Gilmore Girls: Concert Interruptus
January 24, 2025 4:19 PM - Season 1, Episode 13 - Subscribe

Rory goes to a Bangles concert with her Chilton "friends." The town holds a charity rummage sale. Lane thinks about what she heard in church.

This is so goofy. Let's jump right in.

Lorelai agreed to organize Stars Hollow's annual (right? It's implied to be annual, though like "Parents' Day" at Chilton I can't imagine it'll ever come up again) charity rummage sale, which means the Gilmore house is a chaotic tornado of everything the townies are getting rid of. Enter Sookie, who has scored four really decent tickets to the Bangles 2001 reunion tour concert in New York. Sookie, Lorelai, Rory and Lane are going to the city to see a show!

Except Lane, of course, can't go, because her mom won't allow it and she insisted on telling her mother the truth, of all things. Meanwhile, at Chilton, Rory has been assigned to team up with Paris, Louise and Madeleine for a debate on it doesn't matter. They all have reasons why the team can't prep at their houses (Louise's deadpan "My dad is having an affair" being maybe the best line-read of the episode) so even though the Gilmore residence is more rummage sale than house at this moment, it's apparently their best option.

(Lorelai buys - or claims to have bought, anyway - a sweatshirt from the rummage sale pile. She wears it into Luke's and Luke throws an absolute shit-fit. It all has something to do with Luke having an ex-girlfriend named Rachel that Lorelai didn't know about, but who was apparently very pretty. Lorelai is insecure about this.)

Seeing Rory co-existing in relative peace with some kids from Chilton, Lorelai decides to give the girls the good tickets that Sookie scored for them. Sookie and Lorelai can find cheap seats at the concert. All the girls sans Paris are super-psyched to go, and Paris is dragged along. At the show, Louise and Madeleine immediately clock some college boys and get invited to a party*, which they skip out on the concert for. Paris starts to enjoy herself.

After the show, Lorelai learns about the two wayward teens under her charge, and goes on the warpath, knocking on every door of the building at the corner of Waverly and 1st (an intersection that doesn't exist), telling off the college predators, and yanking Louise and Madeleine out of there. Paris decides that this has been the best night of her life, and smiles.

Fin.

*Ok, let's get into this. I've got absolutely nothing against the Bangles, and would be psyched to go to a Bangles show myself. It makes total sense that Sookie and Lorelai would be Bangles fans (and that, presumably, ASP is a Bangles fan.) It also makes some degree of sense that Rory, with her weird relationship with Lorelai, and Lane, with her broad and passionate musical tastes, would be into them as well. Madeleine is purportedly excited to be going to any concert, since she's never been to one before, and Louise doesn't really need a stated reason to do whatever. Fine. These douchey college bros make no sense at that particular show, however. Even if they were going specifically so as to scope out some high school girls and bring them back to their place mid-concert (which is itself weird, right?) that's a wild show to pick for that venture. It was basically guaranteed to be nothing but wall-to-wall Sookies and Lorelais there. This is to say nothing about the two joyless middle-aged dudes next to Sookie and Lorelai in the nosebleeds, but I want to know their story. Did someone trick them and they thought they were going to an off-broadway play? Okay, rant over for now.

A.V. Club Review - David Sims
Women in Revolt Review - Lindsay Pugh

Soundtrack:
"Walk Like An Egyptian" - The Bangles
"Hero Takes a Fall" - The Bangles
"Eternal Flame" - The Bangles
|"I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" - The Jayhawks

Random Guest Star Watch:
Cleo King (who has been in basically everything but is notable for being Aunt Lou in Deadwood and co-starring in Mike & Molly with Melissa McCarthy) as the neighbor at 1st & Wavery who "doesn't like most people."
Brandon Routh (Superman in Superman Returns) as one of the college asshats.
posted by Navelgazer (1 comment total)
 
I like this for the continuing development of Paris as a character (Liza Weil does not get enough love for her comedic timing on this show and just the hidden vulnerability she brings to Paris) and for Lorelai going off on Madeleine & Louise for mistaking her as the "cool" mom who'd be OK with any of that.

I doubt Bangles tickets were cheap, so I am on board with those complaints. And I'm fine with non-realism when it comes to places, but a music venue big enough to host The Bangles being near enough to housing students could afford in NYC is ... nope.
posted by edencosmic at 7:51 PM on January 25 [1 favorite]


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