After my stupidity after the August show, (how dumb is it to screw up a golden opportunity that is handed to you?), I decided I should give myself a second chance. I also didn't want to wait another year to see L&R again. I decided a road trip was in order. The last date of the tour was Washington, DC, not too far away. So, off I went. (Actually, I had originally thought of seeing the last almost-two-weeks of the tour, from Columbus, Ohio to Washington, DC, except for a show in Mansfield, Mass. But I thought it might be too expensive.)
I didn't know how to get a ticket ahead of the show, so I ended up getting one from a professional ticket scalper down the street from the venue. My ticket said my seat was in row "E", but the scalper insisted that was the second row. He was right - I was seated in the second row, right in front of Danny!
This was the show that maybe should have been the end of Love and Rockets. (And some people have said it was effectively the end of the band.)
Danny was throwing a classic (for him), temper tantrum. (I had read that he averaged a tantrum every third show. Interestingly, this was the third time I saw him.)
Danny had problems all night with his equipment and was screaming at roadies. He threw his microphone stand down, and unfortunately, it hit some poor woman in the front row. Some fans in front were heckling him, and he eventually responded with a "F*** off!" complete with appropriate finger gesture. At one point, he went over to David, crying, and as they hugged, their instruments clashed.
On the brighter side, Danny also kissed another woman in the front row, (and she went into a swoon). And, I swear that during "Love Me", I made eye contact with Danny for an second.
I never made a list of the songs that were played, in part because I didn't know a few of them. They turned out to be b-sides that I didn't own yet - like "Holiday On The Moon". Also, for the encore, L&R played the Clash's "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?" and the odd thing Danny supposedly wrote earlier in the tour, called "Wake Up". (Yes, this is different than what's written in the book, "Dark Entries".)
I also remember that for the concert, Danny wore some sort of white-with-a-green-print jacket and matching pants outfit. And the jacket came off early. For the encore, he was clad in a black, sleeveless dress with a fringed bottom, and low-cut back, black fishnets, and black boots. Simply lovely!
I hung around after, but fans weren't allowed anywhere near the building's exit. So, a small group of fans just stood around on the sidewalk and talked. Everyone else was quite upset about the show, saying it was crap. But I was rather happy with it. Yes, it was a crappy show, as far as the music and all went. But I was glad I had gotten to see the other kind of L&R show - where Danny acts up, and ruins it.
The following week after this show, I wrote the following note to myself, quoting an old Blondie song - "11 October 1989: 'One way or another' I will meet him!" and put it on my bulletin board.
I also bought an "All Access" backstage pass from the summer's tour at a record/memorabilia fair. It wasn't exactly what I would have bought from those women in August, but it made me feel a bit better.
This show stayed with me for months, and in July 1990, I finally wrote a poem about the second I caught Danny's eye. (BTW, I only used "Love Me" as the sub-title because that's the song that was being played when this happened.) To read the poem, click here: "The Look (Love Me)"
Copyright © 2002 Vivian Campbell. All rights reserved.
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