A List: Concerts and Shows

I've been to a lot of concerts and shows in my lifetime. At least I think it's a lot. More than some of you but probably not as many as others.

I used to make concert attendance a priority, especially in college and into my early 20s. Living in Nebraska meant we didn't necessarily have the best pick of concerts to attend (especially in the small town where I grew up), so if the difference between seeing a concert or not meant hours of driving to Omaha, Denver, Chicago or Kansas City, plus the associated expenses of gas, food, and lodging. . . well, so be it.  

Sometimes when I look at this list I am happy to have put in the time and effort to have attended, and cherish the memories of the event and the friends who enjoyed it with me. Other times, I wish I had saved my money and done some real traveling, but what's done is done. 

To me, there is a difference between a "concert" and a "show" (these are strictly my definitions, and there is definitely room for cross-over):  

• A "concert" takes place in a large venue designed primarily for events of this type and with a large seating or standing capacity: an arena, an events center, a theater, an amphitheater, a ballroom. 
• A "show" has a much smaller audience and takes place at a bar, restaurant, coffee house or other space whose main source of income is something other than events.
• Also, I haven't included shows from cover bands or bands with a local audience only. I do have a couple Omaha bands in the list, but those are bands that also have a national or international audience.  

The interesting thing about concerts and shows is that the same bands may play in both, possibly even on the same tour. Some may begin their career playing shows and end it playing concerts. If they're around long enough, they'll begin with shows, progress to concerts, and wrap things up playing shows again, mostly to loyal longtime fans. 

This list will probably grow over time as I know I'm not remembering every show and concert at this moment. Did we go to something together that I didn't include here? Drop me a comment and let me know. I seem to have a big gap in the late 1990s, although this was around the time we bought our house and maybe we were just too broke to go to any concerts or shows.

Concerts, in roughly chronological order (artists in red are artists I've seen multiple times):

• Kenny Rogers and Dottie West, Nebraska State Fair, 1981?
• Willie Nelson Beer and BBQ at Rosenblatt Stadium 1981?   (I can't remember which actually came first--Kenny or Willie.  They were within months of each other, to the extent that I can recall.)
• Head East, Red Willow County Fair, 1983
• Vixen, Red Willow County, 1984  (this was after their appearance in the film Hardbodies and before their popularity as a female metal band in the late 1980s) 
• Robert Plant with Joan Jett, Omaha Civic Center, 1988
• REM, Omaha Civic Center, 1989
• The Sugarcubes, Public Image Ltd, New Order, at Red Rocks, 1989
• Love and Rockets, The Pixies, The Cure, Fiddler's Green (Denver), 1989
• The Pixies, Nebraska State Fair Ag Complex, 1989
• Ministry with KMFDM, Peony Park Ballroom, 1990 
• Jane's Addiction, Aksarben, 1991
• Fugazi, UNL Student Union Ballroom, 1991
• Jello Biafra (spoken word tour), Student Union Ballroom, 1992?
• Two Nice Girls, Student Union Ballroom, 1992
• Lollapalooza #2, 1992:  Fiddler's Green, Denver.  Main stage:  Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ministry, Ice Cube, Soundgarden, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Pearl Jam, Lush.  (Second stage acts, the only one of which I saw as the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow, also included such soon-to-be-famous folks as Cypress Hill, Stone Temple Pilots, Rage Against the Machine, Luscious Jackson, L7 and others.)
•  Lollapalooza #3: 1993:  The World Amphitheater, Chicago.  Main Stage: Primus, Alice in Chains, Dinosaur Jr., Fishbone, Arrested Development, Front 242, Babes in Toyland, Rage Against the Machine (as above, there were some great second stage acts were there that I didn't see at all.  It was 105 degrees that day and we attended the show after a ten-hour drive, followed by just five hours of sleep.  It was one of the least happy concert experiences I've had.  Re: Alice in Chains, Layne Staley had just broken his leg a few days before the show and performed the entire set from his wheelchair.)  
• Concrete Blonde, Peony Park, November(?) 1993
• Nirvana with The Breeders and Shonen Knife, Aksarben, December 1993 (yes, just a few months before Kurt died.)  
• Lollapalooza #4:  1994: Sandstone Amphitheater, KC. Main Stage:  Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys, George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars, The Breeders, A Tribe Called Quest, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, L7, Boredoms.  (As with the others, I saw none of the second stage acts at this show.) 
• Diamanda Galas and John Paul Jones, Lied Center, 1994
• Steely Dan, Sandstone Amphitheater, 1996
• Marilyn Manson, Omaha Civic Auditorium, 1997
• Tito Puente, Lied Center, 1998?
• KC and the Sunshine Band, Rococo Theater, 2001
• The Pixies, Pershing Auditorium, 2004
• Joan Jett, Nebraska State Fair, 2004
• Nine Inch Nails, Pershing Auditorium, 2006
• Flaming Lips, Sonic Youth, Stir Cove, 2006
• Neko Case, Sokol Hall, 2006
• Andrew Bird and My Morning Jacket, Sokol Hal,l 2006
• Bright Eyes, Omaha Memorial Park, 2006
• M. Ward, Scottish Rites Hall, 2006
• Placebo, Social Distortion, She Wants Revenge, some giant outdoor venue in KC, 2006
• Andrew Bird, Sokol Hall, 2007
• Feist, Omaha Memorial Park, 2007
• Morrissey, Orpheum Theater, 2007
• The Faint, Sokol Hall, 2007
• Nick Cave, Ogden Theater, Denver, 2008
• Ween, Stir Cove, 2008
• Gogol Bordello, Sokol Hall, 2008
• Chris Isaak, Stir Cove, 2008
• Bonerama, January 2010, Holland Performing Arts Center
• Heart, Stir Cove, 2010
• David Gray, Orpheum Theater, 2011
• Cage the Elephant, The Black Keys, Stir Cove, 2011
• Flaming Lips, Stir Cove, 2011
• Paul Simon, Century Link Center, 2011
• Jack White, Omaha Music Hall, 2012
• Bonnie Raitt, Orpheum Theater, 2012
• John Waters (spoken word), The Trocadero, Philadelphia, PA, 2012
• Peter Murphy, The Trocadero, 2013
• Rickie Lee Jones, The Prince Music Theater, Philadelphia, 2014
• Echo and the Bunnymen, Union Transfer, Philadelphia, 2016
• Depeche Mode, Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, 2018

Shows, in roughly chronological order:

• Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Ranch Bowl, September 1989
• Camper Van Beethoven, The Ranch Bowl, October 1989
• Matthew Sweet, The Ranch Bowl, February 1992
• Sister Machine Gun, The Royal Grove, Lincoln, 1997
• Candye Kane, Zoo Bar, 1998
• Fear, Knickerbocker's, 2000
• The Reverend Horton Heat, Zoo Bar, 2001
• Mark Hummel, Zoo Bar, 2001
• Concrete Blonde, Royal Grove, 2002
• Henry Rollins (spoken word), Royal Grove, 2002
• Jonathan Richman, Knickerbockers, 2005?
• Dead Science and Carla Bozulich, Duffy's, 2006
• David Vandervelde, The Slowdown, 2007
• Gravy Train!!! and Ssion, Waiting Room, 2007
• Dosh, The Slowdown, 2007
• M. Ward, The Slowdown, 2008
• Daniel Johnston, The Slowdown, 2008
• Wolf Parade, The Slowdown, 2008
• Vic Chesnutt and Jonathan Richman, Waiting Room, 2008?
• Ssion,The Slowdown, 2008
• Tokyo Police Club, The Slowdown, 2008
• She Wants Revenge and Psychedelic Furs, Waiting Room, 2009
• Calexico, The Slowdown, 2009
• The English Beat, The Slowdown, 2010
• Strand of Oaks, Boot and Saddle, 2017