How To Get Front Row Center Tickets For Danielle Dax and Sisters Of Mercy
Here's how I remember it:
Late March of 1991, I was driving a courier van as a day job, had just quit the first "real" band I was in, and was shacking up with my then-girlfriend Ms. Polly Purebread. While finishing my route one sunny Thursday afternoon I drove past the Orpheum Theater and saw posted on their marquee that The Sisters Of Mercy with special guest Danielle Dax were playing soon. Tickets were going on sale that coming Saturday.
I nearly jumped out of my van in excitement. The Sisters AND Danielle Dax?!? Two of my favorite bands at the time, together, in concert!!! I quickly rolled back to the garage and dropped off my courier van and then high-tailed it to see Polly at her place of employment to tell her the news. She was just as excited as I was, until she brought up the question of how we were going to get tickets... This, obviously, was well before the days of online ticket purchasing, and neither of us had a credit card, so trying to get tickets on the phone was out of the question. It was going to be cash on the barrelhead so to speak. I told her that I was going to go home and think about it while she finished up her work day.
I went home and started going over all the ticket-buying scenarios I could think of. I could go to the Orpheum box office, but they didn't open until an hour or so after the tickets went on sale. For a show of this magnitude we wanted the best tickets we could get as soon as we could get them. The ticket office at Dayton's opened at 9am, right as the tickets went on sale. We assumed that there would be a line around the block waiting for the doors to open and the throngs of black-clad goth kids would be clamoring, fighting fang and nail, to be the first in line for tickets. There had to be a better way... work smarter not harder as my father would often say...
And then it hit me. The perfect plan.
Polly got home, and over dinner I explained to her what I had come up with. She agreed that it was the best plan, assuming everything went correctly.
The next day I stopped by her place of employment again to say hi, and we were both giddy with the thought of seeing two of our favorite bands. When she got home that night she handed me cash that she had withdrawn from the bank to buy the tickets with. I paper-clipped it to that day's courier manifest that I had "forgot" to turn in after my shift. Oh well, I'd give it to my dispatcher on Monday and apologize for taking it home with me over the weekend. I went to bed early that night as I had to get up at 7am in order to put the master plan into action.
At 7am my alarm went off and I was startled awake. This was Saturday, and I didn't work Saturdays. Polly slept through it like she always did, but I was still quiet as I gingerly got dressed in my courier uniform. I grabbed the clipboard with the previous days manifest and the cash and went downstairs to catch a bus.
I got to Dayton's at about 8:30 and went to the delivery door. There was a guard there and he asked what I was doing. I said that I had an envelope to pick up on the 6th floor. He had me sign in and then let me through the secured door so I could go "pick up my envelope".
Phase One complete! On to Phase Two...
I took the elevator up to the 3rd floor where the ticket office was. It was empty and all the lights were off, door locked solidly. That's OK, it was still part of the plan.
At about 8:55, a mere 5 minutes before the ticket office was supposed to open, a random Dayton's employee walked by and asked what I was doing there. "The store's not even open yet, how did you get in here?" she asked in a voice more stern than a burned out home ec. teacher. I flashed my clipboard with the day old manifest on it, and flashed my ID badge, and said that I had just dropped off an envelope on the sixth floor. And I figured that while I was here I might as well grab some tickets when the ticket office opened up. She said "you know there are people waiting outside and its not really fair to them!" I fully agreed and said I'd happily go outside to the end of the line, but it was still March and there was a chill in the air, and I hadn't planned on being outside so I left my jacket in the van. She looked me up and down, left to right, inside and out, and finally said "well, you're already here..." and walked off.
Phase Two complete! Onto the final phase of my cunning plan.
At 8:57 the light went on in the ticket office. A minute later the window opened up and a woman who looked younger than me popped her head out and asked if she could help me. I said I was there for Sisters of Mercy tickets and was willing to wait for everyone ahead of me to get theirs first. She said that since I was already there and she had just got her system up and running she could sell me tickets right then and there, at 8:58. Two minutes before they officially went on sale.
Phase three completed.
I hopped the bus to go back home, and when I entered our apartment my girlfriend was still in a deep sleep. I got out of my uniform and into bed. She stirred a little, and woke up enough to ask if I was able to get the tickets. In a very sullen voice I said "yeah, I got the best seats I was able to, and I hope they're good enough", and then handed her the tickets. She squinted at them, then sat bolt upright and shouted "YOU GOT FRONT ROW CENTER SEATS!!!"
As usual, I don't remember anything much about the actual show. I remember being entranced by Danielle Dax. I remember the Sisters had a LOT of fog. And lest you, my dear readers, think that I exaggerate about getting lost in concert performances, my only complaint after the show was that they didn't play "Lurcretia My reflection", to which my girlfriend said it was the second song they played! (proof will be posited in the link to the recording of this show found a little further down)
your humble narrator in the souvenir shirt from said SoM concert
After the show was over my GF and I thought nothing of going around to the back of the venue in hopes of meeting the band. I *REALLY* wanted to meet Tony James, current bass player for the Sisters, but more importantly to me former mastermind of two of my favorite bands; Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik. Sadly no Sisters were spotted, but about 200 feet down from the stage doors was a small touring bus. Standing outside of the bus being ignored by everyone was Daniele Dax and her guitar player. I nudged my GF and said "follow me", which she did. We went up and introduced ourselves and complimented them on their performance. They seemed genuinely appreciative and told us we should see their "real" show. It seemed Mr. Taylor (aka Sisters Of Mercy boss Andrew Eldritch) wouldn't let The Dax Band use all their stage finery which included elaborate costumes and stage sets.
The guitar player (I cannot remember his name for the life of me) was enthralled with my homemade Clinical Psychosis shirt, and was doubly intrigued when I told him it was the band I was currently singing for. Disappointed that I didn't have any of our music to share with him, we made more small talk for about 15 minutes until the tour manager herded everyone onto the bus and off to the hotel.
A few years later I was able to procure a recording of the Sisters set from that night courtesy of Minneapolis live music archivist J. Free. He didn't record the show himself, his friend did, and sadly missed getting a recording of Danielle Dax' set.
Oh yeah, the screaming you hear directly in front of the person taping it? That's me.
Here's a link to grab that SoM set for your dining and dancing edutainment
April 6 1991
Sisters Of Mercy
- (The Rolling Stones cover)
- (Dolly Parton cover)
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