As part of my my top LPs of 2015 wrap-up, I mentioned having seen a lot of the bands on my list perform live. Because, quite simply, I love going to shows. And I happen to live in a city (Seattle) that not only gets its fair share of touring bands, but also is home to a number of excellent local acts.
I know I ramped up my showgoing considerably this past year, but I was curious to see just how much. And since I’m as much a data geek as a music geek, I decided to crunch those numbers!
Manually scraping show data from the Google Calendar instance my friends and I use to track events, I dumped every single band and show I saw into a text file, then an Excel spreadsheet. Then I connected that data store to my instance of Tableau Public, a free data visualization tool, with which I created a few basic charts.
The results? Last year I saw at least* 173 bands at 78 shows. That’s an average of 6.5 shows per month.
Gulp.
Have I mentioned that I don’t actually work in the music industry?
Anyway, if you’re curious, here are some charts below that show the spread of events, the bands and the venues. Also below is the month-by-month list that shows each gig’s lineup, including only bands I actually saw (at least 3-4 songs by, minimum).
Bands Seen in 2015
I saw at least 173 bands I saw (and remember seeing) perform live in 2015, along with the number of times I saw each.
Venues Visited in 2015
All 34 rock clubs, theaters, festivals and other venues in three cities (Seattle, Portland, New York) I visited last year.
Number of Shows Attended in 2015
A monthly tally of events. December was kinda slow (only 1 gig!).
Full List of 2015 Gigs
A month-by-month breakdown of each gig, including band lineup in order of performance.
JANUARY
-
01/02
A Tribute to the Cure (~4 bands) @ Chop Suey -
01/09
Tangerine, Tomten @ Neumos -
01/18
Tacocat, Wimps, Kithkin @ Chop Suey -
01/24
Vaselines, Loch Lomond @ Neumos -
01/31
Zebra Hunt @ Hilliard’s
FEBRUARY
-
02/03
Lloyd Cole @ The Triple Door -
02/06
Zebra Hunt @ The Sunset -
02/13
Dancing on the Valentine show w/The Service Providers + others @ Neumos -
02/21
Unlikely Friends, Ruler, Oh Pears @ The Rendezvous
MARCH
-
03/13
The Flamin’ Groovies, Bread and Butter @ The Tractor -
03/16
Robyn Hitchcock, Emma Swift @ Columbia City Theater -
03/19
Zebra Hunt @ The Highline -
03/27
Viet Cong, What Moon Things @ Barboza -
03/29
!!!, OCnotes @ Columbia City Theater -
03/31
Ultimate Painting @ Chop Suey
APRIL
-
04/03
Zebra Hunt, Ruler @ Barboza
Broncho @ The Tractor -
04/04
Twerps, Lures, Zebra Hunt @ The Sunset -
04/07
Belle & Sebastian, Perfume Genius @ The Paramount -
04/11
His Name Is Alive @ Barboza -
04/18
Damon & Naomi @ EMP -
04/22
Polaris, Scarves, Cotillon @ The Crocodile -
04/28
Lightning Bolt, Liturgy @ Neumos
MAY
-
05/09
Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Nurses @ Barboza -
05/14
The Jesus & Mary Chain, The Black Ryder @ The Showbox -
05/17
Detective Agency, Zebra Hunt, Talkies @ The Funhouse -
05/22
Hutch & Kathy, S @ Barboza -
05/27
Wire, Mile High Club, Posse @ Neumos
Speedy Ortiz, Alex G, Broken Water @ Barboza -
05/29
NYC Popfest: The Catenary Wires, Jessica & the Fletchers, Pale Lights @ Cameo -
05/30
NYC Popfest – afternoon show: Pete Astor, The Just Joans, Working, The Chandler Estate @ Baby’s All Right
NYC Popfest – evening show: The Darling Buds, The Spook School, Veronica Lake, Brideshead, Wallflower, Expert Alterations @ Knitting Factory -
05/31
NYC Popfest: Club 8, Eternal Summers, Lunchbox, The Holiday Crowd, Seabirds, Starry Eyed Cadet, Cold Beat, Sapphire Mansions @ Littlefield
JUNE
-
06/01
Ride, Sshh @ Williamsburg Music Hall -
06/05
Zebra Hunt, No Grave, Acid Tongue @ Columbia City Theater -
06/10
Jonathan Richman @ The Crocodile -
06/13
The Tripwires @ Georgetown Carnival -
06/17
San Cisco @ The Tractor
JULY
-
07/06
Shellac, Shannon Wright @ The Tractor -
07/10
The Thermals, La Luz @ West Seattle Summer Fest -
07/13
Eternal Summers, Nic Hessler @ Barboza -
07/15
Ceremony, Tony Molina @ Neumos -
07/21
Dick Diver, iji, Invisible Hand @ Vera Project -
07/24
Craft Spells @ Westlake Park
AUGUST
-
08/01
Seapony, Zebra Hunt, Tape Waves @ Vera Project -
08/04
Metz, Big Ups @ Neumos -
08/07
Tangerine, The Shivas @ Seattle Center (Concerts at the Mural) -
08/22
Detective Agency, Tangerine, iji, Neighbors @ Summit Block Party -
08/30
Cannanes, The World Record, Blooper @ The Sunset
SEPTEMBER
-
09/04
Versing, Aan, Bod, Pleasures @ The Sunset -
09/10
Colleen Green, Pony Time, Jaill @ Lo-Fi
Dirty Sidewalks @ Victory Lounge -
09/11
Dan Deacon @ XOXO Fest -
09/13
A Place to Bury Strangers, Grooms @ Chop Suey -
09/14
Mac McCaughan, Mike Krol, Flesh Wounds @ The Tractor -
09/17
The Chameleons, Nostalgist @ Neumos -
09/22
Hibou, Snuff Redux @ Frolik Kitchen -
09/23
Duran Duran, Chic @ WA State Fair -
09/26
Laetitia Sadier, Deradoorian, Lilac @ Vera Project -
09/30
Mew, The Dodos @ Neumos
OCTOBER
-
10/06
Ultimate Painting, Zebra Hunt @ Vera Project -
10/09
Lushy @ The Swedish Club -
10/10
Dude York, Versing, Clearance, Neighbors @ Black Lodge -
10/15
Skylar Spence, Kero Kero Bonito @ Chop Suey -
10/16
Viet Cong, Grave Babies @ Neumos
Salad Boys, Prom Queen @ Highline -
10/19
DIIV, No Joy, Sunflower Bean @ Neumos -
10/21
Deerhunter, Atlas Sound @ Showbox -
10/31
Your Heart Breaks, Mommy Long Legs @ Hilliard’s
NOVEMBER
-
11/05
Luna, Houndstooth @ Showbox -
11/06
Cheatahs, Vulkano, Gibraltar @ Barboza -
11/13
Broncho, The Shelters, Pearl Charles @ The Tractor -
11/14
Joanna Gruesome, Tony Molina, King of Cats @ Vera Project -
11/16
Ride @ The Neptune -
11/20
Yo La Tengo @ The Neptune -
11/21
Low, Andy Shauf @ The Crocodile -
11/23
Public Image Limited @ The Showbox
DECEMBER
-
12/01
!!!, Stereolad @ The Crocodile
This lifestyle made possible by dedicated fandom, coffee, childlessness, earplugs, friends who also like going out, and an equally-music-obsessed boyfriend who enables my behavior.
*Two shows I went to were themed events featuring lineups with rotating casts of members from local bands. Since I don’t remember the exact number of sets at each, I just counted each event as a single band.