Bradley's Buzz

Priceless

Price for drinks at the House Of Blues: $85
Talking with Shirley Manson and rubbing elbows with Johnny Rotten: Priceless

So yesterday at around 4 pm, my pal Luther rang me up to tell me that his ex boyfriend had two tickets to the Pretenders show at the House Of Blues, he wasn't able to go and was willing to sell them for $40. Since it was at the House Of Blues on Sunset Boulevard, just up the street from my house and since it was my beloved pissy Chrissy, I thought, "what the hell, why not go".

So Luther and I decided we would go see the Pretenders at the overpriced House Of Blues as we figured it was a once in a lifetime type of experience - particularly since Chrissie has reunited with Martin Chambers, the original drummer. Before Luther ever even made it to my house, he rang me up again to tell me that Steve Jones (of the Sex Pistols) was talking to Chrissie on his radio show - he hosts an interesting and excellant radio show on 103.1 called "Jonesy's Jukebox" in LA - Anyhoos, he was talking with the ever entertaining Ms. Hynde and asked her if she recalled the time they had sex in a bathroom at a party. As it turns out, Chrissie didn't remember the sex but ended up remembering the party since she had eaten some meat and that's something she will never forget. She chalked up the experience of going off her extreme vegetarian diet as a crutch from having sex with Steve Jones.

Anyhoos, Luther picked me up and my beloved Leivas drove us up the big giant hill to the House Of Blues. We waited in line and chatted amongst ourselves about the glorious Blondie induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame and such. If anyone didn't watch, I highly suggest you do - Shirley Manson of Garbage inducted the band, and she gushed and gushed about my favorite band; making me realize Shirley and I have so much in common when it comes to music - which is where this story is heading...

So we were finally able to get into the venue and I immediately bolted to the bar with Luther just behind me. We ordered our drinks and I shelled out the million dollars they wanted for two rail rum and cokes. Then we walked around where I pissingly looked at all the reserved seating with name labels on the back of chairs, wondering who the hell the people were who would be occupying said chairs.

The opening band played and let me tell you, I am now a huge fan. The band called 4 Thieves was awesome! Four semi hot British dudes with a flair for rock and roll in all of its incarnations. I highly recommend checking out their EPs - the band was formally known as Nic Armstrong, then Nic Armstrong & The Thieves, but I guess Nic has checked his ego at the door and renamed the band 4 Thieves. But let me just say, they were brilliant - all of the members except the drummer sang songs and they were one of the most talented groups of guys I have seen. I love them and I'm so pleased as I have begun to think there isn't any interesting bands making music anymore... but that's for another blog. But to let you know how much I really liked these guys, I bought the three EPs they had on sale at the show, and it wasn't even because I was drinking.



Then I decided it was time to smoke. After asking ten different employees how and where one could get out to smoke, we ended up at the smoking section. The smoking section is outside of course and just to the right of the "Industry Booth" where celebrities, their friends and their agents check in for their tickets. As we were smoking and chatting, Luther informed me that the chick wearing striped nylons, short skirt and a baseball hat was Shirley Manson of Garbage. I am not good at all when it comes to spotting celebrities, even celebrities I am huge fans of. I mean Debbie Harry, sure, I'd like to think if I saw her on the street, I'd recognize her, but with my bad track record of spotting, I'm not sure.

So with Shirley, it was the same thing. I thought she looked like Shirley well enough but wasn't entirely convinced. I had to hear her voice. Having just watched the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame on VH1, I heard Shirley and her very thick Scottish accent, so I knew that was something this wanna be Manson couldn't fake. I told Luther to run over to her and the guy she was with to see if he could hear her speak. I even suggested throwing my light down by her feet so he had an excuse to go over there. For some reason, he just didn't feel like doing that. Imagine!

As Luther was convinced this was indeed Shirley, we decided to follow her to the door of House Of Blues. When you are outside in their oh so trashy "smoking section" you get to go through the door that is the same door for people with the "industry tickets," so as this would be Shirley and her hottie male companion waited to show their tickets we walked past them.

Luckily for me, Luther is not shy about such things and just as we were passing the couple he yelled out, "Miss Manson?" And what the hell do you know, she turned around and smiled. It was frickin' Shirley Manson after all! We told her how we enjoyed her induction of Blondie and what a fantastic job she had done, she thanked us and introduced her boyfriend Billy to us who immediately shook our hands. Luther told Shirley he didn't want to impose but had to say hello to which the very down to Earth and very Scottish Ms. Manson responded, "Oh please," with a wave of her hand. Luther and I introduced ourselves to her by name and the whole thing went smashingly well. She asked us if we were there for the Pretenders show and I told her how incredible the opening band had been. We were like old pals really.

I have to say that she is one of the most down to earth celebrities I've met. I had the dinstint feeling had things been just slightly different, like had we been in line behind her, we would've been invited to join her and her boyfriend for the evening. She was that cool, it was like running into someone you worked with; very upbeat, very friendly and so cool.

So that was our celebrity run in #1, then the Pretenders show began and I have to say Chrissie isn't as pissy as I thought she was. She was downright hilarious at times during the show. Of course the band was tight, but I have to say there were a few mix ups with song order and a drum roll out of place here and there, but for some reason it played off excellant. For such a seasoned group, they seemed to genuinely enjoy being up there and they were having fun! It was very loose, but very tight; which is I guess very hard to explain.

Chrissie, did of course ask the audience if they had heard the Steve Jones show in which she said, "I'm not going to talk too much about it; you know and I know; I just gave too much information" before breaking into "Talk Of The Town." It was a glorious concert as she provided song after song of my favs.

As the concert I ended I realized with some excitement that Martin Chambers is a big old Daddy Queen. I had no idea; they never told me that on VH1 Behind The Music. It really explains his sassiness with Chrissie (fun bitchy sisterly like sassiness). Dressed in pirate bands and the new skull Pretenders skull logo, he is this big beefy guy with gray hair and a killer drum set. But it's the little twists of the wrist and the kisses that set my gay dar on fire. Needless to say, I was even more excited than I had been before.

So the concert ended and we waited for the encore, an encore that was sure to be fabulous. Chrissie and the boys returned and introduced a special guest, which both Luther and I thought it would be Shirley Manson, but it wasn't - it was Steve Jones! He came out and played with the oh so hottie bass player Chrissie has hired on. (That's him at the very right in the pic below - imagine hot, sweaty and swinging a bass guitar!) The band broke into the Sex Pistol's "Pretty Vacant" while Chrissie looked down to the lyrics written on a piece of paper. For someone who didn't know the song well enough to have the verses memorized, she pulled it off pretty damn well.


For anyone in need of a breif history lesson, you're lucky I'm here, for this is the circle of the Pretenders and Sex Pistols. Chrissie who was born and raised in Akron, Ohio is pretty much really a British girl. She moved to London in the 70s and immediately found herself in the world of what was cool. She got a job working at a boutique called "Sex" owned by Malcom McLaren - producer and promoter.

Some of the people who frequented the shop included Steve Jones, who ended up forming the Sex Pistols and being produced/managed by Malcom. So you see, the history of Chrissie and the Pistols goes way back.

Anyway, they finished up "Pretty Vacant", and broke into another song when we noticed a blonde spiky haired drinker heading into the crowd. I looked at Luther, Luther looked at me and we both looked at Johnny Rotten making his way right in front of us. He walked to the stage and as Chrissie finished her song, she thanked LA and gave him the mic. He sang the correct lyric to "Pretty Vacant" and we all laughed and laughed before he made his way back through the crowd and Chrissie and her boys left the stage again.

It's interesting to note that a band has to be pretty damn good if they do a whole concert without doing one of their biggest hits and you don't even notice. Such was the case when I didn't even realize they hadn't performed "Brass In Pocket."

and it wasn't until the band came out for their second encore and broke into the song that I realized they hadn't played it. So they finally played the song, they were dead on, Chrissie was actually uber sexy, strutting her stuff and acting out the lyrics.

All in all, I have to say it was a damn good experience. Shaking hands and talking with Shirley Manson, discovering a new band, realizing Chrissie Hynde has a sense of humour, watching Steve Jones perform right in front of me and having Johnny Rotten walk in front of me all in one night - I tell you this shit just never happened in Wausau, Wisconsin.

posted by swivek @ 9:09 AM