Tuesday
August 22, 2000
Dreams do come true
I waited all my life for this moment. Everytime I listened to Googoosh's
songs or watched her movies, I wondered if I would ever see her in a live
performance. I was only four years old when she stopped singing and I
really thought that I would never hear her sing again live but I always
had hope. Hope -- like seeing my parents again soon. Hopes like going
back to Hyatt'e Khazar and buying Kooloocheh Shomal that locals sell by
the roadside.
One of my dreams did come true: Googoosh live in concert in Los Angeles.
There was no way I would let this opportunity pass me by. I was at the
Tower Records' ticket counter in my hometown (Tempe, AZ) at 10:03 on Monday
July 17th to make sure that I can get the floor seats I wanted. I called
my baby sister later from home: "I Got'em, I Got'em!"
The rest is easy, you just have to wait and count the days. Saturday
August 18th was just a nerve racking day. First there was this fire on
Highway 405 that closed three lanes. Thanks to Kamyar and Shahrooz we found
a backroad to get ahead a little bit and then on Manchester there was this
traffic that I didn't really expect.
Slowly but surely the cars moved forward and there it was, the big round
arena. We just screamed when we saw the neon sign "Googoosh Live
in Concert". God I hope I'm not dreaming. We got inside. There were
all kinds of people inside. Young and old, conservative and hip, from
all kinds of backgrounds. I just loved it. The common focus: They all
loved Googoosh. And so many were not even Iranian. I just wished governments
would get along like we did that night.
The show started at nine o'clock with the band entering the stage.
They started with "Talaagh" which is one of my all time favorites.
Who can forget her in that white dress with Farah Fawcett's hair-do in
the original video? The band played the tune and the crowed screamed.
Then there was a moment of silence. The lights went out. Five seconds
later there was a beam of light and Googoosh was standing in the middle
of the stage with her head down.
Bigger than life. That's the only way to describe Googoosh. God; is
it real? Please tell me the good old days will return soon. Oh wait it's
too soon for that; let's just enjoy the show. The crowd went absolutely
nuts. They screamed and cried and clapped and cheered and she stayed silent
and still for about a minute. Maybe she was saying a prayer, maybe she
was thanking about God, or maybe this was just part of the show. I don't
know but whatever it was, it was just right.
She looked up and said: "Salam" the audience lost it, she
replied "Salam bar Iran o Irani." She went on saying how much
she wished to have the same justice back home. That really broke my heart.
That was my biggest wish too. To go back to Iran and give as much as
I can to the country I admire, love, cherish and adore so much.
She thanked the Los Angeles sheriff and district attorney and so on,
for helping out to put the show together and she started singing.
Her voice was magic. A million times better than on a CD. She did
an acoustic version of "Man'o gonjeshk-haaye khouneh" that I
pray would be released on an album. "Kavir" was great, "Pishkesh",
"Marham", "Pol", and so on. I really had a hard time
believing that someone can sound this good. But hey, Googoosh is on the
stage, what else do you expect? She sang "Bemoun taa bemounam"
for her two-year-old grandchild. That was very touching.
She still has the same strength and attraction of twenty years ago and
then some. She is a real lady. Her outfits were so pretty and classy.
I just loved her hair-do. It was typical Googoosh and she really looked
great and sounded even better.
The audience was absolutely fabulous as well. It was a very organized
event, and just as the ticket said, an historic event. There was a fifteen-minute
intermission that gave me the chance to buy her tourbook. If you're going
to any of the gigs, don't miss this. It's a must-have item for any Googoosh
fan, with really cool pictures. A really cool hazy picture of Googoosh
that looks ten million times better than Goldie Hawn and a really innocent
picture of Googoosh and a young Kambiz are the highlights.
The show continued into the second half and she sang three of her new
songs. I really loved "Zartosht" and "Gousheh beshin"
which are both sad but true. She sang the good old tunes that everyone
loved and adored so much. I just don't know why she didn't sing "Kooh",
"Harf" and "Man Amede'am". There were plenty of people
calling Tehran on their mobile phones so their loved ones on the other
side of the Atlantic could hear Shah Mahi's voice again.
She said good night and left the stage and the crowed continued cheering
and shouting her name, she came back and for encore sang "Pishkesh"
again.
She really stood up to all the expectations. She grew to some sort of
legend in the last twenty years of silence and she proved that she really
is a legend. I just wish I could go backstage and thank her so much for
the fabulous show and tell her that she gave me hope that I will see my
home very soon again. She's a souvenir of the good memories. But anyway
Googoosh, you know how dear you are and how much we love you.
I got a kick out of her punch lines. In one part she said: "You
know, I didn't know I'm that famous..." The crowed cheered and she
added, "Let me tell you why I say this. Because they didn't get my
finger prints when I was entering the U.S. They said, we know you."
She said it in such a Googooshy way I can't describe it. If you don't
know what Googooshy is then please listen to her old Googoosh Live in
Concert CD and you now exactly what I'm talking about.
I also loved it when in "Marham", she sang: "Man ghaayeghi
shekastam ammaa hanooz Talaaee," (I'm a wrecked boat but still golden
and glittery) and the audience went crazy again. She's so powerful and
talented. She took all the emotion inside the arena up and down with
her fingertip. After "Ayreligh" there was this whole and infinite
sad mood and she rapidly changed it with some Armenian lines that I had
no clue what they meant but it did the job and raised the spirits.
The show ended and everyone got to their cars and tried to jam out of
the parking lot. My sisters and I waited outside of our car and watch
the parade of cars to emerge into Inglewood streets. There were all makes
and models with of course the Black Mercedes being in the majority but
there was a beautiful harmony among everyone.
It doesn't matter what we believe in or what we are or where we are
from. Let's get together tonight and enjoy the night. And what a beautiful
night it was. Thanks everybody for making it happen. I will never forget
it and my ticket is going to sit next to the group picture we took out
in the parking lot -- forever. I guess dreams really do come true. They
just come true one by one. I wonder which one is next.
Shahin Rezai
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