Arts Devo

Nineteen Eighty-Four Oh, man, simpler times—those junior high/early high school years in my hometown of Redding, when tween Arts DEVO followed MTV closely for all his social cues and fashion moves. Trends shifted constantly in the early 1980s, and so did my allegiances. One month, I begged my mom to sew me a shiny black suit like Michael Jackson’s in “Billie Jean” (she did!). The next month, Def Leppard’s “Pyromania” hit the airwaves and I was off to the Mt. Shasta Mall to try and find a muscle shirt (pink checkerboard was my jam). Joan Jett gave me my hairstyle, until Duran Duran took over. And I went from parachute pants during my breakdancer period (two months?) to Frankenstein pants when I saw what Eddie Van Halen rocked in the “Jump” video. But I was on my own trying to replicate his jeans covered in leather patches, and my version featured a bunch of mismatched pieces of fabric scraps sloppily sewn to the legs. The coup de grâce, however, was when I removed the seam along the outside of one leg, took a hole punch to the jeans, and then re-threaded them with two different colors of shoe laces. Cool, right?

Of all the trends I tried on in those halcyon years—roughly 1983 to 1985—the one I rode the hardest was probably the hair bands. Most of my buds at the time leaned more toward the metal side of the spectrum, but I was all about the pop, the anthems and power ballads by Poison, Quiet Riot, Scorpions, Twisted Sister, and so on. It was easy to sing along with while I daydreamed about being onstage. Plus, the videos made it seem like girls were really into fluffy heads. (I had moved on to something different by the time my hair would have been long enough to go big. All I was ever able to cultivate at the time was a creepy-looking rat tail.)

This nostalgic ramble is brought to you by the play Rock of Ages, which the Birdcage Theatre will present at the Oroville State Theatre this weekend—May 17-19. I’ve never seen the stage or movie version of the musical, and I had no clue until I started looking into what the show was about how killer the song selection is. It’s all of my favorite glam-metal/and ’80s-rock crowd-pleasers from those hair-band glory days: “Nothin’ But a Good Time,” “Sister Christian,” “Here I Go Again,” “Harden My Heart,” “Every Rose Has Its Thorn.” And there are three dozen songs! It doesn’t even matter what the show is about. That playlist alone will make for a great party!

For more more info see the CN&R calendar or visit birdcagetheatre.org.

Raise the roof … funds For the past year, the Chico Women’s Club has been trying to raise money to repair the roof of its 87-year-old building and install an 8,700-watt solar system. The repairs and upgrades are much needed and will save the club money over time as well as keep it cooler during events (if you’ve ever sweated through a summertime concert there, you know how important this is). This Friday (May 17), 7-10 p.m., is the latest in a series of spring fundraisers, a Women’s Comedy Showcase, with Becky Lynn as the host of a variety show featuring standup from local women and skits from Chico Live Improv Comedy. Tickets are only $5! Come show some love for this important community hub, and throw a little extra in the till if you can.