Wednesday, March 18, 2009

When Punk Rockers Get Old.

On April 21 2007, I had the pleasure of spending the evening with Iggy Pop on his 60th Birthday.

Mr. Misha and I, along with another couple, went to San Francisco to see Iggy and The Stooges in concert. We didn't know it was his birthday until we arrived. As we walked into the venue, the ticket takers handed out "Happy Birthday Iggy" buttons. We put our buttons on our lapels and waited for the show to start. I don't even remember if there was an opening band. All I remember was that all of a sudden-------THERE HE WAS.


All 5 foot 7 inches of him. Long, straight, light brown hair. Skin tight, low-rise jeans. Bare Chest. He ran, danced, sang, STAGE DIVED, jumped up and down; he did not stop moving for almost 2 hours. Even when the crowd sang Happy Birthday to him, he frolicked around the stage as black balloons emblazoned with his face fell from the ceiling.


Before we had gone to the show, I had been feeling a bit old. It was a few months before my 20th high school reunion. Seeing Iggy bound around the stage all night, full of energy and joy was like a tonic. I have been cruising along after that night in a bit of denial. I kept thinking to myself, "I'm not that old." Even when I had patients who were born the year I graduated from high school come in to deliver their babies, I still kept thinking, "I am still young."


Then I saw Belinda Carlisle on Dancing With The Stars. On August 17, 2008 she turned 50, a whole DOZEN YEARS younger than Iggy and a little more than a decade older than me. Don't get me wrong, she looked beautiful. But she MOVED old. She moved slower. She moved like she ached. She moved like I felt some mornings when I first get up or after a long shift of baby birthin'. It bugged me.


Look how cute she was dancing here:
The Go-Go's in 1984



Now look at her here:
Belinda Carlisle in 2009.
I guess all the wild times of drugs and debauchery weighed more heavily on Belinda than they did on Iggy. Poor thing got booted off DWTS tonight. I am sad to see her go, but it serves her right for making me feel this way. I feel decrepit.

2 comments:

  1. I know exactly what you mean! I have to say I got a little teary eyed, because watching her made me feel very old. I think it was because we wanted to be the go-gos when we were in jr high & high school. They were the epitome of cool girls cruisin' around the beaches looking for fun with pretty ska boys.

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  2. I am glad I am not the only one who felt that way. Thanks Martha!

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