Tempted

Out with friends for dinner with more than a few couples before a charity function sponsored by my Knights of Pythias (FDR) Lodge, the ladies evidently were discussing plans ahead and my wife shared our plans for next weekend. Our friend Abby asked how many times Shelly and I attended a Squeeze show. I responded at least four.

That answer was correct only to how many shows we attended together through the summer of 2008. Since that time, we we experienced lead guitarist Glen Tilbrook at the Iridium downstairs from Ellen’s Stardust Diner October 25, 2014 and the “Acoustic Duo” of Glenn and Squeeze writing partner Chris Difford, December 18, 2014 at the Play Station Theatre.

I first saw Squeeze 33 years ago to the night Abby posed her question, at Nassau Coliseum. Squeeze was on hiatus when Shelly and saw Chris and Glenn at The Ritz during the summer of 1984 a few months after we met. It was her first taste of the Squeeze duo then billed as Difford & Tilbrook (And I procured really good seats at a table overseeing on a balcony overlooking the otherwise seatless venue.). A year later (August 17), we saw Chris and Glenn reunited as Squeeze at the Nassau Coliseum with opening act The Hooters whose leader Rob Hyman was known for writing and playing on She’s So Unusual, the debut LP from Cyndi Lauper (whose Broadway play Kinky Boots we experienced for Shelly’s birthday). We saw them again four years later at the Garden (November 10) and the following summer at Jones Beach (July 31) opening for Fleetwood Mac. Not sure the reason but we did not see them for almost 18 years when they followed the Smithereens at Brookhaven Amphitheater (where we would later see Richy Furay perform with Poco two weeks later.), August 24, 2008.

My next three shows did not include Shelly: Glenn played the following March with his band the Fluffers which included two current (“Lord” Stephen Large and Simon Hanson) Squeeze members at the now closed Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale where my daughter, Marisa, would see many of her fave bands. The summer of the following year Marisa and I took in Squeeze with Cheap Trick opening at Radio City (July 13). Two summers later (July 20, 2012) The Romantics who we saw July 4 in Florida opened for Squeeze at Coney Island.

Abby says I owe Shelly a Broadway show. I submit any Squeeze performance – check out their Beacon Theatre gig this past November 19 – holds its own with offerings on the great white way (albeit there remains some show there I’ll pay to see.).

Are you Tempted to weigh in?

P.S. It was really cool that during some part of drafting this commentary, I was DM’ing on twitter with another fave (I think Shelly attended even more Dave Mason concerts.)