Don’t give up the ship!

After everything and all, Spring brings new hope. Always.

Seeing tracks from the All You Need Is Now played live last night at the YouTube Unstaged thingit has changed my whole attitude towards it.  The tunes have good energy, and need more attention than I’ve given them up to now.

Guys, will you ever forgive me for doubting you?

Edit 3.31.11:  Really, guys, I am dreadfully, dreadfully sorry.

1300218609549_Billy Clown, originally uploaded by Unstaged Duran Duran.

I adore this photo for so many reasons, not least of which the combination of red, black and white that attracts me like a magnet.

You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it’s evolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world

But when you talk about destruction
Don’t you know that you can count me out. (In)

Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright?

You say you got a real solution
Well, you know
We’d all love to see the plan
You ask me for a contribution
Well, you know
We’re doing what we can

But if you want money for people with minds that hate
All I can tell you is brother, you have to wait

Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright?

You say you’ll change the constitution
Well, you know
We’d all love to change your head
You tell me it’s the institution
Well, you know
You better free your mind instead

But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao
You ain’t gonna make it with anyone anyhow

Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright?

In view of recent events, it’s as true as ever.

petals on velvet, originally uploaded by trista mack.

Last of my fresh camellias before they returned from whence they came…

On pretext of looking for a bathroom in the right place at the right time.

A carload of us made the trek west on Highway 20 to the venue and arrived a good while before the show was to start; we arrived even before the band did.  We shuffled around for a while, smoking cigarettes and discussing which songs we hope they’ll play, singing a few bars of whatever moved us.  The doors to the venue weren’t open , so Keven, Linda and I set off in search of  Facilities Elsewhere.  We circled the entire building but not finding anything but an OMG AN OPEN OVERHEAD COILING DOOR LEADING RIGHT TO BACK STAGE WITH NO ONE GUARDING IT!!!! Keven and Linda aren’t interested in my mission so I carry on without them.

So, I casually stroll down to said coiling door, walk through, with a look on my face and a stride that says “I belong here, what’s up?”  I have no backstage pass so my cover line is, “I need a toilet!”  As I mill around, waiting for someone to say “Hey you! What are you doing here?”, I notice I’m about 30 feet from the stage entrance, and off to the left is a roped off area in which the Important People are meant to watch the show.

As I’m taking all this in, there’s commotion behind me.  I turn around and there’s INXS.  The entire fucking band.  They jumped off my wall and out of my tape deck, and here they are in front of me.  Holy shit.  Roadies, girlfriends and various hangers-on are moving about so I make myself as unobtrusive as possible – I don’t have a pass and definitely don’t want to get chucked out at this point.  As I’m trying to find a place to be, Michael Hutchence passes about 10 feet from me, looking like a cross between Jim Morrison and a Greek god.  He looked at me, smiled brightly, waved, then walked on.  I was awestruck, completely gobsmacked, and unable to think of a single intelligent thing to say.  So I waggled my fingers and mouthed, “Hey!”.  I watched him walk away to prepare for the show and thought, “I will live on this FOREVER.”

After this brief but incredible encounter, I’m milling around the VIP area for a while, taking it all in, when Kirk Pengilly saunters up and says breezily, “Hi! How are you? There’s food in the next room, want some?”  Um, what?  Evidently my brain was still reeling from the Power of Michael Hutchence because I smiled and made a polite refusal.  Bbecause, you know, I DIDN’T HAVE A BACKSTAGE PASS.  It never crossed my mind that if I’d been with the sax player for INXS, a little thing like a backstage pass could have been overcome.  Yes.  I was that stupid in 1985.   (NB:  Kirk Pengilly has the nicest manners of any sax player I’ve met, official)

Once the doors to the venue opened, my friends were among the first to get in.  They quickly spotted me in the VIP Section and freaked out but by this time, I’d been there long enough to become enamored of a young Rude Boy who’d been lurking around so my selfish young self only half-listened to their protests.   They’d forgiven me by the end of the show because INXS kick about forty kinds of rock and roll ass, and we all ended up having a fantastic time.  Alas, I never heard from Rude Boy again but such was the era.

In 1997, when I’d heard Michael Hutchence had died, this story came back to me in vivid color.  He really did have the most beautiful smile, you know.

By the way… I never found that bathroom.

I thought about this as I absorbed my daily caffeine ration this morning (a large bowl cup of very strong coffee), and it occurs to me that the whole year is nothing but a repeating cycle.

January: Determination to avoid mistakes of previous cycle. Spring is on the way, la la la – hope and optimism!
March: BOING! I’m happy, hope you’re happy too! Spring is my favorite season, a time of growth and Great Possibilities. I find it most inspiring.
July: It’s good to be alive and on the river. A nice plateau to simply enjoy being. Besides, in Florida it’s too hot to really do anything else.
September: Hold up, whoa! I’m “insert age here”! I ponder my existence and am usually dealing with unpleasant truths.
November: This part may apply only to me but it has been my experience that most great crises of my life have begun about this time. If things are going to fall to shit, they will be in Full-On Fail Mode in November.
December: Season of Light at the End of the Tunnel. Optimism begins to return.

…and so on since I came into existential awareness.

So, yes, it’s nothing but love roller coaster, with swoops and dips, and not a little fear. The less romantic among you will probably say, “Ding, ding, ding, Seasonal Affective Disorder for $500, Bob!” but that’s just not as catchy and has nothing to do with this tune below, which is what started this post in the first place!

♥

“Let’s go slow, let’s go fast, licorice whip gonna whip your ass…”