HELLO. it's certainly been a while. also no one reads this so i'm sure no one missed me. but i missed writing in here. so i wanted to catch up on all the amazing shows i've been to and all the amazing music i've been listening to.
i'm going to start off with hugh cornwell (aka ex-lead singer of the stranglers).
i have always loved the stranglers, since i first listened to my punk compilation i bought in london when i was a little teenager. it had "(get a) grip (on yourself)" and "peaches" on it. i bought more of their stuff over the years but never really...understood them? maybe? they're more sophisticated than most punk bands, and their later stuff is much different than the first few albums. also i was painfully unaware of his solo catalogue. it's intense, people.
so, er...i can't believe how long it's actually been. september 2010, he did a show in philly. so that summer, i was sort of getting into the stranglers again and finally, i would like to think, understanding them. and i was online, checking out venues around philly to see if anything cool was coming up. i think i was even listening to black & white at the time, as that was basically all i was listening to those days. and there it was, at world cafe, hugh cornwell. i kind of leaped off the bed in excitement, and then went back and re-read it to make sure i wasn't hallucinating.
i went to the show, and not only did i get to see hugh cornwell play 2 sets - the first was stranglers hits and some of his solo work, and the second was the first stranglers album, rattus norvegicus, from start to finish - he had CLEM BURKE drumming for him. do you know who this is? do you know what that means to this nerdy drummer girl? the drummer from blondie. holy shit people. the man is a genius.
right, so yeah, the entire first album. huh. i nearly shat myself. it was seriously cool. the combination of stranglers songs that i was in love with for so many years, with hugh cornwell singing them right in front of me, with one of the most amazing drummers of all time, was enough to make my head spin.
as if that wasn't cool enough, hugh then sat at a table after the show to sign things and sell cds and chat with fans. i went over and my superpowers of being AMAZINGLY AWKWARD AND SHY came out. but when hugh saw me, he said, "oh hello, would you like to come sit on my lap?" all the fanboys glared at me, but i did it anyway. HOW DARE I INTERRUPT THEM TELLING HIM HOW MANY TIMES THEY SAW HIS BAND IN THE 80s??? the angry glares were worth it.
i ended up in some pictures, as people were asking to get their pictures taken with him, and he said "only if she's in them too." so, hi, people who took their picture with hugh and have to look at my dumb face also. sorry about that. but you don't just give up opportunities like that. you would have done the same thing if you were me, and you know it.
we talked for a bit, about normal things. like jazz, which is what he likes to listen to, especially when doing chores around the house. like ironing. i'm not sure if that's adorable or sad. imagining this punk rock icon humming along to jimmy smith and ironing his socks. i still don't know. and i said something about being in a band but of course i didn't bring a cd to give to him, so he gave me his email address (!!!!!) and said to email him some songs.
i have waaaaaay more to add to the whole story but i will leave you with this little anecdote from this night.
clem burke walked by at one point while i was sitting on hugh's lap still, and hugh says, "hey clem, this is chloe. she's a drummer, too."
clem: looks me up and down. "oh yeah? let me see your drumming calluses."
me: has a mild heart attack. holds hands out to clem.
clem: takes my hands, looks them over. "huh. nice." and walks away.
end scene of one of the top ten greatest moments of my life.
