Neon Tears: Finding Love Again at Maine's Biggest Outdoor Music Venue

Listen to my audio field note from the Bangor Savings Amphitheater where the bands Jax, MAX, and Big Time Rush reignite love's sparkle within me and I can't help but ponder: is this concert the culmination of my healing journey through heartbreak, or the beginning of a new love cycle? Heartbreak is a regenerative journey that takes you down many emotional paths. Depression, displacement—for me, denial that I would ever want to be in love again. And during each stage of the process, the perfect song would seem to serendipitously appear and like a lyrical blanket, insulate my cold heart. Starting with Carol King lamenting, "It's too Late," transitioning into Little Dragon’s, “No Love.” Then it was Peter Tosh bellowing, “Why Must I Cry,” and as of late, “Last Goodbye” by Jeff Buckley.  And many, many, other songwriters were there for me too.  Yet, these songs are a double-edged sword inadvertently reinforcing despair. The truth is, they made me kind of calloused towards love too. But when I venture into the Amphitheater at the Bangor Waterfront to photograph contemporary pop stars JAX, MAX, and Big Time Rush, I feel giddy and carefree and I start to see love through a sparkling lens of optimism again.I can’t help but wonder, was this pop concert the culmination of my healing journey, or rather, the start of a new love cycle? For more Rockumentary podcasts exploring concert culture, go to http://concertcast.live