Overcome

As is my habit, I look to music to express myself. Today, this says it all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxNNHW1TJBA

Never forget.

A Dream Come True

Today's my last post in my Duran Duran trilogy.

As I was saying before, after leaving the Vegas show E and I thought life couldn't get much better, but we were wrong. Duran Duran played more shows, one in New York City, and released a brand new CD, Astronaut. They launched a world tour to support the album, so naturally it was a must that we attend at least one show.

The tour brought them through Mohegan Sun Hotel and Casino in Connecticut on a Sunday night, so E, Eye and my cousin decided to get tickets to that show and get a hotel room and spend the night. Eye was still working with a big name in the music industry then so she said she would make a few calls and see if she could get us some sort of after show passes. There were no guarantees, but the butterflies in my stomach grew into bats by the time the show day arrived.

Ripping open the envelope with our names on it and finding four after show meet and greet passes in it was one of the best feelings in the world.

The show was awesome as usual, but I couldn't wait for it to be over so I could finally meet the band I'd been wanting to meet for the last 23 years. We waited for what seemed like forever until it was our turn to enter the backstage room to meet the band.

Did I mention I was four months pregnant at the time?

Finally, the moment. John Taylor walked into the room first, still a bit sweaty from being on stage. He looked right at me, said hi, and honestly, I don't remember much after that! Thank God I was with three other people and we had cameras or I would have sworn it was all a dream.

I moved toward Simon first. He was sitting on a table and I sat down next to him so he could sign my program. He complained he was tired, and I'm told I rubbed his back. The pictures show me next to him while he's signing.

Andy was next. He'd just lost his father and had rejoined the tour just a few days earlier, but despite that, he couldn't have been more gracious. E squeezed his cheeks and to this day she says she doesn't know what possessed her to do it.

Then, John. The moment I'd waited for forever. He asked my name and signed the program to me. I wish I could say I said something funny or meaningful or really, just anything, but I didn't. I don't even have a picture with him, and I regret that. But it was John. Sigh, sigh, sigh...

Roger was eye level with me when I got to him, and just as quiet as I knew he would be.

Nick was the last member I met. I've always felt a sort of kinship with him because we share the same birthday and an interest in graphic design, photography and making lists of all kinds. His voice is soothing and he was as nice as I'd always imagined him to be. He turned out to be the only band member I was able to get a proper photo with, and I look like a deer caught in headlights. But I'm happy.

After it was all over, I have to admit, I cried. Pregnancy aside, I was very emotional. It's very overwhelming and thrilling when one of your dreams comes true.

The day ranks up there as one of the best of my life.

Vegas, baby!

So where was I? Oh yes, Duran Duran...

I've faithfully followed the band all these years, through their highs and lows, and multiple side projects. I've seen them live every time they've toured the States, in huge halls and small venues and everywhere in between. I watched in sadness as first Roger, then Andy, and finally John left the band. Even though the band wasn't the same, I still kept returning to them.

Then, in 2002, we got the incredible news. The original five members were reforming the band and were going to play a select few live shows. Living so close to New York City, I've become spoiled about the amount of concerts I'm able to attend and assumed they would be playing in Manhattan. Well, not so for these reunion shows. They picked venues in Japan, LA and Las Vegas, and they sold out in record time. My best friend E and I thought we were out of luck.

I am lucky enough to be blessed with the world's greatest girlfriends. My other best friend, I'll call her Eye, happened to work in the music industry at the time. She suggested to me, why don't you go out to the Vegas show? I know someone, I'll be able to get you tickets. E and I put our heads together, consulted with our families, and made the decision. We were off to Vegas.

The show was scheduled for a Saturday night at the Hard Rock Hotel in the middle of July. We took an early flight out to Las Vegas and landed about noon local time. We dumped our luggage at our (much cheaper) hotel located conveniently next door and walked over to scope out the scene, pick up our tickets and get a place on the entrance line for a general admission show. When we arrived, the line was already snaking around the parking lot, and we later learned that the first people on the line had been there since 5 am. We sat down, on the sidewalk, in the July Vegas heat, to wait it out.

One of the things I've always loved about going to shows is talking to other people who are just as crazy about the band you're there to see as you are. We discovered we weren't the only people who'd traveled across the country to see the show. Some people had been the the LA shows earlier in the week and followed the band to Vegas. It was gratifying to learn we weren't crazy!

News of band member sightings inside the hotel flew up and down the line while we waited. Later in the afternoon the entire band made an appearance at the blackjack tables. Half the line ran in to see them and take photos while friends waited and held spots, and then the trade was made so the ones who'd waited could go inside. I admit to having my own blurry photos of John Taylor trying his hand at 21.

Finally, after what seemed like an interminable wait and individual trips to our own hotel to freshen up, we were allowed into the venue. Having been a Duran fan for so long and having seen so many shows together, we knew just what to do - grab hands, go to the left and get as far forward as humanly possible.

Another thing old time fans know about Duran - they are never on time. A show scheduled for 9 pm will start closer to 9:30.

Finally, the lights were lowered, and the shrieks were ear piercing. It was just like old times! The entire band came to the front of the stage, back lit, and just stood in front of the crowd, taking it all in. I'd been lucky enough to see the original five live back in 1984, but for some fans, like E, this was the first time they'd ever seen all of them on stage together. It was overwhelming. They broke off one by one and then ripped into "Friends of Mine" from their first album. To start off with a lesser known song seemed like a gift to the die-hard, old time fans, and we rocked out. The floor underneath us all vibrated throughout the night because we were dancing like crazy.

Duran Duran roared through all their classic songs and debuted some new material they were working on for an upcoming album, and the night flew by. After the show, E and I were exhausted and exhilarated and spent hours reliving the show moment by moment. It seemed unreal that we had been there at all.

We flew home the next morning, sure it couldn't get much better than that. We were wrong...

Please Please Tell Me Now

Duran Duran changed my life.

Okay, I know some of you are probably going, oh, don't be so melodramatic. But it's true.

I was 12 years old when I discovered Duran Duran. I saw the videos for "Rio" and "Hungry Like The Wolf" on this great channel I just happened across one day called MTV, and that's it, I was hooked. I bought the Rio album and was glued to the stereo and MTV from then on.

Back in those pre-Internet days, I got information on the bands I liked from radio, magazines, and eventually MTV. Duran hadn't yet reached superstar status in the States when I first became a fan, so information and photos trickled in from these sources, and they were precious to me. Finding some printed media from England was a coup. As they started to gain popularity here, interviews with the band members were popping up everywhere, and photos were in abundance. I studied these as if they held the answers to every question ever asked. But by reading these interviews and magazine articles and perusing these photos, I started to realize that there was a different, larger world out there that up until that point was unknown to a kid from suburban Long Island.

My musical world expanded. If John Taylor or Simon Le Bon commented in an interview about Roxy Music, well, I wanted to know more about them and hear their music. I bought import records from English bands that had no following in the States, but I gave them a try. Sure, I got some duds, but every purchase led me to another band, and another, that maybe I wouldn't have gotten to like otherwise. Through Roxy Music, I found Japan, Scritti Politti, the Alarm, Nik Kershaw. I fell hard for Ziggy Stardust era David Bowie and learned about the genius of Mick Ronson. I started to notice funky bass lines and poetic lyrics. My Top 40 looked nothing like the popular charts back then, and still doesn't, and I owe that to Duran.

And let's talk about fashion. Duran Duran got a rep for being a pin up band, and they wore gorgeous, stylish clothes and yes, makeup. So that became important to me. I was a John Taylor devotee (still am), so I had the requisite fedora like he wore in the "Hungry Like The Wolf" video, but there was more to it than that. I started experimenting with clothes, makeup and hair styles, following their example. I can pretty much guarantee I am the only person ever to grace the halls of Woodland Junior High in a ruffled blouse, maroon sash belt, black leather pants and heels in honor of the New Romantic look. I dyed my short hair platinum blonde a la Nick Rhodes. I had a shiny purple suit I wore during my sophomore year of school. It took a while, but I finally figured out my own style and never followed the pack. I still don't, in lots of areas of my life, and I owe that to Duran.

Most importantly, I met my best friend because of the band. In the early 80s "Duranies" tended to congregate toward one another to talk, trade photos, daydream. I've been lucky enough to sustain a friendship with an incredible person for over 20 years because a mutual interest in the band led us to each other, and I owe that to Duran.

That friend and I have had some incredible times together because of Duran Duran. More on that tomorrow....

More MJ...

Michael Jackson will be laid to rest tonight. But unfortunately, the hoopla surrounding his death will go on...and on...and on....

I Want You to Want Me

"Can you honestly tell me you forgot? Forgot the magnetism of Robin Zander, or the charisma of Rick Nielsen?"

Mike Damone, Fast Times at Ridgemont High

I started thinking about Cheap Trick yesterday for two reasons. First, I happened to be watching the end of the movie 10 Things I Hate About You, and at the very end of the movie the band Letters To Cleo sings "I Want You to Want Me." And second, the other day we heard the live version of the song from the classic Live At Budokan album, and my husband wondered aloud how come you never hear the original album version of the song anymore. So I decided I had to share this story.

A few weeks ago, I saw Cheap Trick live, opening for Poison and Def Leppard. It was the second time I've had the opportunity to see them, and they were outstanding. It pains me that Cheap Trick never achieved the fame or status of other great American rock and roll bands like Aerosmith, because they are truly a phenomenal band. Aside from "I Want You to Want Me" they have a catalog of great tunes behind them, and they are solid and tight. It seemed a shame that they were the opening act for this tour.

They rocked through their too short set, which also included some Beatles tunes. Afterwards, my best friend and I went to the ladies room, where I overheard the following: "you know, that band was really good, but I thought that was a Duran Duran song."

Yes. You read that right.

To say I was floored was an understatement. I couldn't wait to leave the bathroom to tell my friend what I'd heard. The look on her face must have matched mine.

Now, I am a huge Duran Duran fan. Huge. But on his best day, Simon Le Bon couldn't come close to Robin Zander! Comparing the two bands is like comparing apples to french fries as far as I'm concerned. They don't look or sound anywhere close to one another.

The girl who said it was younger than me, but come on! I was really upset that there are people out there who are so completely clueless about music. But maybe that's why Cheap Trick have never become as big as they should have - people are buying Duran records instead.

Accident or Murder - Brian Jones

I love a good mystery. Nothing intrigues me more than a conspiracy theory. I get all hyped up thinking about a second shooter on the grassy knoll, a cult behind the Summer of Sam killings, Diana and Dodi's engagement coverup, true or (most likely) not. So the news of the reopening of the investigation into Brian Jones's death 40 years ago got me going.

Brian Jones was one of the founding members of the Rolling Stones, and from what I gather, the force that really set the Stones in motion. He came up with the band's name and pushed them into their first gigs. He pushed them to rehearse and negotiated with the venues. He played multiple instruments, not just guitar, and sang back up vocals on many tracks. He was, for all intents and purposes, the band's leader.

His estrangement from the band in the late 60s came from a combination of creative difficulties, a stolen girlfriend, the shifting of the limelight onto Mick Jagger, money and drugs. About a month after announcing his departure from the Stones, Brian Jones was discovered dead at the bottom of his pool at his home in Sussex, England.

His death was ruled as "death by misadventure" (seriously), but Jones's girlfriend at the time, Anna Wohlin, claimed he was murdered by one of the builders who was working on their house at the time of his death. Here's where it starts to get interesting. A woman named Janet Lawson claimed she saw Jones and the builder, Frank Thorogood, fooling around in the pool. A while later, she saw Thorogood enter the house, visibly shaking. She found Jones in the bottom of the pool soon after. Hmmm...

Documents have recently come to light that police on the scene at the time concluded that Jones died after an argument with Thorogood, yet the man and several other key witnesses were never interviewed. Hmmm....

Frank Thorogood died in 1994. He supposedly confessed, on his deathbed, to killing Brian Jones, telling the Rolling Stones's driver, Tom Keylock, that he did Brian in. Keylock died last month. Janet Lawson also passed away, in 2008. So all the key players are now gone. Hmmm...

Two separate books were published in 1994 that named Thorogood as Jones's murderer, but there was no investigation then. Hmmm...

There was no comment from the Rolling Stones's publicist after the story came out yesterday. But I, for one, will be following it closely.