It’s perhaps the most iconic sequence from Boogie Nights: The gate shuts. We pan in on a man in a silver robe. We only see him from behind. Firecrackers go off. Repeatedly. Now we see the shiny robed man from the front. He’s doing drugs, dancing, playing Russian roulette, and it all gets crazier from there. Over it all, Night Ranger’s epic love song, “Sister Christian,” plays. And it’s now impossible to hear that song without flashing back to this scene.
How does a platonic love song—drummer Kelly Keagy wrote it for his younger sister who he thought was growing up too fast, and sings it with all his heart—remain so etched in pop cultural lore with its immortal chorus of “You’re motoring, what’s your price for flight”?
Whatever it is, nearly 35 years after its release in 1984, original Night Ranger members Brad Gillis, Keagy and Jack Blades continue to keep its power alive. And there are plenty of other hits: ultra ‘80s rocker “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me,” “You Can Still Rock in America” and the dramatic “When You Close Your Eyes,” to name just a few. In other words, they’re still motoring.
Golden Nugget, 8 p.m. Oct. 26, starting at $49 plus tax and fee. 800.745.3000 Ticketmaster
