A Reflection on 30 Years of Concertgoing

This year marks the 30th anniversary of my life as a frequent concertgoer. I had attended a few shows between 1987 and 1995, but 1996 was the year that it really took, all thanks to an excellent Natalie Merchant show at the Adler Theatre in Davenport, Iowa. That was in May 1996, and by the end of the year I'd attended five more concerts. Now, thirty years later, according to my records (ticket stubs and a spreadsheet I've maintained for the last couple of decades) I've seen at least 183 shows and approximately 274 different artists. 

To celebrate the anniversary, I figured I'd share some statistics and reflections on 30 years of watching live music.

First Concert

As far as I know, my first concert was The Oak Ridge Boys at Braden Auditorium in January 1987. I was 9 years old, and I loved "Elvira," that guy with the long beard (William Lee Golden) and the one with the deep voice (Richard Sterben).

First Concert I Actively Chose

After The Oak Ridge Boys, I saw the Beach Boys and Everly Brothers at the Illinois State Fair with a church youth group, and went to see Christian singer-songwriter Rich Mullins with my mom and step-dad. I also went to see The Beach Boys and Everly Brothers at the Illinois State Fair in the summer of 1991 with my church youth group. I wasn't the Beach Boys superfan I am now and didn't really appreciate what I was seeing, but now I recognize just how fortunate I was to see the band with four of the six principals (Carl Wilson, Al Jardine, Mike Love, and Bruce Johnston) before they split into factions. Here's a photo of the band in Pennsylvania just two weeks before I saw them:

So the first time I went to see an artist I loved was "Weird Al" Yankovic at the Peoria Civic Center in 1992. It was everything I'd hoped for (costume changes, videos, songs about food and TV) and I sang along to every word. I've seen him two more times since.

Best Opener

In general, I'm not a fan of opening acts unless they're really double-bills (such as Garbage opening for Smashing Pumpkins in 1996). That said, I've seen some good ones. Grizzly Bear blew Feist off the stage. Ought (opening for New Pornographers) were fascinating, and so were Bodega (opening for Spoon). Teitur (opening for KT Tunstall), Jurassic Five (opening for Fiona Apple), My Morning Jacket (opening for Foo Fighters), and Beach Slang (opening for Jimmy Eat World) also come to mind. But nothing beats the band that opened for The Doves at 7th Street Entry (the tiny side venue to First Avenue) in March 2001. They were called the The Strokes, and they hadn't even recorded their first album yet. They had just put out a 3-song EP via Rough Trade, which sparked a major label bidding war and would lead to the acclaimed release of Is This It that summer. Of course we didn't know any of that at the time. All we knew was they were this young, confident band who had amazingly catchy songs that they played at lightning speed, only pausing so Julian Casablancas could down beers and insult us ("I've seen better dancing at my grandma's birthday party").

Worst Opener

As I said, I'm not a fan in general, so there are a lot to choose from here. I won't dwell too much on the negative by listing them. I'll highlight just a couple. First was Adam Cohen (Leonard's son), who opened for Rufus Wainwright, and showed off a level of ego and self-confidence that were in no way justified by his boring songs with cringy lyrics. The other was Hem opener David Mead, whose music I love and who actually sounded pretty good, but was so angry at the audience the whole time that it ruined the experience.

Most Frequent Concert-Going Partner
Fittingly, it's my wife, Wendy with 35 shows, My friends Tim, Nick, Dave, Carolyn, Christa, Eliza, and Shalini all come next with approximately 10 shows each. Maybe it's worth mentioning that I've attended as many concerts by myself as I have with others.

Most Concerts in a Year
Over half of the concerts I've attended fell between the years 2000 to 2008. The apex of that from 2004 to 2006, a time period in which I saw 49 shows.

Least Concerts in a Year
Well, of course it's 2020. Like most people, I saw zero shows that year thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. I actually had tickets to see They Might Be Giants in Chicago in mid-March of 2020, but ended up deciding I didn't want to make the drive. The next week, things began shutting down. And I took my time getting back into the habit. I only saw six shows from 2021 through 2023.

The runner up is 2013, when Wendy and I had a newborn and a three-year-old. I only saw one show that year (fittingly, Jimmy Eat World) because all my time and energy and money were spent elsewhere.

Most Frequented Venues

I'll spare the suspense, it's First Ave. I've been to 18 shows there. Second closest is the Castle Theatre, which is creeping up with 12 shows. Third place is the 400 Bar - RIP - with 11 shows.

Weirdest Band Configurations

There's cachet in seeing the "best" version of a band, and I've missed out on that a few times. I saw Smashing Pumpkins on the Mellon Collie tour in 1996 after drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was fired following an arrest for drug possession. He was replaced by Matt Walker for the remainder of that tour. I saw the Pumpkins again in 2000. They'd welcomed Chamberlin back into the fold, but had fired bassist D'Arcy, replacing her with Melissa Auf De Maur. Now Melissa Auf De Maur is a clear upgrade, but this robbed me of seeing the classic line-up in full. 

I saw Sammy Hagar in 1997 after his split with Van Halen, and then I saw Van Halen themselves the next year, though it was what most consider the worst version of the band - the one with singer Gary Cherone. Van Halen III, the album they were touring, is pretty much indefensible, but Cherone sounded pretty great doing both the Roth and Hagar songs live. I would have loved to have seen the Dave-Ed-Alex-Mike line-up, but it just wasn't in the cards for me.

I've seen The New Pornographers twice, both in the post-Dan Bejar era. But Bejar's songs were never my faves, so I don't sweat that. Only one of the two times was Neko Case with them, and you'd think that one would be better by far. But weirdly, it was the one without her that bowled me over. Everything was tight and powerful, and Simi Sernaker somehow filled Neko's huge shoes.

Best Sideman

I have to brag that I saw Prince play a show where he wasn't the main act. He was promoting the latest of his female protégés, Tamar, and they put on a show at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. My tickets were pretty darn close and I got to see Prince just play guitar and sing back-up with a huge smile the entire time.

Most Expensive Show
This was also one of my most recent, the Rush Fifty Something tour in Chicago this past July. I've already blocked out exactly how much I paid, but I know it was more than I've ever spent on a show. It was worth it.

Most Attended 

I saw the Rolling Stones at Soldier Field in 1997 on their Bridges to Babylon tour, and I've never seen so many people in one place (107,186, according to Wikipedia), nor have I ever been so far away from a band. Mick Jagger was about an inch tall.

Least Attended

Country singer-songwriter Caitlyn Smith got her start playing small clubs in the Twin Cities, but began to make a name for herself in the mid-2010s as a songwriter for other artists. She resumed her solo career with the excellent Starfire record, and brought the tour to the Canopy Club in Urbana. Unfortunately, she hadn't caught on in central Illinois, and only about 30 people came. The venue actually set up the stage in the area outside the main room that's usually reserved for the merch table!

 

I unabashedly love PM Dawn, so when they came to The Quest (the club formerly known as Prince's Glam Slam), I bought a ticket immediately. I assumed a group that had 3 top ten hits and two gold selling albums would be a decent draw for a fair-sized club. Unfortunately, the duo were in that awkward phase of their career where you're past your commercial prime but you aren't a nostalgia act yet. So there were, not counting the club staff, 17 people in attendance. An upside to that was they actually played a request I called out ("Faith In You"). Despite the low attendance, the duo gave it their all, though, and I'm so happy I got to see Prince Be before his untimely death.

Artists I've Seen the Most

Fittingly, it's the band I wrote a book about, The Hopefuls. I was able to see them 13 times during their 2004 to 2008 run. Second place is my sometimes-favorite band, Jimmy Eat World. I've seen them 10 times, the first in 1997 and the latest in 2023. Third place is Minnesota band The Honeydogs, whom I've seen 8 times. They Might Be Giants round out and Ben Folds round out the top five with 6 and 5 times respectively.

Wish I'd Seen
This list could go on forever, but let's focus on just a few that I had several chances to see but just never made it happen: David Bowie, Beastie Boys, The Cars, R.E.M. Ronnie Milsap, and Depeche Mode. I'd also love to have seen Elton John, Madonna, B-52s, and Paul Simon at the heights of their powers.

Still Hope to See
I've been lucky enough to see a lot of the artists I love who are still active. But there's a few still on the bucket list: Ben Folds Five, Lemon Twigs, My Chemical Romance, Oasis, Pet Shop Boys, Bruce Springsteen, and...John Mayer.

Ships in the Night Award
Two times I've had tickets to see John Mayer and two times I've missed the show. Around 2002 I planned to see him at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. A friend from college was coming to visit for the weekend and we were going to the show together. She ended up cancelling, but I decided to go alone. When I reached the exit for the venue on 94, it was backed up onto the interstate. I turned around and went back home. 

Wendy and I bought tickets to see him in 2023 in Indianapolis, but my mom went septic the week before, and was fighting for her life, so it didn't feel like a good time to go to a show.

Wettest Show

When U2 brought their 360 tour to TCF Field in 2011 it was after a yearlong postponement. Originally scheduled for the previous summer, it had been put off for Bono to recover from a back injury. I mention this because it's very likely that the show wouldn't have been as memorable had it occurred as originally planned. Because that night, not long after the band took the stage, a sustained summer downpour commenced, soaking everyone in the open-air stadium to the skin. The boys seized the moment and mixed bits of "Singin' in the Rain" and - of course - "Purple Rain" into the setlist.

Most Disappointing Show

The worst concert I've been to was Cracker at First Avenue in 2000. Everything was off (audience, sound, vocals, vibe), so much so that I left in the middle of it. But I didn't have particularly high hopes for that one, and one can only be truly disappointed when reality doesn't meet expectation. Two shows come to mind that fit that bill. 

One is Daryl Hall and John Oates in 2017, a show in which the band (especially Daryl Hall) ignored the rules of pleasing an audience by rearranging and deconstructing most of their beloved songs. But on that tour they were paired with an excellent Tears for Fears, so it's not fair to call that my most disappointing concert. 

That means the award goes to another 2017 show, Spoon in Peoria. The venue was cold and charmless, the crowd was indifferent, the opening band (Twin Peaks) was a mess, and Spoon themselves seemed disengaged. Thankfully, I gave them another chance in 2022 and they more than made up for it.

Best Multi-band Line-up

I'm not much for festivals, but I did attend the Basilica Block Party in Minneapolis a handful of times. I was also at the Summit Big Brew on St. Paul's Harriet Island in 2006. This event - a celebration of Summit Brewery's 20th anniversary - was by far the best collection of acts I've seen in a single go. We got there in time for The Alarmists, a promising local band with some great tunes. Tapes 'n Tapes, who were at the height of their blog-driven success came next. They were followed by troubadour Richard Thompson, who blazed through a solo acoustic set. Next was an energetic and crowd-pleasing set from The Suburbs. Keeping up the local-boys-made-good continuity were Soul Asylum, then in a strange-but-wonderful incarnation that saw Replacement Tommy Stinson on bass and the New Power Generation's Michael Bland on drums. The headliner were Cake, whose fun set was only slightly marred by the lead singer's ongoing complaints about the sound system.

Best Show

This is difficult because I can't just judge it solely on the quality of the sound and setlist. If I could, I'd include the likes of Lucy Kaplansky (Blue Moon Coffeehouse in 1995), Son Volt (First Ave in 1999), The Get Up Kids (400 Bar in 2000), Neil Finn (Basilica Block Party in 2002), or Jenny Lewis (Castle Theatre in 2017). But, I have to consider the experience itself, too: the opener, the audience, the quality of the venue, who I was with, the vibe, etc. This leaves me with five candidates. I'll count them down:

5. Death Cab for Cutie / The Postal Service (Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, 2024)

Hard to beat hearing two amazing 2003 albums - Give Up and Transatlanticism - played in full (with a Depeche Mode cover for good measure). It was all done with great passion and panache, and Jenny Lewis, to boot!

4. Jimmy Eat World (Canopy Club, Urbana, 2017)

It was between this Jimmy show and two others, one in Madison at the Barrymore, and one at First Avenue. All three left me deliriously wrung out, as though I'd been to an old-timey tent revival in August. But this particular show gets the edge because the opener - Beach Slang - was the best of the three, and because it happened so close to home.

3. Elvis Costello and the Imposters (Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis, 2002)

Opener Laura Cantrell set the tone with a twangy, charming suite of songs from her then-new record When the Roses Bloom Again. Then Elvis and the boys stormed the stage and did almost every song you'd ever want to hear (no "Everyday I Write the Book" or "King of America").

2. Rush (Minnesota State Fair Grandstand, St. Paul, 2010) 

This was on their Time Machine tour, in which a clock behind the band led them through various eras in non-chronological order. The setlist was almost perfect , the sound was amazing, the weather was gorgeous, and everything felt in perfect harmony for a couple of hours. 

1. Shawn Colvin (Minnesota State Fair Cosgrove Stage, St. Paul, 2004)

I've written about this show before. It was a free acoustic solo show that began as the sun was setting, and it was one of those rare moments in life where I've felt just a complete sense of well-being. I learned not long ago, while reading Colvin's memoir, that she felt this show was magical, too. This is the feeling you chase when going to see live music, and sometimes it happens.