Club Spa - May 16th, 2001
Club Spa - May 16th, 2001
| Squeezebox at Spa -
Farewell Party By Kathleen Warnock
Well, I'm a bit groggy today but wouldn't have missed last night's SPA show...with the as-promised Cherie Currie, Sandy West & more... I left the better half at home because, well, she's SANE. I got to the club (which used to be the Cat Club) around 11 o'clock, and things were still very low-key. Of course I was not the first Jetthead/Runaway fan there...my buds Harley & the LilEvilOne were front & center, another friend from Boston, and several others from near & far. It seemed that one of the sponsors of the evening was BUST Magazine, and there were lots of copies of the latest issue around, of which I scarfed up a few, since they never send me enough contributor copies. Shortly the room buzzed with the arrival of the GoGos, en masse (I'm not making this up). My friend Liz, who is in a band called the Dykes of Hazzard, said: OH MY GOD! I've loved the GoGos since I was five! (Liz has an effortless way of making people feel old...) They were escorted to a stageside VIP area, along with an arrival from a Broadway show (Joan, of course, all in black, wearing a black watchcap). The band took the stage somewhere around midnight, with the California duo of Sandy & Cherie joined by Lunachicks Gina and Squid, on guitar and bass respectively, and Barb Morrison (leader of Itchy Trigger Finger) on rhythm. (Barb's guitar features the sticker: FIGHT CRIME, SHOOT BACK!) She's often performed on tribute nights, and when I caught her eye, I said: are you feeling like one of the coolest people on the planet? She nodded enthusastically. The place got packed pretty quickly, and since there wasn't a "no camera" policy, you couldn't move without getting socked in the head by a video, digital or old fashioned flash camera (as much as I decry bootlegs, you know there's going to be a LOT of video out there). Joan & the GoGos posed for photos & I wouldn't be surprised to see those in various media over the next few weeks. Misstress Formika, long the hostess of Squeezebox (this was a pre-Friday farewell party), took the stage in an ENORMOUS Betty Page wig, and could barely contain herself as she introduced the band, whom she termed The Runachicks! The Lunaways! The stage was rather high, so those of us in the front had to look
almost straight up, but Cherie worked the whole room, occasionally getting
down on her knees to make sure those up front got the eye contact...Sandy
pounded the crap out of the drums. She uses huge sticks and makes her presence
known. BTW, she is an amazing drummer.
The set list was as follows: Early on, Cherie set the tone for the evening when she flashed one lovely breast at the crowd...then remarked that if her son had seen it, he'd want to kill her! She later remarked that she almost wished he'd seen the show...and maybe he'd say, MOM, you really WERE cool. During Love Hurts, she grabbed Harley's face and gazed into her eyes and sang right to her, causing the fine Ms. Harley to turn about 10 shades of purple. Miss Guy threw her own bomb when she got to the stage and requested that Ms. or Mr. Jett please join them...the crowd got going, and Cherie said: come on, she's exhausted, she's been on stage already tonight! And it wasn't something any of the Joan fans actually expected. It's just not her style. It's like begging her to sing, "Achy Breaky Heart." It's just not going to happen. However, she rocked out during the entire set, and GoGo Jane Weidlin turned up on the far side of the stage, grinning and dancing, staring up at Cherie and waving. It was one of the more starry-eyed crowds I've ever seen...people who knew it was a rare experience they might not see again (until Friday, but rarely after THAT...) Theo took the mic after Queens of Noise to announce that the without the Runaways, the Lunachicks never would have happened. All-in-all it was a mutual admiration society & there's nothing wrong with that, when there's so much to admire! (I think Theo is one of the great rock singers of the last few years). After, people crowded round the VIP area, my friend Liz got a hug from Jane Weidlin, and Joan and Sandy sat on the tops of their seats, grinning and nudging each other like they'd gone back in time about 25 years. So if you can, try to make it to the repeat performance on Friday...Misstress Formika strongly hinted that the "special guests" at the last night of Squeezebox will include Blondie. Wow!
Kathleen Warnock is a contributing editor to Rockrgrl Magazine. Her work also appears in BUST and U-Turn Magazines. Thank you Kathleen for sharing your experience with us! ©2001 Kathleen Warnock - no reproduction without permission.
Photos contributed by Mara Fox, Steve Gidlow, Sonyia Smith & Cathy Zuker. Thanks guys! :) These pictures are not to be copied or sold-the photographers listed
above retain all copyrights. ©2001
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