A week ago I saw The Psychedelic Furs for the seventh time at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Oregon, and it was yet another fantastic and lovely night. This show is right up there with the 2016 and 2024 concerts because so many wonderful moments happened on that day. I'm going through the post concert blues right now, but I'm still beaming about everything and I can't wait to tell you.
Ever since The Psychedelic Furs announced the dates for this second North American tour I wanted to give guitarist Rich Good a present, and last year when he gave the bracelets to me seeing his backpack gave me a good idea. I wanted to get a Squishmallow keychain of a black cat. If you don't know what Squishmallows are, they are stuffed plushies of various animals, insects, and other things, and are super soft. There's tons of accessories as well, one of them being keychains. I went to their official store on Amazon and looked at the keychains but they didn't have one of a black cat. Disappointed, I asked my friend Mary at work what I should do, so she looked further and showed me a set of six tiny Squishmallows, and lo and behold, a black cat was one of them. I ordered the set (which came quickly) and Mary ordered a keychain which I paid her back for, and one night at work I brought the Squishmallow with me and Mary brought her sewing kit and the keychain. At break she sewed the keychain to the Squishmallow, and the end result was perfect. For my birthday in August Mary gave me a beautiful necklace that has a black cat and she said it's for me to wear at the concert because of the connection to the keychain, and my parents got me a Psychedelic Furs t-shirt that has a drawing of, you guessed it, a black cat! I took this as a sign and it is known that black cats give good luck! I also got a thank you card for Rich, to thank him for everything he did for me, and two days before the concert I wrote my message in the card. I put the card and keychain in my purse, and hoped I would be able to give them to Rich.
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| The keychain for Rich! :) |
On the day of the concert my brother and I left for Portland in the afternoon and we got to the Crystal Ballroom at around 3:30. When we arrived there were four or five people waiting but they said they weren't in line. They were carrying vinyl records of the Psychedelic Furs' albums, and it looked like they were waiting to see if any of the band members would come out and sign them, mainly vocalist Richard Butler. My brother and I went in line, and we were the only ones there for a little bit until a lady came in line. Then suddenly the people with the vinyl records left, and it looked like they gave up after waiting for some time. I don't know if they ever went to the concert but I felt they were only there to see if they would get autographs.
Some time after that, I was looking at my phone and The Psychedelic Furs arrived at the Crystal Ballroom. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a few of the band members entering inside to do soundcheck. I didn't want to look at them while they were going in there so I kept my eyes glued to the phone until I heard a voice saying, "Hey Sarah!" I looked up and to my delight, it was Rich Good! We both hugged each other and Rich suggested we stood in the shade where the tour bus was, because it was 86 degrees and I was standing in the sun. Rich had a few minutes to chat before soundcheck, and I told Rich that it had been 10 years since my brother and I first saw The Furs at this same venue and the moment when Rich smiled at me, and waved at me when the band members left the stage. It was a year before I officially got to meet Rich and I told him I had never thought in a million years that we would meet and become good friends, and Rich said it was destiny that made it happen. Then I gave Rich my card and the keychain and he absolutely loved them, and said that he'll look at the card after soundcheck. Then my brother took pictures of us (Rich was holding the keychain!) and Rich promised we would take more photos after the concert. My brother told Rich that he appreciated drummer Zachary Alford's work with David Bowie in the '90s, and asked Rich if he would let Zach know. Rich agreed and even mentioned my brother could meet Zach. We said bye and then Rich went inside the venue for soundcheck. I was so thrilled and over the moon that Rich loved the keychain. It meant the whole world to me.
At one point we saw Zachary Alford came out of the Crystal Ballroom to go into the tour bus, but my brother didn't go up to Zach because my brother didn't want to bother him and interrupt what he was doing. We talked to the lady who was in line with us and she said that it would be her very first time seeing The Psychedelic Furs, and I told her I hoped she would have a good time seeing them. Later at around 5 the venue staff came out and were preparing to scan the tickets. While my brother and I were waiting, Rich Good came out and saw us, then asked my brother if he got to meet Zachary Alford. My brother told Rich he didn't and explained why, then Rich thanked me for the card and gave me a hug. Rich went away to go for a walk and I was smiling as I watched him leave.
There was another line from the restaurant next door where the people got the $15 deal, where if they spend that much on food and drinks they would get into the venue first. I didn't panic from seeing them because the last time it happened I was able to get to the barrier. After that I got my tickets scanned, went through the metal detectors, and my brother and I went upstairs. I turned and went towards the stage but to my dismay, I didn't see any room at the barrier. I stood in the middle trying to figure out where to stand but eventually I made my way to the second row behind a couple people who were at the barrier facing where Richard Butler would be. I was kind of disappointed because I wanted to be at the barrier on the left side of the stage to be near Rich Good but thankfully the people in front of me weren't that tall so I got a good view. And at least I'm still close to the stage. I thought to myself that if The Psychedelic Furs tour next year and return to the Crystal Ballroom my brother and I would definitely go to the restaurant. We actually did that in 2019 when we saw The Furs there but I didn't know if the restaurant was still doing that kind of thing. As I took my spot my brother went to go sit somewhere near the bar.
The opener was Gary Numan and the only song that I knew from him was "Cars". Gary was actually really good and I liked how the stage was set up. Usually I don't take pictures of the opening acts but I had to take some of Gary. I wished I had taken some photos of Frankie Rose when she opened for The Psychedelic Furs and The Jesus And Mary Chain last year.
After Gary Numan performed we waited during intermission and while the music was playing one of the songs that got played was Roxy Music's 1975 single "Love Is The Drug". I got excited hearing it and to me it seemed like a coincidence because I started listening to more of Roxy's other songs.
And then, the lights went dim and we all knew what's going to happen. The exciting moment when The Psychedelic Furs go on stage. The band members arrived first, and then Richard Butler next. There were a couple mishaps with bassist Tim Butler's bass and Rich Good's guitar not working but they got quickly fixed.
The new musician who joined The Psychedelic Furs on the tour was Peter DiStefano, who was the guitarist in the band Porno For Pyros (formed by a couple members from Jane's Addiction) in the '90s, and he's a great addition to The Furs. During the show Rich Good smiled at me twice and the second time he did that, he waved at me. I got all excited. <3
The setlist was incredibly amazing and I got to hear three songs I've never heard live before. "My Time" from Mirror Moves, "It Goes On" from Talk Talk Talk, and the one I got excited for the most, "Run And Run" from Forever Now. "Run And Run" used to be my number one favorite Psychedelic Furs song (it's now my second) and I always wanted to hear it live. The Furs also played "In My Head" and "Until She Comes", both from World Outside. It was great hearing the latter song and the last time I heard it live was in 2016! And then of course, The Furs played my favorite song "No-One" from Made Of Rain. I freaked out when they started that song and when it ended I shouted out thank you twice. I'm glad I got to listen to "No-One" again. I think this setlist and the one for the 2023 concert are my favorites.
During the beginning of Midnight To Midnight's "Heartbreak Beat" I got teary eyed and looked up at the ceiling and mouthed the words "We love you Mars". As I mentioned on my blog post about the previous concert the song sounded lonely without sax player Mars Williams, and I got emotional as well during the middle in "My Time" where it was supposed to have the saxophone.
After when the concert ended I walked over to where my brother was sitting. We sat for a little bit before heading downstairs and I went over to the merchandise stand. I bought a t-shirt that had the tour dates on the back and another different shirt for Mary to thank her for the keychain. We went out of the venue and there were some fans standing around the entrance so my brother and I went a little further away from them. While standing outside Rich Good came out of the venue and he had his backpack with him. Now I don't know if I saw correctly, but I think I saw the keychain attached to the backpack. It was kind of hard to tell though because the backpack was the same color as the keychain, and I don't know if Rich has another backpack but I like to believe I saw the keychain. Rich saw me in the distance and told me he had to go in the tour bus to put his stuff away first, and after that he went out of the tour bus and walked over to me. My brother was on the phone talking while Rich came over and I walked up to Rich, hugged him and thanked him for the concert. We got a few selfies together and then we went over to my brother who was done talking on the phone.
Throughout the years of getting to know Rich he is the most kindest, caring, and down to earth person I've ever met in my entire life, and from talking to Rich I feel he understands me as a human being. I wanted to thank Rich for that and when I did, I cried. Because as a person who's on the Autism Spectrum there are times at work where I feel like an outsider and while I made friends there, I would feel lonely and not fitting in with everyone. It doesn't happen all the time but when it does, sometimes it becomes a struggle for me and it can be exhausting being in this neurotypical world at times, a world that's not made for me. That's why I always look forward to my weekends because I want to be away from that world, to not see anybody and be safe and secure at home in my own space for a little bit.
Even though I have good friends there are a couple who are the kind of friends that completely understand and accept you for who you are, and they are Rich Good and Mary. Mary's the only friend at work who I talk about my special interests to, mainly The Psychedelic Furs (unfortunately some of my co-workers don't know who The Furs are....), and previously she had never heard of The Furs until one time I played "Heartbreak Beat" at work and she really liked it. I texted more of the songs to her and because of that Mary likes The Furs. And with her having a son who has Autism it drew me close to her and it's nice to know someone who understands my situation.
It's funny because with me having Autism I always have trouble with crowds but when I was at the show surrounded by tons of people I didn't have a problem with it, I was fine. I think it's because a Psychedelic Furs concert is, besides home, the only place where I can truly be myself. I told Rich that I find comfort in the lyrics "You got rain in your eyes and a head full of stars" in the beginning of "My Time" because I feel it describes my Autism in a positive light. Rich was so sweet and understanding when I explained everything to him and Rich said when he first met Gary Numan and was getting to know him, Gary told Rich that he's on the Spectrum. It blew my mind when I heard that and after seeing the way Gary performed I would never think he would be on the Spectrum. I like to think that maybe Gary wanted to make music as a way to express himself. I also told Rich about the time I wrote my blog The Psychedelic Furs: 40 Years of Beautiful Chaos, where when I was finishing up the blog I accidentally deleted the whole thing, and I felt writing it the second time wouldn't be as good as the first. But because of my Autism I have a really good memory and I actually remembered everything I had written, so I wrote out the entire thing. I'll never forget Rich's reaction when I told him that and he said, "I think I read that blog!" I was shocked and said, "You did?!" I was speechless and overcome with happiness. Then Rich said he loved the shirt that I was wearing (it has the black cat with The Psychedelic Furs' name on it) and asked me where I got it. I said my parents got it for me for my birthday and it's from this website called TeePublic, and Rich said he might get that shirt for himself. We all talked some more, Rich gave me a guitar pick, and then we said goodbye. I really didn't want to leave Rich and I hope there would be a day where we will see each other again and have more time to talk. It was hard having to go back to work the night after the concert and I wished I could stay at home and relive the whole experience. When I started working my body felt tired but it was a happy tired.
Four days after the show I discovered that on one of Rich's Instagram Stories he posted a black and white picture of us and wrote out this caption:
"Seen lots of faces:
Here's my friend [Sarah]
She's really cool <3"
When I saw that I got so excited and I saved the screenshot of it to my phone. It totally made my whole day.
If there's ever a time where I feel lonely again I'll look at the pictures of me and Rich Good and think about the beautiful friendship we have together. Rich definitely is, as Anne Shirley would say, a kindred spirit. <3
Thank you for reading.
Setlist:
1. Heaven
2. President Gas
3. Wrong Train
4. Into You Like A Train
5. The Boy That Invented Rock & Roll
6. Mr. Jones
7. My Time
8. No-One
9. Love My Way
10. In My Head
11. Run And Run
12. Until She Comes
13. So Run Down
14. Pretty In Pink
15. Heartbreak Beat
Encore:
16. It Goes On
17. India
*All photos by me*
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