1000 Concerts! Whereby Oatsdad Praises Himself

Guess Who (CNE, summer 1971) and Moody Blues (MLG, 17 March 1972)

 

I might be around the 1000 mark? I’d love to know for sure. I have every ticket stub saved from when I started going to shows in 1994 until now. I’ve also kept a list of every show I’ve gone to since 2007, but I never actually counted them. Problem is, there’s a whole lot of DIY shows I went to in the 90s and 2000s that I have no record of besides my own memory. One day I should at least count up my stubs and listed shows.

 

I’ve kept a spreadsheet since the mid-2000s. I started with all my ticket stubs, calendars, memory and whatever else I could find. I update it regularly, and have gone back through my initial list several times looking for old tour dates so I can fill in the missing dates.

Right now my official count is: 1225 performances by 727 artists on 629 dates at 260 venues in 99 municipalities in 3 countries (US, Canada, UK). If I saw them, they’re on the list. A show can be anything from a 2 set Phish show to a 3 band metal show to a 7 band hardcore matinee to seeing 10 artists on one day of a music festival. They’re listed as “dates” not “shows” because a few of those dates contain multiple shows (for example in 2014, I saw Bob Mould at the 9:30 Club and then drove up to Baltimore to see The New Mastersounds play a late night show at the 8x10 Club).

There are a few problems. I have about 10 comedy shows in there that need to be moved to a separate list. I still have about 40 shows on my questions list. That would add about 70 performances from another 15 bands. Also, I haven’t included all the bands I saw on shows where I played on the bill. I do have that a separate list and may integrate it. But that adds about another 75 dates and a whole bunch more artists and performances. I need to finish cleaning this up.

 

Excluding bands who happened to be playing at clubs I was in, where I didn't pay any attention, I reached 525 in mid-1997, but then stopped keeping a record (not sure why - I regret it now). But over the last 20 years, I doubt I've seen more than 10.

 

Wow - that's a pretty steep drop!

 

Approximately how much money would you guess you have spent on all of those concerts?

 

Interesting. My first show was Kiss in 1979 and my second show was the Police in 1982. The Kinks were my fifth show (Clash and the Who in between). Similarly, ‘82 was when I started seeing shows in earnest.

 

So you're saying you're an Oatsdad wannabe?

 

Yeah, wannabee, indeed I'm probably in the hundreds, for concerts, but can't scale your lofty heights.

 

Keep working, grasshopper!

 

I know, and I'm not even sure why. I think I just got sick of "the live music experience" - I rarely watch concert videos anymore, either.

 

Interesting. I guess it's possible I'll burn out eventually, but I'm not close now.

Eventually a lot of my faves simply won't be out there anymore - whether death or retirement, they won't be available for me to see.

Already lost Bowie and Prince among my "oft-seen" artists, and Eagles and Petty are 2 others I saw occasionally and can't now.

I have Gaga and Katy Perry among younger acts I see a lot, but it's gonna be hard for me to replace the big guns!

 

Was this the show where Joe & Steven had a fight?

 

Not that I noticed. I recall one moment where there seemed to be an odd dynamic between them, but not anything that seemed like a fight.

That said, I couldn't understand most of what Tyler said to the crowd during the show. Some of that was acoustics, some was Tyler's general oddness/incoherence!

 

Coming to East Coast in October. You should catch one.

 

Or was this the show where Steven fell on stage?

 

Chances Oatsdad adds Toto to his concertography:

 

Your loss:

 

I stopped counting at around 20 or so,
probably stopped going to concerts/club
venues around the 500 mark or thereabout.
Stopped performing out after
roughly 3,000 shows. Still play privately
and the occasional family picnic ot gathering.

 

I'd love to. I haven't seen them since the IV tour.

 

No loss at all. Why would I feel I lost out because I skipped a concert by a band I dislike?

 

Never kept track, but as a musician let me thank you for supporting live music!

 

I 've never even counted to 1,000...

 

That was probably a part of it for me - not so much death/retirement (although there were a few) but more because I have very little interest in reunions, or once-more-with-the-greatest-hits type tours. The exciting part of gigs was always the "step into the unknown" aspect - a band I'd never seen before, or the chance to hear a new album live for the first time. (Assuming it was a "good" new album....)

Being able to predict the bulk of what I'll be hearing before I've even left the house has never appealed.

 

People wonder how I can see artists like Gaga or Madonna - those who keep a static set, essentially - multiple times on the same tour.

It's because I enjoy the little things. I like to get to know a show and notice details that escaped me in prior viewings.

Now if these were small-scale shows, that'd be different, but since they're so complex, it's impossible to take in everything the first time.

Even after 10 shows, I can find things I didn't previously see!