2016: RECAP AND STATISTICS

I almost didn't post my yearly analysis of extreme rock activities for 2016, the least significant reason, of course, being that no one cares about this shit besides me. More importantly, most are keen to forget the past year and it's myriad tragedies, be they those of the city of Oakland, the mortality of Rock's royalty, or the global political climate in general. Many were the tribulations. Few will care to "have a look back" at the past year one more time. Likewise, it feels quite gratuitously masturbatory to spend time aggrandizing my personal achievements of 2016, when so much energy is needed here, now, in the present: Actual threats to free speech, democracy, human dignity, and the environment have never seemed so real in my lifetime as they do at this moment.

But my yearly analysis and number crunching is a tradition, and I feel that I cannot move forward without doing it, so here it is: To the best of my ability to keep track, (which apparently is not that great, because even as I type this up, I am finding other shows I forgot to catalog) in 2016 I attended 95 shows as an audience member, 25 more than last year! The result surprised me, because I also put in more hours at my job than ever. This can mostly be explained by my lackluster performance in the touring department. None of my bands wanted to go on tour, so I was in town a lot. I worked a lot, and missed some cool bands because of that, but not as many as I would if I had been out in full Road Warrior mode. (Full disclosure: I did fudge the numbers slightly, as some of the shows I "attended," I was actually at work at the same time, seeing as I am employed within the entertainment industry. This will explain some of the "questionable" items, if you actually read through the list.) 95 shows attended is NOT far off from my all time high record of 118 in 2011! *Pats self on the back*

I only played 58 gigs with my various bands (four real ones, and two offshoot projects of Owl), which is down from 70 in 2015. That's 28 shows with Isotope, 12 shows with Owl, 8 shows with Cronander, 8 shows with Hazzard's Cure, and one gig each with the Owl spins offs "Bowl" and "High By Night." Isotope was the only band that even did anything close to what you would call a tour!

Accounting for nights when I did more than one thing (attended / played more than one show, or both), I spent 142 nights of the year playing or attending gigs, which edges me back up to 38.9% of all nights spent out, slightly bucking (much to my delight!) the downward trend of the past few years. I may not be touring as much as I used to, and I may be working a helluva lot, but I'm still not some beaten down, Netflix addicted homebody!

2016: 39%
2015: 37%
2014: 38%
2013: 48.5%
2012: 46%
2011: 43%

READ THE  FULL LIST OF SHOWS AFTER THE JUMP!


IN THE AUDIENCE:
1.13 Argentavis: Golden Bull
1.15 Career Suicide: Metro
1.29 Wild Eyes: Bottom Of The Hill
1.9 Black Sabbath: San Jose Arena
1.12 Crimson Scarlet: Upstairs From Crate
1.14 Total Isolation: Golden Bull
3.1 War Cloud: Golden Bull
3.4 Neurosis: Regency
3.7 Cannibal Corpse: Fillmore
3.9 Crystal Logic: Golden Bull
3.11 Joy: San Diego, CA
3.13 Lecherous Gaze: Golden Bull
3.18 Magma: Great American Music Hall
3.20 Los Huaycos: Golden Bull
3.21 Violence: 1234Go!
3.21 Fred And Toody: The Chapel
3.25 Satan: Elbo Room
3.26 Author and Punisher: Metro
4.2 Power From Hell: Metro
4.2 Sortilegia: Golden Bull
4.8 Ghoul: Metro
4.9 R.I.P. Golden Bull
4.11 Iron Maiden: Tacoma Dome
4.23 Dark Beach: The Hatch
4.23 Kicker: Golden Bull
4.30 Hallcuinator: Merchants
4.30 Newtown Neurotics: Metro
4.30 Crimson Scarlet: Command Center
5.8 Moondrake: Golden Bull
5.9 Blaak Heat: Elbo Room
5.10 Deicide: Metro
5.15 Lecherous Gaze: A.T. House
5.15 Badr Vogu: Golden Bull
5.16 Widower: The Knockout
5.20 Slow Season: Golden Bull
6.7 Serpents Of Dawn: Knockout
6.10 Have A Good Laugh Fest, Vancouver, BC
6.12 Mystifier: Vancouver, BC
6.19 Eric Burdon: Alameda County Fair
6.20 Mudcrutch: Fillmore
6.21 Venom, Inc.: Metro
6.23 Amplified Heat: Hemlock
7.3 Gehenna: Shea's Tavern, Reno NV
7.5 Dead Hero: Golden Bull
7.16 Wizerd: Veterans Hall, Missoula, MT
7.22 Who Killed Spikey Jacket?: The Tubes
7.22 Inter Arma: Thee Parkside
7.23 Big Rip: The Tubes
7.26 Undergang: Golden Bull
8.2 Exhausteds Prayer: Knockout
8.3 Lecherous Gaze: Metro
8.5 Sirena Victima: World Rage Center
8.9 Khemmis: Golden Bull
8.11 Reckless: Eli's Mile High Club
8.13: Ghoul: Metro
8.20: Negative Standards: Oakland Secret
8.20: Master: Metro
8.21: Nekro Drunkz: Golden Bull
8.24: Autarch: Golden Bull
8.28 Tribulation: Metro
8.31 Lecherous Gaze: Elbo Room
9.5 Lecherous Gaze Golden Bull
9.6 Reckless: Knockout
9.11 R.I.P.: The Tubes
9.17 Dealer: Golden Bull
9.17 Savage Master: Eli's Mile High Club
9.20 R.I.P.: Knockout
9.22 Municipal Waste: DNA Lounge
9.23 Love Moon: Gallery 375
9.23 Poliskitzo: Golden Bull
9.25 High On Fire: Thee Parkside
9.25 Riistetyt: World Rage Center
10.1 Christian Mistress: Golden Bull
10.7 Alice In Chains: Masonic
10.8 Floating Goat: Hemlock
10.12 Iron Reagan: DNA Lounge
10.13 Helms Alee: Hemlock
10.15 Ice Cube: Treasure Island
10.16 Sigur Ros: Treasure Island
10.19 Saint Vitus: Metro
10.20: Hooded Menace: Elbo Room
10.26 Alice Cooper: Warfield
10.29 Cover Bands: Eli's Mile High Club
10.29 Cover Bands: First Church Of The Buzzard
11.1 Wild Eyes: The Knockout
11.8 Ulcerate: Golden Bull
11.13 Odio: 1234Go!
11.14 Vektor: Elbo Room
11.20 Grim Reaper: Elbo Room
12.1 Floating Goat: Eagle
12.2 Hot Lunch: Bottom Of The Hill
12.4 Anderson Rabin Wakeman: Masonic
12.7 The Well: Bottom Of The Hill
12.8 Dick Dale: The Uptown
12.16 Danava: Public Works

BEHIND THE DRUMS:
1.1 Isotope: Bakersfield, CA
1.2 Isotope: Los Angeles, CA
1.3 Isotope: Santa Barbara, CA
1.4 Isotope: Santa Rosa, CA
1.5 Isotope: Eureka, CA
1.6 Isotope: Portland, OR
1.7 Isotope: Seattle, WA
1.8 Isotope: Vancouver, BC
1.9 Isotope: Tacoma, WA
1.10 Isotope: Portland, OR
1.14 Bowl: Golden Bull
1.18 Isotope: 1234Go!
1.21 Hazzard's Cure: Golden Bull
1.30 Isotope: 6th Street Basement
2.17 Owl: Ventura, CA
2.18 Owl: Tempe, AZ
2.19 Owl: San Diego, CA
2.20 Owl: First Church Of The Buzzard
2.25 Hazzad's Cure: 1234Go!
3.5 Isotope: 1234Go!
3.10 Hazzard's Cure: Elbo Room
3.17 Isotope: Elbo Room
4.15 Owl: Bottom Of The Hill
4.16 Isotope: Metro
4.22 Hazzard's Cure: Golden Bull
4.29 Isotope: Metro (Manic Relapse)
5.2 Isotope: Los Angeles
5.3 Isotope: Sacramento
5.12 Hazzard's Cure: Bottom Of The Hill
5.14 Owl: Bender's
5.21 Cronander: Merchants
6.4 Isotope: World Rage Center
6.8 Cronander: Annex
6.11 Isotope: Have A Good Laugh, Vanouver, BC
7.2 Hazzard's Cure: Hemlock
7.19 Cronander: Knockout
7.21 Isotope: Metro
8.12 Cronander: Crate
9.1 Cronander: Golden Bull
9.3 Isotope: Capoeira Foundation
9.9 Isotope: Thee Parkside
9.10: Hazzard's Cure: Bender's
10.2 Isotope: Golden Bull
10.4 Cronander: Knockout
10.18 Hazzard's Cure: Golden Bull
10.22 Isotope: Clarion Alley
10.23 Owl: Golden Bull
11.3 Isotope: Peace And Justice, San Jose
11.4 Cronander: Ventura
11.5 Cronander: Thee Parkside
11.7 Isotope: Golden Bull
11.10: Owl: Starline Social Club
11.11 Owl: Ouija Club
11.12 Owl: Blue Lagoon, Santa Cruz
11.28 Owl: Elbo Room
12.3 Isotope: Golden Bull
12.6 Owl: Golden Bull
12.31 High By Night: Bender's