Cumberland County Civic Center

38 years ago today, Styx brought their Paradise Theatre Tour to Portland! It was a sold out show at the Civic Center on April 19,1981.

33 years ago today, Aerosmith rocked a sold out show at the Civic Center. This was a comeback that assured their hardcore fans that the real thing remained intact and the heart was still beating loudly.

The show on April 15, 1982 at the Civic Center was sold-out! Sting came back a few more times but this was the only Portland appearance ever by the Police.

With WBLM spinning the ‘new’ tracks, My Life and Big Shot as well as deeper cuts like Stiletto and Zanzibar, the CCCC was packed to capacity on April 13, 1979 for the Piano Man and his band.

With a giant pot leaf banner hanging proudly behind them, they opened with a ferocious No Speak No Slave and ended the night with the big new song of moment, Remedy. We were levitating the whole time!

39 years ago this week, WBLM welcomed back ZZ Top to the Civic Center on April 6, 1980. It was 3 years after they were the very first event and very first rock concert in the new building.

On April 7, 1985, the Red Rocker returned to Portland on the VOA tour with Dokken opening.

Even in the face of the rising popularity of grunge rock like Pearl Jam and Nirvana, our old friends Joe, Rick, Phil and Sav managed to sell-out Portland’s biggest venue.

30 years ago today, Metallica brought the Damaged Justice tour to the Cumberland County Civic Center on March 30, 1989. This was their second appearance in Maine.

31 years ago today, David Lee Roth returned to Portland for the second time as a solo artist. This was his 5th and last appearance onstage at the CCCC counting 3 trips with Van Halen in '78 (opening for Sabbath), '79, and '81.