CAPE COD COLISEUM

The Cape Cod Coliseum, built in 1972 on White's Path in South Yarmouth, Mass. is now used for warehouse storage for Dennis East and The Mid-Cape Center Building Supply Companies.

Back in its earlier history The Coliseum was used as a rock concert venue and also the hockey home for the Cape Cod Freedoms of the North American Hockey League and the Cape Cod Cubs and Cape Codders of the Northeastern Hockey League.

I remember attending a concert at the Cape Cod Coliseum in the 1980's with the "Talking Heads" band featuring lead singer David Byrne. I received a free ticket to this show so I certainly received my "money's worth". At this concert I was standing to the right of the stage right in front of a wall of speakers. David Byrne and the band were in fine form. David was wearing an exaggerated suit with extra wide shoulders that night. In back of the band they projected slides of bizarre images such as a typical looking living room chair in upright position then another slide of this chair on its right side on the floor and another slide of this chair on its left side lying on the floor. They played a lot of their popular songs of that time such as "Psycho Killer", "Once In A Lifetime", and "Life During War Time".

I went to a hockey game once at the Coliseum and saw the wrestling promoter Vince McMahon out on the center ice interviewing one of the hockey players. This hockey player had some kind of whistling devise in his mouth so Vince would ask him a question and the hockey player would answer with a variety of whistles instead of humanoid noises such as words composed of vowels and consonants. That was different.

Many other rock bands played at the Cape Cod Coliseum such as Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead, The Clash, The Ramones, George Harrison, The B-52's, to name a few. Vine McMahon also promoted some World Wrestling Federation events at this site.

Alas, the hockey teams didn't draw enough fans to sustain their team at the Coliseum. The Coliseum was sold and expanded to three times its former size and used as warehouse space for The Christmas Tree Shops chain before the present day tenants.

So, from the original usage as a musical and sports entertainment complex this site was transformed from a storehouse of fun and memories to a warehouse for tangible goods and building products. Maybe some day I will reminisce about a piece of lumber that I bought at The Mid-Cape Center store that was once stored in the warehouse.