You ever hear a song that just stops you dead in your tracks because it takes you back to moment in time that you totally forgot about until just then? With all these radio stations playing songs "you grew up with that make you feel good", that's been happening to me a lot lately. I get transported back to the 90s club scene in Denver - Fishdance/Aqua Lounge, The Dead Beat Club, Rock Island, The Church, 23 Parrish, Modeans, I-Beam, Polly Esters, 1082 Broadway, Club LA & Neo... just to name a few.
Remember Technotronic "Pump up the Jam"? I remember going w/Melissa to Neo wearing this skin tight black dress w/yellow daisies & glo-green petals on it. In the daisies were little smiley faces. And under a blacklight, the daisies & petals glowed!! It was a smokin dress! There was a couple of guys who were regulars at this club too. Jamie & his hip-shakin' friend Eddie. They were so pretty & all the girls LOVED to watch them dance. And they knew it too, that's why they'd dance on the speakers or the stage. Anyway, that song was always played there & they always danced to it. I got the balls to talk to Jamie one night, only to find out that he had joined the army & was shipping out soon. Got to be penpals w/him for a month or so. Whoopee! Eddie kept on grindin' those hips at other clubs, but it was never the same watching him without his sidekick.
The Dead Beat Club had 3 rooms... the current hits room, the disco/retro room & the dark alternative room. So when I hear a song by the Spin Doctors, Van Morrison's "Brown-Eyed Girl" or Sisters of Mercy I think of the DBC. I don't know what song was playing, but after drinking my beer (which I found out a year later was spiked w/a little bit of "X" - thanks Melissa), I do know that I was really enjoying dancing to it.
When I hear the Morissey's "How Soon is Now", I think of Modeans. It was the only time I ever danced w/Aaron. That was a milestone because he NEVER danced! I even remember what I was wearing... a bright multi-colored striped shirt & black hot pants (No, I wasn't a hoochie, but I had the body to dress like one!)
I also think of Modeans when I hear Taco's "Puttin' on the Ritz" because one night when me & my sis & some friends were out, we went there. When we started to leave, that song was playing. We hung out in front to listen to it since we hadn't heard it in a while. During the tap-dancing part, Chrissy decided to break into an impromptu tap dance herself (mr. bojangles reincarnated.) It was the funniest thing EVER!
23 Parrish was located in an old warehouse. Melissa was dating a guy who worked there, so we went there a lot. There was this bartender who used to light his crotch on fire and dance on the bar to Snap! "I got the power". That was entertaining. I also remember a couple Halloweens there... once as Carmen Miranda (w/Melissa as Aeon Flux & Phil as the Unabomber, which is BTW, still my favorite costumer ever!) Another year as a Drowning Victim (w/Kellie as a drowning victim as well & Samantha as a cow.) That was a memorable night because my car got towed and we had to go to the tow company in costume. Zombie make-up, life-vests and all!
Any disco song, I think of I-Beam. Doing the shopping cart & the sprinkler on stage. Having some friends of ours get into a bar-brawl like I've never seen before (Robbie had "roid rage" & started it. Chairs were flying, glasses were being hurled, crazy shit like that! The club even turned on the lights so the bouncers/cops could get a handle on these guys!) Then one of our friends got stabbed while walking to his car. 12 times. In the back. He survived. Sad thing was he was one of the guys trying to keep the peace. I didn't go back there for a while.
9th Ave West was Denver's premiere swing club. It was swanky. It was new. It was fun! Chrissy, Yun, Anitra & I would go every weekend, all dolled up in our dresses. Since there weren't many guys who knew how to swing dance very well, we would pair up with each other. Me & Anitra (I was the lead) and Chrissy & Yun (Yun was the lead.) Then one night, Charlie appeared and asked me to dance. This cat could DANCE! We became dancing partners, as in we would practice during the week to get better for the club on the weekend. He would spin, dip, flip and twirl me on the dance floor. I was convinced he was gay because no straight guy could be that sensitive and that good of a dancer. To everyone's surprise, he wasn't. We saw lots of great acts there... Mighty Blue Kings, The New Morty Show, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy to name a few. I really miss that kind of dancing.
Hearing Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails "Closer" or The Offspring, I think of 1082 Broadway. Sometimes that was a fun place to go & dance a little crazier (think early mosh-pit days.)
At Club LA (in Westminster,) I once spit gum in a girl's hair because she kept whipping her head around & smacking me in the face with it. She realized what I did & started the "pushing" fight. We both got kicked out of the club. When I hear Soul II Soul's "Back to Life (Back to Reality)" or Color Me Badd, I'm reminded of that place.
As for Fishdance/Aqua Lounge, I haven't associated any songs to that club yet. However, it was a club where many memories were created. I saw my 5th grade teacher there w/his "friend", confirming what I had always suspected! And, this is weird one... I had met this guy, Tim. We talked & danced & talked some more. We soon realized that we had grown up in the same neighborhood, gone to same elementary school, etc. Holy Shit! It was Timmy Kirkland... my first boyfriend from like 3rd grade!! We ended up going out a few times, but he just wasn't the same sweet 3rd grader I used to know & love. I met Depeche Mode there (that's a story for a different blog.) I stole a videotape from the DJ booth (Duran Duran's greatest hits.) And I had my car "tagged" by a local gang member there.
Ahhhh, good times....
