1. Paul McCartney. My first real concert. Melissa took me for her birthday in 10th grade. It was basically one of the most memorable experiences in my life. I stopped worrying about wearing calvin klein and started saving all my lunch money to buy cds. I asked for a guitar for Christmas and started taking lessons.
2. America. Not too many bands come to st. george but this one happens to be polygamist approved. Saw these guys with Melissa in high school and sang along the entire time. We’re pretty cool, I know.
3. Kansas. Ha, again, came to st. george back in high school. I remember rushing the stage and catching a pick. I still have it somewhere around here.
4. James Taylor. Ah lovely, one of the early day concerts as well. We made signs on notebook paper and held them up for him to see. He did point and sing to us so it was basically the highlight of my life back then.
5. Simon and Garfunkel. I saved up all my money for this one. I heard they were doing a reunion tour and decided I had to go whether I was broke or not. I roped scott and melissa into coming and I cried like a crazed fan while singing along to “American tune.” It was awesome.
6. Eric Clapton. Me and Scott went all the way to Denver to see eric. We went to a sweet record store, that I’ve always wanted to go back to, and I bought a bunch of jimi hendrix records.
7. The Everly Brothers. Did a surprise guest appearance at the simon and garfunkel reunion tour. They played a couple songs of their own and then did a quartet with paul and art.
8. Elton John. Me and Melissa went to the face to face tour when we were juniors. We sat next to a drunken European in cheetah print for the first half and then made our way to the stage for the second half. Thank heavens for Melissa’s birthdays.
9. Billy Joel. Great stuff. Did a lot of mic tossing and dancing on his piano.
10. Beach Boys. Another band that occasionally comes to st. george. It made me fall in love with pet sounds, especially “god only knows”
11. The Get Up Kids. Saw them in vegas long ago. They were cool but were unfortunately followed by thrice.
12. Thrice. Saw them in vegas in the new Orleans theater. They pretty much sucked.
13. The Black Lips. Spitting and disgusting, these guys have watched too many old concert documentaries. they even lit their guitars on fire at the end of the set but we’d actually left early. The “bad kids” song is pretty sweet though
14. The Format. They came to the electric theater in st. george and played a pretty fun set. I especially remember the otis redding cover of “sitting on the dock of the bay” and trying to whistle along.
15. The Hives. Me and aaron went to the hard rock in vegas. The opening bands really sucked but they were cool.
16. Leon Russell. Great great show. We snuck a bunch of people into the electric in st. george to see it. He carried a carved cane, had a sweet long white beard, and wore sunglasses and a hawaiian shirt. Can it get much cooler?
17 Beach boys. The second time around we saw them in cedar city. I went with Jared, Melissa, and Grady.
18. Morrissey. He came out, sang some songs, ripped off his shirt, threw it in the crowd and said, “I can smell burning flesh and I hope to god it’s human.”
19. Leonard Cohen. He seemed terrified of the crowd and mostly just read poetry off while the band behind him played music. but heck, I like poetry.
20. Conor Oberst of “bright eyes.” A little disappointing, would have preferred to see the old band.
21. Bouncing Souls. One of the first concerts with jared. Drove down to vegas for it.
22. Little River band. Only crappy bands play in cedar city utah.
23. The Raconteurs. I’m still dying to see the white stripes, but these guys were pretty cool.
24. The Cure. Saw them at Coachella 09’ and was surprised to see that they’ve still got the full on gothic look going on. They were the last band on the last day of the festival so I almost passed out watching them.
25. Prince. The most bombastic person on the planet.
26. Piebald. I broke my toe jumping around in flip flops. The cool part was that they did, what I think was, the only authentic encore in the history of rock and roll. Plus, they played “rock revolution” for it, so it was great.
27. Public Enemy.
28. Paul McCartney. Saw him the second time at Coachella. He was amazing and even jared decided that he was the best performer alive. We climbed over angry concert goers to get to the front. The pros and cons of general admissions.
29. Stephan Malkmus and the Jicks. This was, without question, the loudest concert I’ve ever been at. me and mark will probably be deaf in the next 5 years.
30. Sonic Youth. Saw them at the sweet free concert series in salt lake city. Do you believe in rapture babe?
31. Iron and Wine. Twilight concert series, salt lake city. Totally reminds me of my brother Dave.
32. The Killers. One of the headliners for Coachella, they actually put together a fantastic light show and have some cool songs.
33. Rilo Kiley. I love all these chick rock revival musicians.
34. Kate Nash. I like the female singers
35. Laura Gibson. Again, I like the female singers.
36. Joan Baez. She is the most amazing woman in the world. Me and jared ditched cedar city for the weekend and cruised down to see her and bob dylan in san diego (different shows of coarse). it was the coolest venue I have ever been to, right on the coast with little white lights strung up and down the aisles. Her voice was amazing, sweet and clear just like in 1962. we convinced the security into letting us meet her after the show. One of my favorites ever.
37. The Tumbleweed Band. Had to throw this in there. some friends from high school’s band. cool grateful dead type sound. Hopefully they will soon be rocking sacramento, ca once again.
38. Steve Poltz. Oh boy, this is a loaded one. so many good memories at both “the electric theater” and the “bit and spur” in springdale. melissa, aaron, matt, and even kenna and lindsay came to these concerts. He wrote me a song, asked me to marry him, and told me he’d convert to mormonism. the whole relationship ended with a drunken magician calling Kathy Graf (becky’s mom) the next day. long long story.
39. Five Foot Tuesday. I was basically in love with the lead guitarist.
40. The Slackers. Played at the “bit and spur” in springdale. Groovy dancing all night long.
41. The Mother hips. tim bluhm is great. I think Melissa is still in love with him, makes sense.
42. Sean Taylor. Always opens for the mother hips when they come to st. george. Claimed to have made out with my sister in high school…seems unlikely.
43. Weezer. I feel like I saw them too late. They played a lot of stuff off the “make believe” album which is ok, but not the greatest. Still fun to see them though.
44. Red Hot Chili Peppers. Crazy crazy, played a free show in vegas. The police had to wave tazors at the crowd for trying to bust through the barricade.
45. Flaming Lips. Vegoose! me and Melissa got some free tickets off her brother. They had some crazy cool stage props and a giant clear ball to roam around on the crowd.
46. Joan Baez. I saw joan a second time in layton, ut. It was an outdoor community concert and most people there seemed more concerned with their knitting and arrowhead making than the singing of “mary hamilton.” Even still, I could have stayed there for days.
47. Bob Dylan. Went down to California for a senior trip with melissa, emma, lindsay, and ang. he played in a tiny p.e. gym at uc santa barbara. he was dressed like a magician and the songs were unrecognizable. We walked up and watched the show about 10 feet away from the stage. Definitely on the top 10 list.
48. Bob Dylan. The second time I saw bobby was in san diego in a huge stadium. Apparently his popularity sky rocketed in a 2 year time period and we were in the top tier of a football stadium. Still great but not quite as personal.
49. Jukebox the Ghost. One of our favorite concerts in salt lake city. These guys played at kilby court to about 4 audience members and the kids in the opening bands. They have a pretty similar sound to bands like “ben folds five”
50. Harry Connick Jr. “She” is a great album no matter how many cheesy movies he’s made. I saw him with scott in slc when I was in high school.
51. Kings of Leon. Opened for bob Dylan in san diego. I didn’t notice anything great but people like them.
52. Flogging Molly. These guys put on a good, really high energy show. Another one of jared’s favorites.
53. Gogol Bordello. It’s just like what I’d imagine partyin’ with gypsies would be like in Romania. Lots of dancing and sweating.
54. Jack Johnson. Not a fan but I have seen him 3 times. He always seems to show up after other bands I actually wanted to see.
55. The Kills. Cool white stripes rip off band. I heard about them on npr and have been a fan ever since.
56. My Bloody Valentine. These guys are an experience. Not my favorite music to listen to around the house but they do put on a cool show.
57. Portishead. Getting old but still sounding as creepy as ever.
58. Bad Religion. Punk legends, seemed pretty nostalgic about their earlier days. The lead singer told a long, drawn out, extended-metaphor about the sun setting on their musical career.
59. Streetlight Manifesto. Another one of jared’s ska bands.
60. Fall out boy. I had no idea who they were but I had a free ticket to see them at the electric theater in 2003. they were pretty crappy.
61. The Ting Tings. played in the dance tent at Coachella.
62. Less Than Jake. Saw them at the murray theater in salt lake (jared has seen them about 10 times).
63. Vampire Weekend. They only have one good song, but I like it.
64. Big D and the kids table. Sounding better than ever on their recent albums. There’s a cool new girl singing backup.
65. Aquabats. Comic books meet rock and roll. We saw them in an arcade in vegas. A nerd’s dream.
66. Me First and the Gimmie Gimmeis. Me and jared saw them in vegas when we were first dating. they punked up cat stevens’ “wild world” and led zeppelin’s “stairway to heaven.” Sweet goodness.
67. Nofx. Played at this year’s warped tour and cussed out the crowd for being anti-gay mormons- sex pistol style.
68. Rx bandits. Played at the electric theater in high school.
69. Voodoo glow skulls. Played at the Avalon in slc. Jared loves the punk-ska.
70. Meat Puppets. Channeled the grateful dead (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing) by jamming and dancing way into the night. Had to see them for mark and matt smith-larmen., stole a poster off the wall if anyone wants it.
71. Ian Moore. One of those concerts we used to sneak into for free.
72. Los lobos. Played at a global warming rally in slc. Big thumbs up to the “last night I got loaded” song.
73. The Black Keys. Played galivan plaza in slc.
74. Bon Iver. Galivan plaza slc.
75. Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip. One of our favorite new bands, these guys have some cool stuff going on. Watch “thou shalt always kill” on you tube, you’ll thank me for it.
76. K’naan. A Coachella guy we really liked, we’re trying to open the door to hip hop.
77. Carbon Silicon. Mick jones from the clash and tony james from generation x formed this band. they sound a lot like those older bands but only have 20 people in the audience.
78. Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Great great band, I highly recommend seeing them if you get the chance.
79. M.I.A. she put on a sweet show with lots of guest performances and neon lights.
80. James Taylor. I saw him a second time out at the usana amphitheater in slc. Me and jared laid on the grass for the first half and then walked up to the front and sat in the open handicapped seating.
81. Okkervil River. Jared made friends with them at the hyatt in slc. We saw them play at the free concert series and then they all went out to a movie the next day. jared was “star struck.”
82. Detroit Cobras. The lead singer has a great bluesy voice. Saw a few months ago at the urban lounge with melissa and aaron.
83. The Lawn Darts. My high school guitar teacher’s band, we used to go see him play at the “blues barber shop” in st. george. I really miss that place. Listen to some rock and roll while you get your mustache trimmed. I can’t believe it went out of business.
84. Lupe Fiasco. Another one of our attempts to get into hip hop. He has one good song.
85. The Fab Four. One of two Beatles impersonator bands I’ve seen. Probably not quite as good as the real thing but I’m pretty sure I cried when fake john lennon played “imagine.” I even caught a pick.
86. The Briggs. New punk band we saw at “in the venue” in slc. They played some good songs but the opening bands were so long and terrible, that the entire experience was painful.
87. Chicago Afrobeat Project. Cedar city groovefest 2008. this two day music festival is one of the best things about living in cedar city utah. These guys are basically a jam band with an afro beat. We danced on the grass all night long.
88. The Wayword Sons. Played groovefest in 2007, fun gospel/bluegrass group.
89. Franz Ferdinand. Just one of those bands I feel like I should be into.
90. Fleet Foxes. Another one of those bands I feel like I should be into.
91. Jenny Lewis. I’ve seen her twice outside of rilo kiley. We saw her open for bon iver at the twilight concert series and playing the outdoor theater at Coachella.
92. Thrift Store Cowboys. Amazing band that often plays “the grind” in cedar city. One of the few concerts I actually went to alone. Highly recommended.
93. Stephen Swift. Cedar City’s sweetheart, he basically plays every show that “groovacious” or “the grind” put on.
94. The Triggerlots. St. George band that played at my high school for warrior week. Was one of the few school organized activities that I actually go into…that, battle of the bands, and dances.
95. Kraftwerk. Electronic german music I will never fully understand, but who am I to question a computer software band that’s been around for 40 years?
96. Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young. Melissa, jared, jimmy, and I saw these guys play at the hollywood bowl in LA. It was mostly an anti-bush, neil young tour, but there were some oldies in there too. Jimmy climbed a vine and got in for free.
97. Steel Train. Another band we saw at the electric in st. george.
98. Bob Dylan. Third time I saw him was at Saltair in Salt Lake City. Scott and I were only a few feet away from the great legend. He played a bunch of hits (all recognizable) like highway 61, pillbox hat, and rolling stone.
99. Robert Randolph and the family band. Saw these guys open for Eric Clapton in Denver. They’ve got a lot of emphasis on the pedal steel guitar. Funky.
100. Regina Spektor. Played “In the Venue” in slc. I didn’t have anyone to go with so I went alone and got stuck in horrid traffic. Once I finally got in she was already halfway through the set and the tickets were twice as much as advertised. Oh well, it was worth it.
101. The Duchess and the Duke. Earthy family band at kilby court. Got to love the weirdness of that venue.
102. Rocky Votolato. Another guy that played “the electric” in high school.
103. Casket Lottery. These guys have a sweet cover of david bowie’s “under pressure.”
104. Gordon Lightfoot. Saw him in Mesquite, Nevada with jared. The whole thing is kinda hazy now. I just remember something about a giant tent.
105. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. Coachella woo woo. They’ve got that sixties soul sound to em.
106. Beruit. Coachella.
107. Less than jake. Saw them play at warped tour 2009, probably the best warped tour lineup ever.
108. Bouncing Souls. Also played warped tour 2009.
109. Laura Marling. Great English folk musician who played kilby court. I heard about her when we were in England and listened to her first album over and over again during rough times in Korea. Great songs and an amazing voice. We hung out with her and her band mates around the kilby campfire, knitting and talking about good ol’ greg.
110. Tallest man on earth. Ok so, technically we got rejected at the gate and didn’t make it into the inner walls of the Kilby Court but we did chill outside and listen with about 100 other slc hipsters. Love the cross between Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie. A few years ago I would have found my way onto the guest list.
111. Solas. Celtic folk band. Played for free at a Salt Lake City culture fest/ fashion show/ gallery stroll (a big night for the city.) They played one of my favorite folk ballads, “Silver Dagger” so I have to applaud them for that but most their songs seem pretty spa inspired. The fashion show took place in a dry cleaner’s drive through and the models walked a runway of concrete and chalk.
112. Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars. Played downtown slc at the city council building.
113. Flight of the Conchords. Went to the Hollywood Bowl to see them play. More of a comedy act than a real band I guess (they had “mel,” “dave” and “Eugene” open with comedy shows.) “Business time” was hilarious.
114. Carol King and James Taylor. Brad, Jared, and I went down to Las Vegas for the troubadour reunion. Brad’s first big concert in vegas, since he would never go with me in high school, and he was pretty excited. Everyone sang along to “natural woman” and “sweet baby james” and it was loads of fun.
115. Groovefest 2010. Saw some cool new talent like Chris Laterzo, John Sotter, and Gabrielle Louise.
116. Hey Mercedes. Rock and roll band from the old days at the Electric Theater. Too bad that place only plays sissy teen bands now days. Curse you evil Jonas Brothers and your posterity.
117. Phenomenauts. Saw them in the arcade with the Aquabats. Despite the cheesy gimmick a lot of their music is actually pretty good.
118. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. From Motown to yo town it’s the second time we’ve bopped to Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. Saw them at the 2010 twilight concert series with Scott and Lisa where we danced the night away and took a train back to 1960s funk.
119. Dropkick Murphys. Saw them in Salt Lake City with Jared (he’d seen them twice before.) Partied down near the front and got kicked in the head by a crowd surfer. We ran into Al Barr (lead singer) right afterwards at Jared’s hotel and all rode the elevator together. We had a brief chat about the show and Jared talked a little about having seen them in the past. It was kinda exciting and Jared about died.
120. Anti-Flag and Pennywise. Saw them at warped tour in 2010. Anti-flag surprisingly played a lot of songs about peace and service and made sure no one was hurt in the circle pit. They covered The Clash and their drummer went down in the crowd with a snare and a chair. Pennywise was generic and forgettable.
121. Hudson River School. Band we saw at the electric theater. The music is some sort of Christian rock crap but the band name is great. Gotta love a good art reference.
122. Reel Big Fish. Old dudes in Hawaiian shirts… reel big fat party animals. Not the greatest band in the world but they did rock st. george until the floor caved in so that does give them some major street cred.
123. Andrew WK. He knows how to party. Danced around, sang party songs, ripped off a shirt of hello kitty with a nose bleed and threw it into the crowd, and brought on midgets dressed as umpa lumpas in Michael Jackson jackets for the finale. It seems like it should be illegal but instead it’s awesome.
124. The Swell Season. The band made famous by the movie “Once.” They played at Coachella to a less than enthusiastic crowd of LA hipsters. Too mellow for the dance tents, not popular enough for the big stage. Either way, they were pretty forgettable live but they have some nice songs.
125 Bright Eyes. Twilight concert series 2011, Scott and Lisa came along for my birthday celebration. Lisa was completely freaked out of all the people smoking, drinking, and cussing, but she somehow stuck it out. He played a lot of songs from the beloved “Wide awake, it’s morning” album, which are mostly indie folk songs. Very cool, very crowded sort of a concert.
126. Blackfire. The Native American rock band we saw at Docutah (Southern Utah documentary film fest). We watched a documentary about the band and their political activism and the band played afterwards. The event took place in the outdoor amphitheater in Springdale, which ended up being the coolest part of the concert. It wasn’t my favorite band but they did have an interesting blend of native chants and hard rock.
127. Kris Kristofferson and Merle Haggard. Our favorite performance from Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2011. Sat next to a blackberry bush and snacked on berries while we chilled in San Francisco Golden Gate Park with 250,000 hippies. Laughed like hell with three high hippies while watching person after person try to walk through the thorny blackberry bush to get a better view of the stage. Ate tomatoes, mozzarella, and a baguette while the duet sang old Johnny Cash songs.
128. Groovefest 2011. Avey Brothers, Johnson Family Band, Sarah Sample and a variety of other bluegrass, rockabilly, and country groups. Went up to cedar with Melissa and Jared, spent the day hanging out and chatting at the park while some bluegrass played in the background. I’d call that a good day.
129. Phantogram. Opened for Ghostland Observatory. Sounded like a Sonic Youth rip off band.
130 Robert Plant and Patty Griffin. “The sea was red and the sky was grey, I wonder how tomorrow could ever follow today.” Perfectly beautiful day in San Francisco. Nothing like sitting on the grass in the sun in Golden Gate Park while listening to old Led Zeppelin songs.
131. Emmylou Harris. Still looks and sounds beautiful. Talked a lot about animal shelters and PETA. I can dig it. I was once told I looked like a young Emmylou and I’ve always wished it to be true.
132. Ghostland Observatory. Basically just a lightshow with a beat, these guys are not that great to listen to around the house but they put together a pretty kick-ass live show.
133. Bright Eyes and M. Ward. Saw them play together on the Rooster Stage at HSB. I’d seen both of them in the past and, in honesty, the were better in the past.
134. John Prine. Classic country musician. He sounded great but he didn’t play “Angel from Montgomery” or “In Spite of Ourselves” so I was a little disappointed.
135. A.A. Bondy. Played at the Porch Stage at Hardly Strictly. Most the stuff he played was instrumental guitar music but he does have a few folky sounding songs that I like.
136. Dark Star Orchestra. Grateful Dead cover band. Saw them in Golden Gate Park with hundreds of thousands of hippies on LSD and weed. Basically the closest I will ever get to the Dead.
137. Gillian Welch. Another favorite from HSB. Didn’t know her music beforehand, but she really impressed me when she performed.
138. The Mother Hips. Sitting up in the trees, we didn’t get a good idea of what was going on down there but we did get to chill on the hillside while everyone around us got high.
139. Jolie Holland. Goodbye, goodbye California.
140. Earl Scruggs. Played at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2011 and sadly passed away a few months later. Thank you Earl for your love of bluegrass and your kick-ass finger picking. You are a hero to all aspiring banjo pickers everywhere. Thank you.
141. Rock for Revolution. John-Ross Boyce and his Troubles and Ferocious Oaks played at a benefit concert for the University of Utah’s chapter of the Revolutionary Students Union. A few people we met from Occupy Salt Lake were involved in putting the event together so we wanted to attend out of solidarity. The anarchists gave out a bunch of free merch but did have a tip jar next to the gear. Apparently tips are anti-capitalist approved.
142. Andrew Jackson Jihad. Drove up to Ogden to some little creepy venue with a bunch of sacrilegious art on the walls. Fun times throughout both the opening folk-influenced set and the closing punk rock set.
143. Beach House and The Walkmen. Indie rock bands that played the first week of the 2012 Twilight Concert Series. The bands were mediocre, but chilling in the back on the grass in the rain, watching the young hipsters mingle, was pretty entertaining.
144. Band of Horses and Lower Dens. Twilight concert series, 2012.
145. Iron and Wine and Kathleen Edwards. Chilled on the grass at the most mellow slc concert yet.
146. The Head and the Heart. Pretty much the ultimate hipster indie folk band from the pacific northwest- honestly, I love this kind of stuff.
147. Bob Dylan, Wilco & My Morning Jacket. Had lots of fun celebrating my 27th birthday watching these heavy hitters back to back at USANA Amphitheater in Salt Lake. You can never see Bob Dylan too many times.
148. Yo La Tengo, John Prine, The Lone Bellow, Willie Watson, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, The Waybacks, Dave Rawlings Machine, Emmylou Harris, Roseanne Cash, The Sam Chase, Lucinda Williams, The Felice Brothers, Conor Oberst, Social Distorion, Justin Townes Earl, Bela Fleck & many more. Our second year at Hardly Strictly in San Francisco, and what a beautiful few sunny days it was. Nothing beats chilling in the park with a bunch of free music loving hippies.
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