When I was a teen - I tacked up all over my bedroom walls posters of my favorite band on earth at the time, Duran Duran. Oh, how I loved John Taylor, the bass guitarist, and his chiseled chin and doe-like brown eyes. I thought other members of the band were cute, too, but it was John Taylor who made my heart flutter. I even had this obscure 45 album of his when he went solo for a split minute. "I do what I do...(Theme from 9 and 1/2 weeks)" was his attempt to breakout into the singing world and I'm sure capitalize on the fame so many young girls like me bestowed upon him. I also remember trying to memorize the words of all of the Duran Duran songs. But, it was quite difficult since the words made no sense to me at the time (and really, still don't).But in all those years of coveting John Taylor and the metrosexual men of Duran Duran, I never did go to a concert of theirs....until last Wednesday.
Well, as you would expect, things have changed for me and hundreds of other women, who in our younger years would have cried if John Taylor even pointed his guitar at us. In a sold-out crowd at the newly-renovated Austin Music Hall - Duran Duran thrilled us all over again but with a few noticeable differences. Most of us, let's just say, matured. Alot of us fans of the past - are now in our mid to late 30's. We're married, divorced, single, have kids, can't have kids, been through hell and back, lost jobs, have new jobs and had our feet swept up from under us then had our hearts quickly broken in a month or two. We've experienced life's everchanging landscape. There's a wisdom to us palpable to only the people who've been through it and understand. As I stared at John Taylor on the stage, live and in the flesh, I thought he's changed, too. His hair is thinner and the wrinkles are etched on parts of his face. I talked to one woman next to me, who came with her 3 girlfriends from high school. I gushed about how I used to love John and splashed his face all over my bedroom. She said "we all did" and smiled.
Although, I would have loved to have had a bunch of high school friends screaming to the familiar songs, who I had was my husband, Jay. He bought me the tickets as a surprise because he knew I loved them. However, that night, he did not love them. After two songs, he retreated to the back of the room to get some fresh air. I really can't blame him. Stupidly, I wore heels, predicting there would be chairs. I remembered being able to sit down at a Chris Isaak show I went to many, many years ago. So, with my aching feet and the pushing and shoving - I quickly became envious of my bored husband in the back. To further my "suffering", a woman about 40 years old thought to relive her youth by body slamming against me to I guess, rev up the party. She even made me spill my drink. It was ok though, I told myself, just have fun. And, I did!
Duran Duran sang all of my favorites, "The Reflex", "Save a Prayer" and "Wild Boys". I noticed the younger folks in the rafters did not know these songs, but knew the newer ones (which I don't). And, when Simon Le Bon started singing "A View to a Kill" - I had a vision of James Bond in my head in the Eiffel Tower. I remember screaming everytime John Taylor's mug showed up during the video. And, then something happened that I had forgotten all these years. There's a segment of the song in which John Taylor's bass guitar can be heard clearly and lasts only 2-3 seconds. It was magic to all of the women's ears and we all stretched our arms out at him and screamed hysterically! At that moment, I felt, not like a woman, but a 15 year old girl in Killeen, Texas. All of us "girls" then looked around at each other and giggled - knowing what that was all about. It was cool. And, I felt at home, for a little, until of course, my feet couldn't stand it any more! I shoved my way back to the corner of the hall where my husband was standing. He stood under the bright neon beer sign. I smiled, happy to be married to him and happy to have experienced this and even happier that I was now in my mid-30's.
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