2. Dancing queen

A couple of weeks ago I went to see another hair band perform live.

I went to see L.A. Guns in the far north metro, at a bar that wasn't well designed for live music. On my five-tier scale of hair bands, with the top being the A list and the bottom being the E list, L.A. Guns reached C level. My unscientific class system puts them one level below Warrant and Cinderella and two levels below Poison, Def Leppard and Guns 'n' Roses. But they're one level better than Enuff Z'nuff and BulletBoys. Not sure where I'd put Ratt. They're somewhere between the A and B level, not sure which they'd be a better fit for, but I digress. (Who is and isn't lumped into the hair band genre is also open for debate.)

So, since last summer when I saw The Black Crowes at the Minnesota State Fair I have seen Warrant with its new lead singer, Ratt lead singer Stephen Pearcy, Poison lead singer Bret Michaels, BulletBoys and L.A. Guns. For all five of those shows I have collectively paid $12 in ticket fees. Funny how that works.

Bret Michaels was quite the spectacle, and BulletBoys prompted me to write a long recap for the wrong reasons. I have long been a fan of L.A. Guns, but I'm not going to recap my March 27 outing, instead I'm going to honor a guy who loves the music and isn't afraid to show it. I call him "The Dancing Queen."

DQ came to my attention at the BulletBoys show. He seemed to be hanging solo, like me. He is a bit stocky, which probably makes him appear to be older than he is. When I looked closely at him I guessed he was probably in his early 20s, but a little facial hair, glasses and 75 extra pounds tends to make a person appear older.

His behavior at the BulletBoys show was bizarre. During the set by opening act Swirl, DQ was working his way back and forth in front of the stage, dancing like it was an ABBA concert. At times he'd wave his hands in front of the lead singer's face. It was rather bizarre.

He proceeded to dance during the BulletBoys, too. I didn't get it.

At L.A. Guns four weeks later I saw him walking around, and immediately recognized him. And sure enough, I saw him dancing around during L.A. Guns. The crowd was packed tight in front of the stage, but that didn't stop DQ from trying to strut his stuff or waive his hooded sweatshirt in the air. I think he was trying to hit on a few women between dances. I'm not sure, but it was pretty clear he was creeping a few of them out.

It was quite strange, and somehow I don't think I've seen the last of Dancing Queen, unfortunately.