There is something pretty amazing about finding a music scene. For a kid like me, who didn't quite belong anywhere, it felt like a secret community of other kids who had found the same music for the same reasons. Looking back as a middle-aged adult, in the midst of a social paralyzing pandemic, I would give anything for one more night in a crowded club with no social media, no pictures to prove the good or the bad, and the innocent optimism of believing it would last forever. It all started with a record and a radio station. The record was "Black Celebration" and the radio station was WFNX. WFNX hailed from Boston, Ma and my city was the last of the airwaves. There were days when it was barely audible, but once found, the dial would never move. I would stay up late with a cassette ready and my finger on the record button waiting for the unmistakable beginning of the Stone Roses "I want to be adored." WFNX was how we found out about anything music-related. Amped up by the movie "Pump up the Volume" we were looking for our own musical flagship of rebellion and there it was...WFNX.
I was only 15 when I started pulling off these musical excursions to the city...we'd visit Newbury street to hit up Tower Records and the original Newbury Comics. My best friend was an expert at subway travel and her parents were the best. They would drive us to shows and buy tickets a few rows back to keep an eye on us. Her dad drove a taxi in college and he knew all the shortcuts that I would use years later to drive to shows. Our first show was the New Kids on the Block. Our second show was Depeche Mode. In 1991, Depeche Mode's Violator tour was the heart-pounding, soul-latching music that set the bar high for all other concerts. We had the cheap seats on the lawn and came home smelling like weed. That night began my ritual of hiding my checkered flannel in my closet immediately after every show to preserve the smell of "concert freedom" and to hide it from my parents.
My red and blue checkered flannel went everywhere and next up was The Replacements. Finding The Replacements in the early '90s was equal parts WFNX and adolescence..there was a boy and he liked The Replacements...well there are worse ways to discover bands and meet boys... So it was a Friday night, we had tickets to The Replacements, and I had ballet rehearsal. So my best friend and her amazing parents picked me up at the exact moment rehearsal was over and I remember running out into Main St with all my clothes and shoes in my arms and my point shoes still on. I went to the concert in my dance outfit, cutoff shorts, and the flannel.
I saw so many shows in the '90s at The Orpheum Theater in Boston. The Orpheum is set back from the road with an unmistakable marquee. Every ticket had a dollar restoration fee tacked on and it was easy to see why. I just remember walking in and seeing every "cool in the alt world" kid in my high school hanging out the bar and feeling intensely self conscious until the lights went out. Our seats were really good and the show was loud and amazing. I was completely in the moment, singing and screaming, hoping it would never end. We returned soon after to see Jesus Jones, The Happy Mondays, and Iggy Pop.
In 2007 I saw The Decemberists and I discovered the Orpheum to be beautifully restored. WFNX went off the air in 2013. I saw Depeche Mode 3 more times, most recently in 2019. If you ever get to see Depeche Mode..go. There is nothing quite like singing "Strange Love" along with a huge crowd.
