Last night I went to the Roadhouse (yeah I know that could be a Jim Morrison song line ripoff) to see my friends Chris Hill, Craig Hill , Steve Mason and Clark Carter play for a reunited band show to benefit another mutual acquaintance Jeff Carlson who is having some medical issues.
Hoping to introduce my gang of new friends to part of my past and some kick ass rock n' roll I began to gather up a group to head out to the show.
Three of us arrived at the beginning of the evening and I happily introduced Amanda and Krista to the band and some of the old crowd of folks I used to run with back in the early 90's. I think Kat put it the best when she said "Good Grief do you know EVERYONE in here?" . In all seriousness I only knew half the bar. I never realized before last night how many people I do know !
I realized that our crowd had definitely settled down ... and I mean settled. Pictures of families were being flashed around and hardly anyone were pounding down the booze like they used to. We all seemed to have suffered a bit of "middle aged spread".
I in my teal sequined top was the shiniest person there ...at least until the skinny girl in the backless copper shiny top arrived. Since she was skinnier than me and could pull it off I quietly slid into second place on the shiniest. Well after all I did show up to be noticed.
As I scanned the room I ascertained that me and my girls were definitely the hottest in the room.
After getting my greetings from all the guys in the band I didn't need to worry about how I would be received. Rick Bean my ex's old roommate spotted me and charismatically swept in to greet me. He as usual was dressed to the nines in a trendy shirt with skulls on it. I almost asked him if he still shopped out of the International Male catalog but didn't. To give you an idea about Rick he is the eternal bachelor. This guy once wore a completly (and I stress COMPLETLY) platinum colored suit to a New Year's Eve party.Rick made the rounds telling everyone that I had arrived. So one by one the old crowd trickled over or acknowledged me with waves and nods.
Steve was behind his drum kit testing out mics and his face lit up when I approached the stage "Hey you came ! " "Like I would miss this " I bantered back. It was hard to believe how much time had passed since I first met him in 1989. Chris was bustling around being nervous as he usally is before a show worrying about how he would sound. He chatted with me about how I had been since I last saw him. Craig gathered me into a hug and was fussing about how they would probably suck after only having had two rehersals and the rest of theguys were chatting and tuning and chatting. I giggled and reassured them that if they were as good as they used to be it would sound great.
We headed to the back to take a seat. I knew that the way the sound was sitting up front we would be blasted out of our chairs.
After a late start they cranked up the smoke machine and darkened the stage. The lights came on in a blaze as they rocketed into their set. I had to hand it to the guys even in a small club they always tried to replicate a big rock show as much as they could. They played alot of their old set ...the heavier part. Thin Lizzy 78' Jailbreak, Alice in Chains, The Cult, Judas Priest , Black Sabbath ala Ronnie James Dio, Phil Collins. Chris did "Shadows " and I was so proud that he nailed the high note in the song everytime. I remembered listening to him practice that over and over because it was so hard to sing. They also added "Heaven's Trail " by Tesla to the set. I was nostalgic for some of my favorites that got left out ... Journey, Kiss, Kings X but what I got satisfied my rock n roll craving for awhile.
I saw Bobby Hoskins and found out he went to high school with Terrie's husband. That was funny small world this is. The summation is No I haven't slept with him, he was the drummer for one of Chris and Craig's other bands Ceremony and while a good friend he wasn't my type.
The night with its lights and smoke machine transported me back to the old days. Chris' husky voice floating out over the crowd. Craig in his bass playing crouch , Steve muttering to himself on the drums to keep perfect time and Clark ...well Clark became a tall guitar god his fingers dancing over the frets perfectly. He definitely had improved over time.
My stomach did happy little flip flops with every song I knew and I couldn't stop my body from moving.
I went up on Nazereth's "Soulshaker" to dance with Amanda to try to get some of the old spark started after Chris' calls to "get up and dance". Chris and Steve shot me a smile and a nod as I tried to lead the parade. In the old days all the girls would gather at the front to gyrate wildly to the music. This time it was like their asses were superglued to the chairs. It was my first break into current reality. After the song we trailed back to our seats where Rick hugged me and congratulated me on having the guts to get up and dance. I wasn't drunk enough to do it again.
Around 11:30 Amanda, Krista , Terrie and her hubby all decided that the night had been late enough for them and headed for home. Kat was on her way by that point so I milled around the crowd and talked to my old bridesmaid Stacey Bach. I almost didn't recognize her husband Jim but after I got past the headband he was wearing I realized he was looking REALLY OLD.
My ex showed up looking really rough or as Kat put it "Fugly" I snickered at that and we had a nice discussion about following hearts over logic. I didn't look at him the rest of the evening. Kat told me later that he couldn't stop staring at me. It was nice that I didn't notice that I was too engrossed in the music and having a good time. He did swoop over out of the darkness and say Hi its nice to see you before continuing on to sit with his old FB Kelly Carpenter.
I continued to stare at the stage dazzled by their stage presence . Chris standing on tables , doing his "crucifixtion" pose , roaming around the crowd and brandishing the mic stand like an ancient warrior's weapon. Kat's wide eyes and comments were just too funny she said "I feel like I'm in a time warp. What is with all the 80's clothes?" I chuckled Kat I laughed you have to remember that the average age of this crowd is over 36. In fact at 36 I was probably one of the youngest in there ...well at least except for the waitresses in their hotpants and assless chaps.
Too soon the music stopped and the buzz of the sound system faced into the background and we were all exposed in the harsh light of the house lights. We had arrived back in the present . The guys would be going back to their new seperate projects and I would be going back to my new reality . I exchanged last "goodbyes and nice to see you's " before walking out the door into the cool night air. You really can never go back....but it certaintly was a helluva shot at it.
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