Transvision Vamp (1991)

I have great memories of this show. Or rather, I am told great things happened at this show. Lemme explain:

I was 21 years old in 1991, and I had a great friend guru, named Ernie. Ernie is probably 10 years old than me. He is a brilliant, eloquent, tall brother with enormous dreadlocks and fantastic taste in music.

Throughout my late-teens and early 20s, Ernie introduced me to countless wonderful things: art galleries, new music, audiophile equipment… and drugs. I never did much in the way of drugs, but what little I *did* do, I did with Ernie.

Ernie was the type of guy who could take all the drugs and drink all the booze in the world… and yet you’d still trust *him* to do the driving!

We saw a lot of shows together. Different types of artists. Laurie Anderson, Cocteau Twins, Prince, Ministry… and this band called Transvision Vamp, who were a British alternative band, fronted by the Marilyn Monroe-esque Wendy James. Contemporaries of similar female-fronted acts such as The Heart Throbs, Primitives and Darling Buds, the band was best known for a couple of late ’80s, pop-catchy earworms: “I Want Your Love” and “Baby I Don’t Care.”

The night of the Transvision Vamp show, I took no drugs. But I did overindulge on whiskey.

As previously mentioned, Ernie was seemingly impervious to the negative effects of drugs and alcohol (if memory serves, he did 10 “whippets,” dropped 2 hits of acid and polished off a fifth of Southern Comfort before the show. And, yes, he drove us to Detroit.).

Anyway, during one of Ernie’s numerous trips to the concession stand for more beer, I apparently made my way toward the front of the stage. I don’t remember too much about what happened next, but Ernie explained it to me the next day:

“So I’m walking back into the venue holding two beers — one for each of us — and I look up to the stage just in time to see some asshole climb up on stage and… wait for it… stage dive into the crowd. This guy was stage diving at a Transvision Vamp show, right?

“I’m thinking to myself, ‘who is this asshole?’

“And then it occurs to me, just before the asshole disappears into the crowd.

“‘Oh, it’s Ben.’” (that’s me.)**

[** author's note: Names changed to protect the innocent and alarmingly stupid]

I don’t remember making the decision to stage dive at a cheezy pop show, but I vaguely recall Wendy James giving me the stink-eye after I got up there (and the size of the bouncer running from the side of the stage with murderous rage). I definitely remember how it felt when everyone in the audience moved out of the way of my diving body. I was like Moses parting seawater (minus the impressed witnesses, of course). I definitely remember how it felt to land on that hardwood floor!

Yep. I’m that guy. Sigh.

Man, what a fun show, though!

Sinead O'Connor (1997)

If you ever have an opportunity to see a show in Oregon at the Champoeg State Park ~ GO!  Even if it is a band you kind of like, it will be worth the money and time.  It is a beautiful park with a wonderful outside amphitheater ~ On a clear and sunny day it is a little bit of heaven.  I saw Sinéad here after her release of ‘Gospel Oak‘.  I was mainly a fan of her earlier work such as “Nothing Compares 2 U” (Written by Prince) which was on the album ‘I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got‘(1990)  which featured Marco Pirroni and Kevin Mooney of Adam and the Ants (Adam Ant being my all time favorite).

I lived in Portland at the time and had already seen Ani DiFranco at Champoeg State Park earlier that summer and knew it was going to be a beautiful day.  We got there early to enjoy the park and sunshine, took a swim in the river that is right by the amphitheater and took long walks around the park.  I sadly don’t remember the opening band’s name, a beautiful Irish band I think and I do remember thinking they were great!

As the time got closer we got our food and drinks then sat down in the grass….  

I was expecting a strong, loud, angry woman to come on stage with a shaved head and crazy fun boots.  This is how I had seen her in the media, on MTV and when listening to her music how I pictured she would be in concert.

However I was (happily) mistaken!  ~

Sinéad came out on stage with a girl-like excitement ~ sang with such power and grace, and after each song shyly said, “thank you.”  She also had a cute little bob hair cut that gave her angelic face a softness that I had never seen in pictures of her before.  It was an amazing day that gave me a new and deeper appreciation of Sinéad as a musician and performer ~

When we pulled up to The Paramount, there were people everywhere, excited, the energy was high.  My friends had the limo driver get out to open the doors for us ~ but before he did that he rolled out a red carpet for us to make our entrance to the show. For just a second, I was not a social worker in Seattle, I was a rock star too!

The show was amazing.  Even though I love the old Prince music from the 80’s, which he did not perform much of during this tour, it was great just to be in his presence, hear his guitar and watch him move.  I have the CD’s from that tour and the songs take me back to that “One Night Alone”.