As I get older, I try not to fall into the stereotypical trappings, like resisting change. I don’t necessarily believe things were better ‘when I was a kid.’ As we adapt and improve, setting the stage for the next generations, we need to remember where we’re coming from and who got us there. The generations before me gave their all so I could have the freedom to express my opinions, here and elsewhere. There is a monument to those people: Portland’s Memorial Coliseum.
Now, the Rose Garden is a nice place, but it sucks as a rock concert venue. Heresy, I know, but I like rock concerts LOUD, feel it in your chest, arrhythmia-inducing loud. One shouldn’t go to an Ozzy concert, be able to yell “Turn it up!” and have people turn and look at you.
The Coliseum isn’t like that.
My first adventures at Memorial Coliseum were in the early 1970s, attending Jehovah’s Witness conventions. With the close proximity of Lloyd Center we had a place to sneak off to, but we’d still have to make appearances, to be accounted for. One time, standing around wishing we were anywhere but where we were, an agitated fellow kept giving us the stink-eye as he made call after call at a pay phone. Another mischief maker (and lifelong friend) decided we needed to liven up church, so he went to the change slot and hawked up an ugly green surprise. When Stink-Eye Cranky Pants came back, he shot another daggerish glance our way and made a couple more calls. When he finished, he absent-mindedly checked for extra dimes in the coin-return slot. Watching him rid himself of the glob was a juvenile’s delight. We fully expected him to blow a gasket and chase us, but he took it well. Our heads nearly exploded trying to keep a straight face.
How can you tear down memories like that?
Jackass behavior aside, I’ve had a lot of fun in that old building. In 1978 I attended my first heavy metal concert: Jethro Tull. (Yes, Jethro Tull is heavy metal. Just ask Metallica, or the Grammys.) It started decades-long traditions. Every band worth its salt had to be seen, and I gave it my best shot. Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, ZZ Top, Judas Priest, Van Halen, Moody Blues, Cheap Trick. (Power went out for about ten seconds during their set. It was like a plane crashing when the power surged back on.) I saw Page and Plant, Metallica, Ozzy a bunch of times. (To name them all would be a wish list of what I think KGON *should* be playing, instead of endless Queen, Bob Seger and Steve Miller.)
After the Rose Garden opened, concerts got quiet. Maybe I was going deaf? It didn’t make sense; I could converse when the bands were playing. At the Coliseum, if you wanted to communicate with your date, you got up close and spoke loudly into her ear. Healthy? Maybe not, but I know of no one who went to rock concerts for the health benefits. I believe the mantra of the age was Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll. We did our part to keep the faith. Must have been that religious training…
I’d given up on going to concerts, for the most part. I could get more concussive effects on my home stereo. Then I saw Tool at the Coliseum. My faith in rock and roll had been restored. Like a dangerous version of Pink Floyd, they assaulted me visually while pummeling my brain with the most beautiful aggression imaginable. The best part? The bass notes rattled my ribcage, and the drums bitch-slapped my brain. This! This is what I remember! This! This is what I like! Since Pink Floyd is no longer touring, or even playing, my musical loyalties changed. I had a new favorite band.
The last time Tool came around, I took my nephew. It was his first concert, and my first concert without a bunch of cerebral amenities. Know what? It was still ‘rip your face off’ good, and a lot easier to remember. (Fewer bathroom trips as well. You can only rent beer.)
And now, they want to tear the building down, because it’s not used enough. To do what? Build an undersized structure that will sit unused 90% of the time? Don’t we have that already? At least MC has a roof.
Now, I love the Beavers. (Baseball team reference.) I don’t get out to see them as much as I should. Would I see them more at a new stadium? Probably not, though I might buy better seats. The lower bowl at PGE Park has those infernal cup holders where my knees go, and I end up teabagging the person in front of me. Since that rarely ends well, I just sit in the bleachers. You know, up there on the planks where they lease you twelve inches of real estate. For that, we paid (and are probably still paying) $38 million. That was just a few years back. (cough *Enron* cough) I don’t mind them continuing to improve PGE Park, and really hope they make for more comfortable seating, but we shouldn’t have to lose MC to do that.
Demolishing a hearty building with a ton of history to dig an open-air pit that will probably fill with Willamette River water during rainy season sure is a bright idea. If you want a Eurasian feel to your event? Maybe we can host winter water sports, or the world buzkashi playoffs. Ideas?
Someone suggested building a stadium and keeping MC. I’m all for that, if it can be done. Memorial Coliseum hosts the Portland Winterhawks, and is great for smaller-ticket sporting events, like high school and college basketball. It has a roof.
It’s a place of a million memories for me, and I would hate to see it go.
Besides, Tool needs a place to play when they come to town.
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Great memories dude. Yeah, I’ve seen plenty of concerts there in my life. Yet, it doesn’t hold a place in my heart as much. STING just wasn’t that memorable I guess.
Great piece, CC! Didn’t we figure out that we were probably just feet apart from each other during the pre-Sabbath concert cop riot? You just don’t see general admission sheer chaos like that anymore. Man, those were the days.
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