Saw Concrete Blonde at the Disneyland HOB with redmaenad. Many thanks to her and her sister for making it happen.
Wow, Johnette is amazing. I hadn’t seen her play live since 1987 or so, I think. If anything she’s better. She has the pipes and the songs and a total abandonment to her art that is unique. The vocal pyrotechnics don’t sound forced or showy, just genuine. Fine, fine version of “As Tears Go By” among others.
There aren’t too many singers who can give me goosebumps, and she’s one of them.
I sort of knew her in the 80s, friends of friends thing, and I remember seeing her in my neighborhood in Hollywood a lot. She wasn’t a kid even then, and she had a presence that was notable even hung over on a Sunday afternoon at the local restaurant where we’d see each other across the room over eggs and tabasco. I was the kid writing for a paper and she was the older, mysterious rock star lady. She was nice to me.
She’s 46 now and roaring through her prime. Can I be her when I grow up? Not a note out of place, but every emotion is real.
The opening band raised a question to me: why would 25-year-olds who can play instruments want to make supermarket rock? They sounded like every cookie-cutter guitar power pop band on the Star 98 (Vertical Horizon/Matchbox 20/whatever), but they’re a bit too late for the big money train. My suggestion is that they switch to the God Team and go for Bad Christian Rock, where it’s okay to be a few years out of date if you’re cute and can hold a tune. Good money and lots of blowjobs from cornfed Kansas girls, guys. Their name was “Studio Trash”. Uh-huh. Did Daddy buy that amp for ya?
Be My Blog 
i love that woman.
have seen her twice, once with Concrete Blonde sometime in the early 90s and once with Pretty & Twisted when her hair was short. same club both times, really small, i should have talked to her.
unfortunately missed their tour last year or the year before for their newest album. i was always on the wrong coast at the wrong time. just my luck.
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Wanted to go to that show. I didn’t think I would be able to get anoyone to go with me.
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Say how is redmaenad anyway? I would love to hear how she’s been.
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lots happened
you should like, call her, and stuff.
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Re: lots happened
We’ve tried that, among other forms of comunication, with varying results.
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Not bitchin’, just sayin’
Most of them, might I add, resulting in, well…no communication whatever.
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Re: Not bitchin’, just sayin’
right, then
I just didn’t want to summarize her entire life on the Interweb without, you know, knowing that she’d want that.
stepping slowly away now!
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Re: Not bitchin’, just sayin’
Thanks Substitute. I know I don’t have a number for her at the moment. But I’ll email her and see if I get a response. Hope the lots happening have been the good happenings. Please let her know we’re thinking of her.
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Re: Not bitchin’, just sayin’
Ok. I thought you were implying that we were neglecting her.
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