The music between us
Last Wednesday, I was heading to Cary, N.C., to see my all-time favorite band perform live.I've just now sufficiently recuperated. My voice is back, and even better, my mood is greatly improved.
See, the Grateful Dead have their Deadheads, Jimmy Buffet has his Parrotheads and Duran Duran has their Duranies. I am a Duranie. Their music has provided something of a soundtrack for my life since I was about 10 years old -- pure pop/rock meant to make you feel good. Oh, sure, mock me for being a child of the '80s, but don't pretend like you didn't rock out to "Hungry Like the Wolf" back in the day! And no one can tell me "Ordinary World" isn't a great song. I freely admit, my schoolgirl crush on bassist John Taylor has not diminished with time. I even got to meet him back home in Cleveland during the band's last tour. It was like one of my teenage bedroom posters came to life, and he couldn't have been a nicer or funnier guy. (Sorry Wolf, you're wrong about the Drew Carey thing.)
Anyway, these days, if Duran Duran's playing within a four-our drive of me, I'll go see them. I've been to see them eight times now. This last show in Cary was by far one of the best. When I go to a concert, I want to be entertained -- otherwise I could just save some money, stay home and listen to a band's CDs. Every single time I've seen Duran Duran, they've delivered. The stage effects are usually extremely cool and high-tech, but hearing the songs I love performed live by such showmen, who seem to genuinely enjoy interacting with the crowd, is the part I love best.
Half of the times I've gone to see Duran Duran, I went by myself. And every single one of those times, I've met some really terrific people. When I saw Duran Duran in Atlanta, I met a man and his wife and their friends who were kind enough to see me back to my car safely because I'd traveled alone.
You might think the overwhelming majority of the crowd would be women in their late 30s/early 40s, with a few of their reluctant boyfriends or husbands in tow, but no. The crowd in Cary, for example, I would say was about 60 percent women and 40 percent men -- not even counting the decent number of teens and children who were there.
I'm guessing a lot of the folks there were like Vicki and John, this awesome couple who traveled to Cary from Tennessee for the concert and let me sit with them on the lawn. John was there by choice as a Duran Duran fan. Vicki, like me, is more hardcore -- a Duranie who know all the words to all the songs, including the ones from the most recent album. Another woman who sat beside me, Michelle, not only is a Duranie but also a fellow newspaper employee, working as a page and graphic designer in Fort Bragg. It was a lot of fun to compare notes with them about Duran Duran concerts past, and talk about the best and worst opening acts we'd seen.
Back when I saw the band in Cleveland, I found a good friend in another Ohio native named Cheryl. To this day, we exchange e-mails and Christmas cards regularly. And when she and her family came down to Myrtle Beach two summers ago, I met up and hung out with them.
So this is what I get for going to see my favorite band: great music, great times, great people and a much-needed reminder that having fun never gets old -- even as I do.
Posted by on 05/30 at 08:18 PM
In the early years of school..when the lil boys liked you..they pulled your hair..
I cant reach your hair...the “Drew Carey” thing is as close as I can come..
Duran Duran will likely never fade..we grew up on them..we fell in and out of love with their music playing in the background..
It’s near impossible to look back over your younger years..without Duran Duran fitting in there somewhere..
The ups and downs..the broken hearts..the time when you finally came to terms with the fact that you really didnt fit in anywhere..and the years start flying by..
Duran Duran quickly became much needed therapy..
..even today as your mind takes a walk in the past..those special times could easily fit into a Duran Duran tune..