Music: The GO-GO's At The Chumash Casino

I am dating myself terribly here but last night we went to the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez and went to a GO-GO's concert and we had a great time. A few weeks back we saw a commercial advertising the concert and we didn't even hesitate to buy the tickets. Our only doubt was that it was a school night and we really don't like to be out late when we have to work the next day. That rule went right out the window because it was the GO-GO's!

We left home after work and drove up to the casino. We left a little early thinking that traffic in Santa Barbara would be horrendous but it turned out to be a breeze. We went into the casino and it was like we were back in Vegas again - hadn't we just been here?!?! We located the venue before heading for the Creekside Buffet for some dinner. The buffet was a little disappointing in that the choice of food was limited but they made up for that with a ginormous dessert bar. There were more dessert choices then regular food choices. I ended up with a Trio of Mousse and some moist Chocolate Cake - a chocoholic's paradise.

After dinner we plopped our behinds in front of some penny slots and blew four bucks which is a very cheap way to pass an hour. The doors opened at 7:30 and we went into the converted Bingo Hall. The seats turned out to be surprisingly comfortable for temporary seating and the venue was small enough that everyone got a good view of the stage. There were two large projection screens bracketing the stage which helped when people started to stand up and dance. While we waited for the show to start we visited the small and, unfortunately, understocked T-Shirt concession. The wife bought a shirt for an old friend and I bought a shirt for myself. They did not have the wife's size - something to be added to her Christmas list.

The room started to fill up. The people coming in the door looked old - some with canes and walkers - several with haircuts right out of the 80's. What a bunch of old farts having an 80's flashback. Then it dawned on me that I was an old fart having an 80's flashback. We looked around and wondered if we looked that old - Definitely not! HA! I didn't let it get to me because we were going to see the GO-GOs!
The lights dimmed and the band came on stage and started off with "Vacation" and it went up to amazing from there. The wife and I had fun. I was surprised how many songs I recognized. I own only one of their albums (Their first: Beauty And The Beat), it's on cassette and I haven't listened to it for years (possibly Decades). I have mentioned that one spring, while I was in college, I took a bike ride and had the Go-Go's tape with me. It was a perfect spring day. It was the last Saturday of Dead Week (The week before Final Exams) and I was totally burnt out from studying. I got on a bike I had borrowed from my cousin with my Walkman knockoff and two tapes - GO-GO's and Seals & Croft. I think they may have been the only cassettes I had at the time. I rode around Ames, Iowa going places I had never been before and relishing in the totally awesome spring weather. It has been a long time since I felt that good. I was so content. As I listened to the GO-GO's my head went straight back to that day and how I felt. Weird how our memories work.

The band played all their hits and a few more. The wife was completely psyched that they played "Cool Places" a Sparks In Outer Space song (Jane Wiedlin was in Sparks post-Go-Go's). It's one of her favorite dance tunes ... ever! They also played a song from Belinda Carlisle's solo album. Everyone in the room was having a great time. At one point the aisles were full of people dancing. A security guard was pushing people back and sending them back to their seats. During a break in the singing the drummer, Gina Schock, went to a microphone and asked the security guards to chill and let the people dance - she looked and sounded like a soccer mom. The wife made an observation: a lot of the dancing people looked like they were doing aerobics - as if their first experience with the GO-GO's music was at the gym. It was true and a little creepy.

Jane Wiedlin is the wife's favorite GO-GO's member. I have to agree - she has a lot of stage energy, she was funny, and, most importantly, she's a Sci-Fi Geek. She had a cameo appearance in Star Trek IV: the Voyage Home and she was wearing a Darth Vader t-shirt on stage. We couldn't quite read the text on the shirt but we think it said something like "Whose you Daddy?" What's not to love?!?

The concert was about 90 minutes of 80's time warp. What a great time. Our next concert is going to be a little more contemporary and I'm sure the crowd will be a lot younger then us - Rilo Kiley.