errant said:

Oops...I mean.... damn right

I feel like Nona Gaye from The Beautiful Experience movie..."am I dead?"

Oh, where to begin...

So Anx & I have been talking for years about seeing Grace and if she were to come anywhere on this continent that we would drop whatever it is we were doing to be there. And that's kinda what happened. There were a million reasons keeping me from going and many things have gone to hell in the past few months - my finances, my health, my relationship with my mom, my house, my dog died and my other dog just got diagnosed with diabetes, I just got out of a scary long-term relationship. But instead of holding me back, these reasons fueled me to go more and more as the time went on. I used to see my out of town friends several times a year, but because my life has been so pressurized and is constantly changing, I've missed out on some good shit with some of my best friends like Anx, Endo, Carrie, Violet, contrapposto, etc. Ivy's the only one I've been able to keep up with like I like to, but half the reason for that is because she's dear enough to take the train into little Port Huron just to spend time with me.

Anyway, enough of that. The point is, that I miss my friends. And just as much as Grace, they were the reason I had to make this trip happen.

So...as soon as those bitches came up on ticketmaster, I quickly snatched 4 tickets and made a plan. The plan kept changing day by day as people dropped in and out of the trip. Also in that time, my car died a pretty horrible death and I decided to buy a new one the day before we left. But I got a fly black BMW out of the deal, so hooray for last minute decisions!

It was Chris' suggestion to stay at the Hotel Chelsea, which ended up being perfect cuz it was literally a straight shot on highway 80 across Ohio, Penn and New Jersey. Once we got through the Lincoln Tunnel, we were literally a couple blocks from our hotel. Easy, easy, easy. And when we checked in, the guy behind the counter said, "Oooh. You have just about the best room in the whole joint." That's always a good sign. They described it as a 2 bedroom apartment with 2 separate bathrooms, privacy doors and screens, a full kitchen and laundry room, a huge ass living room with a balcony, fireplace, fabulous furniture and original artwork. The place is like a fucking museum and is almost sensory overload, there are so many details and beautiful, bohemian things to trip out on. It was a nice change of pace after busting my ass on the road for 2 days.

As exhausted as we were, I couldn't help but check everything out and jump on the beds as soon as we got there. I'm sure Ivy's got a picture somewhere. But sadly, news came from Chris that his airline and flight were totally busting their balls with a level of fuckery I thought was only reserved for my brother's trips from Australia. Seriously, I've been ordered to warn everyone that AirTran is Satan. Anx, if you feel like elaborating, I'll leave that up to you. But I'm guessing you wanna put that detail and the bomb scare behind you.

With nothing left to do but wait and hope for the best, Ivy and I finally made our way to the show. Derek was even sweet enough to call Hammerstein Ballroom to ask them to delay the show because Grace's #1 fan was en route.

We were a little concerned cuz doors were supposed to open at 6:30. Well, we got there at 8:30 and the line was nearly 3 blocks long and getting crazier by the minute. For those of you at 7-7-7, you can only imagine. Luckily, they grabbed all of us who already had tickets and moved us to the front of the line. I was relieved to be inside and also thought that because to many people were still waiting to get in, there was no possible way they would start the show anytime soon.

Hmm....
[Edited 8/3/09 12:54pm]

Boy, was I wrong.

We got inside and the floor was nearly packed. Somehow, I found an empty path on the lefthand side and was able to get us up to the very front. Plus, we had a nice barricade right behind us so we could lean and not worry about fighting the crowd. I normally love a general admission audience, but we were both so delirious that it was nice to get there and relax a bit.

Ivy held our ground while I ran to the bar to get us something 'toxic'. I got up the the bartender who turned out to be awesome and just said, 'look, I really don't want to come back and forth a lot, so can you just mix a couple cape cods and a couple gins&juice as strong as possible and charge me for whatever you have to charge me. and while you're at it, can I have a tray?' So I ended up with a couple giant ass cups of hard liquor with just enough other stuff to make 'em easily drinkable and something other than a sextuple shot.

Just as I was on my way back up to the front, Grace hit the stage. Chris & Darin were still waiting on a cab. I wanted to be excited, but at that moment I was really hating life. It felt so wrong to be there without you Anx - I've always loved Grace, but you and Ian are the ones who really fueled my fam flames. You've helped make her one of my absolute faves with our drunken late night "One Man Show" viewings and vinyl digs. The Compass Point Sessions is in constant rotation and Hurricane is possibly my album of '08. Fortunately, the booze kicked in within the first few songs and I was back to loving everything and having a great time. How can anyone possibly feel bad when lazers are bouncing off Grace's head and shooting you in the face during "Love is the Drug"?

From that point on, it was one jaw-dropping, mind-fucking, awe-inspiring, once-in-a-lifetime performance after another.

Luckily, the rest of our party arrived to catch half the show and it felt like the night was complete. The look on everyone's faces during "Hurricane" was worth everything it took to get there.


[Edited 8/3/09 13:34pm]

Picture time!

Okay, my shots aren't the best. But considering where I was and that I had to use superzoom to get these, I think they're pretty cool. There are other much more professional looking photos out there, but just like with Peaches, these really capture my experience of the show - as in totally fucked up.

She came out looking like the queen mother alien bitch had fucked a zebra and this was their lovechild. I loved watching her headbang that wig!





William's Blood

Sounds like you guys had an awesome night!!

Love is the Drug...



Lazers shooting off of Grace Jones head are instant Prozac.
[Edited 8/3/09 15:28pm]

This was my religious experience of the night - Grace doing "La Vie En Rose" as what Anx referred to as The Heat Miser on Crack while twirling around & exposing her gold glittered ass. Needless to say, I wept openly.

My Jamaican Guy. hot. major moonage on this one too.







Corporate Cannibal. Now I understand why Darin is sometimes scared. I was too.

Grace as an octopus dominatrix devil?

those pics and videos

dancing with herself...

The blur actually works really well here - it's almost a Lynchian interpretation of that moment.

Grace on vanity and the advantages of being 5000 years old...

Libertango. FUCK!!!

Grace downing a glass of red wine in about 10 seconds. Seriously though, this was so fucking beautiful. Her voice is so good in this clip.

looking for clips of the encores...

Anx, PLEEEEEZE tell your cute story about this.

nice

and of course, the setlist...



The interesting thing about this is that it was dated for April and says "Premilinary U.S. Tour". hmm. Did she have something planned for earlier? Or will there be more in the future? Hope so. I would love to see this show again.

Some general observations:

She had the crowd enraptured and lively for the whole show. Not one moment dragged. It was one of the most surreal things I've ever seen. But here's the thing - if it was all wild costumes and crazy antics it would still have been amazing. But there was a depth and a substance to what she was doing. You can tell she comes from a modelling background because this woman is totally comfortable in her own skin. She's maybe the most in control and self-possessed performer I've ever seen, and that's saying a lot.

Her voice was fucking flawless. The next time I hear about how hard it is for all these pop stars to sing & dance at the same time and the reasons for why their show is so amazing in spite of all the DAT tapes and guide vocals and lip synching, I would just like to point them in the direction of this show. For her to drag around a 30 foot cape or wear what looks like a 10 foot wide flame costume where she can barely move her arms and has to kabuki shuffle across stage while still delivering vocals as huge and rich and soulful as she did is a true testament to her amazing talent. They truly do not make them like they used to, and this is proof of that.

She has lost NOTHING with age. In fact, she's even more impressive now. Sure, her face isn't quite AS chiseled as it used to be. Sure, her butt's sagged a tiny bit. But her body is amazing, her stage presence is as grand as ever and she seemed to do it all with perfect ease. And this was not a nostaligia act at all. So many times when you see an artist past their prime, it's nice to say you've been there, but you kinda always wish in the back of your mind that you had seen them in their glory days. For a woman who hadn't put out an album in nearly 2 decades and who hasn't toured since the late 90's, she seems as relevant as ever. One of the most striking things to me is that she performed 17 songs and over half of them were from the new album. All 9 of 9 songs from Hurricane were done. That's fucking unbelievable to me for someone who's 60 years old. And the audience knew the new stuff inside and out. I love that.

During some of the slower songs like "La Vie En Rose" and especially "I'm Crying", there was true emotion in what she was doing. I know it's easy to laugh and point and gawk at Grace for those not in on the fun, but she has so much range and mojo, it truly has to be seen to be believed. And even now, I'm still pinching myself, cuz I have no idea what just happened to us.

For all the craziness of getting to and from NYC for this, she made it all worth it. She brought it on every level. Hands down one of the best things I've ever seen. I'm praying to god there's an official dvd release.
[Edited 8/3/09 16:43pm]

errant said:

I guess I didn't realize you really liked her.

TRON said:

oh!

Anxiety said:

Oh God!

I made GOOD friends with that bartender.

So so sooooo glad you got there and that I found you guys.

And somehow the crowd just parted once we made our way up to the front - easiest part of the whole day.

TRON said:

i read in a recent interview (well, i think from this spring, anyway) that there's a grace jones documentary in the works, and that the tour will be highlighted. so we may not get a live DVD, but it appears as though we will get SOME semblance of a memento...

and i will chime in a bit more once i have a bit of peace and solitude to let my memories flow. i'm still processing, don'tcha know...

Vendetta1 said:

Man, I couldn't have done it without you. You kept me sane so many times. Thank you so much for everything.

Anxiety said:

hey thanks! welcome to nearly every photo i take lately.

TRON said:

Okay, in retrospect MAYBE I should have gone with you guys to this show.

TRON said:

As with so many thing. Me either

Though I was obsessed with her for about 2 months when I was 13. I wasn't into music yet, so I had absolutely no idea she was even a singer at that time

She never really made it into my musical consciousness until a year or two ago.

sextonseven said:

I was so bummed you couldn't make it.

errant said:

don't question me!