https://clapperapp.com/video/VGq5aw1DY8ypAxdl?ch=CL (for a fan clip)... Pic above from @epaktweets on Twitter.
Now back from my trip to Long Island (with a short stay at Mike's in NJ) I am finally at my laptop, reflecting upon the show and the set itself. Is it a terrible thing to admit that I think the set was rather perfect (depite my feelings)? Maybe I am biased, but it felt right after 33 years of absence (which I am thinking is rather an insane amount of time to let lapse). When I get the chance, I will get the proper list should the order be off, but this is what I remember off the top of my head...
Intro / Just One Day (bit of Carmen) (Peace)
Living In Oblivion Verse + Chorus (noise synth w/acapella) (Peace)
Our Dreams + Our Dreams (with acapella/synth bass) (Peace)
Kiss of Love (longer mix) (Peace)
Hypocrites (Peace)
Lady In Waiting (Peace)
Soul on Fire (Peace)
Hello (Distances)
Dead Stars (Distances)
Answer Me (Hope)
A Moment's Shifting (Hope)
Rise (Hope)
Carmen (Peace)
When We Lie (Peace)
Jubilation (long mix) (Peace)
Oblivion (long mix) (Peace)
I will have to re-check, as I may be missing a song in there... But that was the set. Very Peace-centric as I figured a 33-year absence would require such a set. But it did bug me now that Worth and Elektrodelica were not present (not to mention all the other albums). But that is something I'm pondering now, in the aftermath. When I was up there there was only energy. And it felt raw to me, without a trace of guilt. But there was a lingering vision in my head the entire time. And it has to do with this particular slice of time below.
This is a photo I grabbed (and messed with) from a show at the now-gone Loop Lounge in NJ. This is not only a show I had forgotten about, but it was also one that was NOT floating around in any of our circles. And it blew my mind to relive it earlier that day at Mike's house as we struggled to set up an old VCR to watch. It was shot by an art student and dearest friend of ours, Marianne, whom we lost contact with after we settled in California. I had forgotten about this piece of Abox ephemera...
At some point, we will carefully restore it and post this show, as it deserves to be seen. However, at the moment we were sitting there watching it, I could not help but compare the young man in the tape versus the older man sitting there contemplating the paths that led me away from that world to this one. So it could be that watching my younger self added another dimension to what was going to happen later on in Long Island. Maybe. Or perhaps I'm being maudlin.
The show was very nerve-wracking for me, but I enjoyed it very much. The myriad of people types gave me a warm feeling. The goth, the new waver, the preppy, the businessman, the wild child, the family, and the hip-hop crew were all there. And I loved that more than anything. An Anything Box audience, open to each other, willing to eschew their differences for a bit of dancing and a laugh at my expense while exploring the vast expanses of time on earth. This is the way.
Especially after seeing this post about the Loop Lounge:
It was strange to be watching one of the last shows there just as the last bits of the building were coming down by the 12th.
Time shifts. All things must pass. I know this. But it does not mean one has to like it. So yes, as I sat there watching the old show, full of artsy energy and swagger, I wondered how many days are left before my last show anywhere. And it felt scary. So I did my best that night to live up to my younger self and his expectations of me. I hope I did right by you, younger Claude. I hope I did right by you Abox fans.
Speaking of Anything Box Fans
I have said this a million times over, and I will do so again and again. The Abox Fan is a special lot. I love their individualistic nature to be whoever they want to be. And I love the way these folks interact with me. Sometimes they seem more like cousins and neighbors to me, the type that makes sure you are OK. This is a blessing, and I am quite humbled by it. And I am not the best at keeping in touch with everyone as this is often impossible, so it is through the shows and little events that such things get to happen. The exchange is often quite the miracle. Hmm. I'm being maudlin again. How could I not be after getting this little gift from a fan this weekend? I love it though. I love it.
Think about it. In May of 1990, Abox played Long Island. And 33 years later we return as one of the first places we ever played is torn down. This makes that tape ever so special. And the show from Saturday at The Avenue.
It reminded me of both the Loop and The Pipeline. The places where I danced to the groups I would be inspired by.