Our Lady Peace – Massey Hall in 2005. I won tickets for Vero and I go down to Toronto!
A few years ago, I stumbled upon a cool website called setlist.fm which tracks concert setlists. The really neat thing about it was that I could indicate whether I was at the concert or not and it would track my stats. One summer I went through my box of concert stubs and entered any information I could think of; sometimes it was a simple click of the button ‘I WAS THERE’ or entering in the details of a concert that I clearly have a record of, but there is no record on the site. Imagine a Wikipedia for concerts.
Matt Mays – Bluesfest 2006
While going to Bluesfest the other night, I realized that in the past week, I had surpassed the 500 concert mark! Let’s be honest here, even though I keep every concert ticket stub known to man, there’s no way I have documented every live band I have ever seen. There were tons of Fortune’s Hand concerts seen in the Heart and Crown but no documentation of those good times exist (well, except for the photos of those drunken nights!). So when setlist.fm indicates that I have seen 500 shows, I take it with a grain of salt, but at the same time, if it’s a rough number, so be it! It’s a great achievement that started back in 1996 with my first concert – The Smashing Pumpkins in Toronto, ON on September 14, 1996.
The Trews – Acoustic show at Carleton University 2006
Twenty years later, I’ve definitely hit the peak of concert going and now pick and choose which shows to go to. This doesn’t mean that I’m stopping anytime soon, but I’ll choose the band I haven’t seen a whole lot over the band I have seen a whole lot.
Me playing at a charitable campaign thing at work in 2006 along with Shawn.
Here’s some interesting stats as of today and twenty years of concert going. This post goes out to my good buddy Mike who was at most of those concerts with me!
New Year’s party with Mike’s dad Bruce. I’m not entire sure what the name of the band was at this point, but he’s been playing with the same group of guys since high school. Pretty impressive!
Arcade Fire – 2007 in Montreal. The entire arena was general admission and Mike and I did not realize until we showed up! Not cool for getting seats together! Ha ha.
Name of Band Number of times I’ve seen them
Sam Roberts Band 19
Our Lady Peace 12
The Tea Party 9
The Trews 8
I Mother Earth 6
Pearl Jam 6
U2 6
The Smashing Pumpkins 6
Theory of a Deadman 6
Wide Mouth Mason 6
Live 5
Matt Mays 5
The Tragically Hip 5
Metric 5
Nickelback 5
Three Days Grace 5
Finger Eleven 5
Wintersleep 4
Blue Rodeo 4
John Fogerty – 2007 at Bluesfest
After seeing this list, here’s some stray observations:
- Seeing Sam Roberts Band 19 times seems a little incredible, but sure enough, after I perused the list, I can remember every concert. Good times have been had with this band!
- The majority of the bands are Canadian which considering I live in Canada, makes a whole lot of sense.
- While Pearl Jam is of my top 3 bands right now, it was a long time (2005!) before I got to see them live. So I have some catching up to do.
- The Smashing Pumpkins haven’t been around my neck of the woods a whole lot but I’ve tried over the years to see them as much as possible.
- It’s interesting to see some bands that just don’t exist any longer vs. newer bands that I just really love to see (like Wintersleep)
Thornley at Hope Volleyball 2008
Venues Number of times in that venue
Scotiabank Place/Corel Center/CTC 74
Centre Bell/Molson 26
Capital Music Hall 21
Ottawa Civic Center/TD Place 20
Barrymore’s 19
Ottawa Congress Center 12
Molson Ampitheatre 11
Bronson Center 7
National Arts Center 7
Air Canada Center 5
Parc Jean-Drapeau 4
Maple Leaf Gardens 4
Mavericks 3
Centerpointe Theatre 3
Massey Hall 3
Algonquin College Commons Theatre 2
This one is for my girl – Def Leppard in 2008 at the Scotiabank Place.
Observations:
- Wow, that is a lot of arena priced beers being consumed!
- Look at how many times the name of the Ottawa hockey arena has changed!
- Barrymore’s was definitely one of the better venues to see a band. Capital Music Hall…not so much!
Live at Bluesfest -2009
Years of activity Number of times
1996 2
1997 4
1998 14
1999 12
2000 25
2001 8
2002 5
2003 21
2004 12
2005 29
2006 17
2007 22
2008 22
2009 54
2010 33
2011 29
2012 45
2013 27
2014 42
2015 50
2016 6
2017 14 (so far)
AC Lighning bolt DC – Ottawa 2009
Observations:
- Live acts really started to show u in Ottawa from 2005 and onwards.
- 2009 seems a little crazy with 54 concerts! I must have been out more with Mike than I was with Vero that year!
Pearl Jam at the Molson Ampitheatre 2009
Festivals Number of times at the festival
Bluesfest 11
HOPE Volleyball 6
Festival of Spring (this is also known as Tulip Festival) 4
Ottawa Folk Festival/CityFolk 3
Osheaga 2
CUPE Local 503 – Rock for Public Servants 2
Summersault 2
Ottawa Dragon Boat 1
Metallica at the Scotiabank Place in 2009
Observations:
- Those are a lot of Bluesfest beers being consumed!
- Man, I miss HOPE Volleyball. They had the best weather this year.
- Folk festival is quickly overtaking Bluesfest for my favourite festival.
Roger Waters – Scotiabank Place in 2010
Random stats:
- First concert: Technically Grant Lee Buffalo who opened for the Smashing Pumpkins on September 14, 1996 in Toronto.
- First concert in Ottawa: The Tea Party at the Congress Center
- First concert at Barrymore’s: The Gandharvas and Holly McNarland. I remember that concert specifically because I so afraid of being in the crowd that I sat up away from the floor section. That was quickly changed later on. I also remember having a ‘no beer policy’ as I wanted to take it all in with a sober mind. That thought process changed over the years!
- First concert at the Corel Center: Everclear and Our Lady Peace – January 16, 1998.
- Last concert at Canadian Tire Center: Pearl Jam – May 8, 2016
- Songs I’ve heard the most live: 4am, Clumsy and Superman’s Dead (all tied for 12 times heard), Brother Down (11 times)
Mike and I playing at the Legion – 2010
It’s important to note what I consider ‘a concert’, in terms of adding it to setlist.fm. This especially applies to festivals. If I have seen at least one song by a band, I mark it down. It falls into the realm of “Hey, have you seen that band?”. I don’t think Vero necessarily agrees with my methodology, but I’m sticking with it. I don’t want to say “Ah, I never saw Delicate Steve because I only saw him play three tunes.” It’s also important to note that my numbers are way off because in choosing the photos for this post, I stumbled upon a Matt Mays concert that I saw at Bluesfest but never marked it down! Sweet!
U2 in Montreal – 2011
It’s been a good ride and while I may be taking a breather for now, I can’t wait for the day when Sierra says “Hey Dad, can you bring me to this concert?”
Let’s end it off with a legend…Paul McCartney in Montreal 2011. That show brought me to tears at the end of it. That’s the power of live music. Here’s to another 500!