Can Bangor Do Anything About Profanity At Waterfront Concerts?

The short answer? Not really.

A lot of folks may tend to pigeonhole the kind of bands that throw around foul language at a show. The Impact Festival just happened this past weekend, and a lot of folks tend to associate the heavier bands with a lot more swearing. And while I can't deny that, I did see Journey there a couple years back, and guitarist Neal Schon dropped way more than his fair share of F-bombs.

But it's happening enough that some folks who live nearby, or have to pass through there, are getting a bit concerned at having their children exposed to that kind of language, according to NewsCenterMaine. But the fact of the matter is, there's not much the city can do without infringing upon the 1st Amendment rights of the artists.

Let's face it: the venue brings good revenue into the city. Clamping down on what they can, and can't say, will at the very least cause bands to stop coming here. Or worse, it could certainly lead to lawsuits of some kind or other.

But here's the thing, sure, you weren't going to hear too much swearing at the recent Willie Nelson show, or say, Heart. But what about the hip-hop shows? Or the Journey show I was at? You get the point.

Musicians are prone to colorful language, for sure. But it's often to emphasize a point, not always just to gratuitously swear. Especially in the case of the Impact Festival, which is an event to promote suicide prevention and awareness.

Over time, things should get better. It's written into the latest lease with Waterfront Concerts to install a new sound system in the near future, that will keep all the sound within the venue, and not bleed into the neighborhood as much.

Then all the bands can use various letters from the word firetruck as much as they want. Until then, hopefully some of them choose to think before they curse.