“You Really Got Me…”

M U S I C   M O N D A Y

I thought for this music monday I would share a true story from my wild youth. I may have alluded to this experience in a previous post but I’d like, this time, to fill in a few more of the details. For those of you who watched Mad Men last night you’ll remember that the episode closed with a popular song from The Kinks, “You Really Got Me.” This is what triggered my idea for today’s post.

It was the summer of 1979. I was 17 years old. My boyfriend, Doug Schmidt, was a huge fan of The Kinks and had indoctrinated me from the start of our relationship with every song, album, and moment of Kinks history, etc. as boyfriends often do. It didn’t surprise me when he showed up at my house one afternoon with two concert tickets to see the “Low Budget” Tour (that was the actual name of the album). The Kinks would be playing in a small venue in Poughkeepsie, New York — only about an hour away.

Here’s some important information you should know about my concert going practices. Having grown up in New York I attended MANY concerts as a teenager. I thought I was  a pro. Even though I was a teenager, I had it in my head that wearing something other than jeans and a tee shirt, say, a skirt or dress and heels, would create the illusion that I was more sophisticated, and not your average screaming, jumping concert goer. My master plan for any concert event, always included multiple attempts to get close to the stage. To enjoy the concert from the front row and possibly make eye contact with a band member, well, that would be the big prize. My son assures me that most kids feel this way. I’m pretty sure I liked the challenge. Also, keep in mind that with heels on I’m over 6′. Some girls hate being tall; I always viewed it as advantageous, especially in these situations.

Fast forward to the concert hall. It was a very small venue. It almost felt like a high school auditorium. Much to my delight our seats were fairly close to the stage — I’m guessing in the vicinity of row 10? Not bad but still, the question remained, could we somehow maneuver our way to the front? In these situations, timing is everything. We waited for the lights to dim and the show to start before we made our move. Eventually we reached the edge of the stage, sure, maybe I stepped on some people’s toes or intimidated them with my determination and height but no matter, we got there!

THEN IT HAPPENED…

As I was studying Dave Davies, brother of lead singer, Ray Davies, play the guitar he looked up and made eye contact with me! Oh Wow! I was completely entranced. He actually looked at me! I’m not sure which song they were playing when the eye contact  happened, but it didn’t matter because the next sequence of events would prove to be the pinnacle of my concert going career. The band started playing, “You Really Got Me” — one of my favorite Kinks songs.  The audience was going crazy. The next thing I knew, Dave Davies crossed the stage bent down in front of me and KISSED ME!!! He got up and returned back to where he had been standing only to walk back, bend down and kiss me a second time!!!!!! It was pure fantasy. As Doug Schmidt as my witness, these events did occur. Now when I hear, “You Really Got Me”, I’m transported back to that moment in time.

Did I get asked back stage. YES. Did I go? NO! I’m not a groupie! Sheesh!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCbl8cgUkEM&feature=fvst

Category : Music Monday
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