I was overcome with nostalgia during last week's Tesla concert in the E Center. It reminded me of Monday, July 20, 1992.
That's the date of the first concert I reviewed for the Deseret Morning News. We were called the Deseret News back then, and I saw the concert at ParkWest, now known as the Canyons.
The band was Tesla; the opening act was Firehouse.
I was working part-time as the city desk secretary, mostly answering phones, when a message went out to all the staff from entertainment editor Chris Hicks: "Anyone interested in reviewing Tesla at ParkWest on July 20? If so lemme know."
Being a metal-head, I replied in the affirmative, thinking I didn't have a chance because Chris didn't know who I was. But he returned my message: "If you're serious, come see me."
I couldn't believe it. Of course, I later found out that I was the only one who replied.
So I got the gig and called the band's people to request tickets. Then I called my cousin and invited him to go with me.
A few days later, on our way to ParkWest, I kept thinking to myself, "This is cool. I'm going to a concert as part of my job."
We picked up the tickets and were quite surprised to see a couple of meet-and-greet passes in the envelope, meaning we could go backstage. So, just before the show, I met Tesla — singer Jeff Keith, drummer Troy Luccketta, bassist Brian Wheat and guitarists Frank Hannon and Tommy Skeoch.
I was a little star-struck and asked a bunch of stupid questions. "So, what do you predict tonight's show is going to be like?" I asked lead singer Jeff Keith.
"I don't know," Keith said with a smile, "because I haven't played it yet." He could probably tell how nervous I was as he added, "But I do know we're pretty happy to be here."
I remember the show like it was yesterday. I remember the crisp sound mix. I remember the songs. I remember the rain.
It rained hard and heavy that night. The audience was drenched. My notes were splotched. And I caught a cold.
Midway through the set, during the band's remake of the Beatles' "Let It Be," I started getting nervous about writing the review. While I knew the band and the music well, I wondered how I was going to write about all the stuff that went on during the show.
My trial by fire came around midnight when I got back to the office. After a few false starts, I began writing the review. Some 30 minutes later, it was done.
I sent it off and went home. The next afternoon (we were an evening newspaper back then), I saw my review and I saw a huge mistake. I spelled Skeoch's name wrong. I left out the "k" in every reference.
"At least I was consistent," I sighed to myself. "But they won't let me do any more concerts."
Later that day, while I was back answering phones on city desk, Chris approached me and complimented my review.
I told him, nervously, that I misspelled Tommy Skeoch's name.
He smiled and said, "That happens. Just make sure you spell it right next time."
"He said 'next time,' " I thought excitedly to myself. "He's going to let me review another concert!"
My feet did a little happy dance and I went back to answering the phones.
Those memories flooded my mind last week. And as I watched the E Center concert, the only thing I missed was the rain.
E-mail: scott@desnews.com