-place, on my "good foot!" through most of the show!
AWESOME show, though. Bright lights; loud, thumping bass; and the band TOTALLY engaged the audience and encouraged dancing and clapping and singing and whatnot. And, even though I didn't know the words to ALL of the songs, I knew most of 'em and howled along! (Didn't matter: It was a mostly-female, shrieky crowd!). Whenever they played one of their bigger hits, I'd sit down quickly and shout to Hubs "You DO recognize this? Don't you?" And he shook his head "Nope. Never heard it!" I'd give him a strange look then hop back up to dance and sing-along!
When they got to "The Reflex" (Dala-La-La! Dala-La-La!), I sat down, once again, "Now you absolutely HAVE to recognize this one!"
"Nope."
"Okay, well, if you don't recognize THIS one, then forget-about-it!"
And I spent the rest of the show leaning on my cane, dancing, clapping, and howling-along with the music. I had an absolute BLAST! Added Bonus: Hubs got bored and wanted to head-up for a cigarette break, so I handed him $20 to bring me another watered-down drink ;-)
So additional "observation" about THIS show vs. the Old Hippy Shows: Duran-Duran? They still have all their hair! Okay, not AS MUCH hair, and certainly not as "spiky" and "androgynous" as they used to be (I'm pretty sure they weren't wearing eye-shadow and shoulder-pads - lol!), but they still looked pretty-damned good!
Hubs' Shows? Well, the performers - freaking THUMBS-UP that they're still up there and performing - but they don't look QUITE as good, anymore! (Those that still have hair...? Well, they're pretty-much white-haired at this stage! And - I'm sorry - but if you've gone totally gray with a hairline that recedes past your ears? - well, you probably shouldn't be sporting the long-haired Hippy-Look that you wore 30+ years ago! Just sayin'!) (And I might even draw some flak for that comment!)
(And, to be fair, Jimmy Buffett: My #1 FAVORITE PERFORMER EVAR, at age 65, pretty-much has NO hair, and he still kicks @$$ on-stage!).
Another observation on Hub's Shows vs. My Shows (and this is a very sad observation, on my part). We need to get to Hubs' Shows much earlier because the Handicap Parking fills-up pretty quickly! Mine? Not so much (:::sigh:::). There was, easily, a 10-15 year age-gap in "average-age" of Concert-Goers between our shows...
Anyhooooo... Bottom Line: I had an absolute BLAST at the Duran-Duran Show. And I am completely convinced that Hubs *had* to have been in a coma for the ENTIRE decade in the 80's!!! ;-)
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