On The Road: Human League (Part II)

this is a continuation of the previous blog entry (in case you haven't read that one, you should start there first!) ... this is a new feature of my blog, detailing my experiences seeing live concerts of my favorite bands, and music-related pilgrimages. 

So, I'm sitting there at the Rosemont Horizon watching the Human League play, and it's the first time I've seen them play.  Moreover, it's the first time I've seen any of my "favorite" bands play, and the Human League had been a constant staple of my music library for almost a decade at this point.  It was a truly awesome and life-changing moment for me.  Up until that point, I had never really "gotten" the live experience.  I had heard live recordings that only made me want to hear the studio recording.  Previously, I had thought, why go to the trouble to sit in an uncomfortable seat or make your way through a crowd just to hear a band doing a second-rate rendition of a song that sounds better on the record (or tape, or CD... remember this was my thinking BEFORE really seeing any great concerts).

From the moment that the opening synth lines and noises of "Being Boiled" started, to the moment Susan, Joanne, Phil and the rest of the band left the stage, I was absolutely mesmerized.  It was a whole new dimension.  Seeing these people, who I had only seen in photographs and music videos, hearing their real live voices, watching them move and hearing Phil talk, knowing this was a completely in-the-moment, one-of-a-kind experience, was so powerful to me.  Later, I would regard every detail, from the set-list, to the wardrobe and lighting, with reverential consideration.  

It was almost too much for me to handle, but I had to take it all in and move on, because the final band of the evening was Culture Club.  Although the League had become a fixture in my life earlier on, and despite the fact that I much preferred their music, Culture Club had nonetheless been a huge part of my musical formation.  Boy George was an endearing enigma and quite the inspiration to me, as it seemed to be a complete anomaly that a man dressed as a woman, complete with makeup and long, luxurious hair, could not only be taken seriously but could become a bona fide superstar reaching all the way to the middle of Kansas.  I knew that if I were to wear makeup and hair clips to school, I would be punished and belittled by everyone from my friends to the teachers and probably even the principal; however if he could do it, there must be some hope for me.  

Culture Club's music hadn't resonated with me quite as much as Boy George's image did, but I was an avid collector and had a great deal of appreciation for their music.  I hadn't really followed George's solo career, but it was great to see them live onstage, reunited after many years.  I don't remember too much about the show itself, other than being slightly disappointed by his "look" that night.

Towards the end of the show, there was this Philipino guy with a group of friends who had been sitting near me who came down and sat right next to me.  He asked me why I was there alone, and I explained that I had come all the way from Kansas with my brother and his friend but that neither of them were that interested in coming to the show.  We talked a little more and he offered to take me out to see the city after the show.  I didn't know it at the time, but I think he found me a little intimidating as later, when he was driving his friends and I, he proceeded to turn onto a grassy median area and drove on that for a good 100 feet or so before finding a way to merge back onto the street!  His friends got quite a kick out of it and he was pretty flustered.  He dropped off his friends, and then we discussed where we should go.  There was that awkward moment where he was asking me what type of club I wanted to go to, and I didn't know whether he was straight or gay and didn't want to risk offending him.  Luckily he asked "gay or straight club" and I said that "gay would be fine".  Relieved that we had gotten that sorted out, he said he first wanted to take me to this tropical-themed bar that was "mixed".  

It was one of those tackily-decorated places where they serve you those big fruity drinks in ceramic volcano things which are flaming in the center.  It was pretty fun in all honesty, and I couldn't help but think of another favorite band, The B-52's, who legendarily formed after partaking in a similar drink.  As we talked, I learned that he was married and that his wife didn't know he was gay, or "bi" as he insisted.  

After that, we went to the gay area of Chicago, and I saw my first male go-go dancer!  I was shocked after putting money in his tight, red undies that his girlfriend (or wife, I can't remember) had come to see him while he was on a break!  This city seemed so progressive to me!

Later, we went to Berlin, which apparently is still one of the hot spots of gay life in Chicago.

We did end up going some other places that I won't mention here, and staying out all night, as I really wanted to make the most out of my time in the city as we were leaving right after check-out time.  Brandon was worried about me when I finally got back to the hotel after the sun had come up, thinking I might have gotten killed or something out in the big city.

The rest of the trip was fairly non-eventful.  We had a good laugh upon entering Des Moines that I had a knack when I was driving to find the "hood" even in a city like Des Moines.  We also noticed that the streets were eerily empty - there was literally nothing going on in this town.  So much like Vandalia, we decided to mainly stay in the hotel and get a good night's sleep.

When we finally returned to good ol' Hays, Kansas, I truly did feel like the world had somehow become a bigger place in some ways, and a little smaller in others.  I still couldn't believe that I had seen Phil Oakey and Boy George in the flesh!  It would be quite awhile before I would witness anything near that amazing, but at least now I knew what was out there.