My First Concert

My first concert was Adam Ant in January 1983. I was 13, and my 12-year old friend Shawn had won tickets from the radio station. It was at Raleigh’s Civic Center downtown, and I managed to get my 20-year-old brother Tom to drive us.

Tom was actually attending the concert with a date. Shawn and I were the third and fourth wheels, I guess, as we sat in the back seat of my dad’s 1979-ish silver Chevy Malibu.

I’m pretty sure this was the era of what I call Tom’s “Madness haircut.” With his buzz cut, it would seem that he was embracing the “Nu Wave.” He was also wearing a red vinyl jacket with black trim. (Think Michael Jackson.)

Tom drove the four of us downtown and found a place to park in a nearby parking lot. His date decided she didn’t want to carry her purse in to the concert, so she hid it up under her seat. Tom thought he’d be warm enough inside and decided to leave the red vinyl jacket behind also. He kind of shoved it down by his date’s purse, so as to further hide the purse from view of would-be criminals.

Well, the concert itself was ok. Shawn and I managed to maneuver up toward the stage, but we could only get to the sides of it, right in front of the gigantic speaker. (I can’t believe I’m not deaf.) Adam Ant came over and stood on the speaker a couple of times, right over our heads. There was a drugged-out chick in the audience near us who kept turning around in circles and looking up at him as if he were the focus of her own personal kaleidoscope. Adam looked very hot in his leather pants, and I think he was very excited to be there.

Nevertheless, the concert had to end at some point, and once Shawn and I caught up with my brother again, the four of us made our way back to the car.

I suppose we shouldn’t have been surprised to find that someone had thrown a brick through the passenger side window. Beads of safety glass were everywhere inside. Tom’s date was amazed and relieved to find that her purse was still there under the seat, untouched. The stereo was intact and undamaged in the dash. The perps had stolen nothing from the car – nothing, except Tom’s red vinyl jacket!

My dad bemoaned having to pay $75 to fix the car window, and to this day, I think he leaves his car unlocked at all times. He simply doesn’t leave any items inside the car that are worth more than the cost of replacing a window.

I am not sure Tom has ever gotten over the loss of his red vinyl jacket. A couple of months ago, he asked me if I could Bedazzle some rhinestones onto his jean jacket to personalize it so that no one else would walk off with it. Apparently his jackets get stolen a lot.