Those of you who follow me on Twitter would have recently
read that a few of us had managed to escape the Toy Box for a big night out. Yes,
with a whirl and all the flurry you could expect from a bunch of assorted
bears, Barbie’s, GI Joe’s and other extraneous toys, we flooded out onto the
streets and headed off to see The Saints and The Stranglers along with
the fabulous Deborah Harry and Blondie in concert.
While the concert appealed to a wide age group, it was
incredibly heart-warming to see so many grey-haired punk rockers sporting
Mohawks, mullets, tattoo’s and piercings turn out. Disappointment set in
however when a few more closeted wannabe punk oldies dressed in business suits
appeared on the scene. It seems though, reminiscing about yester-years glory
days, the excitement and ecstasy once derived from doing shady pot deals in
backrooms and dropping acid on the dance floor was short-lived – quickly substituted
with discussions of heart medications, hip replacements, grandchildren and the
need to turn up ones hearing aide.
Although it took a while for the crowd to warm up due to the
overzealous efficiency of security guards, us Bears and a GI Joe eventually
made our way with caution to the mosh pit to bang our furry polly-filled heads
as the night rocked on. We heard our favourite songs from Chris and his Saints (like wine they have aged beautifully),
and who could go past Baz, Dave, Jean-Jacques and Jet doing a fine, fine, fine
rendition of Golden Brown and Peaches. And I tell you, for an old Rock Chick,
Deborah Harry still has what it takes, and boy can she still belt out one heck
of a tune.
While we never got to meet any of the bands despite our best
efforts of staking out the lobby, back door and hotels (see comment regarding
overzealous security), we must have had a great night as we didn’t get home
until 4 am the next morning... I told you we made every effort to meet all the
bands.
Despite being totally
trashed, the next morning we were still hyped up on all the head banging and
stalking that had taken place the night before.
So to annoy the neighbours, and the House Human we decided it would be a
great idea to do our own rendition of Blondie’s Maria. As it turned out, the GI
Joe’s knew the guitar bits. I knew the words, and who would have known, but my
brother Rupert could play keyboards.
After a few hours of banging, bum notes, shouting, screaming
and vulgarities, something became increasingly clear. Just as not all humans
are cute and cuddly or, have the perfect masculine form of a GI Joe, not all
toys are talented. And sadly, not all Bears are Blondie.
Despite the embarrassment this episode in life may cause us
Toy Box folk, and the risk I run of being hunted down only to have the stuffing
knocked out of me by the readers of this blog, this is what we have come up
with for your amusement. Click here to listen to our version of Blondie’sMaria.
We hope you sort of enjoy listening to it and, remember
Personal Protective Equipment such as earplugs is a must. The only thing we ask
from you in return is your undying love and devotion, and of course... your
support when Blondie takes legal action against us for killing a great song.
Love and best wishes as always,
Theo
