Rockin' Graduation

It was May 22, 1987, and 15,642 tickets were sold for the Bon Jovi concert at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.  They were on the Slippery When Wet tour, and Cinderella opened.  I could hardly wait.  I had been to other concerts, but it would only be my second rock/metal concert following Stryper's To Hell With The Devil tour earlier that spring.  Those were the days of arena rock, and Freedom Hall did not disappoint.  Holding 19,200 seats, it was the longtime home of the Louisville Cardinals basketball team and a prime venue for concerts in that part of the country.

Anyone remember those buttons on the Walkman?

The Sears SR2100!

I had nearly worn out my cassette of Slippery When Wet by then, having played it over and over in my Sony Walkman and Sears jam box.  I knew every word and every note, even smiling at the fade out at the end of "Raise Your Hands" as Jon sings "Sayreville, New Jersey" in homage to his hometown.  I was less familiar with Cinderella, not yet having purchased their debut album.  In fact, I completely misunderstood the title and chorus of the title track to the album, hearing in my mind Tom Keifer screaming, "life sucks!" instead of the actual words "night songs."  Nonetheless, I was excited for the concert, and I was well rewarded.

Cinderella opened and rocked the place, and I banged my head accordingly, even though I did not yet have long hair.  I was a straitlaced kid (more on that in a moment), but my neck worked just fine, flinging my head back and forth in rock 'n' roll abandon.  And then Bon Jovi took the stage, and the arena exploded.  It was lights and sound and energy like nothing I had ever seen, and it was wonderful.  The band ripped through their hits, and I could not believe that I was in the same room, albeit with more than fifteen thousand of my closest friends, with Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Alec John Such, David Bryan, and Tico Torres.

About halfway through the set, Jon took flight.  Literally.  A harness flew him out to the middle of the arena where a small stage had been set up.  The rest of the band was on the main stage, but Jon sang "Livin' On A Prayer" from the smaller stage in the middle and then flew back to the front.  It was incredible.  Again, this was arena rock.  It was a show, a spectacle as big as the hair of the band members themselves.

I mentioned that I was a straitlaced young man, and this is true.  I was president of our high school's Latin club and one of the valedictorians of my senior class, and that is where Bon Jovi and graduation cross paths.  The concert was on Friday night, and the following Monday was the rehearsal for our commencement.  Since it was the next school day after the concert, I naturally wanted to wear the tour shirt I had bought, and I did, but this put me in the interesting position of rehearsing my valedictory speech in front of the senior class and administration while wearing a Bon Jovi t-shirt!

I'm second from the right. Hardly headbanger appearance!

Wish I still had this one!