cities in dust

The last concert I saw before I moved from Salt Lake City was Siouxsie and the Banshees at the Fairgrounds.


It was a perfect July night, not too hot, not too many bugs. It was the last time I probably was going to hang out with this group of friends, and it was a bit gut wrenching. Friends are so important when you are 16, and I was being taken away from them. At least, that's how I saw it as a 16 year old.
This was the era of the real life SLC Punk.

It was the mid 1980's. There was a pretty cool underground music scene, and there were those who were part of it. Those were my friends, and I knew I would never find that perfect combination of coolness again. They were all good people. Sure, they looked a little different, but it was no different from being a flower child or a bobby soxer or a gangsta wannabe nowadays.

Most of them came from good homes, and their parents understood that this was a passing phase, and that one day they would be normal, productive members of society. News flash: we all did. We are all married, with kids, and working regular jobs and morphing into our parents. Well, maybe not that much morphing, but we did turn out ok.
But that was a bit of a digression.
Siouxsie was the last show I saw in Salt Lake before I moved to NJ. I had gone skiing earlier that day-there was still that much snow pack.

I remember getting ready for the show-spiking up my hair, wearing the right shade of black, and being prepared to rock out.

Siouxsie did not disappoint, and it was an amazing show. I wanted to soak in every moment of it, because I could sense that it was the end of an era for me.

Tenderness

I love ska music. From wikipedia:
Ska ( /ˈskɑː/, Jamaican [skja]) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae.[1] Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. It is characterized by a walking bass line accented with rhythms on the upbeat. In the early 1960s, ska was the dominant music genre of Jamaica and was popular with British mods. Later it became popular with many skinheads.[2][3][4][5]






Music historians typically divide the history of ska into three periods: the original Jamaican scene of the 1960s (First Wave), the English 2 Tone ska revival of the late 1970s (Second Wave) and the third wave ska movement, which started in the 1980s (Third Wave) and rose to popularity in the US in the 1990s.[6]

I have a confession to make: I was a better Rude Girl than punk.

For one thing, I have had a thing for the bombshell look (still do!)

 and especially the clothes of the late 50's and early 60's. I just have an affinity for that era-the clothes, the music, the movies. I am an unabashed Audrey Hepburn fan,

and she is the personification of that era. Or Jackie Kennedy.

Mad Men.

I was telling a former co worker about this years back, and she said I was probably reincarnated from someone from that era.
Whatever.
Rude Girls are ska chicks.

There is a definate look to it, and its actually a lot less oppressive than the punk look.
One of the biggest ska bands in the 80's were the English Beat,

who of course, broke up at the height of their popularity. Two of the "stars" in the band went on to form General Public.

At the same time, there was a rise of androgynous British musicians-like Boy George, Annie Lennox, Marilyn, Limahl, etc. Capitalizing on that were Gene Loves Jezebal,

who looked like those synth popstars, but were closer musically to the Cult.
So, Gene Loves Jezebel tours with General Public.

 I dressed in my grandmother's leopard print shawl, a 50's style dress I had thrifted, and really killer pumps.

http://www.shabbyapple.com/

 I went with my best friend Jeninne, who is still my best friend 30 years later. She also was a Motley Crue fan. She did, however, liked ska after the concert.

General Public really only had a handful of songs, and because of some sort of dispute, couldn't do any of the English Beat's songs. They did, however, do some of the most famous first wave ska songs, and there was much dancing and tenderness.

Insight

Back in the day, there was a huge punk rock scene in Salt Lake City. Part of it was fueled by Raunch Records.

It was this just amazing record store, in one of the worst neighborhoods of Salt Lake. If it was available, you could get it there. If it was a bootleg, they could hunt it down for you. It was like a little safe haven. Then there was the Painted Word cafe, which was a gasp! a coffehouse in Salt Lake City (this was akin to a declaration of war). I saw Rollins do spoken word there in 1986, when Black Flag

had come through town (see Get In the Van by Rollins for his version of events).
My first hardcore show ever was the Dead Kennedys.

It was October, 1985. I remember going with my friend Suzy from Sandy, who was more of a Motley Crue fan than hardcore punk. (the show reinforced that muscial choice). I spent so much time prepping and primping for it, and I looked the part of the punk rock girl.

Honestly, all the songs sounded the same. It was in the horticultural building at the Utah State Fairgrounds, which was not the best place to go see a concert.

Acoustically, it was horrible. There was so much feedback and buzzing. About half way through, Jello Biafra stormed off.

The house lights came up.
We were ushered out.
Suzy's mom was going to pick us up at 10 PM, when the concert was going to end. It ended much sooner-closer to 9. This was in the days before cell phones and instant communication. We waited for an hour for her. Some of my friends who were already driving opted to wait with us, so we wouldn't be alone. That was pretty darn cool.

Rocking in the Free World

It wasn't just alternative and punk bands that came to Salt Lake in the 80's. There were other top bands that swung through.

The first concert I picked to go to was Journey.

It was 1983, and Escape had just come out. I was in 7th grade girl heaven. I thought I was so cool.

Next up was Loverboy

and Joan Jett. I have to admit, I liked Joan Jett

better than Loverboy who was the headliner. I saw her a few years ago at Rib Fest and man, she still rocks!

Then there was ZZ Top.

Man, for a bunch of old bearded guys, they put on a great show!

I also saw Judas Priest,

 who were the heaviest band I had seen up until that point. They put on a really awesome show.

The Killing Moon

One of the concerts that was truly memorable were Echo & the Bunnymen. At the time, I was going through what could be considered by today's standards, an early goth/emo period. I was into deep, dark, depressing music. I spent a lot of time in Memory Grove,



wandering, and writing really bad poetry. I wore a lot of black, and was pale, pasty white. I even had dyed my hair a two tone of blonde & black, which apparently completely set my parents off and I learned all about quality hair stripper that evening.
It was about this time that I saw Echo & the Bunnymen in concert. Once again, I remember the circumstances around the concert, but not the actual concert itself. Weird, but true.

I also discovered blood red lipstick about this time, so it was quite jarring-pale skin, black clothes  that hid the jiggle and bright lips. I really worked the goth chick look

and I was totally into the whole mopey poetry thing. My other favorite band at the time was Bauhaus so that says a lot.
Billy Bragg was the opening act,

 and all I remember 25+ years later is he sang off key.
The only Echo song I still listen to is The Killing Moon, which burns up my ipod as much as it burned up mix tapes back in the 80's. There's something about that song that I still enjoy after all these years

Lost Outside the Tunnel

I saw Aztec Camera in 1985 at the State Fairgrounds Horticulture Building. I honestly could not tell you one song they did, and in fact I had to google them to find a song title. Its pretty sad that a show I went to, paid good money for even, I could not tell you one song they played.

What I could tell you is the people I hung out with, and what we talked about during the lull in the music.

We talked about fashion.

We talked about how much the tickets were to the show.
We talked about who was dating who.

We talked about being seen at the mall.

We talked about everything other than the concert it seems.

What You Need

One of my favorite bands of my teenage years was INXS.
 I remember winning their first album being the 10th caller or something on KCGL, and taking a bus ride to Bountiful with my friend Suzy from Sandy to pick it up. It really endeared me to that band, and its a love affair that continues until today.
I saw them at the Salt Palace,

which is now the Delta Center. OMD was the opening act, and they were caught lip syncing.

 Apparently their backing track skipped or something, and they kept right on going. I still liked them, and that has continuted until today.
But back to the main attraction, INXS. Michael Hutchence, the lead singer,

 excuded this incredible sensuality and magnetism and it really made the concert. I was pretty high up in the rafters, but I just remember how his presence overtook the arena. Of course, they played all their greatest hits up until that point in 1986, and then some. I remember it being about 2 hours of Australian swagger.
The sad thing is that Michael Hutchence tragically committed suicide about 11 years later. That evening there was so much life in him as he (and the rest of the band) lit up the arena & gave us concert goers what we needed.

Rock You Like A Hurricane

I grew up in Utah in the 1980's. It wasn't as bad as some people might think. While there may have been some things that were not available or a little different from the coasts, it did have a lot going for it.
One of the greatest things happened to have been the number of groups that came through on tour. The Salt Palace

 was a great venue to see concerts. It was in the heart of downtown, and it was off the Temple Square bus route. That meant we could take the bus there and then our parents could come pick us up after the concert.

Yeah, it was great back in the day.
The Scorpions it seemed, came through every year.

 Every year we would go, and every year it was an awesome show.

I saw Def Leppard too, on the Pyromania tour,

right before their drummer lost his arm (apparently it didn't slow him down much, as they are still touring all these decades later). One of the most consistently rocking concert I've been to.

However, out of all the 80's hair metal acts that came through Salt Lake while I lived there, the most anticipated was Motley Crue.

People were protesting against them and everything. It was crazy! My two best friends at that time (and one is still my best friend 30 years on) were Motley Crue.
I was not, however, a Crue fan.
Until I saw them live.

That changed my perspective.
Man, what a show.