BLOG 6 Then and Now ! (PART TWO)

Then and Now ! (PART TWO)

 

Last Friday my plans were changing at the last minute. The Psychedelic Furs were playing that night and I know many of you will ask-WHO?  For many, that connection to this band was a song called “Pretty In Pink” which was from the movie of the same name. They had many excellent albums before John Hughes would put them in the status as a one hit wonder band.

So- back to how my plans were changing! I had 6 tickets for the concert and had three friends and a wife that were giving me excuses why they could not attend at the last minute. And at the last minute I was able to muster some friends who did take the tickets with the assurance that the band would play… “Pretty In Pink” –

Earlier in the week I attended another concert and was possibly the only ancient oak around. As I waited in the front of the box office for my friends I eyed the crowd going in. I did not see any Ducky, Andie Walsh or Blanes look-a-like s BUT could of swore many of the guys were like Steff, the kind of guys that I hated in high school.

I saw the P’ Furs well over three decades ago in Los Angeles at the Palladium. The crowd was a mixture of punks and new wavers and common dance that everyone did was feet shuffling with hands flying up to the air. We were young and this was our moment!!

Well that moment was lost in time as present time was now reflected with my peers who might have been chasing memories. Many in the crowd    were on the fringes of geriatrics and many of the males were what became of Steff- POMPOUS with bellies perturbing and receding hairlines. My Molly Ringwald was found on the dance floor and engaged in some of most rewarding music conversation this side of the galaxy.

Her name was Lesley and many of her music experiences hailed from her hometown of San Francisco. For tonight, I felt like Ducky chaperoning Andie Walsh.

Though his hairstyle has changed, the lead singer Richard Butler has aged well and still sounded the same. The only thing I could not digest were the males on the fringes of geriatrics holding drinks high in the air singing along in out of harmony chants.

“Pretty In Pink” was the second to last song that the band sang. Molly Ringwald blasted out my eardrums with her approval. The song is ok, but many of the songs I like where made before the movie. It took over an hour before my friends would snake their way through the crowd and like everyone else- had their drinks high in the air singing out of harmony.

At the end of the show I was able to give Andie Walsh the famous Duckie shoe shuffle and in return, earned a thank you hug. Isn’t she pretty in black !

"I am now, and will always remain...a duckman."

So- that’s my story! Two bands from the past with two different generations this week. My generation is slowly holding on to fading distant memories and a younger generation trying to experience music from the past.