This past weekend, I made the trek down to Milwaukee to see the same band three times—a move some would call reckless, while some fans of the band would question why I didn’t go to Kalamazoo to see the band the night before.
The band is Umphrey’s McGee; however, the band itself is merely a footnote in this story about why one would see a band multiple nights in a row.
For nights two and three, I found myself seated next to a man who roomed with one of the members of the band in their formative years and in total by the end of the weekend had seen the band 98 times. This number, no matter how dedicated you are to a band, is extreme.
I asked him why he kept coming back, and his response was simple. No matter how many times he hears the same songs, each version brings something different at every show. This concept is what brings fellow concertgoers and me alike back to the metaphorical well.
In the case of Umphrey’s McGee, at the end of the day they are just six guys playing music together in front of 2,500 people. While there they have a proclivity toward improvisation, something which brings many of their fans back time and again to hear old songs sound new on any given night, there are so many more factors to what makes each concert a unique experience.
Last year, I wrote a column on why you should go see your favorite bands live. While I took a mostly economic view on things, as a band like Umphrey’s McGee makes a huge percentage of their money from ticket sales and merchandise sold at shows as opposed to record sales.
But this time I am talking about taking the extra step and seeing a band more than once.
In 2010, at the ripe old age of 16, I saw the same band for consecutive nights for the first time. The band was Pearl Jam. The venue was Madison Square Garden.
I will never forget those two nights, even through the hundreds of concerts I have been to, I would be hard pressed to think of a better concert I have ever been to than night two of that run.
Yes, the band played some of the same songs; however, it was the experience of being there two nights in a row (along with many others) and the energy of the band mixing with the energy of the crowd that led to three hours of perfection.
So when Phil Lesh plays 30 nights at The Capitol Theatre next year, there will be people who make it their goal to go to all 30. When Phish plays four nights in a row at Madison Square Garden for the third straight year around New Year’s Eve, there will be thousands of people who will have been to all 12 when all is said and done.
And while it would be easy to write them off as hippies with too much time on their hands and a weird, idyllic obsession with the Grateful Dead or Phish—a thought that I couldn’t blame you for—there is more to it than that.
The next time you go to a concert, whether it’s Animal Collective or ZZ Top, look for someone in the front row or in the front of the balcony—you will find people who have seen a band dozens of times before.
Everyone has their own reasons for seeing bands multiple nights in a row. It’s not just jamband fans that are “crazy” enough to do this.
After my experience seeing Pearl Jam twice in a row, one of the biggest jazz-fusion groups, Return to Forever, came to my favorite theater for two nights in a row.
I left night one with my jaw pressed firmly against the floor after their 90-minute set blew me away. So much that despite knowing they would play the same set the next night, I went again. That turned out to be one of the best decisions ever as Chick Corea’s “Spain” took on new life and the band’s composition “Captain Senor Mouse” was even more captivating on night two.
So the next time one of your favorite bands plays your hometown or Madison for two nights in a row, go to both. Whether it’s Taylor Swift or your friend’s band, the experience, both musically and personally, will be well worth it.
Do you plan to see Phil Lesh for the 200th time this year? Make plans with Brian by emailing weidy@wisc.edu.
