It was July 9th, 1999...
I entered the Troubador and looked around at all the people. Some were chatting, some drinking, the fat bouncer taking tickets and giving minors their little "you can't drink" bracelets, business as usual. So, I peeked around the corner and saw the Donnas merchandise. Of course, (how could I resist???) I grabbed a keychain, a pin and a shirt, took the hand of my boyfriend and we entered the noise-garbled main room.
A band named Delta 72 was playing, and although the energy (or the drugs) in the lead singer were inspiring, the music was monotonous and all I cared about were The Donnas. I saw a flash in the corner of my eye, and looked up into the greenroom. There they were... all 4 of them, taking pictures laughing and looking out occasionally at the crowd. I waved, but I'm so short that they probably thought someone was scratching their head.
Delta 72 took quite some time to finish up their set but when they did, the crowd shifted and my boyfriend Tim helped me push my way to the front of the stage, near where Donna F. would be. Soon, Rodney on the Roq (a local DJ in Los Angeles for a radio station called KROQ who introduced Los Angeles to The Donnas, basically) came out and with his quite raspy voice he announced THE DONNAS!!
Our muses glided down the staircase one by one like superstars and each took their place on the stage. They fumbled around a little bit tuning and getting acquainted to their positions and then Donna A. grabbed the mic. She had a big smile on her face and all the girls looked ready to ROCK. Their silkscreen banner flopped down and the crowd went WILD. I could just FEEL the excitement. I was already sweating like a pig, but for some reason this body heat didn't bother me like it usually does... in fact, it was something that I could have endured alllll night.
They opened their set with Hyperactive. The whole crowd was bouncing... fists were up in the air and The Donnas couldn't have looked any happier to be there than they did. Donna F. looked intense and focused, Donna R. sparkled in her silver shirt and played away with all her hair in her face like a true Metal Goddess would, Donna C.'s hair was flying allllll over the place and Donna A.'s grin was wider than the Cheshire Cats. It was ROCKIN'.
Their sound was huge, the place was packed and no one took their eyes off of the girls unless it was to get another drink or bang their head around. They played their little hearts out and in the almost-non existant silence (they played all the songs one after another like on The Donnas self-titled album) the crowd would cheer for their favorite song, hoping that their favorite would be the next tune to rip out into the night. Too bad for my luck, they didn't play "You Don't Wanna Call", but they did play "Let's Go Mano" when the crowd demanded it, "Skintight" and all the other cuts off the new album except "Too Fast For Love". They played some stuff off of American Teenage Rock 'N' Roll Machine and of course the infamous "Get Rid Of That Girl". Between sets, when Donna A. would run backstage with Donna R., (that happened twice) Donna F. and Donna C. would play their renditions of songs, includeing "Another One Bites The Dust". It added such variety to the show, it was amazing! Of course, the crowd went nuts. The Donnas closed their set with "Zero" and, leaving their instruments behind, said thanks to the crowd and all four climbed the stairs. Looking through the window that went upstairs, I could see in the green room as they wiped their red faces and looked out at the chanting crowd that was begging for an encore. Being the RAD Donnas that they are, they came out and rocked even MORE playing "You Make Me Hot" and about 4 other songs in the 2 encores they gave us.
WHAT a show. Although it was a relief to leave the main room and feel the cool air of the night on my face, I was sad to leave one of the most exciting events of my life. I give this show a more than deserved perfect 100,000,0000 out of 10, and of course, send all my love to The Donnas for providing the world with such an inspiration to ROCK!
My first Donnas show, guys, and I'm already addicted!!!!
See you at the next show, I'll be the one in pink!!!!!
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