My First Concert: A Guilty Pleasure

I have lived in Maine all my life and we are kind of out of the way in the upper right hand corner of the United States. That means it isn't often that the biggest music acts find their way to my neck of the woods. So sometimes you have to settle and go to a concert of a second tier band. That was the case with my first concert.

It was August 1986 and I had just turned 15 years old. The tickets to the concert were a present from my two brothers and sister. In the prior few years I missed some good concerts I wanted to go to, but my parents said I was too young. When I turned 15 my mother finally relented and I was set to go to the Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

The concert featured two bands and it was kind of a strange pairing. The opening act was the heavy metal band Dokken. Now I could lie to you all and say that I was there to see them, but I wasn't. Truthfully I knew only one song of theirs, 'In My Dreams', and I really didn't even care for that one. They played their set and then left the stage. About a quarter of the crowd began to file out of the stadium before the main act hit the stage. A big portion of the marijuana haze that was in the air seemed to go with them.

The main act is what one might refer to as a guilty pleasure. Like a 'so dumb its funny' comedy movie or the trashy novel that will never be confused as literature, but you like it anyway. The main act was the Canadian legends Loverboy.

The band played their hits, 'Working for the Weekend', 'Hot Girls in Love', and 'Lovin' Every Minute of It' among others. As an encore they performed their soon to be released new single from the 'Top Gun' soundtrack, 'Heaven in Your Eyes'. Not the most rocking set of songs, but I had a good time.

I am a little ashamed to say it, but I still have a special place in my heart for Loverboy. Much like your first crush, you never forget your first concert. Plus the concert reminds me of my older brother, Dennis, who died a few years later. It is just a good memory of an easier time. So if I hear 'Working for the Weekend' come on the radio, please just ignore me if I turn it up a bit and sing along.