36 years ago, actually. If my math is correct.
The blizzard of 1978.
In North East Ohio, it was an unseasonably warm day.
The day had been in the low 70s.
Halfway through the show, Paul Stanley gave a weather report.
He wasn't kidding.
After the show, we went to the parking lot, and found a snowbank shaped like my friend's AMC Gremlin, scraped off the snow, and proceeded toward the highway.
In a combination of ignorance and youthful perseverance, we drove home on I-2, followed the entire way by a highway patrol car.
We were the only two cars on the road, and we didn't get it.
Other concert attendees spent the night at local homes and local jails who all opened their doors (and cells) to people who needed a place to spend the night.
We made it all the way home, mostly because, we were idiots.
And the Ohio Highway Patrol understood that and saw us home, safely.
School was closed the next day. Giving us the day to recover from the fucking awesome concert.
Did we learn our lesson?
Oh, hell no!
A week later, the same group of friends, this time, accompanied by our girlfriends, braved similar weather conditions to attend a concert by "Brownsville Station," at Lorain, Ohio's newly refurbished Palace Theater.
A total of about 15 people, including us, actually attended that concert.
Because we were young and, painfully, stupid.
I wouldn't trade either of those nights for anything in the world.
I was at that show. Only made it home because we had a 4wd vehicle...a Subaru Brat. And yes, I was in the back seats!
ReplyDeleteI was at that show also. We made it home to Akron. But I thought I had to go to school the next day?
ReplyDeleteI remember that night!! Radio said heavy snow warning in the secondary snow belt!! Cars sideways in the road. After concert did not know brand of car with all the deep snow on them. Excellent concert though!!
ReplyDelete