So, I need to finish my mixtape that I can play when I am waxing
nostalgic about my 20s.
I brought out my book of concert ticket stubs and tallied which bands I saw the most between the years of 1998 and 2005.
The results are:
1. Guster: 10 shows
I discovered Guster when they opened for Barenaked Ladies on December 31, 1999. The Guster men met at Tufts University, which meant that they toured in New England A LOT during my early Boston days. I have many, many favorite Guster songs. But if I force myself to pick only two from the aforementioned time period, they are:
2. Barenaked Ladies: 7 shows
I’m actually not adding any BNL songs to this mixtape. I no longer own any of their CDs from this time period, and I associate them more with my college years. I have a few BNL songs on my college mixtapes, so they are definitely represented.
3. R.E.M.: 5 shows
Thinking about R.E.M. is still painful for me. I will never be OK with the fact that they broke up in 2011. NEVER. But as Tennyson said, it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. R.E.M. released three albums during this time period. Favorites are:
4. U2: 4 shows
There is nothing like a U2 concert. I saw them four times during their 2005 Vertigo tour. I dropped a total of $293 on three of the shows. The other show was a $390 ticket. I did not pay $390 for the ticket. An angel sent me a man who sold me the ticket for $100-something. I can’t remember why the hell he did that. It was a VIP ticket, which meant I had access to a VIP bar with free drinks and food before the show. And of course the seat was amazing. I choose the song that they opened the concerts with:
I also include a song from the other album from this time period:
4. Mike Doughty: 4 shows
Mike Doughty is a kick-ass singer-songwriter. I loved his band, Soul Coughing, but love his solo albums just as much.
5. Red Hot Chili Peppers: 3 shows
The Chili’s album Californication was in heavy rotation during road trips with Daisy in the early 2000s. New to New England, we road tripped a lot. Naturally, we cranked this one up:
And from another album:
I can’t wait to make this tape.
fancenance.com 
Such good times and good memories!! Always get nostalgic hearing those songs. I think the Chili Peppers/Foo Fighters outdoor concert was one of the best. Would love a copy of that mixtape!
Sure, I’ll make you a copy! I’m blanking on that concert…was it at the Tweeter Center??