40 Years Ago: New England's Worst Blizzard And An Awful Rock Concert

SPRINGFIELD, MA — This past weekend marked a personal milestone of sorts, as Saturday was the 40th anniversary of the first rock concert I ever attended. It was Feb. 11, 1983, a day which would go down in the annals of New England history as truly unforgettable, having nothing to do with the performance.

Thousands of teenagers made the short drive that Friday night to the Springfield Civic Center to see Aerosmith, plunking down $9.50 apiece for tickets. To put that into perspective, on the band's 2022 tour, nosebleed seats that recommended wearing a parachute cost in excess of $150 - and that's before they hit the secondary market.

Admittedly, Aerosmith was not exactly in prime form in the early 1980s. Guitar whiz Joe Perry had left the band in 1979, and rhythm guitarist Brad Whitford followed suit two years later. With replacement guitarists Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay on board, the group released the "Rock In a Hard Place" album in 1982, and embarked on a tour to support it.

Unfortunately, new personnel was only part of the problem, as singer Steven Tyler's drug usage had escalated to the point where he collapsed on stage on several occasions. Despite the bad omens, a number of us piled into my '76 Ford Mustang and headed to the show. Little did we know what lay in store for us.

We stumbled into the Civic Center (don't ask) and were treated to a fine 11-song set by opening act Pat Travers and his band. The Canadian guitarist blazed through rockers like "Snortin' Whiskey" and show-closing singalong "Boom Boom (Out Go the Lights)," originally recorded by blues legend Little Walter.

Once Travers left the stage, we waited for the headliner. And waited. And waited. And waited...

Nearly two hours after Travers' final note had been played, Aerosmith emerged from backstage. For some reason, the sound was terrible, the musicians were lackluster, and Tyler seemed a bit out of sorts. They managed to get through 14 songs, including classics such as "Dream On," "Walk This Way" and encore "Train Kept a-Rollin'." Somehow, though, it just was not up to our expectations, and to say we headed to the exits disappointed would be an understatement.

We got to the Civic Center doors, and found out why the band had taken the stage so late. During the four hours or so we had been inside, nearly two feet of snow fell on Springfield. Officially, 21 inches of white powder dropped on the city, shattering a record set in 1945 and not broken until 21.9 inches fell on Feb. 12, 2006.

We couldn't even find our cars, let alone try to drive home in those conditions even if we could. Several hundred fans spent the entire night on the concrete floor in the bowels of the Springfield Civic Center. Of course, in those days, there was no Internet, no Snapchat, no cell phones to record every detail. All we have is our memories.

David Palmberg recalled, "I was there. Snow drifts in garage kept us from leaving!"

Patti Love of Enfield was a sophomore at Fermi High School at the time, and told Patch via text message about the unforgettable experience.

"My first rock concert!!!!!!! Blizzard!!! Staying at the Civic Center!! A lot of people passing out in our seats before Aerosmith even came on!! Getting through to Mom and Dad around 2 a.m. to say we were staying over!!! My brother having to sober up enough to talk to them to prove we were still together!!! He had to carry me into the house once we got home because I couldn't walk through the snow!!! It was SO COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Kelly Parrott of Enfield wrote, "Came out to a very upset grandfather who has been waiting outside to pick me up. The days before cell phones..."

Come to think of it, 1983 was a bad year for me in terms of Springfield concerts and wintry weather. Fast forward to Dec. 28, where the legendary Kinks were set to perform. It was brutally cold and flurries were falling, but it got worse when I tried rolling down my car window to pay the parking garage attendant and the window snapped off and fell into the door frame.

Undaunted, we went inside and headed directly for the floor (general admission in those days). As expected, the majority of the audience were guys looking like they had no clue that Woodstock was over. Dinosaurs of the late sixties, to say the least.

What was not expected was the opening act, a person that literally no one had ever heard of. She came skipping across the stage with a ukelele in her hand, her hair was about five different colors (long before that was fashionable), and her voice made Betty Boop sound like James Earl Jones.

Needless to say, the crowd didn't exactly warm up to her. As stated, there was not a soul in Springfield, or likely on the entire East Coast, who had even heard of this girl. I've been to dozens of concerts over the years, and never do I remember as much junk being thrown on the stage as on this occasion.

Within three weeks, her debut single began playing in heavy rotation on MTV (yes, they used to play music videos), her second single topped the charts, and everyone had by then heard of Cyndi Lauper. It just seems like such an incongruous pairing, even 40 years later: Cyndi Lauper opening for the Kinks.

I'll end with a few quick notes. I've seen some amazing shows over the years, and some stinkers. Best show: without question, Paul McCartney in 2002 at Madison Square Garden. It was the actual show they recorded for his "Back In the U.S.A." live CD, so every time I play it, I get to relive the experience of my first time at the world's most famous arena.

What was your first concert, or a most unforgettable show, or an interesting story behind a live music event? Email tim.jensen@patch.com, and we may include your memories in a followup story.