The Go-Go's

Last night, while Dave finished his final concert of the school year (7th Grade), I seized the opportunity to watch another movie that I knew wouldn't interest him -- Alison Ellwood's documentary about the Go-Go's. I was a huge Go-Go's fan in the early '80s when I was in high school, and it was fascinating to see in the movie how they came together and formulated their sound.

They were a product of the punk music scene in Los Angeles, a bunch of teenage girls who decided to form their own band because, basically, that's what you did if you were a rebellious teenager in that time and place. Some of them didn't even play instruments when they started out, but they taught themselves and were fortunately gifted with a couple of members who turned out to be skilled songwriters. Before long, with a slightly shifting lineup, they became a ground-breaking all-female band, even managed by a woman.

I first heard the Go-Go's in 1981 when their single "Our Lips Are Sealed" hit the charts. I remember being curled up next to the stereo in our living room and listening to it on the American Top 40 with Casey Kasem. I bought their album "Beauty and the Beat" as well as the next album, "Vacation," and I loved both of them and knew (and still know) every track by heart.

I can't believe I haven't already written about my Go-Go's fandom on this blog, but when I do a blog search I don't see a significant mention of them anywhere. How is that possible?!

As you can see, I even saved my ticket stub from the night I went to see them in concert at the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, a little more than a month after I graduated from high school. Can you believe it cost only $12.50? That was a crazy night. It was my first rock concert and it was general-admission, so there was intense pressure to get into the arena early and get close to the stage. I went with my girlfriend and we were close to the glass doors when they opened. There was a huge crowd surge behind us and we were smashed against the doors -- I was able to push back enough to make space for my girlfriend to get inside, and I followed. It was actually quite a dangerous situation and more than a few concert-goers got injured at other rock shows in scenes like that. But we just took it in stride as part of the fun. (Teenagers!)

By this time the Go-Go's were on their tour for the album "Talk Show," which proved to be their last for many years. In fact, as I learned from the movie, Jane Wiedlin had already essentially quit the band, but they were touring to fulfill their contracts. As a fan I saw nothing indicating any discord (or their significant drug use) and in fact I had a blast. I still remember lead singer Belinda Carlisle energetically fronting the band, wearing dangling ball earrings and a gauzy pink top that grew progressively more shredded as the evening went on. I also remember a blonde girl in the crowd wearing an oversized, yellow men's business shirt as, basically, a dress. I thought it was the coolest look. (For her, obviously. It wouldn't have worked on me!) I bought a concert tee shirt that would probably be worth a couple hundred dollars now if I hadn't worn it thin and, ten years later, given it to Goodwill.

The opening band was INXS -- before they hit it big themselves a few years later. Crazy!

Anyway, not long after that show the Go-Go's broke up and they stayed broken up for more than a decade. Carlisle went on to her successful solo career and they dropped off my radar for a while, though I still listened to their old records. Then, in 2001, they reunited for a show in New York's Central Park, and as I was living in Manhattan by then, I went. There's a video of the show online. I can't find myself in that crowd, but I was there, and I remember it was a great evening (with better crowd control!).

So, anyway, I loved watching the movie and re-living my years of Go-Go's enthusiasm.

(Top photo: Apropos of nothing, a rose from our garden on our living room windowsill.)