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Concert List

August 17th, 2006

For whatever reason, I started wondering if I could compile a list of all the concerts I had seen over the years. I’ve always had a habit of tossing old ticket stubs in a drawer, so it seemed like it wouldn’t be a totally impossible task. It also seemed like it would be an interesting way to chart my music interests as they grew and mutated over several decades.


Warm Up Events. These first couple almost don’t count as genuine concerts, but I’m including them because I remember being pretty damned excited while watching them.

  • The Partidge Family (summer 1972, Cincinnatti)
    I kid you not. They were filming an episode at King’s Island Amusement Park near Cincinnatti, and my friend Jeff’s mom took us. At the time I didn’t realize they were just lip-syncing, nor would I have cared had I known.
  • Blue Swede (summer 1974?, Disneyland)
    Known for their cover of BJ Thomas’ “Hooked on a Feeling” (ooga-shaka), they were playing a show at Disneyland that we happened upon. Real rockers playing real instruments.


The Montana Years. While growing up in Montana, I’d go see virtually any rock concert, even if I didn’t even like the band. Which explains a lot of these selections. Unfortunately, a lot of these old ticket stubs had the price on the half that was torn away, but I remember they were usually between $4 and $7.

  • The Guess Who w/ Fleetwood Mac (1974?, Missoula MT $?)
    I often consider this to be my first “real” concert since it was in an arena filled with stoned college kids. My dad took me; he later bought some Fleetwood Mac 8-tracks.
  • KISS w/ Point Blank (Feb 1976, Missoula $4.50)
    This was a very big deal to me, as I was an absolute KISS fanatic at the time.
  • Johnny & Edgar Winter (Aug 14, 1976, Missoula $?)
  • Jethro Tull (Mar 6, 1977, Missoula $?)
  • Steve Martin w/ John Sebastin (Dec 8, 1977, Missoula $?)
    I seem to remember also going to a Bob Hope show that same month.
  • Ted Nugent w/ Sammy Hagar (May 12, 1978, Missoula $7.00)
  • Black Oak Arkansas w/ Canned Heat (Sep 24, 1978, Missoula $?)
  • Van Halen w/ Bighorn (Mar 29, 1979, Missoula $7.00)
  • Doobie Brothers w/ Ambrosia (Apr 20, 1979, Missoula)
    I know I saw the Doobs one other time, but that ticket stub is long gone.
  • Boston w/ Bighorn (May 9, 1979, Missoula $8.00)
  • Blue Oyster Cult (May 25, 1979, Missoula $7.00)
  • Van Halen (Mar 26, 1980, Missoula $8.50)
  • Cheap Trick w/ Head East (Jul 17, 1980, Missoula $8.00)
    Cheap Trick were the first famous people I ever met.
  • Eric Clapton w/ Fabulous Thunderbirds (Mar 10, 1981, Great Falls MT $8.50)
  • George Thorogood (Mar 15, 1981, Missoula $?)


Getting Ready for the Big Time. While going to college in Bozeman, Montana, I  attended almost no local concerts, primarily because they sucked (e.g. Loverboy) and I had grown out of my see-absolutely-anything phase. Instead, there were a couple opportunites to pile into the car and catch a show in a magical far-off land.

  • Greg Kihn Band (March 1983, Bozeman Willson Auditorium, $comped) 
    This was the first concert I reviewed as a member of the press, namely my college newspaper. There were a few other shows that I reviewed, but the only one I can recall was Pat Metheny.
  • The Stranglers (May 1, 1983, Seattle Eagles Hippodrome $?)
    I was a HUGE Stranglers fan at this time, so driving 700 miles to see them really didn’t seem that strange.
  • X (Feb 3, 1984, Portland $?)
    Another instance where a few hundred miles didn’t stop me from seeing a favorite band. By pure coincidence, we stopped in a record store where X was doing an in-store appearance that had not been publicized. As a result, we got to hang out and chat with them for over an hour.


The Big City: the 80s. Moving to Seattle after college greatly increased the quality and quantity of my concert-going experiences. Still, there have been a few oddities here and there.

  • Violent Femmes (Jun 17, 1984, Seattle Mountaineers $8.00)
    I had arrived in Seattle mere days before and thought it was so cool to see such a hip and trendy band.
  • REM (Jun 27, 1984, Seattle Music Hall $11.50)
    Michael Stipe had a sprained ankle and spent a lot of the night sitting on a stool while singing.
  • Rod Stewart (Jul 8, 1985, Tacoma Dome $15.00)
    Why? I really don’t know.
  • King Sunny Ade w/ Black Uhuru (Aug 21, 1984, Seattle Paramount $13.00)
  • Eurythmics / Spinal Tap (Sep 1984 Seattle Bumbershoot $?)
  • Rain Parade (Sep 15, 1984, Seattle Odd Fellows Hall $5.00)
  • P.I.L. (Oct 17, 1984, Seattle Paramount $10.00)
  • Dead Kennedys (Oct 19, 1984, Seattle Moore Theatre $7.00)
  • Cure (Oct 21, 1984, Seattle Paramount $12.00)
    I don’t think this actually happened on this date; I seem to remember it had to be rescheduled a week or two later because the band had problems getting into the country.
  • Frank Zappa (Dec 17, 1984, Seattle Paramount $14.50)
  • Ramones (Dec 1984, Seattle HUB Ballroom $12.00)
    I lost my watch during this concert.
  • Violent Femmes (Jan 25, 1985, Seattle Gorilla Gardens $8.00)
  • Prince & the Revolution (Feb 15, 1985, Tacoma Dome $17.50)
    This was at the height of “Purple Rain,” which made for pure meyhem.
  • UB40 (Feb 23, 1985, Seattle Moore Theatre $13.00)
  • The Kinks (Mar 1, 1985, Seattle Paramount $15.00)
  • REM (Jul 12, 1985, Seattle Paramount $13.50)
  • New Order (Aug 20, 1985, San Francisco Kaiser Center $13.50)
    Having been a big Joy Division fan, I was extremely excited for this show. I could not believe how much it sucked.
  • X / Nina Hagen / Black Uhuru (Sep 1985, Seattle Bumbershoot $3.00/day)
  • Cure (Oct 3, 1985, Seattle Arena $14.00)
  • Shriekback (Oct 26, 1985, Vancouver BC Commodore Ballroom $13.00)
    Absolutely amazing show.
  • Jonathan Richman (Nov 24, 1985, Seattle Backstage $7.00)
  • Replacements (Dec 5, 1985, Seattle Astor Park $7.00)
    For quite some time this ranked as the single best show I had ever seen.
  • Richard Thompson (Dec 28, 1985, Seattle Kane Hall $10.00)
  • Bears w/ Adrian Belew (Feb 13, 1986, Seattle Astor Park $12.50)
  • Robyn Hitchcock (Mar 22, 1986, Seattle Moore Theatre $10.00)
  • Husker Du (May 14, 1986, Seattle HUB Ballroom $?)
    I remember seeing the various band members walking around in the crowd during the opening act and almost no one recognized them.
  • Echo and the Bunnymen w/ the Church (Apr 13, 1986 Seattle HUB Ballroom $15.00)
  • Siouxsie and the Banshees (May 30, 1986, Seattle Paramount $14.00)
    Siouxsie was such a snob onstage that it really turned me off from the band for many years.
  • P.I.L. (Jun 28, 1986, Seattle Paramount $15.00)
  • BoDeans (Jul 16, 1986, Seattle Backstage $5.00)
  • UB40 (Sep 9, 1986, Seattle Paramount $16.00)
  • Richard Thompson (Sep 26, 1986 Seattle Backstage $10.00)
  • REM (Oct 4, 1986, Seattle Paramount $16.00)
  • Love and Rockets (Oct 18, 1986, Seattle Moore Theatre $12.50)
  • Jonathan Richman (Nov 8, 1986, Seattle Kane Hall $9.50)
  • The 3 O’Clock (Nov 27, 1986, Berkeley CA Square $7.00)
  • Shriekback (Nov 29, 1986, San Francisco Club DV8 $12.50)
  • Queen Ida (Feb 27, 1987, Seattle Union Station $10.00)
    I have no memory of this, but I have the stub.
  • Pretenders (Mar 3, 1987, Seattle Paramount $16.00)
  • Stranglers (May 9, 1987, San Francisco Warfield $15.50) 
  • Jonathan Richman (Jun 12, 1987, Seattle Canterbury $7.00)
  • Replacements (Jul 5, 1987, Seattle Moore Theatre $12.50)
    An absolutely horrible show.
  • Cure (July 10, 1987, Seattle Arena $16.50)
  • Julian Cope w/ Pure Joy (Aug 1, 1987, Seattle Backstage $10.00)
    Stunning show in a tiny venue.
  • Redd Kross w/ Soundgarden (Oct 24, 1987, Seattle Central Tavern $6.50)
    Definitely one of my favorite shows ever.
  • Love and Rockets (Dec 11, 1987, Seattle Paramount $0.00)
    I’m pretty sure we won these tickets from KJET.
  • Guadalcanal Diary (Feb 6, 1988, Seattle Central Tavern $9.00)
  • Richard Barone (Feb 9, 1988, Seattle Backstage $7.00) 
  • Midnight Oil (Mar 12, 1988, Seattle Moore Theatre $13.50)
  • Robyn Hitchcock (Sep 1988 Seattle Bumbershoot $?)
  • Richard Thompson (Oct 7, 1988, Seattle Backstage $11.00)
  • Jonathan Richman (Oct 11, 1988, Seattle Backstage $10.00)
  • Midnight Oil (Oct 31, 1988, Seattle Paramount $17.50)
  • Go-Betweens (?? 1988, Seattle HUB Ballroom $?)
  • That Petrol Emotion w/ Voice of the Beehive (Mar 14, 1989, Seattle Underground $12.50)
    Great show.
  • Lou Reed (Apr 15, 1989, Seattle Paramount $17.50)
  • P.I.L. (Jun 10, 1989, Seattle Moore Theatre $16.00)
  • Guadalcanal Diary (Jun 13, 1989, Seattle Central Tavern $12.00)
  • Robyn Hitchcock (Sep 27, 1989, Seattle Backstage $8.50)
  • Pixies w/ Bob Mould (Nov 3, 1989, Seattle Moore Theatre $14.50)


The 90s. Moving into the new decade, it’s interesting to see that ticket prices still haven’t broken the $20 barrier. I also notice that I saw far fewer shows during this decade. Hmmmm… I wonder what’s up with that? As I was writing up this list, I was also thinking about the numerous club shows I saw that had not quite crossed over to the “concert” status. For example, I probably saw Sleater-Kinney half a dozen times before they got to the point where you had to buy advance tickets and wait in line.

  • Laurie Anderson (Feb 20, 1990, Seattle Paramount $18.50)
  • Sugarcubes (Feb 22, 1990, Seattle Moore Theatre $17.50)
  • Midnight Oil (Jun 25, 1990, Seattle Arena $18.50)
  • Robyn Hitchcock (Jul 10, 1990, Seattle Backstage $21.50)
  • Robert Fripp (Oct 19, 1990, Seattle Backstage $23.00)
  • Richard Thompson (Jul 20, 1991, Seattle Pier $16.00)
  • Pearl Jam (Sep 20, 1992, Seattle Magnuson Park Free)
  • Shriekback w/ Sky Cries Mary (Nov 10, 1992, Seattle Moore Theatre $13.50)
  • PJ Harvey w/ David J (Nov 21, 1992, Seattle Rkcndy $10.77)
  • Kids in the Hall (Mar 12, 1993, Vancouver BC Vogue $34.75)
  • PJ Harvey (Jul 9, 1993, Seattle Under the Rail $15.50)
    I remember seeing Kurt Cobain in the crowd.
  • Primus (Nov 28, 1993, Seattle Paramount $17.50)
  • Laurie Anderson (Apr 4, 1994, Seattle Meany Hall $18.50)
  • L7 (Nov 9, 1994, Seattle DV8 $16.00)
    Eddie Vedder and his wife were crouched on the ground in front of us and we almost stepped on them several times.
  • Hole (Nov 14, 1994, Seattle Moore Theatre $13.50)
  • Liz Phair (Apr 13, 1995, Seattle Moore Theatre $10.00)
    I’m missing another Liz Phair concert, that I believe happened earlier than this one. It was at the King Kat Theater and I think was right after the release of Whip Smart.
  • Elvis Costello (May 17, 1996, Seattle Showbox $17.50)
  • X w/ Murder City Devils (??, 1997, Seattle DV8)
  • KISS (May 5, 1997, Seattle KeyArena $45.00)
    Yes, it was a trip down Memory Lane, but not the last one I would take.
  • Foo Fighters (Jul 21, 1997, Seattle DV8 $15.00)
  • Cheap Trick (Sep 16, 1997, Seattle Showbox $20.00)
  • The Damned (?? 1997, Seattle Rckndy $?)
  • Chumbawamba (Mar 22, 1998, Seattle Paramount $15.50)
  • Bow Wow Wow (Mar 27, 1998, Seattle Firehouse $14.50)
  • Cornershop (Jun 11, 1998, Seattle King Kat Theater $15.00)
    Rather lousy show.
  • Tom Waits (Oct 19, 1999, Seattle 5th Avenue Theatre $65.00)
  • Robyn Hitchcock (Nov 16, 1999, Seattle Crocodile Cafe $14.00)
  • Built to Spill (Dec 7, 1999, Seattle Showbox $10.00)


Rockin’ into the 00s. There’s no doubt about it: my concert-going rate is slowing down. I’ll have to do something about that.

  • Patti Smith (Apr 20, 2000, Seattle Moore Theatre $24.50)
  • Lou Reed / Lucinda Williams (Jun 2, 2000, Seattle Benaroya Hall $45.00)
    Lou was exceptionally snotty that night.
  • Sleater-Kinney (Dec 14, 2001, Seattle Showbox $13.50)
  • Prince (Apr 29, 2002, Seattle Paramount $101.00)
  • Kids in the Hall (May 14, 2002, Seattle Paramount $39.50)
  • Modest Mouse (Dec 14, 2002, Seattle Showbox $17.50)
  • Spoon (Jul 12, 2003, Seattle Showbox $12.00)
  • Aerosmith / KISS (Oct 12, 2003, Seattle White River $119.00)
    Currently, the most expensive ticket I’ve ever bought. UPDATE: That has since been beaten.
  • Kraftwerk (Apr 26, 2004, Seattle Paramount $31.50)
  • Interpol / Blonde Redhead (Feb 11, 2005, Seattle Paramount $20.00)
  • Gang of Four (May 6, 2005, Seattle Showbox $31.00)
    Best show of the past 10 years, easy.
  • Of Montreal (June 2005, Seattle Chop Suey $?)
  • Teenage Fanclub / Rosebuds (Jul 22, 2005, NYC Bowery Ballroom $22.00)
  • Dandy Warhols (Nov 14, 2005, Seattle Showbox $20.00)
  • New Pornographers / Spoon (Sep 3, 2006, Seattle Bumbershoot $30)
  • Devo / The Punk Group (Sep 9, 2006, Seattle Paramount $66.00)
  • Art Brut / We Are Scientists / Spinto Band (Oct 4, 2006, Eugene OR Wow Hall $13.00)
  • Dresden Dolls / Red Paintings (Oct 14, 2006, Seattle Showbox $20.00)
  • Prince (Jan 19, 2007, Las Vegas Rio Club 3121 $125.00)
    To see Prince in a relatively small club is quite an experience, but if you go, be prepared to stand for a long time. From when we got in line until he came on stage (at 12:30am) was over three hours.
  • Arcade Fire / LCD Soundsystem / Gossip (Sep 24, 2007, Seattle Hec Ed Pavillion $39.50)
  • White Stripes (Sep 27, 2007, Seattle Paramount $40)
    Oh wait, that show was canceled, wasn’t it?!
  • Built to Spill / Camper Van Beethoven / Delusions (Oct 6, 2007, Seattle Showbox $22.00)
  • Amanda Palmer / Estradasphere (Oct 25, 2007, Seattle the 608 $15.00)
  • Art Brut / Hold Steady (Nov 4, 2007, Seattle HUB Ballroom $22.00)
    Yeah, the Hold Steady were the headliners, but we went to see Art Brut so I’m giving them top (of the pops!) billing.
  • Kids in the Hall (May 15, 2008, Seattle WaMu Theater $39.50)

9 Responses to “Concert List”

  1. Matt "The Tube" Crowley Says:
    September 14th, 2006 at 12:32 pm

    I was with Dave for three of those concerts; Van Halen, Cheap Trick, and Eric Clapton, all in Montana. In fact Van Halen was my first concert. Dave told me it would be loud, but I had no idea it was physically possible to attain those kind of sound pressure levels! Well beyond the “threshold of pain” indeed. Needless to say, we didn’t bring earplugs, and my ears rang for two days.
    My life changed after seeing Van Halen, as David Lee Roth announced “They tell me Missoula is the rock-n-roll capitol of the world”, then later “they tell me people in Montana like to get high”. I knew Missoula Montana was special, and David Lee Roth said so.
    At home later that night I took a shower, and plaster from the ceiling of the shower stall fell on my head.
    By the way, I propose that the “00″ decade be voiced as the “SuperNaughts”…

  2. Matt "The Tube" Crowley Says:
    September 18th, 2006 at 2:28 am

    Dave, remember Molly Hatchet? I think we saw them once because the Heartbeats opened for them, and we were helping roadie gear for the Heartbeats.
    Your blog entry motivated me to come up with the same list, found here: http://orgoneresearch.blogspot.com/2006/09/recently-i-read-blog-entry-by-my-frind.html

  3. Mr. Peterman Says:
    September 18th, 2006 at 7:31 am

    Holy smokes, I forgot about the Molly Hatchet show. But I’m not sure it counts because we left after the Heartbeats to help shlep their gear to the Trading Post… never actually saw MH.

  4. Mike Walters Says:
    December 7th, 2006 at 1:37 am

    Hello, I see this show on your list Love and Rockets (Dec 11, 1987, Seattle Paramount $0.00)
    I’m pretty sure we won these tickets from KJET.
    I’m trying to confirm some information regarding this show.
    First was the full venue name Paramount?
    Did Jane’s Addiction open for Love and Rockets?
    Is there any way I could get a scan of your ticket stub?
    Thanks for you time.
    Latter Mike

  5. Ralph Says:
    December 27th, 2006 at 3:39 pm

    Hi

    Spotted the BOC/Missoula 79 mention. Do you recall who opened that show? I’m currently trying to document ALL BOC shows so any info/comments on this or ANY other BOC gig you ever saw would be gratefully received:

    1979 History Page:
    http://www.hotrails.co.uk/history/1979.htm

    1979 Gig Page:
    http://www.hotrails.co.uk/giglopaedia/1979.htm

    Cheers

    Ralph

  6. Cindy C Says:
    January 24th, 2007 at 3:39 pm

    David, what a coincidence we were at some of the same shows before I knew you. Mainly The Cure (paramount and 1st arena show) Nina Hagen (bumbershoot), UB40 (paramount) and Midnight Oil (moore theater). Although I think the last 2 were after I met you guys.

    cindy

  7. redhalo Says:
    January 24th, 2007 at 8:28 pm

    Thanks to your blog I was able to come across info for a similar project I’m working on. I’m using the Past Events interface at last.fm. It is a very nice feature! I’m figuring you are a couple/few years my senior from music interests and shows you’ve been to. One that we do have in common (the one I stumbled across is the “Shriekback (Oct 26, 1985, Vancouver BC Commodore Ballroom $13.00)” show, yes, it was amazing.

    Yhank You again.
    Lee

    Feel free to drop by to check out my concerts from the past project at http://www.last.fm/user/redhalo/events/past

  8. Rod Says:
    March 21st, 2007 at 2:36 pm

    I just got done making a list from my tix stubs and thought I would see if there were similar lists out there. Well, what do you know? We even went to a bunch of the same shows. Not only that, you lost your watch at the Ramones show, and I lost a shoe at the same one! Found someone else’s shoe though and did the limp mismatch dance all the way home. I will send the link when I post mine - you will be surprised at how many matches.

  9. Susan M Says:
    June 21st, 2008 at 9:44 am

    I’m glad you posted this (and glad I found it). I was at some of those 80s Seattle shows. I’m making my own list but I don’t have ticket stubs so I’m just trying to find dates online. I was at the two later Cure shows, Siouxsie, later Replacements show (YFF opened), Love and Rockets at the Moore (Soundgarden opened), X/Nina Hagen, Echo w/the Church. Do you remember who opened for Siouxsie?

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