How Did I Get Here?

Wednesday

Tonight, I got to see two artists I really liked. I was so excited because, yes, I get starstruck and yes, I have the self-control in this area of a 13-year-old girl.

One artist was pretty much a one-hit wonder and the other was a legend whose second coming in the 80s coincided with, and is thus tied to, my burgeoning sexuality as a teen (hetero, and it’s sad I had to point that out but I know my audience and what they would assume right there…)

Anyway, let me explain.

First up was Chris Isaak and before I get all the hate mail of calling him a one-hit wonder, yes, he is a prolific artist but let’s face it, the biggest eclipsing commercial success starts and ends with Wicked Game.

You an argue that Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing disqualifies him from the OHW category but I’m not here to argue.

This sequined-suited Elvis throwback is, was, and will always be Wicked Game.

Remember the video? Rolling around in the surf with Paulina Potrekovitskishmeernoffiski or whatever her name was. I remember her spooky blue eyes and that the video was black and white, creating the perfect mood for the song. It’s one of those videos I can look back on and say the sound of the song and the video were perfectly matched.

But it always pissed me off because she acted all too good for him, LET him slobber all over her, and never even looked him in the eye (when they were embracing) once during the whole video. Watch for it, she never actually looks at him.

By the time we got to the concert, he was already playing but luckily, we made it there on time to hear Wicked Game. He was GOOD, sounded just like the CD. I treid to mentally record the moment that I was hearing a song that is on my iPod and that I’ve literally heard thousands of times over the years. Definitely on the soundtrack of my life and I was experiencing it live.

Of course all the women were going apeshit because I’m told he is basically what most women want: handsome, funny, talented, rich. And a little bit of trivia for ya: he doesn’t do any drugs, doesn’t smoke, and doesn’t drink. And he’s single.

So those of you that bitch about all the good ones being taken, shut your traps.

After Chris was done, the main attraction came on.

What started all this was that I got a handful of free tickets and was going around trying to give them away. I was so excited that this artists was coming to town and I had free tickets, I just assumed the general population of Marines would share in my exhuberance.

“Hey, I got tickets to STEVIE NICKS!!!”

“Stevie who?

“Nicks!”

Who’s he?”

“It’s not a ‘he’ and you know, she was the lead singer to Fleetwood Mac!”

“Fleetwood who?”

“Criminy! You don’t DESERVE to see her!!!” (I storm away)

“Hey Marine, I got tickets to STEVIE NICKS!!!”

“Stevie who?

This repeated a few times until I gave up.

Earlier I had mentioned what Stevie Nicks meant to me. My father had listened to a lot of Fleetwood Mac so I was familiar with her classic stuff and that voice cannot be mistaken.

In the 80s, she enjoyed a new career and although she was getting along in age, she still had a sexiness about her and her songs just dripped with sensuality.

Then there was the witch thing. I guess she’s a witch. Or practices wicken or something. I don’t know, but she dresses the part and so did the crowd.

Just like when I went to a couple of Sarah McLachlan concerts, I was not your average demographic for this concert either. Stevie drew the burnouts from the 60s and 70s, the witches from all decades, and pot seemed to be the drug of choice everywhere you turned your nose.

If I’m not mistaken, that’s still illegal, right?

Anyway, I also heard a little something about her liking young boys. While a bit of a Michael Jackson thing going on, I think we can all agree not AS bad. Maybe she just likes young men, I don’t know.

All I know is that she sang some more of those soundtracks to parts of my life from when I was a little kid with Fleetwood Mac to my teen years as a solo artist.

I really enjoyed hearing “Stand Back”

… and her other hits but was a little disappointed not to hear “Leather and Lace.” I guess it is a little much to expect Don Henley to show up.

She was pretty much a dot on the stage (our free seats weren’t exactly what you would call “front row”) but the sound was incredible.

The Voice came through and I found myself taken back to the days when her songs were on the top ten.

We enjoyed the concert and I got to check off hearing two of the greatest voices in modern music, both of which reside on my iPod. Not everyday you can say that.

Free Advice for Today: “Be faithful.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007 at 10:57 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.