I Love Rock N Roll

I finally got to see Joan Jett!

As you know (if you've been paying so much attention that, frankly, I feel a little uncomfortable with the way our relationship is going), I've tried twice before and it didn't work out either time. The first time I had the day wrong, so I didn't get to go to a concert at a riverboat casino. I was a little bitter about that, because it sounds like a wacky adventure. And then the second time was when I was coincidentally in Las Vegas when she was supposed to be playing. But her show was "indefinitely postponed," and I waxed wroth. So you can understand why I was so pleased that she was playing Seattle this weekend. Especially because she was playing at the Experience Music Project, which is only a couple of miles away from my house.

The EMP (that's the Experience Music Project, which I just mentioned in the last sentence) is a weird Rock & Roll Museum bankrolled by Microsoft Billionaire Paul Allen. It's this big, weird, bubbly building right by the Space Needle and it's full of guitars and things. It's like a very well funded Hard Rock Cafe. I mean, instead of boots once worn by the bassist for the Skorpions, they've got bits of the guitar Jimi Hendrix set on fire in Monterey and the handwritten set list from the Beatles' first US show. It's pretty impressive, but it's not really very rock & roll.

Joan Jett was playing in the concert area of EMP, which is called "The Sky Church". It's an interesting venue for a lot of reasons. For one thing, there's no smoking. For another, there's a drinking area, which means that underage people can still go to the show. I don't know how things are in your town, but nice, clean all-ages venues with no smoking and big acts aren't all that common around here. I went to a show at a different place (it was Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven, for those of you with long memories for college music) and I was literally crushed against the back wall. The Sky Church was much nicer; the stage is huge and it looks for all the world like something you'd get in a stadium. There's a huge backdrop and everything. The only difference is that there's only a few hundred people in the audience, not fifty thousand.

I was right up front. Not up against the stage, but about, I'd say, six feet back. Maybe four. There were only two people in front of me, anyway. And I was directly in front of the main microphone, which means that when Joan (or the frontpeople for either of the two opening bands) looked straight forward, they were likely to make eye contact with me. Whee! Immediately to my left was a couple with a small child (seriously, all ages!) and to my left was the big squad of young ladies with mohawks. Up in front of me was a security guard who kept the people around him entertained before the show with his description of some of the situations he's had to deal with. Also by his characterization of one of his toughest coworkers as a "big ol' Samoan boy". Anyway, after awhile, he put in earplugs and switched from "chatty security guard" to "impassive security guard" so it was clear that the show was about to start.

The first opening act was Hellfire Choir, from San Francisco. I thought they rocked. For one thing, they had a lot of crazy choreographed rock moves, like when the two guitarists and the bassist would all lick their instruments. That was hilarious. Also, one of the guitarists took off her shirt after she had a couple tequilas.

Between the two opening acts, two things happened. First, I saw that one of the young ladies with mohawks had a shirt that said "Scared is sexy. Terrified . . . is VERY SEXY." I enjoyed that shirt. Second, a woman came shoving her way through the crowd. Now, this wasn't like the security people who occasionally had to move around through the crowd. They were polite. This woman was actually shoving me aside because she wanted to stand where I was. And even aside from the fact that I'd earned my spot (by getting there as the doors opened and holding my ground for two hours), she was shoving me in the direction of the small child I mentioned earlier. See, she was sitting on the floor directly to my left. And on the other side of her was a metal fence dividing us from the drinkin' folk. So if I'd moved the direction I was being shoved, I would have stepped on a helpless little girl. And I think that's wrong. So I explained to Rude Lady that she should quit shoving, and she said "You're at a concert!" I told her I understood that, but that was no excuse for her trying to maim a child in the name of getting a better view. I admit I may have been overstating the case a little. We went back and forth a few times, with me explaining that I hadn't needed to shove anyone around to get my spot, and her repeating that I was at a concert. Then the collected glares of the general area of the audience got her to back off and it was time for The Divorce.

I didn't like The Divorce as much as Hellfire Choir. Their stage antics were underwhelming, although I don't base all my decisions on whether a band can do synchronized pelvic thrusts. They looked a bit like gawky geeks. Plus, they didn't have songs with titles like "Slave", which was a disappointment. They didn't talk much (unlike Hellfire Choir, which made sure we all knew everyone's name and personality) and seemed apologetic for not being Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. And I guess I can understand that.

I did enjoy when one of the guitarists was tuning and said "Ahh, close enough." Right on. The bass player, however, appeared to be concentrating way too hard on what he was doing. Eventually, they left and it was time for everyone to wait around for Joan.

After a long pause, everyone in the audience got excited because the backstage area is clearly visible and everyone saw Joan show up and go over the set list with the rest of the band. Some people started that rhythmic clapping designed to demand rocking, but it petered out. It seemed to take a long time before "Won't Get Fooled Again" started. And when that song was over, Joan Jett's show began.

Here's the set list:

Victim of Circumstance
Cherry Bomb
Light of Day
Do Ya Wanna Touch Me
Bad Reputation
Androgynous
Long Time
Right in the Middle
Love is Pain
I'm Rubber, You're Glur
Love Is All Around
A Hundred Feet Away
Turn It Around
Roadrunner
Fetish
I Love Rock N Roll
Crimson and Clover
I Hate Myself For Loving You

(Encore)

Science Fiction Double Feature
Naked
Real Wild Child
Everyday People

I don't have many notes from this part of the show, because I was busy having my ass rocked off. During Light of Day, Joan's amp broke and the next several songs were taken up by people trying to figure out the problem. I don't know why they couldn't just get another one; the EMP is full of historic amps. How about the amp used to record "Purple Haze"? That's not good enough?

Before "Long Time", Joan talked about how glad she was that they finally found and convicted the guy that raped and killed Mia Zapata, and dedicated "Long Time" to Zapata. It was during that song that the kid to my left fell asleep on the floor and her parents gave up, picked her up, and left.

For the new songs, a roadie brought out a music stand, which presumably had lyrics and chords. I didn't feel up to grabbing the sheets of paper to find out. I also didn't score one of the official setlists because I wasn't quite close enough to the stage. By the time I got up there after the show, the easy-to-get one had been nabbed. There was one I think I could have reached, but the people in my way (I'm not naming names, but some of them had mohawks and cool T-shirts) didn't seem to think I was worth moving for. And while I was asking, they list got cleaned up and handed to some other guy.

The show was awesome. Joan was great, of course, and seemed to be enjoying herself a lot. Her lead guitarist these days is Dougie Needles, who had a big spiky mohawk and hand a cool punk rock sneer the whole time. For solos, be liked to walk out to the edge of the stage and act like a guitar god. He also threw in some windmills. I don't recall him lifting high the goblet of rock, but I wouldn't be shocked. The bassist, Sami Yaffa, did a good job, too. I didn't watch him too much (because, c'mon, Joan Jett was four feet from me) but he did a good job entertaining the drinking people on stage right. Also on stage was Kenny Laguna, who cowrote most of Joan's songs. The ones that aren't covers, I mean. And really, a surprising number of them aren't originals. Thommy Price on drums was also good, although, again, I wasn't really paying much attention to him. At least he wasn't shirtless like in the live DVD.

I could go on and on about how much I enjoyed the show and all the things I likes about it. I know, you think I've already gone on for a long time, but I haven't even mentioned which guitar Joan was playing or how she complained that the lights weren't hot enough because she likes to work up a good sweat when she wears a latex tank top. I should mention that she's got dark hair right now, although it's still really short.

So, yeah. Great show. It was awesome.