My total attendance for 2015 was 50 events, a significant increase as compared to my 2014 total attendance of 36 and yet another annual record overall. The 50 events included 29 concerts, a single day festivals, two multiday festivals in which I only attended one day, and a multiday festival in which I attended multiple days. In total, this involved live music on 53 individual days, just over an average of one day/evening per week. As far as I can confirm, 27 of those events were sold out. Moving forward, the number of days attended in addition to the number of artists seems like the more relevant figure to use when tracking my stats. References to “concerts” or “events” will mean individual days attended. So three days of Lollapalooza would be equal to three events.
I attended more events in Chicago (48) than anywhere else, all of which were within the city limits itself. I visited a total of 27 separate venues this year, of which 23 were in Chicago. This included multiple visits to many including the Riviera Theatre (7), Chicago Theatre (4), Metro (4), Thalia Hall (4), FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island (3), Vic Theatre (3), Concord Music Hall (2), Lincoln Hall (2), Schubas (2), United Center (2), and Wrigley Field (2). In addition to shows in Indiana and Wisconsin, I also saw two international shows will on vacation in Southern Africa. Including Ingonyama's performance at Miombo Safari Camp in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe might be a bit questionable, but I did come away with their album, so I'm counting it.
I saw at least three shows on every day of the week. Saturday (13) was the leader, followed by Friday (11) and Thursday (9). Though there was a slight uptick in the summer months, the number of events were spread pretty evenly throughout the year. July was the leading month with six, though a full seven other months had a total of five. February was the lowest with two.
Including all the artists that I specifically wrote about, I saw a total of 90 performances by 87 artists, seeing Damien Rice, Kishi Bashi, and U2 twice each. Of the 90, 34 were artists that I have seen before; the remaining 56 were artists that I was seeing for the first time. This includes counting Brandon Flowers' solo performance and Dave & Tim's acoustic set as new acts but Neil Young + Promise of the Real as just another iteration of his same performance music.
Though Lindsey (19) still attended more concerts with me than any other person, Sarah (15) and Matt (13) were not far behind; Seth (9) and Blair (8) also put up considerable numbers as well. I attended three events on my own.
Total ticket cost was $2,262, an average and median of $43 and $35 per event, respectively.
None of my favorite sets of there year were at a festival; half were artists I saw for the first time. The only venue with more than one appearance on the list was Wrigley Field, which happened to be my only two shows at the venue this year.
This entry marks my 200th post, going back to June 2009 with consistent entries since September of that year. While this blog documents a significant number of performances, there were many before I started writing. I have since tried to go back and document every performance that I have seen. It actually all began at a Kenny Loggins concert that my mom took me to somewhere around 1991. While this process of going back and documenting all these shows involved some guesswork, I was surprised how much information could be found in some corner of the internet. I’m no doubt still missing some though. The below estimates reflect totals to the best of my knowledge as of this blog entry. They’ll be updated on a regular basis and posted annually as I correct errors and omissions.
By my count, I have attended 303 events (i.e. days of music) and seen 641 performances by 434 artists. I have seen only five artists six or more times including Phish (11), Dave Matthews Band (10 through 11 if you count Dave & Tim), Guster (8), Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue (7), and Modest Mouse (6). I have seen a further eight acts five times, 13 acts four times, 20 acts three times, 60 acts twice, and 333 a single time. I have visited 111 separate venues in 46 cities. Of those venues, I have been to the 9:30 Club by far the most, 35 times. Following the legendary DC club, I have attended a total of 19 days of music at Bonnaroo. The only other venues in double digits are the Riviera Theatre (16) and Merriweather Post Pavilion (13). Other notables are Verizon Center (9), Wolf Trap National Park (8), Lincoln Hall (8), Chicago Theatre (7), Vic Theatre (7), Jiffy Lube Live/Nissan Pavilion (7) Metro (6), and FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island (6). Concerts in the Chicago metro area (115) have officially eclipsed the Washington DC metro area (100).
I attended more events in Chicago (48) than anywhere else, all of which were within the city limits itself. I visited a total of 27 separate venues this year, of which 23 were in Chicago. This included multiple visits to many including the Riviera Theatre (7), Chicago Theatre (4), Metro (4), Thalia Hall (4), FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island (3), Vic Theatre (3), Concord Music Hall (2), Lincoln Hall (2), Schubas (2), United Center (2), and Wrigley Field (2). In addition to shows in Indiana and Wisconsin, I also saw two international shows will on vacation in Southern Africa. Including Ingonyama's performance at Miombo Safari Camp in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe might be a bit questionable, but I did come away with their album, so I'm counting it.
Including all the artists that I specifically wrote about, I saw a total of 90 performances by 87 artists, seeing Damien Rice, Kishi Bashi, and U2 twice each. Of the 90, 34 were artists that I have seen before; the remaining 56 were artists that I was seeing for the first time. This includes counting Brandon Flowers' solo performance and Dave & Tim's acoustic set as new acts but Neil Young + Promise of the Real as just another iteration of his same performance music.
Though Lindsey (19) still attended more concerts with me than any other person, Sarah (15) and Matt (13) were not far behind; Seth (9) and Blair (8) also put up considerable numbers as well. I attended three events on my own.
Total ticket cost was $2,262, an average and median of $43 and $35 per event, respectively.
None of my favorite sets of there year were at a festival; half were artists I saw for the first time. The only venue with more than one appearance on the list was Wrigley Field, which happened to be my only two shows at the venue this year.
- Grateful Dead [Soldier Field] – Fare Thee Well to a legendary band, the mythology surrounding this experience made this the most memorable performance of the year
- U2 [United Center] – Up close for an amazing performance from one of my favorite bands of all time; the experience they provide each and every tour proves why they’re worthy of being called the greatest rock band in the world year after year
- Billy Joel [Wrigley Field] – Finally getting to see another legendary performer whose catalogue I love
- The Rolling Stones [Indianapolis Motor Speedway] – Perhaps the most legendary of them all on a beautiful night in an open field
- AC/DC [Wrigley Field] – More rock gods who still know how to bring it
- Kendrick Lamar [Riviera Theatre] – An intimate performance centered around one of my favorite albums of the year
- Frank Turner (& the Sleeping Souls) [House of Blues, Chicago] – A few new songs, many older favorite, just an unbelievably fun show
- Marilyn Manson [Riviera Theatre] – Though not my scene, an artist that I’ve always liked and am glad exists in the world; great crowd and fun show
- Zola Jesus [Athenaeum Theatre] – Great seats for a really unique singer
- Alt-J (∆) [Aragon Ballroom] – One of my favorite bands of recent years; I love their entire catalogue and very happy to see them at one of my favorite venues in the city
- Honorable mentions include: Damien Rice [Auditorium Theatre & Jay Pritzker Pavilion], Dave Matthews Band [Alpine Valley Music Theatre & with Tim Reynolds at Farm Aid, Guster [Riviera Theatre], Imagine Dragons [Farm Aid], and Strand of Oaks [Lollapalooza].
This entry marks my 200th post, going back to June 2009 with consistent entries since September of that year. While this blog documents a significant number of performances, there were many before I started writing. I have since tried to go back and document every performance that I have seen. It actually all began at a Kenny Loggins concert that my mom took me to somewhere around 1991. While this process of going back and documenting all these shows involved some guesswork, I was surprised how much information could be found in some corner of the internet. I’m no doubt still missing some though. The below estimates reflect totals to the best of my knowledge as of this blog entry. They’ll be updated on a regular basis and posted annually as I correct errors and omissions.
By my count, I have attended 303 events (i.e. days of music) and seen 641 performances by 434 artists. I have seen only five artists six or more times including Phish (11), Dave Matthews Band (10 through 11 if you count Dave & Tim), Guster (8), Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue (7), and Modest Mouse (6). I have seen a further eight acts five times, 13 acts four times, 20 acts three times, 60 acts twice, and 333 a single time. I have visited 111 separate venues in 46 cities. Of those venues, I have been to the 9:30 Club by far the most, 35 times. Following the legendary DC club, I have attended a total of 19 days of music at Bonnaroo. The only other venues in double digits are the Riviera Theatre (16) and Merriweather Post Pavilion (13). Other notables are Verizon Center (9), Wolf Trap National Park (8), Lincoln Hall (8), Chicago Theatre (7), Vic Theatre (7), Jiffy Lube Live/Nissan Pavilion (7) Metro (6), and FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island (6). Concerts in the Chicago metro area (115) have officially eclipsed the Washington DC metro area (100).
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