Turn It On: The Summer of 1993

1993 would have been the first summer that I was 21. While I’m sure that I spent much of it drinking beer, the big deal about being legal for me was the ability to go to 21+ shows. Because of insurance requirements in Massachusetts, most clubs wouldn’t do all ages shows and most didn’t even do 18+ shows that weren’t for larger acts so I’d been hampered in my live music obsession for too long already. So, of course, that summer I saw a ton of live music.

Some were bigger shows like Peter Gabriel at the Centrum, The The at Great Woods, or Lollapalooza (at a deserted airport in Rhode Island because Great Woods had banned it). Most, however, were club shows that I don’t remember and don’t have a record of. I do recall an epic power-pop double-bill of Redd Kross and The Gigolo Aunts … and there was an Upstairs show at the Middle East with Slant 6 and Tiger Trap.

There’s one show that I remember distinctly though I have no record of it and I can’t find a mention on the internet. In my memory it’s July 4 but it was probably the 3rd since so few shows happen on the 4th here. The band was Nothing Painted Blue – or maybe just Franklin Bruno solo. The reason I mark this show so well is that it’s one of the first times that I clearly remember hanging out with my now-wife, Ivy. We had just met earlier in the summer and I felt really cool when I told her and my friend Sal that they could go hang out at my house while I was at this show and I would catch up with them later. It probably came across as strange that I didn’t invite her to come with me but I recall it making sense at the time. In any case, I’m reasonably sure that it happened the way I remember…

Enough of that, here’s the mixtape playlist for the Summer of 1993 – a summer when we were all tormented by “Whoomp! There It Is” and Collective Soul’s “Shine.” Only one of which is on the list. And who could forget Billy Idol’s concept album Cyberpunk? Don’t worry, there’s non-cheesy stuff on here too…