The List

This is the evolution of this post here. It’s an attempt to document my live music history.

I started because I kept getting tagged in a ridiculous Facebook note “50 Bands/Concerts,” list note thingy. It’s far from complete. And in evidence is just what a lousy concertgoer I am. All the shows I’ve missed. All the bands I wish I’d seen. (There’s another list to work on.) I know there were plenty of nights where I could have been out seeing something memorable and the only thing that kept me from going was a failure to check the listings. Now I’m old and married and have kids and a mortgage—the full catastrophe. I don’t get out much. I know, some of my friends in a similar position still manage to make the scene. I guess I’m just lazy and my feet hurt.

A great many of these bands I saw multiple times, especially in the 1990s when I was active in bands and on bills or out at a show to support friends at least one night a week, if not three or four. I’ve forgotten more bands off those bills than make up this list. If I saw you and you’re not here, it’s because you weren’t memorable. If you were, then my memory must suck, as you can tell from all the bands I don’t list.

If you like the idea of anally keeping track of this sort of trivia, check out the concert history tool at: http://songkick.com

Also, this is barely in any kind of order. Chronological only by decade. Sort of. I’ll work on it. And you don’t really care, so piss off.

The List

1970s

  1. Bruce Springsteen – Jadwin Gymnasium, 1 November 1978 tour for Darkness on the Edge of Town. My first real concert, and though I’m not a huge Springsteen fan, this was an amazing show. Still ranks as one of the best concerts I’ve seen. Top 10 for certain. Thanks to my friend Peter for inviting me to to go along for his 14th birthday.

    1980s

  2. Regressive Aid
  3. King Crimson Saturday 06 March 1982 Alexander Hall, Princeton NJ
  4. The Groceries
  5. Stanley Jordan
  6. Lui Collins, Bath Maine, 1981
  7. David Mallet Bath Maine, 1981
  8. The “English” Beat Finney Chapel, Oberlin College, Saturday 09 April 1983
  9. REM – several times, first Finney Chapel, Oberlin College, Saturday 09 April 1983
  10. Talking Heads, 1983, Mann Music Center, Philadelphia, Speaking in Tongues tour
  11. Billy Bragg – 1984, Boston
  12. The Alley Cats 1984, Boston
  13. Echo and the Bunnymen, 1984, Boston
  14. Genesis – Duke tour. 1981 or 82. Awful. Last row seats at the Spectrum but it still would have sucked if we’d had front row seats. This leads me to think of other bad stadium shows I saw in the 1980s:
  15. Aerosmith: omgwtfbbq Love in an elevator? Dude looks like a lady? Dude, where’s my car?
  16. Elvis Costello – I love this man, but I saw one of his worst performances ever at Madison Square Garden
  17. Phil Collins – oh my god. Someone had a free ticket, seriously. I have no excuse. Sucked even worse than Genesis. Su-su-ssudio! However, the experience does make the reading of American Psycho even more fucked.
  18. U2 – Giants Stadium, Unforgettable Fire, Forgettable Concert. So full of themselves and they sucked. “The Edge” plays worse than I do.
  19. Frank Zappa 1986 Tower Theater, Philadelphia. Fourth Row. Guitar god.
  20. Sonic Youth – countless times over three decades. All-time favorite live act. Best show 1988 CBGB for Daydream Nation. (w/ B.a.l.l. and Barbetomagus)
  21. Black Flag
  22. Circle Jerks
  23. Blood on the Saddle – Scott Hall, Rutgers University
  24. Jackson Browne
  25. Smashing Pumpkins (Gish tour at Maxwell’s)
  26. Squirrelbait
  27. Adrenaline O.D.
  28. Agnostic Front
  29. Agent Orange
  30. Killing Joke
  31. The Stranglers
  32. The Replacements
  33. Lemonheads (1989, at CBGB Cantina! Touring on their first record, playing to about 10 people including the bartender.)
  34. Suzanne Vega (Busch Student Center, Rutgers University)
  35. Siouxsie and the Banshees
  36. Peter Murphy
  37. The Dead Kennedys
  38. Rollins Band
  39. Echo and The Bunnymen
  40. 999
  41. Steel Pole Bathtub – The Knitting Factory, 1989
  42. The Fall
  43. The Descendents – City Gardens, Trenton
  44. They Might Be Giants – City Gardens, Trenton
  45. 7 Seconds
  46. The Dead Milkmen
  47. The Dickies
  48. The Ramones
  49. Husker Du
  50. Living Color
  51. The Butthole Surfers
  52. Dream Syndicate - Boston 1984
  53. Richard Lloyd
  54. Gwar
  55. Dag Nasty
  56. Destroy All Bands
  57. Null Set
  58. Das Damen
  59. Die Kreuzen
  60. Lone Justice
  61. Pay the Man
  62. Love and Rockets
  63. Meat Puppets
  64. Stiff Little Fingers
  65. Violent Femmes
  66. Lunachicks
  67. Spy Gods
  68. Dumptruck
  69. Front 242
  70. Psychedelic Furs
  71. John Cale
  72. The Alley Cats
  73. John Zorn
  74. Naked Raygun
  75. The Sugar Cubes
  76. Leather Studded Diaphram
  77. Opium Vala (Matt Pinfield)
  78. The Ex w/ Tom Cora
  79. Ministry
  80. Slint
  81. The Cure
  82. Spiral Jetty
  83. All God’s Children
  84. Third Party


    85. 1990s

  85. The Buzzcocks – first US show when they got back together, The Ritz, 1991
  86. Depeche Mode
  87. Low
  88. Luscious Jackson
  89. The Jesus Lizard
  90. Shonen Knife
  91. The Boredoms
  92. Ff
  93. Flu Thirteen (CBGB)
  94. Superchunk
  95. Monster Magnet
  96. Ween
  97. Boss Hog
  98. Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
  99. Dinosaur Jr.
  100. Pavement
  101. NIN
  102. Neil Young
  103. The Pixies
  104. Gang of Four
  105. Radiohead
  106. Yo La Tengo
  107. Kelly Deal 6000
  108. Juliana Hatfield
  109. Primus
  110. Faith No More
  111. Yo La Tengo
  112. Interpol
  113. The Wrens
  114. Red Hot Chili Peppers
  115. Fishbone
  116. Bouncing Souls
  117. White Zombie
  118. Fugazi
  119. Fear
  120. The Mentors
  121. Helmet
  122. Tool
  123. Failure
  124. Bailter Space
  125. Deborah Harry, The Stone Pony
  126. The Poster Children
  127. The Mekons
  128. Madder Rose
  129. Cobra Verde
  130. Cocteau Twins Tuesday 02 April 1991 Roseland Ballroom, NY
  131. Meat Beat Manifesto (may have been 2000)
  132. Curve
  133. George Clinton and the P. Funk All-Stars (Funkadelic + the JBs—James Brown’s horn section—with Eddie “Maggot Brain” Hazel on guitar) City Gardens
  134. The Stuntcocks
  135. Remote Control Yeti
  136. Bionic Rhoda
  137. The Gravel Pit
  138. Instant Death
  139. Ray Davies
  140. WE Fest 1998, 1999
  141. Kristin Hersh
  142. Les Savy Fav
  143. Letters to Cleo
  144. Sigur Ros
  145. SteepleTop
  146. Stereobate
  147. Stereolab
  148. Sweet Diesel
  149. Swirlies
  150. Seam
  151. Teenage Fanclub
  152. Toadies
  153. Urge Overkill
  154. Cop Shoot Cop
  155. Lunachicks
  156. L7
  157. Unsane
  158. Unrest
  159. Christmas
  160. Hum
  161. Therapy?
  162. Afghan Whigs
  163. Laughing Hyenas
  164. The Mooney Suzuki
  165. The Grifters
  166. The Wallmen
  167. The Negatones
  168. Joan Jett
  169. Boss Jim Gettys
  170. Kise
  171. Tar
  172. Come
  173. Girls Against Boys
  174. Jawbox
  175. Cheap Trick
  176. Bjorn Again (Abba Tribute)
  177. Shonen Knife
  178. Velocity Girl
  179. The Goops
  180. Turbo Ass
  181. Built to Spill
  182. Alice Donut
  183. Victim’s Family
  184. My Bloody Valentine
  185. Codeine
  186. Mudhoney
  187. The Raveonettes
  188. Bad Religion
  189. Rodan
  190. Casper Brotzmann
  191. The Dismemberment Plan
  192. The Melvins
  193. Teenbeaters
  194. The Mad Daddys
  195. Nudeswirl
  196. The Wedding Present
  197. Dan Cray
  198. Daniel Johnston
  199. Buzzkill
  200. The Swingin’ Neckbreakers
  201. Three to Six Inches
  202. Aviso ’Hara
  203. Jhon Thumb
  204. The Urchins
  205. The Faux Monks
  206. Bubble Gum Thunder
  207. Landspeed Record
  208. Scott Farkus Affair
  209. All the Dead Pilots
  210. Godboy
  211. Rye Coalition
  212. The Blisters
  213. Mildred Pierce
  214. Evelyn Forever
  215. Ben Trovato
  216. Val Emmich
  217. Hippie Killer
  218. The Loaded Poets
  219. The Cogs
  220. Lumous
  221. Moistboyz
  222. Drag Pack
  223. Thorazine
  224. The Scrapers (WE Fest 1998)
  225. Jack Beast, (WE Fest 1998) from Dublin
  226. Bob Fields
  227. Footstone
  228. Mayflies USA (WE Fest 1998)
  229. Raw Novembre (WE Fest 1998)
  230. Sonny Sixkiller
  231. Today’s My Super Spaceout Day
  232. Doc Hopper
  233. Sicker Than Others
  234. Mars Needs Women
  235. Seething Grey
  236. Elvis ‘77
  237. Plug Spark Sanjay
  238. Cropduster
  239. Casanovocane
  240. Velocity Girl
  241. XBXRX
  242. D-Generation
  243. Fur
  244. NY Loose
  245. Loose
  246. Clowns for Progress
  247. The Raging Lamos
  248. Muzza Chunka
  249. Ric Slave and The Phantoms
  250. Nashville Pussy
  251. TAD
  252. Dead Spot 2000s
  253. Clydesdale
  254. Gap Scatter Recovery
  255. The Karloffs
  256. The Slow Jets
  257. Turkish Taffy
  258. The Wahoo Moment
  259. Like Moving Insects
  260. The Make Out Party
  261. Joshua Marcus
  262. The Cherry Valence
  263. The Jack McCoys
  264. Fa5hion Colt
  265. Dewey Defeated
  266. The Swimmies
  267. Digger Phelps
  268. Beaux
  269. The Blue Ribbons (November 2001, Blacksburg, Virginia)
  270. WE Fest 2000
  271. WE Fest 2001
  272. Slayer
  273. Autolux
  274. M83
  275. Cex
  276. Mogwai
  277. Midiron Blast Shaft
  278. Fair Verona
  279. Punch Drunk Monkeys
  280. Mil Mulliganos
  281. Beautiful Bear (Osa Bella)
  282. Spoon
  283. Britt Daniel
  284. Yeah Yeah Yeahs
  285. Ex Models
  286. Arab on Radar
  287. Autechre
  288. Lusine
  289. Matthew Dear
  290. Pieter K
  291. Hrvatski
  292. Les Paul
  293. LCD Soundsystem
  294. The Damn Personals
  295. Runner and the Thermodynamics
  296. Jim Testa and The Jersey Beats
  297. Kristen Forbes
  298. Joanna Newsom
  299. Pattern is Movement
  300. Pilot to Gunner
  301. Ralph Stanley
  302. Alison Krauss and Union Station
  303. Tris McCall
  304. TV on the Radio
  305. Ulrich Schnauss
  306. The Beta Band
  307. Smarty Pants, WE Fest 2001 from Oklahoma

    2010s

  308. A Place to Bury Strangers, Post Post, The Big Pink (at North Star Bar, 3/31/10)

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