The Airwaves had an eye opening experience on Halloween this year. We had two bites for a Halloween show. One was at a bar on the upper west side where we have played before and had a blast. The other was for a private party at a prestigious hall in NYC booked by an entertainment company who we have been working with who shall remain nameless (it's a lame-o name anyway). We chose to do the private party with dollar signs in our eyes. This experience just proves that money isn't always the best choice!
There was more prep work involved than usual for this party. We needed to get Thriller down which isn't an easy song to duplicate and the company also asked if we could hire a sax player/extra back up singer. This was not contingent on our hire clause but it increase the change in our purse. And we always try to accommodate any special requests. Thanks to our fearless leader Doc Brown, he found two great people. As well, we needed decent costumes to perform in. It had to be eighties and if you have seen us before (you better have or I will hunt you down), you know we dress the part no matter what day of the year. So most of felt that we should be something more iconic for the eighties and do more than wearing jelly bracelets. At least for me, it was a bit of an added stress and also disappointment that I had to stay within the 80's genre. Halloween is my favorite holiday (I am part batcaver deep down).
We found out the week of the party that we needed to be at the set up/sound check at 7pm. When we arrived and entered the hall it was pretty cool. It is a beautiful venue. I could tell immediately that the hosts spared no change for this party. The stage was built and the sound fellows were busy doing their thing. We started setting up and then noticed a group of girls on the dance floor. All of a sudden a Beyonce song came on and they started doing a routine. I was perplexed because I wasn't sure how they were going from a Beyonce song with dancers to an 80's band. I am all for being eclectic but this just seemed like a stretch. They also had these cage type platforms set up on each corner of the dance floor. I can't see one grinding to "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". Sound check was longer than anticipated due to the astonishing reverb in the hall. Duckie and I had to race out of there, go back to my apartment in Bay Ridge to change in our costumes. We got back just in time!
When we ran in Darling Nikki was in distress and rightfully so because the woman we dealt with (from the lame entertainment company) was a complete negative Nelly. In fact, that is her name from here on out. She was upset that Duckie and I were "late" even though we were not. I admit we did cut it close but it would have worked out. They had a DJ playing for goodness sake. So, negative Nelly told us that it HAD to be seamless. The minute the DJ stopped we needed to start right in. I am thinking no problem but there is going to be time in between songs where Duckie will talk shit and other members in the band had to adjust settings for the next song. I am not sure what they were expecting.
So we all stepped on stage and this was the first look I got at the party attendees. I felt like a fish out of water. Apparently there was a Grecian/Gladiator/Toga theme to this party. That would explain the laser horses running on the walls I saw during sound check. Everyone from the men, women and even the dancers were all in this type of garb and the costumes were elaborate. The dancers had this crazy make up on with like leaves drawn on their faces, etc. It was like a sea of Athenas and trojan soldiers. And here we are:
Doc Brown: Glam rocker headbanger dude
Darling Nikki: David Bowie in the movie Labyrinth
Animal: Dracula
Diamond Dave: Indiana Jones
Duckie: Magnum PI
Blue Jean: Rainbow freakin' Brite (I could probably direct planes with this outfit on)
Need I say more?
Our first song was "Don't You Forget About Me" and we were bringing it as usual. We had I think one dancer on the floor I think. We got through five songs (interrupted in the second song to move things along/be upbeat) and then the DJ cut us off. It would have been nice to have been warned. Instead we all looked like deer in headlights. So the DJ is playing this horrible house music where one song bleeds into the other. We step off stage and wait to see what the hell is going on.
Negative Nelly comes up to us and is telling us we need more upbeat songs. She states that we are going to alternate between us and the DJ. Again, it just doesn't fit. To go from house music to the 80's just to me is too much of a stretch. So we are waiting and waiting. I have to give props to Darling Nikki for standing up to negative Nelly. I myself am good at giving the snake eyes so she knew not to come near me. Doc Brown and Darling Nikki were doing a fine job of getting our point across on a professional level. After all the chaos we went through AND it is Halloween night, I was pretty pissed. Eventually, it came to be that we could leave. She stated we would still get paid but there was no reason for us to stay. The people were happy with the DJ. While we were waiting, the DJ played Jessie's Girl. Now it started out in normal fashion and of course we flipped as this was one of our songs. But then the DJ through a nice techno beat behind it. I needed to go get tissues because my ears were bleeding. So sad.
I was disappointed and it was slightly humiliating. Plus I was exhausted. I had worked all day and had not stopped since 5:30am that morning. It was now 12am. But we all decided to get the flock out of there and head to a party in Brooklyn. I got a second wind and thanks to Duckie and Animal, I had one of the best nights I have had in a long time. Those two are some Kool kats.
As a side note, if I had all the money in the world, I would never want to be a part of the scene I witnessed at this party. Through my eyes I saw these beautiful empty shells of people walking around in their fancy costumes. The women all seemed grouchy (probably because their last meal was weeks ago). For me Halloween is about silliness, smiles, and laughter. When I used the bathroom at the party, I could feel the weight of these women. The air was thick and not one person looked like they were having a good time. In fact, no one was even speaking to each other. Even our host looked annoyed at the world.
My lesson learned is that sometimes you need to weigh the importance of money and why you are doing something. It is a constant struggle. We perform because we love to and we enjoy making people feel good and let loose. Lord knows we need to these days. There really isn't a price tag on that. In this case we chose the possible glam of it all but it just wasn't that at all. And it just goes to prove that we are down to earth, in the mix, kick ass 80's band that wants to spread good energy and rock your world.
80's word of the day: "Baggin"-Bag, to talk down to a person: "Don't be baggin' on The Airwaves negative Nelly!"
With love and leg warmers~Blue Jean
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