Made in Ridgewood: All Access with Gina Schock

It was a definite Schock to the system. ... It was also, literally, the picture-perfect start to my vacation.

See, Gina Schock -- the unfathomably underrated drummer of the seminal band-turned-Rock & Roll Hall of Famers The Go-Go's -- capped her book signing tour at Bookends in Ridgewood, New Jersey. (Longtime followers of my travels might remember that book store as the place I met Rick Springfield while feeling like I was at death's door with the flu about 11 years ago.)

The book -- Made in Hollywood: All Access with The Go-Go's -- is the recently released collection of Schock's decades of photographic documentation of the band. But not just gorgeous pictures, those images brought back a wealth of memories for Gina, the other Go-Go's and those who were in their orb over the years. When do we get that kind of prolonged look of a group at the height of their powers, as well as the low points?

Social media affords us the chance to see what's going on with celebs almost every day of the week, and after procuring my ticket for the event, I waited and watched as Schock made her way across the country following the long-awaited induction of her band in Cleveland's Hall of Fame. 

Upon arrival at the bookstore, I checked in and the store's personnel checked out 1.) the myriad of rock patches adorning my jean jacket and 2.) my Go-Go's face mask. I got on the line at the side of the building, I didn't remember much from the Rick event, but I did vaguely recall being on that line. It was already dark out, so I couldn't peruse the book at that point. (Insert sad emoji.)

I quickly started chatting up the women around me. The one in front was a fan who lives in Ridgewood but had never been to a Bookends event. She was there to get the book signed for her sister, a massive fan who has traveled the country following the band. She later told us about seeing The Go-Go's before the first single came out when they opened for The Specials on Long Island. The band was booed, things were thrown at them ... and Gina gave the naysayers the finger.

Behind me was another lovely lady who had just decided on the spot to come to the event by herself because she didn't know any other person who was as big of a fan as she is. She made us all green with envy with a great story about her Pat Benatar meet-and-greet. 

Standing behind her was the mega-fan. I give her this distinction not just because she's a drummer who emulates Schock, but because she and her husband had traveled from Virginia to New Jersey just for this signing. I started talking with her about my favorite Go-Go's side project -- the House of Schock -- and she whipped out her phone and cranked up "Middle of Nowhere." We got at least one other fan downloading the stream off that discussion/playing of the song.

At about 6 (when the event was scheduled to happen), we noticed the line hadn't moved and figured Gina hadn't arrived yet. We started watching for her car, and sure enough, a few minutes later, we heard someone at the back of the store say, "Here she comes." Couldn't really see a thing, but the Virginia fan and I yelled "Giiiiiina!" I wish House of Schock songs were still playing at the moment. That might have surprised her.

It was about 15 minutes more before the queue started to move. It felt longer, but it really wasn't. Before we knew it, we were in front of the Bookends window and could see Gina chatting away with people on line. And yay, pictures were being taken too. The ladies and I had concocted a plan to take photos for each other if it was necessary. Luckily, it wasn't, and they didn't have to find out my hands shake in these circumstances.

As we got to the first corner of the store, we were talking about how great the book cover is. That's when a woman on the other side of the rope said she was happy to hear that, because there was much animated discussion at the publishing company about which photo should be the cover. Before I even perused the whole book, I deemed it perfect -- an image from the "Vacation" video shoot with Gina in the foreground in her tiara and Kathy Valentine with a combination of boredom and resignation on her face and a cigarette dangling from her lips. (After reading the whole book, I still say it's the only choice for the cover.)

And before I knew it, it was my turn. I said hi, told her my name and said I had really enjoyed the Cameo video she had made for me the previous month. Knowing a bookstore signing doesn't afford much of a chance for prolonged conversation, I had whittled the gist of I wanted to say down to a few sentences: One of my first Go-Go's memories was of being out on the junior varsity softball field practicing, "Our Lips Are Sealed" was playing and it was just a perfect day. A favorite childhood memory. Flash-forward a few years and my parents were divorcing and we moved to Florida where we didn't know anyone but my grandparents. But (and "Head Over Heels" was fortuitously playing over the sound system at that moment, and I pointed up as I continued), I could see my girls every couple of hours or so in that video. And it really helped.

I had thought about what I wanted to say for a while, but I hadn't really considered anything coming back to me. I just wanted to tell her she and the band have meant a lot to me for decades, thank her for that and congratulate the group for getting into the Hall of Fame. When she said to me, "Thank you for telling me that. It makes my heart feel good and it makes everything we do worthwhile," I must have looked, um, Schocked? I managed to say, "That makes my heart feel good."

I asked the super-cool bookstore guy taking pictures with our phones to keep shooting while I was with Gina. And he did. There were some truly unflattering pix in that bunch, but he kept doing it, and I thank him to the bottom of my toes for that. I look worked up and overly animated in almost all of them. That's OK with me, there's a correlation there to Schock sharing her history -- warts and all -- with fans and the rest of the world. I appreciate that symmetry.

2-for-1 return to the concert scene

Maybe we didn't have an inkling of how long the hiatus was going to be, but we had a pretty good idea that the concert/Broadway scene would be grinding to a halt on March 10, 2020. 

On that date, Mark and I headed to Madison Square Garden for the Brothers concert, the 50th anniversary tribute to The Allman Brothers Band. Masks and hand sanitizer hadn't become part of our daily lives, but it was obvious the pandemic was about to envelop the world. That was the last show that took place at the Garden for a long time, and the last one for me until a couple of weeks ago when I had two shows over the course of one week. Might as well jump back in feet first, right? 

Speaking of life returning to a level of normal at MSG, the first show put on there since the world changed was by the Foo Fighters on June 20. I couldn't go to that one, but when I heard they'd be not incredibly far away from me in Bridgeport on Sept. 17, I scooped up a ticket for that. Didn't want to miss them getting down as The Dee Gees, that's for sure. And then the Foos announced on Sept. 10 that they would be performing at Coney Island on Sept. 13. 

That combo was too good for me to resist. Decades ago, I used to visit Coney Island with my great Aunt Ruthie. We always walked the boardwalk, went to the Aquarium and ate at Nathan's. I got to ride a couple rides and swim in the ocean.

Got to Coney Island a little later than I expected that day thanks to an unrelated train incident in Edison. But I did get to grab some Nathan's and eat in the same patio I once did with Aunt Ruthie. (Sure miss the individual lines for each item, instead of the long snaking one out the door like a Shake Shack.) The sights were awesome -- the rides (the parachute jump that has been closed for as long as I can remember and The Cyclone and Wonder Wheel, just closed on that particular day) and the pier pointing off to the ocean. It all felt so familiar even though it's been so long since those halcyon days. It's even been a while since I've revisited with family or friends.

But I digress. I turned right instead of left on the boardwalk and headed to the Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island Ballpark. I must have smiled the whole way, just hearing that familiar sound of feet on the angled planks. Another sense memory from decades ago. Yep, I made the right call, changing my plans from Bridgeport to Coney Island. (I got to make another friend happy by flipping my ticket to him, so even better.) 

Setlist: Aurora, The Pretender, Learn to Fly, No Son of Mine, The Sky Is a Neighborhood, Rope, Shame Shame, Breakout, My Hero, These Days, Medicine at Midnight, Walk, You Should Be Dancing, band intros with bits of Blitzkrieg Bop, Somebody to Love, All My Life, Times Like These, This Is a Call, Best of You, Everlong.

I just know Aunt Ruthie would have really been into the Foos. After all, this is a woman who saw Jimi Hendrix at the Fillmore East. (I took her to the Eric Clapton-Elton John show with me at Shea Stadium in 1992. When I went to the restroom, a girl sitting in front of us turned around and asked her whether she really liked the music. "I love it!" Aunt Ruthie had said, and although I wasn't there for it, I could hear the gleeful proclamation and see the gleaming smile today.) She loved music.

I was on my own for this one, and the dude sitting next to me seemed terribly interested in the details of that -- Him: "How did you get to come to this by yourself?" Me: "By buying the ticket?" -- and my stamina. I was definitely up for standing ... and boogeying for the entire show. I've done it before (MSG 2008/Citi Field 2015) and I'll do it again!

The show announced Friday and put on Monday was such a quick turnaround that I didn't think they'd be able to get posters done. Of course, they did! It was such a cool one that I reneged on my previous decision to not get one, and luckily, there was no problem procuring it this time. Also scored a pretty sweet frozen rum concoction in a plastic guitar (Mark's convinced it looks more like a bong.) 

The Foos winged their way back east after a late night at the MTV Music Video Awards, where they received the Global Icon Award. One of the last times I actually recall watching MTV was when the Fighters of Foo were on a show called "FANatic," a show that matched up talents with their alleged best fans. (Side note: I thought it was hilarious that the Natalie Imbruglia fanatic didn't know her biggest hit, "Torn," was a cover.) Just looked it up, and the Foos' ep originally aired on Nov. 3, 1999. So I haven't watched MTV for over two decades. Glad they enjoyed the award and the party.

They professed to be pretty gassed after flying back from the big par-tay. Definitely didn't seem that way to me. The songs from Medicine at Midnight sounded good with the assistance of three female backup singers -- Laura Mace, Samantha Sidley and Barbara Gruska. On more than occasion, Sidley knocked Dave Grohl out by holding notes for an unfathomably long time.

I'm not sure when the downpour started, 'cause like I said, I was rocking out the whole time, but at some point during the band's loving and lively cover of The Bee Gees' "You Should Be Dancing," Grohl gestured toward the side entrance of the building. That's when I first saw the heavens raining down. I looked down at my feet and my sneakers were tapping along in a light stream of water. The top of the amphitheater was covered, but the sides were open. The band didn't stop playing, even as the rains got harder and the thunder and lightning became more evident. So we just kept on dancing.

As is their want, the Foos never leave the stage, they just keep playing until they can't play no more. So when they get to their signature song -- "Everlong" -- you know the night's over. It's the most beautiful and sad moment at the same time, because it's a perfect song that gives you all the feels every single time.

Even though I had given up my Friday Foo ticket, there was still more great music in store Thursday with Lindsey Buckingham at a favorite venue of ours for Lindsey -- New York City's Town Hall. Although I grew up as a tried-and-true Stevie Nicks devotee, consider me (and Mark) firmly in the "Team Lindsey" camp when it comes to the ongoing fracas between the elements of the once-mighty Fleetwood Mac. (Also, Christine McVie has supplanted Nicks as shining beacon of womanhood and talent for me as well.)

Lindsey's team -- the tour management one, not the band of unhappy Fleetwood Mac fans -- came up with a good idea for the post-pandemic playing field. We can't "meet and greet" with the susceptible Buckingham, so a special pass was created giving us the opportunity to witness a few songs at soundcheck. There were a few minutes of concern there when my name wasn't found on the VIP list, but Lindsey's tour coordinator Pat made sure we got our goodie bags with signed flats, caps and passes on lanyards. Then I got to add to my bandanna collection with a cool Lindsey scarf -- which reminds me when I was picking up a Foos bandanna during that show, the merch lady said, "We don't have scarves, we only have bandannas, is that OK?" No, sorry, I only want it if it's called a scarf.

Setlist: Not Too Late, In Our Own Time, Soul Drifter, Stars Are Crazy, I Must Go, Doing What I Can, Shut Us Down, Trouble, Never Going Back Again, Big Love, Scream, I Don't Mind, On the Wrong Side, Swan Song, Second Hand News, Tusk, I'm So Afraid, Go Your Own Way. Encore: Love Is Here to Stay, Time.

The songs played at soundcheck were all new songs (including "Stars Are Crazy" and "I Must Go") and sounded really great. The self-titled album didn't come out after the show. Although a few songs were released prior to the show, I was waiting for the complete release to hear it the way Lindsey put it together. It was just the first time that day we marveled at how there was no noticeable difference between pre- and post-op Lindsey. He hasn't missed a single beat. 

The Town Hall setup really messed with Buckingham's sense of order. Drummer Jimmy Paxson's kit wasn't on a riser, it was on the same level as Lindsey and the rest of the crew. "Jimmy, you look like you're in a pit!" Buckingham declared. Lindsey welcomed all of the VIPs and explained a little bit about how they were checking on the acoustics of the room by doing a few songs before going to work.

When I think about how worried we were after his 2019 open-heart surgery, his tour's announcement seemed so remarkable. But all our fears were quickly put to rest. The man literally showed no physical signs that he'd gone through anything that petrifying. And in sharp contrast to the eternally dysfunctional Fleetwood Mac relationships, Buckingham and his band seem to be in complete sync.  

I was particularly thrilled "Soul Drifter" was in the setlist, possibly my all-time favorite solo song of his from the "Out of the Cradle" album. It fit in nicely alongside the new songs from his self-titled album. There was a nice swing back and forth from the up-tempo numbers to the more contemplative ones.

And, of course, there was still an acoustic segment to remind us all of how wonderfully Lindsey plays the guitar. The four songs he played by himself -- "Shut Us Down," "Trouble," "Never Going Back Again" and "Big Love" -- resonate all the more when echoing out over a crowd that either respectfully remains silent or just can't bear to make a sound while he's matching each note on the guitar with emotion-packed syllables. 

By the time Buckingham got back to the Fleetwood Mac hits, anyone who was on the fence about #teamlindsey probably had swung wildly to his side, not to be moved. I didn't see the Mac's last tour with Mike Campbell and Neil Finn jointly trying to fill Lindsey's shoes, but I have seen Stevie Nicks' solo show, and I'm here to tell you, the juice in that band comes from Buckingham. Mark deems "I'm So Afraid" the best blues rock song that doesn't have the audience it deserves, and I just have to agree. It's always a set highlight.

Lindsey closed with two songs -- the first, "Love Is Here to Stay," was from his album with former Mac bandmate Christine McVie, and the second, the brand-new "Time." After pumping us up so vehemently with his most famous tunes, those brought us back down to earth in the most calming way. It was like a bow on a wonderful evening and the capper on my return to live music.

Justice, at any cost

Today marked the first of two Record Store Day drops this year. As always, I had a list categorizing records as "must-haves," "want" and "if all else fails." At the very tippy top of the list were the two RSD releases for Maria McKee -- High Dive and Live in Hamburg. Only problem was, a mere 500 copies were pressed for each of those releases, so I figured they would be tough gets.

Off I went to Princeton Record Exchange (thanks, Mark!) to give the ol' college try -- because it is in Princeton. I got there at about 7:30 a.m. with the store scheduled to open at 10. And I'd say I was about in the spot I've previously been in with an 8 a.m. arrival. With the pandemic becoming a distant memory for almost everyone in line (very few masks), the vinyl lovers queued up.

Sometime after the storefront started taking three customers at a time, a helpful PREX staffer started coming down the line with a list of the 1,000-or-so RSD records being sold. That included the number of records they had received for each item. I asked about the McKees first and was told they got one of each release. One of the ... I'll guess 50 ... people in front of me had told him that he/she only planned to buy High Tide. So if no one browsing through the stacks wanted Live in Hamburg, I would have a shot at it. 

And that's exactly how it played out. When I got to enter the sanctum, I made a beeline for the M's, grabbed it. If I hadn't gotten anything else, I still would have been happy. Yeah, like that would happen.

The Live in Hamburg release originated from a concert recorded Oct. 5, 2003 at Kampnagel in Germany by NDR Radio. It was the first of the RSD records I spun after getting -- natch -- and upon listening, I had to wonder what the other customer (who obviously had taste enough to pick up a Maria McKee record in the first place) had been thinking. Definitely my gain.

So I'm running through the tracks -- "This Perfect Dress," "Scarlover," "High Dive," "T.V. Teens," "Be My Joy" and "I'm Awake" on the first LP of the double set and "Absolutely Barking Stars," "Breathe," "Something Similar" and "Life Is Sweet" on the second. And besides being knocked out by that voice and visualizing the images crafted by the words, something I noted was Maria saying "danke schön" after many of the tracks.

That reminded me of attending Lone Justice's concert at the long-lost Button South in Hallandale, Florida, on Oct. 13, 1985, with my bestie Cheryl. After each of the songs, McKee said "thank you" almost the same way. And that, in turn, brought back memories of two major things that happened to me in conjunction with that show.

The big one was that I was grounded as soon as I got home that night. See, I had told my mom that I was working at a baseball card store that night. And I clearly wasn't. I don't recall whether the boss had called Mom or she tried to get me through him, I just know that she found out I wasn't working and had no idea where I was at all. 

So the one time I was punished was because I just had to go to that show to see Lone Justice. Not sure this many years later why I felt I had to lie about it, maybe the other major memory had something to do with it.

Cheryl and I went to the mall to get tickets for the show -- yeah, we used to have to go in person to pick up tickets because there was no internet to hop on to get the job done. After we paid and I had them in my hands, I looked them over and it clearly stated "No one under 21 admitted." We were still underage, so that seemed like a problem, but the ticket seller assured us we wouldn't have any issue getting in.

Wrong! It was a problem. The night of the show when we tried to go in, the Button South wanted to turn us away. I wasn't satisfied with that, so I asked to speak with the manager. I explained what happened when we bought the tickets and assured him that we would not have anything to drink -- not even water -- we just wanted to see the show.

Thankfully, the manager realized we weren't there to try and score liquor. He told us to sit at the bar (probably so he could monitor us) and drink Cokes. So crisis averted. Well, initial crisis averted, as I said, when I got home later it was a completely different story.

We loved the show. A look at setlist.fm shows the rundown was largely from the self-titled Lone Justice album that we were listening to in high rotation before that night with a side order of choice  Lou Reed/Velvet Underground. Setlist: Sweet, Sweet Baby (I'm Falling); Wait 'Til We Get Home; Working Late; Sweet Jane; Walk on the Wild Side; Ways to Be Wicked; Soap, Soup and Salvation; When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder; After the Flood; East of Eden.

A few weeks later, I reviewed the show for the Palm Beach Junior College Beachcomber, and green journalistic tendencies aside, I think it holds up rather well and includes that reference to the thank-yous that sparked an afternoon of remembrances.