February may be the shortest month of the year, but in Portland, February's past have been pretty epic. At least when it comes to great concerts. It's nice to know that our brutal Maine winters have not deterred some of the greatest musical acts in the world from visiting our town. We went back into our archives to find a dozen epic concerts that happened at the Cumberland County Civic Center, now the Cross Insurance Arena.

 

 

February 27, 1992-Metallica

SOLD OUT!

 

 

February 13, 1993-Bon Jovi

A raging snowstorm and blizzard conditions couldn't stop Jon Bon Jovi and his crew from coming to Portland

 

 

February 10, 1978-The J. Geils Band

The Geils band was known for their infamous New Year's Eve shows in Portland, but this one in 1978 was a corker!

 

 

February 15, 2000-- Def Leppard and Joan Jett

This was an epic night. Joan Jett was bald at the time and looked so cool. And Portland celebrated the day after Valentine's Day with an onstage wedding with Def Leppard. Here is some RARE footage from that very show.

 

 

February 8, 1980-Red Riders of the Purple Sage / 38 Special

The Red Riders headlined the show as a young upstart band named 38 Special opened. 38 Special would be back in Portland in the 1980s as a headliner.

 

 

February 11, 1983-The Marshall Tucker Band

There's nothing like some fine Southern Rock to warm up a cold February in Maine.

 

February 12, 1984-Huey Lewis and the News

Huey was in his heyday as he came to Portland in the midst of his mega-huge album "Sports" which had been released just a few months before.

 

 

February 10, 1991-Neil Young w/ Sonic Youth and Social Distortion

One of the greatest shows ever at the CCCC.

 

 

February 27th, 2001-Godsmack and Staind

This was a loud one. They say if you go into the empty Cross Insurance Arena and stay very quiet, you can still hear Sully's voice reverberating through the hall.

 

 

February 6, 1990- Whitesnake w/Kix

These two hair bands rocked Portland. The legend is that Portland ran out of Aquanet hair spray that evening. True story. And long live the hair bands!

 

 

February 28, 1984- Adam Ant w/The Romantics

Adam Ant had about 15 minutes of huge headliner fame. And lucky for us, some of that 15 minutes was in Portland in 1984. The Romantics were a great opener!

 

February 26th 1981-Johnny Cash

The legend himself got to Maine over a dozen times between 1963 and 1993. He's been everywhere, man. He's been everywhere.

 

Things People Say That Make Mainers Roll Their Eyes

45 Maine Words That Should Be Added To The Dictionary

Here are 45 Maine slang words that we think should be added to Merriam-Webster, Funk & Wagnalls, or any legit dictionary of your choice.

Famous Fictional Towns in Maine

Here are some fictional Maine towns from TV, movies, and of course, Stephen King books!

 

 

 

 

More From 102.9 WBLM