Discussion:
Monsters of Rock Oxford, ME 1988
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t***@gmail.com
2014-07-22 00:26:12 UTC
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Was anyone else at this HELLISH show? Did anyone else stay for the whole show
in the rain and lightning. I still hold all other outdoor shows against this.
JK
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
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Stayed for the whole thing. I remember being down front for Metallica, burning pizza boxes under the bleachers to get warm, and watching the Scorps take the stage and leave the stage several times. An absolute trip...
o***@aol.com
2014-08-19 19:17:01 UTC
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Was anyone else at this HELLISH show? Did anyone else stay for the whole show
in the rain and lightning. I still hold all other outdoor shows against this.
JK
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
I LEFT IN MIDDLE OF VAN HALEN AND HIKED BACK TO MY CAMP GROUND....CRAZY BK IN THE DAY!!!!!!
c***@tenasone.com
2015-06-22 14:57:20 UTC
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Was anyone else at this HELLISH show? Did anyone else stay for the whole show
in the rain and lightning. I still hold all other outdoor shows against this.
JK
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
YES! My buddies and I went. It was a week after we graduated from high school. We finally gave up during the Scorpions sets (after the lightning started). We're soaking wet and bummed that we're not going to see Van Halen. As we're meandering through the parking lot (soaking wet and defeated) we see a van with a small'ish crowd gathered around it. We managed to be right in front of the sliding door. Swear to God, the door slid open and all four member's of VH bounded out. Sammy was right in front of me. I put my hand out and he immediately slapped me a hard "five" and I went for Eddie. I remember they were so clean and dry and happy and drunk. One second later this security guy yells "LET'S GO!" and they immediately ran through the maze of cars and under the stage. It was insane. My buddies and I ran back in and watched their very short set with the other 600 people that stayed. We weren't so cold and defeated after that. What a memory! For the record, looking now, it was 27 years ago this Thursday (June 25th, 1988).

Time flies.

Chris
j***@gmail.com
2017-04-08 02:13:59 UTC
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Holy shit yes. Here's my memory:
We went up Friday afternoon to beat the crowd and didn't realize what were were in for. 3 guys, long hair, denim and leather going to see Metallica. We went into the grocery store and bought meat, buns, two cases of beer and a bottle of Jack Daniels. I thought I was in a scene from Deliverance. Security following us around and the cashier gave me crap for having a MA license and called the cops.
Then we try to camp, every spot we went to was raided by the staties. Wound up parking in the woods, covered the car in brush and slept outside. Next morning meet up with some friends and proceed to purchase three more cases of beer from the local convenience store. Guy was horrified, mind you its 7am.
We were drinking in the line to get in (it was a general admission show) and we were selling beers to the bikers for $2 a piece. Show security was the coolest ever.
Front row for Kingdom Come and Metallica, chick next to me had 1 arm. I felt a sense of duty to protect her.
Rain starts right as Metallica starts 'Am I Evil', how profound. Fucking pours with major lightning after that. Dokken comes on and Don Dokken pours a cup of water over his head to show he's with us. We leave at that point. So does the crowd as most were there to see Metallica. Oh yeah, lightning everywhere, mud on the track, worst storms I had seen all year.
The drive out was nuts, the line of traffic to get in stretches all the way from Oxford to route 95 past the Maine toll booths. Another buddy of mine never made it to the show as he was in that traffic.
Mind you we went to this show cuz the Foxboro, MA show was wasn't going happen.
s***@gmail.com
2019-08-08 18:58:58 UTC
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Was anyone else at this HELLISH show? Did anyone else stay for the whole show
in the rain and lightning. I still hold all other outdoor shows against this.
JK
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
I was at this show to. It did rain bad off and on all night, but I stayed for the whole show. I won backstage passes from a local radio station was the reason why and I got to meet James Hetfield and Jason Newsted as well as the Scorpions and Van Halen. Part of me winning the passes was that I had to stand on the stage when the Scorpions played and they were really cool. I remember taking pictures with Van Halen and Michael Anthony had my buddy in a headlock during the picture. We got to stay in the radio stations press box while it rained, so that made the show much more enjoyable. This was the best show I have ever gone to because I had so many friends there and I got to meet most of the bands.
r***@gmail.com
2020-03-14 01:57:05 UTC
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Wow what a freaking show.
Stayed up in Bethel Maine with a few friends.
The weather was insane. I remembering being up near the stage and we were all holding a piece of these big blue tarps above our heads to try and stay dry.
We ended up staying the whole show assisted by the Shroom Tea we had made back in Bethel and the extra caps we brought to the show.
Honestly what a great experience. Hands down one of the best outdoor shows I've ever seen.Only show close would be Soundgarden
Faith no More and the Ramones @Lake Compounce in Bristol Ct
R.I.P
Chris Cornell
jomama
2019-09-19 20:56:26 UTC
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I was there, too, and stayed to the end! I couldn't go to the one in Foxboro because my father's wedding was that day and I was forced to go to that (don't even get me started on the '80s style powder blue tuxes my brothers and I had to wear). So, me and my buddy (we were 15 at the time) got tickets to the show in Oxford, ME, and his mother agreed to drive us up there from Rhode Island. I guess we drove up that morning and stayed in a motel that night. But the traffic was so bad that by the time she dropped us off and we got into the speedway, Dokken was, I think, about halfway through their set. It sucked missing Metallica, but I was mainly there for VH. What a day. Terrible rain storms, and many people don't know this, but thunderstorms in Maine are, for some reason, often absolutely ferocious, as they were that afternoon. I remember the Scorpions literally sloshing through water onstage. They would come out and play a song or two and then have to leave the stage, wait like 30 minutes, come back, play a couple more...it was nuts. By the time VH came on there were maybe a few hundred people left, maybe a thousand. From 60,000 or whatever down to a few hundred. I was a diehard VH fan, so hell yes I was one of them. They played a truncated set, which was a bummer, but it could have been worse! What an experience.
t***@gmail.com
2020-05-03 02:57:20 UTC
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15 years old at the time and went with my BFF and his older brother to this show. We started at a nearby campground and I got insanely drunk the night before the show. The only time I puked through my nose.

Muscled through the show the following day and managed to get right to the front during Metallica. After that I remember the Scorpions getting a rain delay and our group agreeing to bail. After being soaked all day and nursing a hangover, I didn't complain. I wish we stayed to see Halen!
David Kilroy
2020-09-20 14:51:12 UTC
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Was anyone else at this HELLISH show? Did anyone else stay for the whole show
in the rain and lightning. I still hold all other outdoor shows against this.
JK
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
I went to the Show at Biddeford at the speedway...must be the same show. I drove up the night before with my friends. We ended up driving next to a tour truck from Van Halen. We talked with him using a portable CB radio...remember those things? He stopped on the side of the highway and gave us guitar picks and tried to get my girlfriend to "ride with him"...no luck there. We slept in a pile of sawdust at a local sawmill. On the way to the speedway in the morning, some guy with a van full of family pulled up to my left in heavy traffic and slowly forced me off the road. Traffic was so heavy that as we move forward a bit, I saw a cop and hopped out of my running car and walked over to the cop and explained. He pulled the guy over and we all laughed and pointed and were generally being annoying teenagers. When we finally got to the event I remember being nervous as I gave my ticket at the gate. They were doing the soundcheck playing AC/DC and it was making me heart skip beats as I walked in. I stayed for all of it. Metallica rocked! Van Halen orbited the stage in their helicopter and left...Fuck you Van Halen! Still love them though. After the show we jumped back in my 5.0 and waited in traffic for hours. When traffic finally started moving, everyone was doing about 30 but still "bumper to bumper". Suddenly there was a chain reaction pileup. There was a break in oncoming traffic and I swerved into the oncoming lane. My friends in the car behind us didn't and the pileup continued. The pileup included at least 25 cars, maybe 40...lots! We pulled into a side street and watched as the police arrived to sort out the mess. A couple of the people in the pileup blamed us and the cops eventually noticed us sitting at a distance and came and got me. I was feeling cocky and told him they were mad because I had better reactions than them...how could it be my fault if I was the only person in the middle of a 25+ car pileup that wasn't involved. The cops took my info and let us go. Good thing they didn't search the car!
David Kilroy
2020-09-20 14:54:55 UTC
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Raining? It was pouring, man...especially on the way home after
Metallica. We had to wait for about 2 hours (if i remember correctly)
to get out of the parking lot, the back-road and finally onto the main
road to get us to Portland for the night. We were up front for
Metallica too.....got a couple of cool pics from that. I can remember
turning around and seeing, what was it? 60,000 people behind me...
what a trip. I went to Quebec city that winter to see them on the
Justice tour with Queensryche. Cool pics from that one too, but
Oxford was way better.......
Shovelhead.
We tried to leave when it started pouring and ended up sitting in the car
going NOWHERE for two hours or so. We'd roll down the windows and listen to
the Scorpions go on stage for about 2 minutes, then lightning would strike
and there would be silence for half an hour then they'd come back. When we
go almost to the road a cop told us that there wsa an accident and that we
couldn't leave if we wanted to, so they actually let us back in and we saw
the end of the Scorpions set. A couple of hours later all the lights went
out and the thousand or so people left groaned collectively before Van Halen
"erupted" onto the stage. Sammy Hagar said he felt REALLY bad and that
they'd play as long as there were people still standing. We knew he was
lying, but at that point we'd take what we could get. I know people that
went to the Foxboro show and several of them passed out with HEATSTROKE, I'm
not sure who had it worse!
JK
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
In was in that accident...sort of

I drove up the night before with my friends. We ended up driving next to a tour truck from Van Halen. We talked with my using a portable CB radio! He stopped and gave us guitar picks and tried to get my girlfriend to "ride with him". We slept in a pile of sawdust at a local sawmill. On the way to the speedway in the morning, some guy with a van full of family pulled up to my left in heavy traffic and slowly forced me off the road. Traffic was so heavy that as we move forward a bit, I saw a cop and hopped out of my running car and walked over to the cop and explained. He pulled the guy over and we all laughed and pointed and were generally being annoying teenagers. When we finally got to the event I remember being nervous as I gave my ticket at the gate. They were doing the soundcheck playing AC/DC and it was making me heart skip beats as I walked in. I stayed for all of it. Metallica rocked! Van Halen orbited the stage in their helicopter and left...Fuck you Van Halen! Still love them though. After the show we jumped back in my 5.0 and waited in traffic for hours. When traffic finally started moving, everyone was doing about 30 but still "bumper to bumper". Suddenly there was a chain reaction pileup. There was a break in oncoming traffic and I swerved into the oncoming lane. My friends in the car behind us didn't and the pileup continued. The pileup included at least 25 cars, maybe 40...lots! We pulled into a side street and watched as the police arrived to sort out the mess. A couple of the people in the pileup blamed us and the cops eventually noticed us sitting at a distance and came and got me. I was feeling cocky and told him they were mad because I had better reactions than them...how could it be my fault if I was the only person in the middle of a 25+ car pileup that wasn't involved. The cops took my info and let us go. Good thing they didn't search the car!
Luann Wells
2022-07-19 10:11:58 UTC
Permalink
Was anyone else at this HELLISH show? Did anyone else stay for the whole show
in the rain and lightning. I still hold all other outdoor shows against this.
JK
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
Here I am years later reminiscing! Me and two g'friends drove up from Mass. ONE road in and ONE road out I remember quite clearly (I think). It poured rain, was super hot and the lightening coming on to the speedway was a little frightening!
People selling shrooms all over. We did not partake.
I had a camera on me, got some great pics and LOST the film. To this day I am still pissed about that and still hope to find it.
We left when while the Scorpions were playing, I could hear them from the road. They sounded exactly like their record. I was very impressed.
Richard Kane
2023-02-28 03:13:56 UTC
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Post by Luann Wells
Was anyone else at this HELLISH show? Did anyone else stay for the whole show
in the rain and lightning. I still hold all other outdoor shows against this.
JK
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
Here I am years later reminiscing! Me and two g'friends drove up from Mass. ONE road in and ONE road out I remember quite clearly (I think). It poured rain, was super hot and the lightening coming on to the speedway was a little frightening!
People selling shrooms all over. We did not partake.
I had a camera on me, got some great pics and LOST the film. To this day I am still pissed about that and still hope to find it.
We left when while the Scorpions were playing, I could hear them from the road. They sounded exactly like their record. I was very impressed.
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