A Thousand Bands

When I was in the band Beyond Seven, there was a line to one of my songs: "I have seen a thousand bands in the last 5 years." Every once in a while someone would question that. Well in the last 5 years I definitely have not seen a thousand bands anymore, but that era 1988-1998 I did see a lot of bands. A thousand isn't a bad estimate. The other day my wife and I were trying to figure out how many bands we saw more than 5 times. That's a good list. If I saw a band more than 5 times, and PAID to see them most of those times, then it is probably some band worth remembering for me. So without further ado, the list of bands I have seen more than 5 times:

1) Soul Asylum (Mpls MN, 35 times). That is a pretty rough estimate, but I saw them every possible time I could and have seen them in: Wisconsin, Texas, Arizona, San Diego, San Jose amongst other places. "I was tapping my foot on a Friday night to my favorite band as I was pushed aside."

2) Undoubtedly my #2 band is Love Battery. (Seattle WA, 20 times). Saw them every time I could in Seattle 1990-1992, and once B7 played with them in Tucson. "Alright, yeah alright."

3) The Supersuckers (Seattle WA, 15 times). Another band my bands tended to play with, but I paid to see them in Seattle, Austin, Tucson, Phoenix, San Jose, San Francisco.

4) Run Westy Run (Mpls Mn, 15 times). Saw them many times with Soul Asylum in Mlps, once in Seattle. Another band I would go see in Mlps every time I could. Those guys could really kick out the jams.

5) Shoebomb (Tucson AZ, 10 times). "It's bigger than you ever imagined."

6) Calexico (Tucson, AZ, 10 times) The last time I saw Calexico was last summer in Oakland, it was the best I have seen them yet. When I first started to see them they would play in the lobby of Hotel Congress, just 2 of the them, Joey and John, and it was so understated and sincere, I got hooked immediately.

5) Soundgarden (Seattle WA, 8 times) Soundgarden changed my life in March 1989. I was at the 7th St Entry in Mlps and their heaviness was just perfect for my life at that time. I bought all their LPs and 6 months later moved to Seattle. I saw them at the Moore Theatre within weeks of ariving in Seattle and found they had changed bass players. They shoulda gotten me. Then I saw them at Lollapalooza, Bumbershoot, Rockcandy, the Offramp, and then the best ever Soundgarden show was at the Mesa Amphitheatre in Arizona in '94. I dont know why but everything was right. I saw them once more in San Diego Nov 30th 1996. Pretty quick after that they broke up, and my life will never be the same.

6) Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (NY 6 times) These guys always rock the house, whether it is in Tucson, Phoenix, San Diego, New Orleans or Providence, RI.

7) Rocket from the Crypt (San Diego, 8 times) Another band that changed my life. Saw them in San Diego, Tucson (3), Phoenix(2), San Francisco, San Diego (with Soundgarden).

8) Nirvana. (Seattle WA 5 times) Motorsports garage, Offramp, Beehive record store, Hub Ballroom, Mpls. I am not sure I ever saw Nirvana on the same stage twice. They were shooting up so fast in those days maybe they outgrew the stage while they were on it.

9) The Melvins (SF CA, 5 times). Maybe it is fitting that the Melvins are next to Nirvana on this list, they are pals, or used to be. I saw the Melvins in New Orleans, Tucson, LA, Phoenix, Seattle. I am starting to wonder if I saw them somewhere else, because if I didn't then that means every city I saw them in I only saw them there once. That's unique.

10) Husker Du (Mlps MN, 5 times) The first one was at the Whole in the basement of Kauffman Union at the U of M, Jan 24th 1984. The first real show I ever saw. Again, life-changing. They were playing the songs from Metal Circus like Real World at unreal volume.

11) The Replacements (Mpls MN 6 times) The first time I saw these guys was in January 1985 at Carelton college, where I snuck in with my St Olaf ID then hid under the bleachers until they played. It was great. The next time was in Madison, WI, and I also saw the first and last shows at the "6 night homestand" in the 7th St Entry fall 1985. The opening band on the first night was Soul Asylum, and that was the first time I ever saw them.

So there are 11 bands I saw 130 times or so. Just about every one of those shows had other bands on the bill. Maybe that 1000 band thing is a little more believable now.