I wasn’t always like this, seeing dozens to a hundred shows a year. As I approach my 35th birthday, I am quickly approaching the age where I can no longer use the excuse that half my life was spent in childhood.

It’s easy to see shows when you’re more well-to-do (or work in music venues), but significantly harder when you’re a child. That said, my parents were great at taking me to cool places. Perhaps it’s the upbringing — with Summerfest being a huge hometown staple and Grand Rapids being a decent market for all genres. Regardless of the circumstances, I was able to see some pretty great shows “in my youth.”

Adulthood, however, has been a little rough.

In college — in Iowa no less — I would often resort to radio contests and scraping my minimum wage work study jobs to afford a ticket to a show. Could I buy anything at the show? Very much no.

I still managed to work shows in the summer, and pick up a few events at school to add to my social life. But I could never quite get to the right shows at the right time that fit into my class and work schedule.

Once the minimum wage laws changed, I darted to join the Windsor Heights Hy-Vee’s deli department.

Ooooh….Ahhhhhh….

I worked Friday night til close, and Saturday and Sunday mornings from 7 am to 3 pm.

Good news: I could afford most of my rent, the occasional Qdoba run and (shifts eyes back and forth) beer money. Not good beer money. Communal Keystone Light money.

Bad news: I still could only afford seeing shows I won on the radio. And even if I could afford it, I was in class, working too often or too tired to see anything worthwhile.

Also, not sure if you know this, but Des Moines wasn’t exactly a bastion of cultural dynamism. There were significantly less venues than now, and the number is still in the single digits.

Spending even $20 — without fees — still meant the difference between a decent Costco split and one good show.

Now let me tell you — looking back on my life all these years later — we didn’t really need six boxes of tri-color pasta and industrial jugs of both creamy and chunky peanut butter.

I should’ve seen the show.

You ALWAYS see the show.

MGMT at People’s Court
October 1, 2008

I’m sure there were other missed opportunities before this, but missing this show really stung. A week before the show date, the brakes went out on my car. I was traveling westbound on 235 on a Sunday. The Packers were bad and I needed my movie/Qdoba double feature. My brakes cut out on the highway (scary) and I coasted into a Best Buy parking lot. As I was searching my wallet for my AAA card, my ticket for The Kooks fell out. After a sudden realization that I would need to call my mom soon to tell her I was having yet another car issue, I also knew I wasn’t going to see MGMT. I won The Kooks ticket from the indie radio station in Ames, Iowa (along with many other shows and CDs between 2008-2010) and MGMT was already going to be a personal expense. With no car, those dreams were quickly dashed.

It took me 11 more years to see this band.

Silversun Pickups at Hoyt Sherman Place
September 19, 2009

This was just a pure case of “too early in the school year” meets “definitely didn’t have enough money.”

Which is a shame because I won Swoon from the radio and played it nonstop all summer.

It took me 12 more years to see this band.

Phoenix at People’s Court
August 10, 2010

This one is on me, as I still haven’t seen Phoenix AND this venue closed shortly thereafter. I had the means and opportunity but not the drive. Speaking of drive, Phoenix toured this year and played in Detroit, but I chose not to go because of something petty like they were playing in Detroit and with Beck.

I do not like not driving to Detroit and back on a weekday. Nor do I like Beck.

Against Me! at The Intersection & The Stache
January 2, 2014 & September 14, 2016

Had two chances to see Against Me! locally after LJG’s transition. Both times were “I’ll go if my friend goes” moments. Neither friend wanted to go. As most of you can tell, I have abandoned this mentality.

Frightened Rabbit at Pyramid Scheme
September 20, 2016

This is the big one. If you’re not familiar with Frightened Rabbit, they were a Scottish indie outfit that had upbeat sounds with sad lyrics. Unfortunately, lead singer Scott Hutchinson would commit suicide a year and a half later, causing the band to end and never reform.

Shinedown in Grand Rapids
2016, 2017, 2019, 2022

You ever get fixated on something wrong in your head that nothing can sway you from your own folly? That’s what happened to me with Shinedown. I really like Shinedown. But for the life of me I mixed them up with Switchfoot for YEARS and missed every single show they played in Grand Rapids — even at my own venue.

I don’t care for Switchfoot. And despite them having a decent set not too long ago at 20, I’m not rushing to see them ever again. I’m sure Shinedown will come back around, but that’s a lot of shows to get monumentally wrong based on complete internal nonsense.

Makes me wonder what else I’ve missed out on because I mixed up my own signals.

Gum? Popcorn? Flip flops?

Nope, those are still terrible.