"Up Close And Personal: theICON in Los Angeles"
Thursday was to be the big dayŠout to California to see Duran. At least that's what I thought, but with the new six and a half inches of snow that had just fallen in Ft. Wayne, things didn't look too bright. It took me 4 hours to make my normal two and a half hour drive to Nancy's house with barely over an hour to spare to get to the airport.
Luckily, the flight was uneventful and we met with Kathleen at LAX airport. From there we got our rental car and headed off to our "adventure". The rental car should have been a MAJOR warning to things that could happen that weekend - it was THE RENTAL CAR FROM HELL!!! Whenever you hit 65 mph, the trunk flies open, leaving you to fend for your life (and your clothes) as you get out on the Santa Monica Freeway to close the trunk. We get to the hotel tired and ready to rest up for a great weekend (or so we hoped) and checked in. Who should walk out but Nick Rhodes himself. It was too late to get all would up about seeing Nick, so off to bed we went.
The next morning was okay. We met up with another fanzine (see, we don't all hate each other!) and did the lunch thang in the lobby, all the time keeping a watchful eye on the front doors. There was supposed to be a party at the rehearsal hall according to Duran management for fanzines and industry people, but it fell through (as did many things that weekend). So we decided to go to the rehearsal hall anyway, which was located in a lovely part of town, complete with sex shops.
We waited in our car, feeling like a bunch of spies. About an hour after we arrived, up pulls a cab with a very familiar blonde man as a passenger - NICK! Grabbing the issues of theICON we brought, we approached him. He was very nice and admitted he was a bit apprehensive about the concerts they were to perform in that weekend (they would have loved to have more time to rehearse and get everything perfect); he also commented on our (and I'm quoting here) "great printing quality". He said he was late and asked if Simon was there yet (of course he wasn't) and went in. We were debating whether or not to go back to the car to wait for everyone else to show up. As soon as we decided to go to the car and cross the street, who do we see as we turn around but John. Ok, so we had bad timing. But wait, it gets worse! We decided then to hang out outside and about an hour or so after Nick and John arrived we sit on the dilapidated brink wall, completely zoning out into oblivion (at least I was). I saw two cars enter the parking lot next to me but didn't pay attention to who the drivers were. All I heard being said was, "Lees, LisaŠ" It was Simon, Yasmin and the kids. Told you guys we were brain-dead.
They park their respective cars, and we approached Simon to give him his copy of theICON (Yasmin had already gone in with Amber and Saffron). He was nice, but in a bit of a hurry to get inside. We ended up hanging around and some other people came. Slowly, one by one, people started going into the lobby of the rehearsal hall, and not getting kicked out, so we thought we'd try it, too. What the hell could it have hurt? It ended up being only 15 fans in there, and as long as people were quiet, there were no problems. Around 8:00 p.m. or so, Eddie (who still owes me 50¢) left and came back 45 minutes with Amanda who ended up hanging out in the lobby for quite some time. She was craving a cigarette, having just started smoking again 4 days ago. Kathleen asked her if Marlboro Lights were okay, and she said yes. So I loaned her one of mine and lit it for her and we began talking about kids (Atlanta and my niece were both born the same day), breast feeding and all that fun stuff. Not too long later, she went back to see John and came back out. She asked the person from the other fanzine if she knew who gave her the clothes from Baby Gap in New York last May. Amanda went on to say during their conversation that she won't let anyone buy clothes for Atlanta anymore, since the Taylors are addicted to the Gap now. Amanda was ever so kind to deliver John's issue of theICON for us and went back to get him. About 20 minutes later, they left for the night. Not too long after that, Simon came out to leave, telling Kathleen, "I'll need another ICON, Amanda nicked mine!" What he didn't know at the time was his wife apparently put his in her bag and took it back to the hotel when she left earlier that night.
We all hung out for a while not knowing what to do next, and not knowing if or when Warren would be coming out (we had been told he was putting in 12 hour days). Around 9:00 or so, out comes Warren (shirtless as usual) with two violinists and a cellist they had brought over for the concerts. They went into the corner (so we just HAD to circle around them), and began to rehearse the John Lennon Christmas song in front of our eyes for a full 20 minutes! Watching the creative process at work was truly a sight. After his little performance, he went back inside the rehearsal studio and came out shortly with Nick following. What a way to end our first full day in Los Angeles.
Saturday was pretty goofed up. Unfortunately, our plans got canceled and we pretty much had the entire day open. We decided to meet in the lobby (or as they call it, the Living Room). We got down there and saw that the LeBon family was patiently waiting. Amber was making the rounds of the lobby - observing the furniture and people. They were obviously waiting for Nick to arrive. Amber is a rather intelligent and active child. She felt right at home and proceeded to show us her accessories and decided to waste time with coloring (she has every crayon know to the human race in her pocketbook).
Amber and Simon playfully argued over which one of them had the logic of a dog (although she did say she had the logic of a pussycat. You figure it out.). As soon as Amber saw Nick come from the elevator, she grabbed her purse and yelled, "Okay, let's go!!" The child is the most adorable kid! Saffron and Anne (yes, Mum LeBon was there as well) were in Los Angeles as well. The rest of the afternoon was a bust, except for a few meetings with some friends and finding out our evening plans with tickets had fallen through.
The show was to begin at 6:15 p.m., and we paid $90 for tickets that were probably better seats than what would have been given to us! The acts leading up to Duran (who were the headliners) were good, but very down and depressing - except for EMF who completely sucked (they were wonderful - Kathleen)! Nancy had snuck in her tape recorder and I had hidden my camera. We were bound and determined to get something, be it visual or audio, from Duran. Well, we thought the tape recorder wasn't working (even though it cost Nancy $600!), so we tried it and talked through the whole thing, but you could barely hear us (you could hear the band perfectly). Yasmin, Anne and the kids were in the audience and it seemed as though they all were getting into it (except Saffron, she fell asleep). ("Yasmin was so excited and screamed her head off and Amber was right behind her on that one" - Kathleen, who was sitting not three seats next to Yasmin when the show began, but moved because of the feeling that she was invading the LeBon Family Space.)
After the show, we decided to go see Warren. WE wanted to see him and tell him how wonderful the show was. Simon and Nick would be out for the night and Warren, the body-conscious one, would probably retire for an early night, so our chances were good to be able to see him. Once we got on the highway, wouldn't you know it, our trunk flew open again! Warren wasn't there yet, so we hung out for a while, but at 2:00 a.m., it was late and we went out to our car. Halfway to our car, Kathleen saw a white van pull up in front of the hotel, and a man with platform shoes came out. Who else but? So we quickly reversed our direction and headed right back into the hotel. He was so cool to us, and was actually interested in our comments and how we liked the show, especially with the new string section. We all talked for 20 minutes and then we went to "beddie-bye" as he called it, and us back to our respective hotels.
Sunday was pretty much a bust. We met up with a friend in the LA area and copied the tape of Saturday night's concert for Warren (he was saying how he wanted to hear how it came out). We saw Yasmin dash into the hotel once with blue balloons that day, but no other Duran sightings. The only major thing that day was concert number two. Thanks to management, we got both tickets and backstage passes for that evening. The line-up was pretty impressive: the Farm, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Seal, Michael Penn, the Rembrandts, the Cult and Adam Ant (the man was fucking unbelievable!!). This show for Duran was better than the night before. The sound was completely better. "Come Undone" sounded better than the night before. You could hear the strings this time and both the fans AND Duran seemed to get into it more. Forget the other acts, this WAS a Duran Duran concert!
After the show, we went backstage and froze our asses off waiting for a glimpse of Duran. Warren was working the patio, as were a few people from Toad. We gave Warren his copy of Saturday's concert, calling it a "birthday present" (he had worked all day and into the night on his own birthday). Once he was told what it was, he jokingly said, "So you're the one! Someone get her!" to Nancy. Then he asked if the tape was in good quality and Kathleen said, "Of course." I got his autograph (which I added to my collection of the other two I have), and he went off somewhere. By this time security was clearing the area and kicking people out. Little did this man know that there was a group of about 15 of us who weren't about to leave without seeing Duran off. So, as he cleared out one group, we ran across the driveway and hid behind this wooded security fence where the vans and cars were warming up. Kathleen found a piece of gold garland and tied it on the back of a white van (with the driver still in it). It ended up being Warren's van! So off he went, gold bow and all. The security guard became wise to where we were staying and began to kick us out of there. After Warren left, John and Amanda left with Seal. Everyone wished them the best and we continued waiting. A few of us went back towards the doors that led to the arena, but stopped when we heard someone whisper, "Pssst, over here." There was a doorway that led to the patio area that was closed off. It was about 6 feet by 15 feet, and we all managed to cram ourselves in there. WE thought we pullet off and giggled about it, but then he (meaning that security guard again) found us and tried to kick us out. But as he was doing so, Simon and Nick left through this walkway that was directly in our view. People shouted "Merry Christmas" and "You sounded great tonight" as they passed, and then fans made a break for the wooded security doors to see them off. Then we all left, exhausted after the ordeal.
Nancy and I left at 8:30 a.m. Monday, and Kathleen at 8:30 that night. We sent Warren a copy of Sunday night's show so he could compare between the two. So Warren, if by chance you read this, that's not us on the second tape! We were nice and quiet (there were two buffy-type fans behind us screaming John and Simon's names and another girl, who was howling [kind of reminded one of the "Lassie" scene in "Porky's"] and it's all on the tape.
Although there were no real opportunities for in-depth conversations, there were some great moments, and we had a blast. I am sure that it will be even better next time!
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