Plastic Passion Wednesdays @ Oz - NOW OVER - R.I.P

[PlasticPassion_a2]

(I posted this on myspace, but I'd figure I'd post it on here, too, since I know a few of you on this board have been going and aren't on myspace)

Wowie Zowie! Last night, the final Plastic Passion rawked so hard - we blew an electrical fuse! Thanks to everyone who came out for this final night and for waiting it out until we got the power back on! Due to this and other technical issues, we weren't able to do the "150 best new wave songs of all time" set, but here is what was played:

The Smiths - Sheila Take A Bow

Human League - Love Action

Armando - Confusion's Revenge

Phuture - We Are Phuture

Dead Or Alive - Brand New Lover

Yaz - Situation

Gruesome Twosome - Hallucination Generation

Front 242 - Welcome To Paradise

Michael Jackson - Thriller

Ministry - Everyday Is Halloween

Peter Gabriel - Big Time

Joey Beltram - Energy Flash

Beastie Boys - Brass Monkey

The Cramps - Human Fly

Squeeze - Take Me I'm Yours

Pixies - Where Is My Mind

Public Image Limited - Rise

Bollock Brothers - Harley David (Son Of A Bitch)

Revolting Cocks - Stainless Steel Providers

Nine Inch Nails - Sin

Sisters Of Mercy - Marian

The Smiths - There Is A Light

Echo & The Bunnymen - Lips Like Sugar

House Of Love - I Don't Know Why I Love You

Public Image Limited - This Is Not A Love Song

Cyndi Lauper - When You Were Mine

The Kings - Switchin To Glide

The Cure - A Night Like This

Shreikback - Nemesis

Big Audio Dynamite - Contact

Ready For The World - Oh Sheila

Apollonia 6 - Sex Shooter

Love & Rockets - So Alive

Depeche Mode - Sea Of Sin

Eurythmics - Here Comes The Rain Again

Real Life - Send Me An Angel

New Order - Blue Monday

Duran Duran - Planet Earth

The Cure - The Baby Screams

A Flock Of Seagulls - Space Age Love Song

Joy Division - She's Lost Control

Soft Cell - Tainted Love

The The - This Is The Day

XTC - Generals & Majors

The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary

Echo & The Bunnymen - The Cutter

Romeo Void - Never Say Never

Kim Carnes - Bettie Davis Eyes

Jesus & Mary Chain - Head On

Killing Joke - Love Like Blood

Berlin - No More Words

Siouxsie & The Banshees - Cities In Dust

Death In June - Come Before Christ And Murder Love

Q Lazzarus - Goodbye Horses (this is the song from Silence Of The Lambs that everyone always asks me about)

Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill

Men Without Hats - The Safety Dance

Taco - Puttin On The Ritz

The Cure - The Love Cats

Run DMC - It's Tricky

Renegade Soundwave - Biting My Nails

My Life W/ The Thrill Kill Kult - A Daisy Chain 4 Satan

Judas Priest - Another Thing Comin

Pixies - Gouge Away

Sisters Of Mercy - Lucretia My Reflection

Journey - Separate Ways (First, Journey rocked so hard it flipped a power strip!)

David Bowie - China Girl

Talking Heads - Wild Wild Life

Iggy Pop - Real Wild Child

Laura Branagan - Gloria (Then, the combo duet of Laura and Iggy rocked so hard it blew a fucking fuse!)

INXS - The One Thing

Duran Duran - Rio

Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart

The Cure - Plastic Passion

David Bowie - DJ

Urban Dance Squad - A Deeper Shade Of Soul

The Clash - Should I Stay Or Should I Go

Gang Of Four - I Love A Man In Uniform

Aztec Camera - Oblivious

Erasure - A Little Respect

When In Rome - The Promise

Depeche Mode - Everything Counts

Camouflage - Heaven (I Want You)

Orchestral Manoeuvers In The Dark - If You Leave

Simple Minds - Don't You Forget About Me

The Time - Jungle Love

Nitzer Ebb - Control (I'm Here)

B-52's - Channel Z

Go-Go's - Our Lips Are Sealed

Olivia Fucking Newton John - Xanadu

Fleetwood Mac - Seven Wonders

The Sundays - Here's Where The Story Ends

Cocteau Twins - Carolyn's Fingers

Cowboy Junkies - Sweet Jane

Billy Idol - The Untouchables

The Smiths - Asleep

Brian Eno - An Ending (Ascent)

Lessons learned from doing this:

1) Promoting this thing was the most difficult mission I've done in some time. Sometimes selling the music format and getting people to come out on a Wednesday night was challenging enough, but, in the end, it turned out that I had to sell Oz to people more than anything. Most folks who would enjoy this sort of night, never went to Oz before (and I will say, I don't blame them). The hard lesson: don't throw a club night at a place that your target audience doesn't go to already!

2) Amazingly, people will fill the floor and dance to stuff like Cocteau Twins, The Sundays, and This Mortal Coil and it's really exciting when they do!

3) Most people will only dance to stuff they know. The most rewarding thing for a DJ, however, is when they dance to something they haven't heard before and then come up to you and ask what it was later! Hence, the published playlists.

4) Don't expect for all of your thirty-year-old friends to come out every week and be your loyal base. Don't be surprised, however, when your loyal base consists of a bunch you've never met before and you end up making some new friends ("This Couch Reserved" crew, I'm talkin' to you!)

Now for some thanks:

First off, thanks to Dan and Tracy for being the primary inspiration in me doing PP with their constant hounding "when, oh when, is there going to be a cool new wave night in Ann Arbor where we can dance every week?" I'm sorry that your schedules did not allow you to spend more time out.

For all your promotion help, support, enthusiasm, dancing energy, and more, I would like to extend many personal thanks out to Maria, Chris, Guy, Margot, John, Tracie, Rachel, Dana, Amanda, Corby, Stever, Vito, Tim, Kris, the 'Dancing Bald Guy' (I'm sorry I never got your name), Dorian, Mark, The Bang!, and any other die-hard fans of PP whom I unfortunately didn't get names or the pleasure of being introduced to. I know I promised many of you some mix CDs. I'll try to get them distributed to you before I leave for Iraq.

To the bar staff of Oz: Diane, Zach, Vince - you guys were absolutely wonderful. Don't apologize to me about Oz's owner - I apologize to you for having to work for him! Good luck in Virginia, Diane! You'll be missed!

And finally, special thanks goes out to Sara. Sara, even during those couple of nights when nobody showed up - seeing you get up and dance all night for every night brought my chin up and kept me going. You have been a true friend and the biggest fan through this and I can't thank you enough. Just seeing Sara dance and smile made it worth doing every time.

Final Words:

"Just what is the whole 'Plastic Passion' name about?" many have asked:

1) A name of an old, favorite Cure song. Obviously.

2) Remembering a time, before digital downloading, when all music came out on plastic records, tapes, and CDs. The obsession, the passion, in finding a good record store and spending hours there flipping through vinyl, spending tons of money and time collecting all these bits of plastic and having it mean so much more, making and trading tons of plastic mixtapes for all of your friends and sharing music with those you loved. Nothing but little pieces of plastic that would end up changing your life forever.

Maybe not a good name for a club night, but now you know, that's the story behind it and these days are nearing their end.

Well, it was only three months, but it's a three months that I won't ever forget. I hope you all have some good memories of these Wednesday nights that you'll never forget either. Please feel free share any stories, thoughts, feelings, comments, etc., as a comment on this site or on our myspace blog. If you have any good pictures, send them to me and I'll post 'em on this site. I'll leave this site up on myspace for a year or so. The choice is yours on whether or not to keep it as your myspace friend. If, by chance, there's a reunion party or something like it next year, I'll use this site to promote again. I also encourage somebody else to do a similar weekly club night in Ann Arbor, soon!

Unless I miraculously get out of it, Iraq is in my future this summer. Whatever your political thoughts and feelings are about that situation, just know that if I don't go, then they're just gonna send some other poor bastard in my place. If, however, months down the line, you happen to catch on CNN that Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis have all come peacefully together after hearing Depeche Mode's "People Are People" and dancing to 80s New Wave all night long as part of "Operation: Rock The Casbah", well.... I just might have had something to do with that.

As cheesy as it may be sometimes, I love this new wave music, guys. I will never be able to shake it. It's in my blood and soul.

It's not about re-living the past. It's just a celebration of the good humankind has managed to do in our lifetime.

Hang The DJ,

Josh

[LuluVox]

Heheh. I got thanked. :D

But really, all the thanks goes out to you, Plastic Passion, for being the best new wave dance night to come around in a long long time. You, and your awesome DJ, will be missed 'round here.

[phee]

Why did it get cancelled?

[LuluVox]

Well, besides the fact that Oz gave it a hard time from the get-go, there's this:

Unless I miraculously get out of it, Iraq is in my future this summer. Whatever your political thoughts and feelings are about that situation, just know that if I don't go, then they're just gonna send some other poor bastard in my place. If, however, months down the line, you happen to catch on CNN that Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis have all come peacefully together after hearing Depeche Mode's "People Are People" and dancing to 80s New Wave all night long as part of "Operation: Rock The Casbah", well.... I just might have had something to do with that. wink.gif