by Tricia, Redwood City, CA

It was the summer before my freshman year in high school, and some friends and I managed to talk our parents into letting us go to Live Aid with a teenage chaperone (she was older than us, but I think she was still in high school…and she could drive!). So off we went 3–13 year olds and a 17 year old–to what was the biggest concert event in our lives to that point, and maybe even since. It was amazing. One great live act followed by another and another–classics like Joan Baez and the Four Tops sharing the stage with Run DMC and Philly locals The Hooters; Phil Collins flying from England to Philly to play both shows; Madonna (post Playboy “scandal”) telling us, “I’m not taking sh*t off”; Bryan Adams changing his lyrics to “Summer of ‘85″; getting hosed off because of the scorching temperatures that day; the crazy girls sitting behind us singing “Yes I’m Lucky, Yes I’m lucky” ALL day long in anticipation of Mick Jagger (he didn’t sing that one). It’s impossible to sum up just what an amazing experience it was. We had promised our parents we would leave by a certain time so we wouldn’t be out too late. We collectively decided to give them a call with some lame excuse about our car being blocked in, so, oops, I guess we have to stay. They bought it (or at least pretended to), and we stayed through the end. This was truly an unforgettable experience!