In 1990 a band hit the airwaves who looked like some weird hybrid of Scooby Doo and The Partridge Family. Visually, it was hard to take them seriously, but Jellyfish's debut album "Bellybutton" was pretty good... a great mix of bubblegum, psychedelia, and pop.
My younger sister really got into Jellyfish. Maybe it was the dyed dreadlocks or the hippie fashion, but she wanted to listen to my "Bellybutton" cd all of the time. And sure enough, when Jellyfish came to town that same little sister asked me to take her. She was only fifteen at the time. The band was coming to the original 9:30 Club in DC, a legendary venue nestled in one of the many shady neighborhoods of our nation's capitol. I had mixed feelings, but remembering how cool it felt when my older brother took me to some of my first concerts, I thought I had to pass the torch.
When we got the tickets, my sister was pretty psyched. Honestly, we're not the closest siblings in my family. I think ultimately we're just very different. When my parents divorced, I probably tried to be a father-figure to her a little too much too. I'm sure that didn't bring us closer. So when I had my chance to be a cool big brother, I enjoyed it. I remember telling her, "Look... the 9:30 club is not exactly in a nice part of town. Stay close to me. Don't talk to anyone. Don't look at anyone. If anyone talks or looks at you, tell me. I'll take care of them." The entry into the main room of the club required you to walk down this narrow corridor. No matter who's playing there, it's always a freak show. The Jellyfish fans looked like the Mickey Mouse Club on acid, so I was definitely giving the clientele a wide berth. I remember walking down that corridor with Melanie in front of me, my hands on her shoulders guiding her through the crowd. It was probably overkill, but I was not going to tell my parents that I got my baby sister killed or stoned by taking her to a late-night concert in DC.
When the band came on, they put on a great show. Looking over at Melanie... she just had the biggest grin on her face. It was great. I mean... here she was at her first concert, but what was so great was that she was seeing this band from MTV right in front of her. The original 9:30 club was tiny, so it felt like it was just us and them in this little room. We were probably only five or ten feet from the stage. What a great first show. Later I told her, "Don't think all concerts are like this. You'll probably never get this close to anyone again." All these years later, I don't know if she ever has, but I'm sure she'll always remember that first Jellyfish concert. Hopefully in that memory will be one of me... looking out for her like I always did.
"I Wanna Stay Home" is from the album "Bellybutton." To hear the song, click on the icon in the widget jukebox along the side of the blog.
Tom Petty is pretty cool. I don't think he's the greatest musician that ever lived, but he's produced a solid body of work over his long career. Not everyone can be a serious ground-breaker. Petty just writes good rock-n-roll tunes. Nothing wrong with that.
