Backstage: Voyeurism

by redheddd on jun 21, 2011

Under a covered outdoor staging area, Sonic Youth’s 6’6” Thurston Moore and Loser’s 5’4” Beck leaned against a wall engaged in an intense, intimate conversation – a height-sight to see. And I (OMG!) watched. Fate had placed me, a backstage guest, at Lolipolooza - Greatwoods, July 1995, blending in as best I could while dodging roadies with rolling racks, collecting cables, arranging amps, and placing the evidently very important countless packs of Courtney’s sky blue American Spirits on every surface. The rain that had been threatening, started: only a light, sun shower. The three Elastica girls suddenly emerged and ran out into the sprinkle. Spinning and laughing, they peeled down to black tank tops and black underwear, plopped down into a gathering pool, splash-paddled their feet and puddle-patted their hands, and giggled delightedly - heads thrown back with absolute glee. Beck and Thurston stopped, mid-sentence, and turned fixated on the scene framed by the travel cases and equipment. Blink. They looked back at each other, mouths slightly open in “what did we do to deserve this” amazement. Blink. And, turned back to the frolic. Blink. And I watched And…as soon as it started, it was over. The ladies stood up, grinning from ear to ear, hugged, collected their piles of now wet pants, sox and docs, and wandered away. Thurston and Beck turned back to their conversation, a little less enthusiastic and definitely more distracted. And I realized that, in a blink of time, the backstage show of a lifetime had taken place. And I watched.

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