Columbus East High School - Altis Yearbook (Columbus, IN)

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The lights are dimmed and the mood is set for Linda Ronstadt's Lose Again ' at Mar- ket Square Arena. Backstage at a concert in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., singer Debbie Boone stops for a smile. During an international tour, the Oakridge Boys played at Ceraland for the Fourth of July. Sponsored by WFBQ radio station. Road- master appeared at the grand opening of Sun Records. Concerts 15

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Flicking of bics, clapping of hands, stomping of feet, downing of bottles, smoke-packed halls, flying frizbees and paper airplanes: 1980-Live-in Concert. Attending live concerts by top bands from across the United States and the world has become a typical activity in the lives of high school students. It was no longer enough to just buy the album of a favorite group or listen to them on the radio. Students traveled to neighbor- ing cities Indianapolis, Louisville, Bloo- mington and Cincinnati, to see their fa- vorite groups perform live on stage. More East high school students attend a large number of concerts than they do school dances. With so many coliseums and arenas so close, one's favorite band is sure to show up at least once every 12 to 18 months. Rock music was ranked first in the poll of East students, second was Disco, and last was Jazz. Styx was ranked first under favorite groups. Eagles was ranked sec- ond and last was Molly Hatchett. The Knack was ranked first in new groups, second was The Cars, and last was Tri- umph. Babe was ranked first among songs, second was Devil Went Down To Georgia, and last was Highway to Hell. Kansas was ranked first in best concerts, second was Styx, and last was Charlie Daniels Band. Led Zepplin was first in what concert to see, second was ELO, and last was Foghat. Two students at East High School were lucky enough to meet the Eagles, after their concert at Bloomington, on October 12. One girl said, The atmo- sphere at the party was casual. No one in the band was portraying the big rock star stereotype. Actually they seemed to be trying to avoid that stereotype. The atmosphere was not I'm a rockstar; kneel down and kiss my feet. It was joe Walsh walking up to us and saying, 'Hi, I'm Tom. Are you having a good time?' Not all concerts were such an enjoy- able experience. It started with 18,348 tickets going in 90 minutes for The Who concert. The group's last concert was in 1975. People started gathering at the co- liseum around 1 p.m. By three o'clock, police were sent to control the 7000 fans waiting outside the doors. Twenty minutes later, the fans pushed their way in through two glass doors, shattering one door. Fifteen minutes before the concert started the police found a body lying dead on the concrete plaza of the coliseum. The Who were not aware of what had happened; they played for two hours and were told to keep their encore short. When they came off stage they were told about the horrible tragedy, a freak accident. Eleven people were dead from suffocation and eight people injured. Suddenly the group became quiet, one started crying, and another thought they should cancel their next concert. The next night in Buffalo, The Who dedi- cated the concert to those people. One member said, We lost a lot of family last night. This show's for them. Typical of the 1970's decade, the young people upgraded their favorite pastimes from a date at the theater to live performances of popular bands. These performances created new sensa- tions for young Americans: excitement, thrill, anxiety, tension, and for some- tragedy. Appearing before acres and acres of Ceraland employees and family, the Oakridge Boys became part of the Fourth of July festivities. Playing to a sold-out crowd, Maurice, Robin, and Barry Gibb appear in Indiana. 14 Concerts

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me Vanishes as Sumiri Some of us were in school so that we could graduate at mid- term, while a few were taking a class over, and some were just taking the class to get it out of the way. Biology, english, driver edu- cation and typing were just a part of the classes offered. At last, relief for those who were finally going to graduate, also for those that were gradu- ating at mid-term and for those of us that would not have to carry so many subjects. When summer school was out, we only had one month before more teachers, more homework, more studyhall, more cafeteria food ... We all looked forward to that last day of school. No more teachers, no more homework, no more studyhall, no more cafeteria food; the end of it all for most, but for some it was just a begin- ning. Six hundred and twenty-four of us were enrolled in summer school. Most of us stayed at CEHS while students, such as Seniors )eff Ryle, Connie Brown and Pam Wheeler studied in Krefield, West Germany. Senior Karen Wiley spent her summer going to school in France. Another senior, Beth Hughey, was in Bath, Maine, studying at a private school.