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JOAN JETT: Breeding Rock Fans
from: Long Islander Journal
by Vanessa Arnim
It hit me at the House of Blues in Las Vegas this July at my first JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS concert. Right after their first song, I'd abandoned my pricey balcony seats (and friends) in a public seizure of excitement for the bouncy throng in front of the stage. Halfway through their set Joan yelled for the house lights and asked the balcony folks if they could hear her. I turned to see every seat filled with a crowd of middle-aged, fanny-packin', $6.99 buffet-hounds screaming like real rock fans.
Now, I'd definitely been harboring some fear of a lame turnout or a bummer 'so what ' energy from this family-fun kinda crowd, and that's why I'd pretty much ignored my surroundings until that moment. My relief and awe had me defying gravity and wondering what about this show had turned this audience into real rock fans.
By the end of this show I realized that this rockin crowd said more about the rock star than the fans. Iconic and still maintaining subversive street creed, JOAN JETT and her band from New York City put on a tight show that'll have you sweating, grinding, and even barking. Her punk muscle carries the crowd like an avalanche, leaving you gasping as you try to match her powerful voice on lyrics you'll be surprised you know. A born performer with a tough as leather rep, Jett will find a way to blow your mind again when she flashes a sweetie-pie smile at her more raucous fans.
The BLACKHEARTS current line-up - long-time drummer THOMMY PRICE, bassist Sean Koos and guitarist Doug Cangialosi - swing loud and dirty, invoking ghosts of backseat prom excess.
This is an important part of the soundtrack to our rock 'n roll history. If you're old enough to remember the Mary Tyler Moore epidemic and its transformation of a generation of females, dig Jett's cover of Love is all Around. For those of you who drove a Camaro and dated chicks who had Bee Gees posters back when the RUNAWAYS were making parents nervous, even you'll recognize that jailbait hit Cherry Bomb. And Jett's latest tag as "the original riot grrrl" welcomes the teenaged girls wracking their bodies in Le Tigre T-shirts.
What keeps this feminist hero who's been bucking the boys club from alienating a male fan base is obvious at any show: even when she's growling at you, there's a certain levity to her music, and the fellas in the crowd with their fists in the air and lust in their eyes are feeling just that.
So maybe you don't think you're a rock fan, maybe you'd rather stay home and watch Pearl Harbor on video, and maybe you already have plans to hang out with the same people at the same bar on the same night as usual. Or maybe loud music gives you a headache, dancing embarrasses you, or you think you'll be the only 18/34/50 year old there. But from what I've seen at other JOAN JETT shows this summer, you will have an awesome time, you will love this band, and you will walk out of there another real rock fan.
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