Am I missing something?

Before leaving for the UK I saw an annoucement on Live Nation that the almighty funk man Prince was touring in Canada, and I'd always wanted to see him perform live. A true 80's nostalgia junkie in every sense of the word, I'll pretty much risk life and limb to relive my all time favorite decade and the music it generated, given opportunity. And Prince is truly the stuff of 1980's legend. Even though there was no performance scheduled for Calgary, it was water off a duck's back for me. I was willing to hit the road to catch this show, no questions asked.

SaintC was scheduled to be in San Francisco for her husband's company Christmas activities, so as a twosome Lady E and I got some tickets for the Victoria show and decided to make a weekend out of it. I am fortunate that I can expense the flight and hotel for myself as I can parlay it into a work trip - and help cut some costs for both uf us. So although our dear Lady left for the airport to go home a couple of hours ago, I'll be hanging out in Vic on my own until Tuesday. But I don't mind. The shopping here is fabulous and the mild weather provides a much needed respite from the snow in Calgary, even for only a day or two. And despite the fact that Prince booked a Calgary date a few days after we'd made the arrangements to come here, I was really happy to have a fun little getaway with Lady E, since she missed out on our 2nd trip to the UK.

Naturally, going to concerts and gearing up to see live shows always holds a certain amount of anticipation and excitement for me. But it was a relief to not stress out about what I'd be wearing or worrying about running around after the show to try and find/meet/run into/stalk the band i.e. Duran Duran. We just wanted to go to see Prince, and that would be that. We heard about the after party happening at a local club, but truth be told, we were so tired after the show I doubt we'd have lasted long anyway. It was really fun to just go see a show without a lot of pressure and expectation associated with it.

The concert was everything I'd hoped it would be. Prince gave a fabulous, energetic, James Brown-inspired dance-fueled performance with 4 encores, and managed to play snippets of each of the songs that were his biggest hits (he mentioned during the show that if he'd played all his hits start to finish we'd be there all night, sad but true). It was a wonderful fun filled night and an electrifying performance. His band and back up singers were fantastic. It was 3 hours of funk, dancing, and a stadium full of fans screaming and cheering. I had a fantastic time.

We had seats in the section off to the right of the stage, about 25 rows up - with great views displaying the full width of the stage and the light/sight show that accompanied the performance. There were jets of steam shooting up from the stage. Lights going off from one end of the stadium to another. And an explosion of purple and gold confetti that floated in slow motion all around us like a dream. This is the predictable stuff that ALWAYS invokes a strong reaction for me, and usually produces ear-to-ear grins and little tears of joy.

What is interesting to me is this show made me realize that with my desperate need to be as close to the stage as possible, I'm probably missing out on some of the cool effects to be seen throughout a Duran Duran performance. I have to admit that while in Portland I didn't even know the 4 digital faces above us existed until the encore. But everyone in the arena behind us had a plentiful view and got the full effect. Not so for me. I had a plentiful view of Simon's bright blue trainers and the occasional eyefull of Dom's backside.

It made me wonder - am I so obsessed with getting so close to the band that I'm kind of missing the point?

Of course the music is important. The live performances are important. The songs and the writing and the albums are the things that keep me coming back. The stage shows and their effects are part of what makes the live music experience fantastic. But I'm also willing to admit that I pursue the boys in the band as aggressively as I pursue and appreciate the music. After coming home from Cardiff I heard myself tell the tale of the meet and greet, drumstick catching and backstage tour stories again and again, with the occasional mention of, "Oh yeah, that concert I went and saw. That was good." So I confess - I AM MOTIVATED BY MEET AND GREETS. I STALK THE BAND AFTER SHOWS. And yes, the occasional hotel has been booked with no consideration aside from the thought of where the band may be staying in mind. Hello - my name is ____ - and I'm a Duranaholic.

Maybe this isn't the right comparison - (since I'm not doing anything I'd be ashamed to admit to my grandmother) - but like Pamela Des Barres in her feverish attempts to get close to her favorite music icons by ANY means possible
(including offering herself up to be consumed like a slice of pumpkin pie) I think that I've been spending more time being a "fanatic" than I have being a true music fan in some of my recent Duran associated activities. And maybe that ratio is keeping me from experiencing what I could be, or should be, from the Duran Duran music experience. So now that I've managed to scratch all the things I wanted off my Duran bucket list (front row centre, drumsticks, meeting the band etc.) maybe I should take a step back from being a crazed "Duranie" and start being a Duran Duran music fan again, to see what that's like.


I wonder if that will be anywhere near as much fun. Hmmm.


That Girl