Stubs

I’ve been to a lot of shows and seen a lot of bands. There’s nothing like a good live show. There are those moments that are transcendent and take you into an alternate reality. That’s why I love music and a good live show. Music should change your life and a good live show can change your life.

My first concert was Duran Duran in 1987 on the Strange Behavior tour, for the Notorious album with Erasure opening. That show helped set the bar for my live show expectations from then on.

I’ve run the gamut from the giant arena shows, to the sweaty stinky club shows where you can reach out and touch the band. I’ve seen arena shows where you can hardly see the band, and I’ve seen stadium shows where the artist makes you feel like you’re seeing him in a club (Eric Clapton at Dodger Stadium, if you’re wondering).

I’ve seen shows I’ll never forget, and some I’m sure I don’t even remember.

I was privy to a local music scene that almost exploded after a casual reference in Spin magazine to San Diego as “the next Seattle” following the emergence of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and so on.

I’ve even played a few live shows myself.

I still have that Duran Duran ticket stub. After that show, I made a goal that I would keep all the stubs from all the shows I went to. I think I do have most of the stubs from nearly 20 years of going to live shows. There are some stubs I misplaced, some shows without tickets, and some where the careless ticket taker tore them sloppily.

I started keeping them in a drawer, then in a cigar box. Eventually I moved them into a small photo album. When I moved into my new house, I found my ticket album in a box. I wish I had kept some sort of journal and wrote about each show as it happened, but I didn’t. I just have my stubs and my memories.