Blimp Time-Hop: The First Bob Seger Concert At The Civic Center

43 years ago today, Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band made their first trip to the Civic Center in Portland. The new album Stranger in Town had only been out for just over a week.

Major classics like Hollywood Nights and Old Time Rock N’ Roll were brand-spankin' new songs on the set-list.

This was his second studio album with the Silver Bullet Band. According to the RIAA, it went platinum within a month of it being released. That’s ONE MILLION copies sold inside just 30 days…unbelievable!

So, it’s really no surprise that Blimpsters sold-out the CCCC for his first appearance there on May 17, 1978. It was surely had to be a night of rock-n-roll ecstasy that Portland, Maine will never forget.

Here’s a killah example of the incredible energy that was undoubtedly happening in at that first Portland show with Still The Same live in ’78. Bob blew 'em away every time.

Get your sweet thang way up high on your shoulders and let’s rock!

Bob has performed live in Pine Tree State 4 times. Beginning in 1970 at the Portland Expo, then this one we're celebrating today in '78, a return to the Civic Center in 1980, and then one last time on the Bangor Waterfront in 2014.

setlist.fm

Unfortunately, I personally never got to see this legend here in my home state. Probably, because my parents didn't let me go to a concert until I was 16. Bob's last time in Portland was when I was 13. I did finally get to see him in Boston at the Garden in 2011 and it was magical.

Have you ever been to a Bob Seger show? Tell us about on the WBLM Facebook page.