2017: STATISTICS AND ANALYSIS

To the best of my ability to keep track, I attended 56 shows as an audience member, which is WAY DOWN from last year (95, holy shit!), and actually the lowest amount of shows attended in a year since I began keeping track, which was in 2011. This extremely poor showing could stem from a variety of factors: my erratic work schedule never helps, and I was also playing a LOT of local gigs with four different bands, which meant a lot of nightly rehearsals that often went just a little too late to go catch a band I wanted to see at the club. There's also a chance that I'm feeling a little jaded these days. I'm definitely not trying to go see every little punk band that comes through town anymore "just for the hell of it," and for at least half of the year, I had a "serious" girlfriend, which means I had no need to go out to shows to just get drunk and look for chicks! Also, let's face it: the Bay Area scene is dying! The year was marked with a rash of venue closures mostly related to the notorious Ghost Ship fire that occurred at the end of 2016, and pretty much hammered nails into the coffins of DIY venues across the land. So there weren't even as many available shows to go to! I think I went to ONE Oakland punk house show the entire year, and it wasn't for a lack of wanting to.

What surprised me was that in this environment, I actually played 67 shows, only the second time since I started keeping track that I played more shows as a drummer than I attended as an audience member. (The only other time was when I played 103 shows in 2013, an epic Owl touring year). That's 11 gigs with Hazzard's Cure, 19 with Isotope, 12 with Cronander, 22 with Owl, and one each with A.N.S., Hazzard's Crüe (Mötley Crüe Halloween cover band), and High By Night (Rush Halloween cover band).

Accounting for nights when I played or attended more than one show in the same night, that adds up to 118 nights spent out, or 32% of all nights spent out, the lowest percent since I started keeping track. Pretty sad. Mostly, I'm gonna blame the excessive band practices. How Many? Maybe I should count... ah fuck, I'm sick of counting things.

2017: 32%
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:
1.1 Genocide Pact, Deathgrave, Ulthar, Extraction: Golden Bull
1.7 Rude, Skeletal Remains: Metro
1.10 Void Omnia, Cloak: Golden Bull
1.12 Ascended Dead, Grave Ritual, Mortuous: Golden Bull
2.9 BFC, Abstracter Gloam: Golden Bull
2.12 Raptor: Golden Bull
2.17 The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown: Slim's
2.22 Uli Jon Roth: Slim's
2.23 Negative Vortex, Yarrow: Golden Bull
3.13 Mothership: Golden Bull
3.29 Oathbreaker: Thee Parkside
3.31 Nails, Toxic Holocaust: New Parish
4.4 Power Trip, Destruction Unit: AFC, Santa Rosa
4.6 Power Trip: New Parish
4.13 Hammers Of Misfortune: The Eagle
4.14 Captured By Robots, Necrot: Thee Parkside
4.27 Excessive Cruelty: Eli's
4.27 Asphyx: Metro
4.29 Manic Relapse Backyard Show: WRC
5.3 Wild Hunt: Golden Bull
5.21 Acid King, Badr Vogu: Knockout
6.4 Infest, Eyehategod: Metro
6.17 King Crimson: Fox Theater
6.26 Fantasy Lane: Hemlock
6.30 Necrot, Undergang: Thee Parkside
7.1 Iggy Pop: Mosswood Park (Burger Boogaloo)
7.2 Buzzcocks: Mosswood Park (Burger Boogaloo)
7.8 Helms Alee: Slim's
7.8 Subversive Rite: Knockout
7.14 Blue Oyster Cult: Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
7.21 Wounded Giant: Hemlock
7.23 Augurs, Rottstrotter: Someone's Backyard
8.7 Eyehategod: Elbo Room
8.10 Remnants, Narco Estado: Elbo Room
8.13 Lady Gaga: ATT Park
8.21 Doom: Metro
8.21 Love Songs: Golden Bull
9.2 Serpents Of Dawn: Golden Bull
9.15 The Seeds, Isaac Rother And The Phantoms: DNA Lounge
9.16 High On Fire, Holy Grove: Thr Ritz, San Jose
9.21 Complications: Montreal
9.23 Framtid: Montreal (Varning)
9.28 Ed Hocculi, Mower, Killer Of Sheep: Pittsburgh
10.6 FROST AND FIRE FEST: VENTURA
10.12 Wild Hunt, Ails, Vale: Golden Bull
10.13 Hot Lunch, Hot Fog, Pushy: Bottom Of The Hill
10.16 City Of Caterpillar: The New Parish
10.19 Jimmy Buffet: Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
10.22 Zombi: Starline
10.26 Aura Noir: Elbo Room
11.1 The Ugly, Shane Bergman And The Family: Knockout
11.4 Systematic Death, Fuck You Pay Me: Metro
11.21 Cattle Decapitation: DNA Lounge
12.8 John McLaughlin: Warfield
12.17 Ion, Wild Hunt, Deathgrave: Redwood City
12.30 Hot Lunch, Matt And Paul Magic, Cool Ghouls: Elbo Room

BEHIND THE DRUMS:
1.13 Hazzard's Cure: Winter's Tavern
1.17 Isotope: Golden Bull
1.20 Cronander: Golden Bull
1.21 Owl: 924 Gilman
2.11 Cronander: Eric's Back Yard
2.18 Isotope: EMHC
3.5 Isotope: Golden Bull
3.11 Hazzard's Cure: Bender's
3.18 Cronander: Thee Parkside
3.22 Owl: Eureka
3.23 Owl: Grant's Pass
3.24 Owl: Eugene
3.25 Owl: Portland
3.26 Owl: Tacoma
3.30 Owl: Hemlock Tavern
4.1 Hazzard's Cure: Thee Parkside
4.2 Isotope: Eli's MHC
4.15 Cronander: Bender's
4.19 Owl: El Rio
4.21 Owl: Pedro
4.22 Owl: San Diego
4.23 Owl: Riverside
4.25 Isotope: Knockout
4.28 Isotope: Metro
5.19 Owl: Alex's Back Yard
5.19 Owl: Golden Bull
5.27 Isotope: Cornerstone
5.29 Owl: Golden Bull
6.7 Owl: Sacramento
6.8 Owl: Eugene
6.9 Owl: Tacoma
6.10 Owl: Seattle
6.11 Owl: Portland
6.12 Owl: Elbo Room
6.18 Hazzard's Cure: Botom Of The Hill
6.23 A.N.S. Club Dada
6.24 Cronander: Eli's Mile High Club
7.15 Cronander: Eli's Mile High Club
7.22 Hazzard's Cure: Eli's Mile High Club
7.28 Isotope: 924 Gilman
8.1 Isotope: Golden Bull
8.19 Cronander: Winter's Tavern
8.23 Hazzard's Cure: Metro
8.24 Hazzard's Cure / Wild Hunt: Arcata
8.25 Hazzard's Cure / Wild Hunt: Portland
8.26 Hazzard's Cure / Wild Hunt: Seattle
8.27 Hazzard's Cure / Wild Hunt: Eugene
9.9 Isotope: Golden Bull
9.22 Isotope: Montreal
9.25 Isotope / Glorious?: Boston
9.26 Isotope / Glorious?: Baltimore
9.27 Isotope / Glorious?: Pittsburgh
9.29 Isotope / Glorious?: Brooklyn
9.30: Isotope / Glorious?: Philadelphia
10.1 Isotope: New Jersey
10.2 Isotope / Glorious: Brooklyn
10.5 Owl: Golden Bull
10.7 Owl: Frost And Fire Fest: Ventura
10.21 Isotope: Ouija Club
10.27 High By Night: Ouija Club
10.31 Hazzard's Crue: Elbo Room
11.11 Hazzard's Cure: Thee Parkside
11.18 Cronander: Ouija Club
11.30 Cronander: Eureka
12.1 Cronander: Portland
12.2 Cronander: Seattle
12.3 Cronander: Corvallis