Taking a break from the natural world today. I went to a Scissor Sisters concert on Friday evening. To say it was life changing would be an overstatement, but it sure as hell was a lot more than just enjoying a dance band's performance.When I attended graduate school from 1975 until 1981, my wife and I went out dancing most every Saturday night. She always enjoyed herself, but I was an addict. I've never gotten over it; fully a third of the selections on my iPod are dance music--including the Scissor Sisters. Because SS recently released their third album, I figured they'd be touring so I checked their website on Friday morning and, voila! they were going to be in town Friday night! What timing! I hurriedly called my wife at work and asked if she wanted to go (she likes them, too). She said she'd think about it. Over the years, my wife has become a social "dud," and her response didn't give me a lot of confidence that I'd have a date that evening.
When she got home, she asked if I'd mind going to the concert alone. While I'd hoped she'd come with me, I wasn't going to let her lack of enthusiasm put a damper on mine (at least not this time). So, I hopped in the car, drove downtown, and had a hell of a good time.
The concert was held in a warehouse-like venue with almost no seating. General admission included standing room on the floor or access to a few bleachers in the back of the room. But, who wants to sit down to hear a dance band? The two lead vocalists, Jake Shears and Ana Matronic (not their real names?) were backed up by two guitarists, a drummer, a keyboard player and two female backup vocalists. Shears and Matronic exuded sexiness. Shears is handsome and very well-built, and he performed most of the evening with the top of his skin-tight tie-dyed coveralls stripped down to his waist. Matronic had her bright red hair piled seductively onto her head and wore a very short black leather dress.
It didn't take long until I was dancing my ass off with the rest of the crowd, whooping, hollering, and punching my fists in the air in time with the music. It was tribal; it was great. I honestly hadn't had such a good time in years.
Verging on "life changing...?" Going to the concert and dancing uninhibitedly made me feel young again. It brought back the physical and mental feelings that have lain mostly dormant since 1981. For two hours, I returned to some of the best times of my youth. The concert uncorked a genie that I'd kept bottled up for three decades.
How was the concert itself? Full of energy. A great show. Very, very loud. (Some of the best features of the Scissor Sisters' music are the clever, catchy lyrics, and it was impossible to hear the lyrics over the band during the concert. But who cared? We all knew the lyrics by heart anyway.) Nevertheless, my hearing was seriously impaired for hours after the concert. At the end of the evening, two confetti cannons spewed clouds of Mylar, tissue paper, and faux $3-bill confetti onto the sweaty crowd while laser lights raked the room. For two minutes, I was in heaven.
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On a natural note, as I drove to the concert, I passed a huge field planted with native grasses and enclosed in post-and-rail fencing. On the outside of the fence, adjacent to the busy road I traveled, a Great Blue Heron was stalking prey. Grasshoppers? Mice?
Confetti from the concert finale
1 comment:
Huh—I'd never heard of the Scissor Sisters until this post, but I've just checked out a few videos on YouTube and can see why, in the sort of venue you describe, standing and simply listening, as opposed to seriously getting into the concert, wouldn't be much of an option. They're quite the high-energy/techno band, for sure. Watch the knee!
BTW, I've seen herons "bugging" in the fields, too, usually at the end of summer when, I presume, the grasshoppers get fat and juicy.
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