I’m a wee bit of a concert junkie. Here’s all the shows I have stubs for, and all the concerts I will be attending. For you out-of-towners, all venues are located in Toronto unless I say otherwise.

Code           Venue Name
Massey........ Massey Hall
ACC........... Air Canada Center
Skydome....... Rogers Center (I'm a traditionalist...)
G.Gould....... Glenn Gould Studio
Phoenix....... Phoenix Concert Theater
BMO Fld....... BMO Field
Mls.Amp....... Molson Amphitheater
Silver$....... Silver Dollar Room
Docks......... Sound Academy (yep, traditionalist)
Kool.......... The Koolhaus
Opera......... The Opera House
Hugh's........ Hugh's Room
Rama.......... Casino Rama, Orillia
TheBigO....... Olympic Stadium, Montreal

Upcoming:


Green Day                        Mls.Amp  Aug 18 2010   Sec 203 Row T
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers  ACC      Aug 25 2010   Sec 1?? Row ?
Roger Waters                     ACC      Sep 18 2010   Sec 103 Row ?
Black Crowes                     Massey   Oct 27 2010   Sec LCF Row F


Past (Most recent first):

Rush                             ACC      Jul 17 2010   Sec 107 Row 21
Andy McKee                       Hugh's   Jul 04 2010   Sec GA
Scorpions                        Mls.Amp  Jun 27 2010   Sec 203 Row L
Eagles                           Skydome  Jun 08 2010   Sec FLRA7 Row 13
Alice Cooper/Rob Zombie          Mls.Amp  May 21 2010   Sec 203 Row K
Them Crooked Vultures            ACC      May 15 2010   Sec GA
Classic Albums Live: The Wall    Massey   Apr 17 2010   Sec LCG Row A
Our Lady Peace                   Massey   Mar 12 2010   Sec RCG Row A
Muse                             ACC      Mar 08 2010   Sec 307 Row 6
John Mayer                       ACC      Feb 14 2010   Sec 301 Row 6
Blue Rodeo                       Massey   Feb 04 2010   Sec LCG Row A
Guns N' Roses                    ACC      Jan 28 2010   Sec 120 Row 1

Matthew Good                     Massey   Dec 19 2009   Sec RCF Row I
Trews                            Opera    Dec 11 2009   Sec GA
Stone Temple Pilots              Kool     Nov 17 2009   Sec GA
Metallica                        ACC      Oct 26 2009   Sec 119 Row 2
U2                               Skydome  Sep 17 2009   Sec 510 Row 1
Cult                             Massey   Sep 14 2009   Sec LCF Row O
Blue Rodeo                       Mls.Amp  Aug 27 2009   Sec 102 Row O
Pearl Jam                        Mls.Amp  Aug 21 2009   Sec 301 Row E
AC/DC                            TheBigO  Aug 08 2009   Sec FLRB1 Row A
Tool                             Mls.Amp  Aug 05 2009   Sec 402 Row S
Chickenfoot                      Docks    Aug 04 2009   Sec GA
Offspring                        Mls.Amp  Jul 02 2009   Sec 301 Row AA
Elton John/Billy Joel            ACC      May 26 2009   Sec 117 Row 22
Tragically Hip                   Massey   May 12 2009   Sec LSB Row A
Trews                            G.Gould  Jan 31 2009   Sec Right Row A
AC/DC                            Skydome  Jan 09 2009   Sec 527 Row 14

Trews                            Phoenix  Dec 18 2008   Sec GA
Neil Young                       ACC      Dec 05 2008   Sec 319 Row 1
AC/DC                            Skydome  Nov 07 2008   Sec FLRA6 Row 9
Joe Satriani/Mountain            Massey   Oct 16 2008   Sec RCF Row T
Eddie Vedder/Liam Finn           Massey   Aug 13 2008   Sec LSG Row B
Eddie Vedder/Liam Finn           Massey   Aug 12 2008   Sec LCB Row E
Black Crowes                     Massey   Jul 12 2008   Sec LSB Row C
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers  ACC      Jun 30 2008   Sec 323 Row 4
Matthew Good                     Massey   May 29 2008   Sec LCF Row P
Collective Soul                  Rama     Apr 18 2008   Sec G Row 12
Foo Fighters                     ACC      Mar 22 2008   Sec 110 Row 23


Genesis                          BMO Fld  Sep 07 2007   Sec 110 Row 32
Dream Theater                    Mls.Amp  Aug 18 2007   Sec 201 Row H
Velvet Revolver                  Mls.Amp  Aug 12 2007   Sec 402 Row N
G3 Satriani/Petrucci/Gilbert     Massey   Apr 05 2007   Sec LCB Row G
Tragically Hip                   ACC      Feb 08 2007   Sec 301 Row 1

The Who                          ACC      Dec 04 2006   Sec 323 Row 1
Atomic Bitchwax                  Silver$  Nov 19 2006   Sec GA
Red Hot Chili Peppers            ACC      Sep 26 2006   Sec 103 Row 28
Led Zepplica                     Massey   Sep 19 2006   Sec RCG Row D
Black Crowes                     Massey   May 16 2006   Sec LSG Row C
Dream Theater                    Massey   Mar 22 2006   Sec LCB Row I

System of a Down/Mars Volta      ACC      Sep 01 2005   Sec 102 Row 9

….. no more stubs.

Top Concerts:

Pearl Jam, Molson Amphitheatre, Aug 21 2009, Sec 301 Row E
They say that one’s first Pearl Jam concert is a profound experience, and this was no exception. It took me a long time to warm up to this band, starting very slowly. Since then my love of this band has grown exponentially, now bordering on obsession. More than half of the songs I played around the campfire that year and the year prior were Pearl Jam songs. So I was fucking stoked to see them live, especially after Eddie Vedder put on two shows at Massey Hall that I wouldn’t Soon Forget (pardon the pun). What made this show really special was that the opening band didn’t show up, so the members of Pearl Jam came on to open for themselves. Vedder was the first, brandishing an acoustic guitar, and played Uncle Neil Young’s The Needle and the Damage Done, and in honour of the Exhibition being in town, Sugar Mountain. I wore my Neil Young shirt to the concert, and for him to come on and play two of my favourite Neil Young songs… wow. Just wow. Guitarist Mike Fuckin’ McCready played a song about his daughter, and as far as I was aware, sang for the first time on stage.  Later on, during the main act, Vedder said, “He can play acoustic, he can play electric, and he can fuckin’ sing… Mike McCready on the guitar!” Probably the biggest highlight for me was when, out of nowhere, the band broke into Brain of J., a personal favourite of mine. I walked out of the show drunk, sweaty and utterly wasted, but happier than I’ve ever been.

AC/DC, Skydome, Nov 7 2008, Sec FLRA6 Row 9
The most amazing rock and roll concert of my life so far. Once-in-a-lifetime chance to stand 10 feet from Angus and Brian with 50000 people behind me and 3 stories of Marshall amps in front of me, and me right in the middle. Whether it was the enormous steel train flambasting the front section during TNT or the 6-cannon ear-splitting salute during For Those About To Rock, amazing, just amazing, I’ll never forget it.

Eddie Vedder/Liam Finn, Massey, Aug 13 2008, Sec LSG Row B
Eddie Vedder/Liam Finn, Massey, Aug 12 2008, Sec LCB Row E
I’ll count these as one concert. No frills, just Eddie and his electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, and many Neil Young covers. I’ve never seen anyone with the stage presence that he has. Hilarious crowd interaction, like he was playing for every single person there, brought me to tears a couple times with his voice and songs.

Red Hot Chili Peppers, ACC, Sep 26 2006, Sec 103 Row 28
Just a blast to go see. Danced for two and a half hours to some great music.

Trews, G.Gould, Jan 31 2009, Sec Right Row A
Front-row seats at a studio made for acoustic performances. Amazing Canadian talent that deserves to make it big, and soon. These guys know how to play to a crowd.

Wishlist:
Pearl Jam, Tool, Smashing Pumpkins, Our Lady Peace, Roger Waters, David Gilmore, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young @ Massey, Blue Rodeo, Radiohead, Andy McKee, Queens of the Stone Age, Deep Purple, Allman Brothers Band, Offspring, U2.