she wants a night out

Published 4.06.2006 by a•pril | E-mail this post

I used to go to concerts all the time. ALL THE TIME. It was just what I did. Stadium shows (Duran Duran, Bowie, The Cult, Depeche Mode) and teeny-tiny club shows (Skinny Puppy, Ministry, Lush, Jesus & Mary Chain). There were outdoor shows (Siouxsie & The Banshee's, Lollapalooza 1, 2 & 3, The Cure, and more Bowie), and regrettably, a few missed shows where tickets went to waste for unforseen and unfortunate reasons (The Smiths, Nine Inch Nails, and Sisters of Mercy w/ special guests Public Enemy?!)

My parents, then later, roomates, were all-to-familiar with the concert-day ritual of me crimping the hell out of my freshly Zazu'ed hair, spit-shining the buckle boots, and clickety-clacketing my way out the door, only to arrive home hours later with hair considerably limper, stinking of cigarette smoke and dry ice, whilst wearing the newest in my collection of concert tees. Invariably, I would be clutching autographs or a spent roll of film containing pics of me and Band Member X. Yeah... those were the good ol' days.

Ruefully, I haven't gone to a show in a while, for varying poor reasons such as cash flow, crappy venue or conflicting dates (ie. weeknights - ha!). The last one was U2, last summer with my brother (awww, that wiley son-of-a-gun surprised me only days before with a ticket he paid through-the-nose for on e-bay). But before that? Well, I ashamed to admit, I hadn't seen a concert since 2002, when M and I saw Janes Addiction at the ACC.

The reason for all this nostalgia, and what I'm getting to in a very roundabout, incredibly long-winded way, is that I'm going to a concert this Saturday. A small-venue show for my newest darlings, She Wants Revenge (thanks again, Ms. M!). And while I am anxious (chompin' at the bit, really) to go out and get "back to my roots" for the night, I wonder -- is it nerdy that I bought a new shirt and funky jacket to wear for the occasion just like I would have when I was 16? Is it tacky that my husband and I are calling it a date? Is it just sad that I worry it'll be mostly kids there, and that they'll stick their cigarettes into the sleeves of my new jacket, and that I'll get stuck behind the tallest guy and not be able to see a thing even though I'm wearing 4-inch heels instead of buckle boots this time?

Yeah, i'm sure it is nerdy, tacky and sad. But at least I'll have a story come Monday when asked how my weekend was, and I'll have one more ticket stub to add to my book. And maybe, (fingers crossed), I'll come home with a new concert tee for the collection. No photos with Band Member X this time, though. I'm a married woman for cryin' out loud.