dude

Last night we went -- at the urging of one of Jim's work colleagues -- to see an 80's cover band play at a local bar.

The band's official name is The Awesome. You have to give a local band credit for naming itself The Awesome. I mean, come on. It would be so very easy not to be awesome, and then where have you landed yourself?

Moreover, I'm not usually one for crowded humid bars with beer served in plastic cups of the sort that you can buy at the grocery store. There was a reason I chose a college without a vibrant Greek system and studiously avoided final club parties.

Still, I do have a weakness for good 80's pop (i.e., er, I rather love it), and so I was willing to give this a go. I tried to do some intensely 80's-esque eye-makeup, and we went for drinks beforehand with Alisa and Dick, then all headed over to the Big Easy fashionably late.

Well, I guess I have to renounce all those aversions to beer-coated floors and sweat-soaked frat boys. I fully endorse seeing The Awesome if ever you are in Portland, Maine when they are playing, because: damn.

These folks take their 80's music really, really seriously. They actually did a costume change in between sets and came out in entirely different, "did they really save that from 1983?" outfits. Beyond that, though, they were good. They channeled bands that have no right to exist in the collective memory, and...man. I cannot remember the last time I had that much fun at a dance party.

You may think that 80's music is not worth paying a $10 per person cover charge, but you would be horribly, horribly wrong. Like it or hate it, 80's music is ridiculously danceable, and you'd be surprised how many lyrics your brain has held on to at the expense of surely more important information, like, say, your father's birthday, your best friend's phone number, or perhaps your own blood type.

Don't believe me? Scan this mere sampling of their playlist:

Africa (Toto)
And She Was (Talking Heads)
Automatic (Pointer Sisters)
Baby I Can't Wait ( Nu Shooz)
Borderline (Madonna)
Break My Stride (Matthew Wilder)
Broken Wings (Mr. Mister)
Burnin' Down The House (Talking Heads)
Can't Go For That (Hall & Oates)
Cars (Gary Numan)
Cruel Summer (Bananarama)
Dancehall Days (Wang Chung)
Devil Inside (INXS)
Don't Dream It's Over (Crowded House)
Don't Worry Be Happy (Bobby McFerrin)
Don't You Want Me (Human League)
Down Under (Men At Work)
Dress You Up (Madonna)
Easy Lover (Phil Collins/Phillip Bailey)
Electric Avenue (Eddie Grant)
Enjoy The Silence (Depeche Mode)
Everybody Have Fun Tonight (Wang Chung)
Everybody Wants to Rule The World (Tears For Fears)
Everything She Wants (Wham)
Eye Of The Tiger (Survivor)
Fascination (Human League)
Freedom (Wham)
Get Into The Groove (Madonna)
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Cindy Lauper)
Girlfriend Is Better Than That (Talking Heads)
Head Over Heels (Tears For Fears)
Heart & Soul (T'Pau)
Holding Out For A Hero (Bonnie Tyler)
Hold The Line (Toto)
Hungry Like The Wolf (Duran Duran)
I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love Tonight (The Outfield)
Into the Groove (Madonna)
I Wanna Dance WIth Somebody (Whitney Houston)
I Want To Know What Love is (Foreigner)
Land Down Under (Men at Work)
Like A Virgin (Madonna)
Let's Hear it For The Boy (Deneice Williams)
Maneater (Hall & Oates)
Money For Nothing (Dire Straits)
New Sensation (INXS)
No One is To Blame (Howard Jones)
Notorious (Duran Duran)
Obsession Once In A Lifetime (Talking Heads)
Our Lips Are Sealed (Go Go's)
Out Of Touch (Hall & Oates)
Part Time Lover (Stevie Wonder)
Party All The Time (Eddie Murphy)
Promises, Promises Rio (Duran Duran)
Safety Dance (Men Without Hats)
Self Control (Laura Branigan)
She Works Hard For The Money (Donna Summer)
Stepping Out (Joe Jackson)
Stop Draggin' My Heart Around (Stevie Nicks/Tom Petty)
Sunglasses At Night (Corey Hart)
Tainted Love (Soft Cell)
Take On Me (A-Ha)
Talking In Your Sleep (The Romantics)
Things Can Only Get Better (Howard Jones)
Throwin' It All Away (Genesis)
The Tide Is High (Blondie)
Time after Time (Cyndi Lauper)
Too Late For Goodbyes (Julian Lennon)
Total Eclipse Of The Heart (Bonnie Tyler)
View To A Kill (Duran Duran)
Walkin' On Sunshine (Katrina & The Waves)
West End Girls (Pet Shop Boys)
Who's Gonna Drive You Home (The Cars)
Would I Lie To You (Eurythmics)
99 Red Balloon (Nena)

See? I bet at least twelve of those songs are now cycling through your head in their entirety, right? Heh. Told you so.

That's not even all. After yelling out "Bangles!" several times in the interstitial pauses, the band struck up a phenomenal rendition of "Walk Like an Egyptian." Jim was rather impressed that I knew all the words. (The singer had a lyric sheet. Hee.)

You know you want to experience this for yourself. I bet I'll see you at the next performance.

Dude. It'll be awesome.