The legendary Go-Go's played the final show of their so-called farewell tour Tuesday night at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, the city where it all began nearly four decades ago. Like many fans, I skipped this tour, and the previous ones that occurred after bassist Kathy Valentine was unilaterally dismissed in early 2013. While some have pointed out that I've never thought twice about seeing dozens of other bands that have had revolving band members -- Blondie, the Pretenders, Hole and the Beach Boys come to mind -- what made the Go-Go's wonderfully unique in the rock 'n' roll landscape is that they spent more than three decades together with their classic lineup intact, making them a very special exception to the rule. So while the Eagles and Van Halen were acting like "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," these five adult women were consummate professionals, never giving in to the stereotypes of women being other women's worst enemy. That all ended when Kathy Valentine broke her wrist and missed some touring dates. Not only did the four other women gang up on her in her absence to create an evil caricature that no one would want anything to do with, Kathy's hand-picked fill-in pulled an Eve Harrington, eventually usurping Kathy's place in the band. How they went from being the only group of women in music history to have written and played a No. 1 album to 50-something "Mean Girls" by way of "All About Eve" is one of the saddest and most disillusioning stories in rock 'n' roll history.
With the band now on permanent vacation, it was somewhat heartening to see that Kathy Valentine's attempt to reach out to her former bandmates was greeted with a kind response from Belinda Carlisle, who many think was merely the enforcer for one petty and vindictive singing telegram ...
Next stop: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? A gay can dream!
UPDATE:
Mrs. Mason (and the other women invarious interviews) continues to spread lies, trying to lead fans to believe there had to be "legitimate reasons" Kathy Valentine was ousted from the band. First we were told all would be laid out in the lawsuit, but that turned out to be a lot of gas. Now we're being told the Go-Go's can't discuss it because of "legal reasons." Note to world: "Confidential settlement" means you can't discuss how much was (or wasn't) paid to make a lawsuit go away. It DOES NOT mean you cannot discuss why you wanted to part ways with someone -- so fess up or shut up. Way to reinforce negative stereotypes about how "catty" women are to one another, ladies.
1 comment:
well put dishy
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