Looking Back at the Last Live Shows of 2020

The last live shows of 2020 are different for everyone. Cheap Trick was one of the last bands I was lucky enough to see. That was February 2020. Think about that. We have now added enough days to the calendar that I can say it has been one year since I saw my last concert before the pandemic hit.

I am forever hopeful that there will be a safe return to concert venues and hearing live music again. In the meantime let's take a look back at the day the music became so socially distant a mask couldn't help it. Your last live show could be different than mine but the loss is the same.

February 14, 2020 - Cheap Trick
Port Chester, NY

For Valentine's Day I took my girl to see Cheap Trick at the Capitol Theater. Pumped to see the show we got there early and made our way to the front of the general admission floor, center stage. As always the band was great as they opened with "Hello There" and burned through a set featuring "Need Your Love", "Ain't That A Shame". "I Want You to Want Me" and "Dream Police".

Toward the middle of the set the audience started to notice a celebrity in the Presidential Booth elevated above the crowd, stage left. Holy Karolyi! It's Steven Van Zandt from Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, also known as Silvio Dante from the Sopranos!

Once the band noticed him, guitarist Rick Nielsen made his way to the VIP box, during the show. While still playing. It seemed a little awkward for Little Steven but what a cool moment for everyone in the audience. As Cheap Trick closed with "Goodnight Now" a flurry of guitar pics pelted the crowd and I was fortunate enough to collect 3 of them. What a great night!

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March 6, 2020 - Terror
Hartford, CT

The very last show I attended was in a small club of around 300 people packed in to see the Los Angeles Hardcore band Terror. They were with Kublai Khan, Magnitude, Restraining Order and SLUGS. I was mainly there to see my son playing drums with SLUGS and he killed it!

What a proud moment! To see my son on stage at a venue I have been going to for 20 years was pretty surreal and another one of those magic concert moments.

That is what these shows are all about, moments that turn into memories. These are the reasons we can't wait to get back to see shows. These may be my last live shows of 2020 but they will not be my last live shows.