1000 Concerts! Whereby Oatsdad Praises Himself

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Oatsdad, Aug 15, 2019.

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  1. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    I do "favor superstar acts", but I also go to smaller shows. I've seen artists play burrito restaurants! :D
     
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  2. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    I’m probably close to 1,000, but I never kept score, so it’s impossible to say. Too many pay-on-the-door and guest lists to ever be able to rely on ticket stubs alone.

    My first gig was in January 1982, and for many years in the 1990s and beyond I was attending an average of around 40 gigs per year.
     
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  3. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    60 was my peak in 2008. The mid-00s was my peak period, as I was in the 40-50 range for a while there.

    I had a friend who worked for an airline, so I could fly for free. That opened up a lot of out of town shows.

    In 2008, his partner got that perk - no more free flights for me! :cry:
     
  4. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    January 1982 was really the beginning of my concert journey. Although I saw Kiss in December 1977, I didn't attend another show until January 1982, when I was the Kinks and then saw the Police 2 days later...
     
  5. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    I saw Adam and the Ants. Ridicule is nothing to be scared of.
     
  6. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    DC to UK.

    $500 for the Stones, 2019 - though in real-world terms, $250 for the Stones 1989. Not only does inflation make $250 in 1989 > $500 in 2019, but also I was a college kid in 1989, so $250 was a much higher percentage of my income than $500 now!

    Honestly no idea.

    Didn't buy much merch over the years. Used to buy programs but largely stopped around 1990. Have a few shirts but not many.

    Oldest: Macca 2018.
    Youngest: I guess N Sync in March 1999 - they were mostly lately teens/early 20s then.

    Largest crowd probably U2 in Dallas 2009.
    Smallest was Michelle Malone at aforementioned burrito place - probably 15 people in the crowd.

    David Lee Roth, 1986. Ears rang for 3 days after that show!
     
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  7. neo123

    neo123 Senior Member

    Location:
    Northern Kentucky
    I've probably been to around 100 concerts, give or take a few, over all the years since I started going to concerts. I still have ticket stubs to most of the shows. The only ones I don't have the stubs for are a few older ones in which an adult paid for the ticket when I was still underage and I never got to keep the stub or recent ones in which they were bought electronically and was given e-tickets and scanned from the mobile device/phone. Though, I have printed out some of those for keepsakes but not all of them. Also, never had to have tickets for all the free outdoor concerts I've seen over the years (Starship, Kansas, BB King, The Guess Who, KC and The Sunshine Band, and many others.)

    The band I've seen the most over the years is Rush with 10 times, followed by Iron Maiden with 8 (should've been 9 if not for a canceled show in the late '90s in which I had to get a refund.) Judas Priest is next with 7 times, followed by 5 times for U2, Overkill, and Iced Earth. Think I've seen Metallica just 4 times (too expensive now) and Van Halen 4 times. Megadeth at least 3 times and The Rolling Stones 3 times (too expensive now too.) Saw Styx a few times, along with Kansas, REO Speedwagon, Chicago, The Beach Boys (after baseball games) and Earth, Wind & Fire. Also, Jag Panzer 2 or 3 times, Warbringer 3 times, DragonForce 2 times, and many other bands/artists just once or twice at the most, like Cinderella, The Hooters, Loverboy, Def Leppard, Poison, The Romantics, Starship, John Fogerty, John Mellencamp (which surprised me because I thought I had seen him over the years more than just 2 times,) AC/DC (ditto,) Scorpions, Alice Cooper, Sammy Hagar solo, Ted Nugent, Dio, Heaven & Hell/Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Symphony X, Bruce Dickinson solo, Twisted Sister, Krokus, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Blue Oyster Cult, Boston, Jimmy Buffet, Gloria Estefan & The Miami Sound Machine, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Tina Turner, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, Machine Head, Coheed & Cambria, Anthrax, Testament, Korn, Thin Lizzy, Black Label Society, Huey Lewis & The News, Air Supply (don't ask...it was a date night,) Debbie Gibson (ditto,) Florence & The Machine, The Who (only once because they don't come to Cincinnati anymore and the closest they ever came since has been to Louisville.) Probably forgetting a handful of others off the top of my head. Would probably have to look at all my ticket stubs to remember a few more.

    Surprisingly, I have never seen Kiss in concert. They are coming to Cincy in 2 weeks and I might get a ticket just to go see them, but it is also the same night as the final pre-season Bengals home game, which I am a season ticket holder. So, in order to see Kiss, I would have to skip the game and give the tickets to relatives. Also, I've never seen Motley Crue in concert even though I have had many opportunities to see them over the years and I have all their albums.

    Edit: I just noticed my setlist.fm listing is incomplete. Though, I just made a new addition to it now with the Iron Maiden show in Cincy on Thursday night.
     
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2019
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  8. Zack

    Zack Senior Member

    Location:
    Easton, MD
    Awesome (I mean overall). On the memorabilia I was thinking picks, drum sticks, sweat bands, guitar strings, etc.
     
  9. Sammy Waslow

    Sammy Waslow Just watching the show

    Location:
    Ireland
    1. Dublin to Munich to see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band; 1,380 km
    2. Elton John, 2019; €188.85.
    3. Impossible to say, though I'm willing to trawl through my Setlist when I get the chance and try to tot them up.* I try to be on the barrier for standing gigs, and I've been lucky with front row seats for quite a few too (Leonard Cohen, Mark Knopfler, Norah Jones, The Shadows, Regina Spektor, Suede, Tears for Fears, Gillian Welch).
    4. Too many to mention, but Elton John signing my Goodbye Yellow Brick Road LP from the stage at the end of one show was way up there. Several setlists (Leonard Cohen, Lou Reed, Wilco) and plectrums. Lots of Ninth Wave confetti from Kate Bush's Before the Dawn show.
    5. Oldest: Tony Bennett in 2005, four months away from his 79th birthday. Youngest: possibly Soccer Mommy (Sophie Allison), who'd have been 21 at the time.
    6. Largest: Bruce Springsteen, Croke Park, Dublin, 2016 - 80,000 ; smallest: maybe a poorly-attended Stephen Bishop gig, but no idea of numbers. Maybe around fifty or sixty people, but I could be misremembering.
    7. Loudest: either Matthew Sweet and Velvet Crush or Phoenix. Both worryingly loud.

    * Edit: I did a quick tot of the standing gigs where I was on the barrier. I've not included any where I was second or third back, as that's not front row, as you've specified. It seems to be 53. That would include a-ha, Biffy Clyro, Blondie, Phil Collins, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, John Fogerty, Peter Gabriel, Barry Gibb, Daryl Hall and John Oates, Jason Isbell, Elton John, Jenny Lewis, Jeff Lynne's ELO, Steve Miller Band, Kacey Musgraves, The National, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Public Service Broadcasting, St. Vincent, Steely Dan, Suede, Sharon Van Etten, Wilco, Steve Winwood. In some cases (e.g. Depeche Mode, Steely Dan), it would be multiple shows on the barrier.
     
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2019
  10. stillrockin

    stillrockin Forum Resident

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    That is one impressive total my friend. I have been going to concerts since 1972 and have tried to keep all the stubs but I have never had the good idea to keep a written record/database. I have been increasingly hacked off in the modern age with the print an e-ticket at home which is no substitute for a souvenir ticket. I also get hacked when a venue takes the ticket and rips it for security or even worse keeps the thing. I never remember to ask for one back going out the door.
     
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  11. neo123

    neo123 Senior Member

    Location:
    Northern Kentucky
    Longest distance traveled: 300 miles. That is my limit I give myself for driving to a show. Soldier Field in Chicago is exactly 300 miles from my house. I've seen U2 at Soldier Field a few times. Also, I've seen Rush and Iron Maiden in Chicago at nearby venues. Also, went to a Progressive Power Metal festival in Chicago about 19 or 20 years ago. Been to Nashville to see a concert too. Almost as far but not quite.

    Most paid for a ticket: U2. Paid $250 a couple times for VIP seats for U2 (also, got Standing General Admission tickets a few times too for U2 shows but will never do that again. Felt like a sardine in a Sardine can and my feet hurt like hell after the show.)

    Number of times in the Front Row: Can't remember exact numbers, but I know I was twice for Judas Priest over the years (one was general admission festival seating and we worked our way to the stage). Also, once for Iron Maiden back when they were doing the small clubs during the X Factour with Blaze Bayley. Once for Metallica at a free makeup concert at Rupp Arena because a month prior to that they gave a concert without James Hetfield because he unexpectedly got hurt a day or two before the concert in a Jet Ski accident. So, all the lead singers from all the opening bands took turns doing lead singing when Metallica played. Jason Newsted also sang lead on a few of the Metallica songs. After the show, Lars told the crowd to save their ticket stubs to get credit for a free concert a month later. The free concert at Rupp was festival seating and we got there early and right next to the stage. Numerous other bands that I've seen at small clubs, I also got next to the stage, such as Overkill, Bruce Dickinson, DragonForce, Iced Earth and others.

    Best piece of memorabilia saved: Probably Concert T-shirts and ticket stubs and a few meet & greet autographed CDs. Though, back in the early '80s on Iron Maidens Beast on The Road tour, soon after Bruce Dickinson joined the band, they had a meet & greet session on the day of the show at the record store right next to my High School. A few of my friends who were going to the show went to the meet & greet. I remember my brother and I bought an Iron Maiden Frisbee and got it signed by the band. We didn't end up with it very long because my brother kept the Frisbee in the backseat of his car with the rest of his Frisbees and discs (we played disc golf a lot back then.) One time we went to play, we had a friend with us and he was goofing off while my brother was driving. The windows were down and he just nonchalantly picked up a Frisbee and tossed it out the window, not realizing it was the autographed Iron Maiden Frisbee we had just bought a few weeks prior (I still blame my brother for keeping it in his car.)

    Oldest/Youngest artist: Oldest was BB King. Youngest was probably Debbie Gibson back in the late 80s.

    Largest and smallest crowd: Largest probably U2 and The Rolling Stones at Ohio Stadium in Columbus Ohio. For football games I know capacity is over 100K. Don't know what it is for concerts. Probably at least 80K. Definitely was bigger than the crowds when I saw U2 in Chicago at Soldier Field and bigger than the time I saw The Rolling Stones at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Smallest crowd I wouldn't know since I've seen many shows at small clubs, with some of them near capacity and other shows with just a scattering of people of probably less than 100.

    Loudest: Definitely would have to be one of the indoor shows. My ears hardly ever ring after outdoor shows (case in point was last night's Iron Maiden concert in Cincinnati. I know they were loud, but my ears didn't ring at all since it was an outdoor show.) If I had to guess who the loudest was, I would have to categorize between small clubs venues and large indoor venues. At small clubs, I would have to say it was probably Overkill. My ears rang for a few days after each time I saw them. Possibly it was Iron Maiden the one time I saw them at a small club in the '90s. For larger indoor venues, it could be any number of them....Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Van Halen, AC/DC, Rush, The Rolling Stones, etc. This last question you posed is probably the hardest to answer since it is all subjective on my part and from memory without having any scientific data measurements for each show.
     
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  12. Andy Smith

    Andy Smith .....Like a good pinch of snuff......

    1) England to NYC (Bryan Adams, Beacon Theatre)
    2) I genuinely don't know. Might have been quite recently. Weren't KISS tix about ninety quid + booking fee?
    3) Absolutely never. I avoid the front row like the plague.
    4) Probably means nothing to anyone else, but I managed to get backstage at a very early Split Enz gig and all the guys signed a poster which had cost me a quid. They were all still wearing their black & white make-up back then. Big fan of that era.
    5) Oldest: Ian Hunter. Youngest: Def Leppard who were still in their mid to late teens.
    6) Largest: Probably Zepp at Knebworth. Smallest: a Ricky Warwick solo gig at a club in Sheffield. About 17 people in. 4 of those were on the guest list.
    7) Slade in '74, Sheffield City Hall. I felt my ears had been battered. I've survived lighter punches. Couldn't hear properly for about a week. Wouldn't be allowed now. Bloody marvellous gig though.
     
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  13. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    Furthest distance: U.K. to Japan, to see David Bowie, in June 1996. The flight from London to Tokyo is 5,938 miles.

    Most paid: £77 for an individual artist (Prince at Manchester Academy 1, February 2014). Glastonbury 2000 cost £87 plus fees. I’m not down for paying large amounts to see rock dinosaurs in huge arenas.

    Front row: hundreds of times. Almost every standing gig I attended, which was most of them, until I started taping gigs regularly, in my forties.

    Memorabilia: everything I owned up until 2005 was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina. I had many nice things, particularly from Bowie, but my favourite was a gig poster from Hiroshima 1996, which he signed to me with a message in Japanese.

    Oldest/youngest artist: oldest was probably Marshall Allen, best known as leader of the Sun Ra Arkestra. I last saw him as part of Cinema Soloriens, in April 2013, when he was a month shy of his 89th birthday. Not sure who the youngest would be. I’ve seen plenty of indie artists who were just teenagers at the time.

    Largest/smallest group: largest was Glastonbury 2000. Official attendance was 100,000, although the fence was breached that year and unofficial estimates go up to twice that number of people. Smallest was a Pete Wylie gig at the Limelight, Crewe, around 2006. I was there as a guest of my friend, who was the support act. Other than us two, there were exactly two paying customers present.

    Loudest: hard to say. Melt-Banana, maybe, or some other Japanese noise rock band.
     
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  14. BeardedSteven

    BeardedSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern Indiana
    This is how I do it with opening bands too. Only if I specifically go to see them. Earlier this year I saw The National with Courtney Barnette opening. That counts as 2 shows for me. But 95% of the time I don’t count openers, even if I’ve seen their whole set.
     
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  15. mrjinks

    mrjinks Optimistically Challenged

    Location:
    Boise, ID.
    Great questions.
    1. Furthest distance traveled?
    Nothing too ridiculous. Seattle>Chicago to see McCartney twice (1989, 1990)​
    2. Most paid for a ticket?
    $250, several times for McCartney​
    3. Number of times in the front row?
    At seated shows - several: Fogerty, Costello, Lloyd Cole, Richard Thompson (x2), Joe Cocker/Guess Who, Elton, Glenn Tilbrook (Squeeze). Managed 2nd row for Dylan, Elton, and 3rd for McCartney (x2).​
    4. Best piece of memorabilia saved?
    Unquestionably my avatar, signed from the stage by Sir Paul. However, also pleased with Sir Elton signing a couple albums, as well as Paul Weller (x3), Neil Finn, and many other artists.​
    5. Oldest/youngest artist?
    Ringo at 76 edges out Dylan at 75 and Cohen/McCartney at 74.
    Brandi Carlile at 25 edges out ZZ Ward at 26 (though some forgotten opener likely wins that contest)​
    6. Largest and smallest group?
    Lots of smallest, including Josh Ritter solo three days ago.
    Largest? Maybe The Who 1989?​
    7. Loudest?
    Undoubtedly McCartney at the Joint in Vegas (2009). Scary loud.
    EDIT: I've got *most* of my ticket stubs (98%?). I even pay a couple extra bucks now to get a physical stub most of the time. :crazy: I put virtually all of my concerts on setlist.fm earlier this year (might be missing a few). Used the same logic as some above have mentioned: if the opener is GOOD or a "Name", I include them (so Rolling Stones openers Spin Doctors and Living Colour count, even though I wouldn't have paid to see them). If they're awful, like the guy who opened for Josh Ritter this week, I happily omit them...
     
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2019
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  16. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Oh! Yeah, hardly any of that. I got a pick from Mike McCready at a 2003 Pearl Jam show and almost caught one Ron Wood threw in Philly, but my elderly reflexes weren't good enough to catch it! :D
     
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  17. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    I'm glad I decided to "digitize" my concert history as long ago as I did. That makes it more likely it's accurate, as I could remember 80s shows for which I no longer have a stub!

    Like I said, there are still likely gaps in my history, but it's a pretty accurate list - can't be more than a couple of missing shows!
     
  18. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    According to setlist.fm I've seen 580 shows by 316 different artists, although that includes some opening acts and a small number of festivals, so it isn't actually 580 unique events. But still. Working my way up to 1,000.
     
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  19. Greg Gee

    Greg Gee "I tried to change but I changed my mind..."

    Location:
    Oklahoma
    You were there, so I say yes!
     
  20. Wally Swift

    Wally Swift Yo-Yoing where I will...

    Location:
    Brooklyn New York
    I more impressed that you kept count.
     
  21. Wally Swift

    Wally Swift Yo-Yoing where I will...

    Location:
    Brooklyn New York
    Whoa.
     
  22. reddyempower

    reddyempower Forum Resident

    Location:
    columbus, oh, usa
    Lots of memory fails for me,but I came up with over 500 and probably closer to 600.

    That's IF I count club shows, supper clubs, cover bands etc. Also counting festivals as 1 per day. So a three day festival I count as 3 shows regardless of how many acts I saw.
    The concert season of my life is nearing its end. Most of the acts I like are older, I'm not enamored of the current ticketing system, and as I age , nearing 50, I'm less tolerant of crowds and traffic.
    Still- makes for a fun life.
     
  23. popscene

    popscene Senior Member

    Location:
    San Marcos, CA
    I've never kept count, but I estimate that I averaged a show a week from 1997-2003. After that (aka after kids), it slowed down somewhat, but have still probably kept up with a pace of 15-20 a year. I'm going to guess probably 750 in total.

    Kudos on not only seeing that many shows, but being meticulous enough in your recordkeeping to know you've seen that many!
     
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  24. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    The farthest I've ever driven for a show would be... St. Louis from DC, I think. Went there for Gaga in 2010, though also caught Gaga in Indianapolis on the way, so the drive to STL wasn't entirely for that concert.

    Google Maps says it's 879 miles from my house to the arena in STL.

    I also went to Milwaukee for McCartney in 2013 - that's 800 miles from my door to Miller Park.

    That trip included a concert stop in Indy as well! And I went with the same friend on both trips!

    My longest solo drive was to see Bowie in Chicago in 1995 - that's 704 miles.

    Didn't do it all in one go, though - went to Cleveland for Bowie first and then to Chicago. Stopped in Detroit and then Columbus for Bowie on the drive back!
     
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  25. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Why?
     
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