My first concert was January 16, 1987 at the Hartford Civic Center. I was just shy of 8 years old. My family had gone to watch the Hartford Hawks play Canisius College, and after the basketball game, the court was removed, a stage was erected, and then Smokey Robinson graced us with his talents. How did I remember that date? I didn’t. You’d be amazed what you can find on the World Wide Web.

I’ve also been to a number of outdoor concerts with my parents. A lot of them were part of Cigna’s Sunset Sounds summer concert series in Bloomfield, CT. There were huge fields outlined with speakers and filled with picnickers listening and dancing to the music. We never sat too close to the stage, so I don’t remember much about who was performing, but I do remember walking close enough to see Crystal Gayle’s hair sweeping the floor one of those evenings.

My first concert without my parents was when I was in 8th grade. Two friends and I got dropped off at the Bushnell in Hartford to see the Black Crowes. It was awesome! Chris Robinson was wearing crushed green velvet bell-bottoms with a lace up crotch and a white shirt that is best described as something a pirate would wear. I remember wondering why people were burning incense during the show. It was another year or so before I realized that incense wasn’t what I was smelling.

The Bushnell is also where I saw my first Broadway musical. Cats was on one of its US tours in the 80s. I wasn’t actually supposed to go. Mom and two of my sisters had tickets to the show in May of 1987. They were heading in while my dad and I were supposed to go do something else together (I’m not sure what that was, but ice cream was probably involved). I think I had a look on my face that said something like, “Boy, I bet they’re going to have a lot of fun, and I think I would enjoy it, too,” because my dad promptly approached a scalper and bought two tickets for me and him. My mom and sisters had floor seats, while he and I sat in the front row of the balcony. It was magical and I’m grateful for my dad’s intuition. Fast forward to June 7, 2019, and my 7 year-old daughter and I are sitting in the front row of the balcony watching Cats at the Durham Performing Arts Center.

“I remember a time I knew what happiness was. Let the memory live again.”