How's this for a real life Catch 22: one of my favorite live acts, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, are playing tonight at a venue only six blocks from where I live, and it's one of my days off. However, the club, Southpaw, is tiny as hell and gets crowded as all get-out, and what with my neighborhood being affectionately nicknamed "Dyke Slope," it's a given that tonight's show will be wall-to-wall with the Sisterhood. The point of all this is that the older I get, the less I can tolerate crowds.
So I was just out buying groceries and strolled past Southpaw, and said to myself,"Aah, fuck the crowd phobia! Go see Joan, you pussy!" As I crossed the street to buy a ticket I noticed that the show was — SURPRISE!!! — sold out.
I am a dumbass.
I just can't believe JJ & B is down to playing Park Slope.
ReplyDeleteAah, well.
True story, I was like 15 or 16. My friend's dad was a stone mason. We were driving in his car one day and he pulled into a driveway then asked me to go to the door to pick up a check for some walkway work he had done.
ReplyDeleteI ring the bell and this HIDEOUS woman hands me a check. I get back in the car and a few minutes later, friend's dad says, "did you see her?" I said, "who" he said, "That was Joan Jett" "No fucking way! Looked like she just rolled out of bed, no makeup (which is ok usually but this was outrageously gross).
I was one of the many lads swoon by Joan Jett's rebellious leather-clad visage. No lie, this experience completely destroyed one of my earliest fantasies (what kid did not lust for Joan Jett). It impacts me to this day. I still think of her opening that door and try to reconcile it.
Her music is ok and I am sure she is a cool person but have you seen her lately? She is rancid.
I saw Joan Jett at Pace University in Manhattan back in the 80's. Though I was not a big fan, the show was great and I came away a believer. It would have been nice to see her on this latest tour, as she is playing a lot of intimate venues, like CBGB. She is also getting much attention, and acclaim, in places like the Times. Apparently she still has quite a loyal fan base, especially in lesbian circles. But I think it goes beyond that niche, and she is seen as not only a female pioneer, but a rock musician with integrity. And a local hero.
ReplyDelete