Moody Blues at least 10X, over about 40 years
Traffic 3X
I’ve seen him about 15 times, and I’ve seen the Allman Brothers 60-odd times.
I’ve seen Jenny Lewis five times (both with Rilo Kiley and solo). That’s probably as close as I’ll get to a “Favorite Act”.
It’s standard concert tech now, but at the time it was a major act of trust on the part of the entire band. The whole lighting rig rose up, the front part first, followed by the back part, then the whole thing. If any of the winches hadn’t risen at exactly the right speed, the whole rig ran the risk of twisting, breaking and crashing down on the stage.
Thinking about it, I don’t think I really have a favorite artist/act, at least not in the past several years. I used to love Stevie Ray Vaughan, but only saw him once, six months to a year before he died. Great show of course, and there was torrential rains, flooding, and a Homeric journey just to get to the show. I left my ticket in the car, and still got in and watched the whole show, despite sitting in some unoccupied seats closer to the front, and with ushers everywhere checking tickets. Quite memorable.
I’ve seen Yes in concert twice, years apart. I’m not a particularly big fan of theirs, but both times I got to go for free when someone else couldn’t make the show at the last minute. They’re the only free shows I’ve gone to, and both were Yes concerts. Kind of funny how that worked out.
I saw Pink Floyd once. Got off work to find my friend from out-of-state waiting by my car in the parking lot, with tickets. Went from just another night at home in front of a TV to a Floyd concert with my best friend just like that!
I love concerts. I’ve seen over a hundred bands, many multiple times. My inability to get out and see a show these days is my biggest entertainment-related disappointment. As much as I loved the music, I think some of the best memories are of the shared experience with my friends. I could talk endlessly about the songs and performances, but the ones I enjoyed most come with stories, like those listed above in their TL;DR version.
Yes is the band I’ve seen second most often (not counting local bands, some of which I’ve seen many dozens of times), after Jethro Tull. I’ve caught Yes 11 times: once a year from 1973-1980, plus the Big Generator tour in '87(?) and twice with the Union lineup; I also saw Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, who were Yes in all but name, twice.
I’ve seen Ben Folds/Ben Folds Five and the Squirrel Nut Zippers/Various SNZ acts at least a dozen times each. I lost track.
I’ve seen the Moody Blues about 8 times I think but I wouldn’t say they are one of my favorite bands. Just a band I’ve seen a lot!
I’ve been to a ton of shows but I don’t think I’ve seen any other national acts more than once. Hmm…
Estimates:
Tori Amos 15+ times
They Might Be Giants 15+ times
Moxy Früvous 6 times
Ben Folds/Ben Folds Five - about 8 times
Ani Difranco around 10 times
Great Big Sea 5 or 6 times
Cracker/Camper Van 5 or 6 times
I used to spend a lot of money on travel and concern tickets. I also used to keep better count than I have now. I realize none of those are very LOUD bands, but my hearing has suffered.
Rush - 6 times between 1978 and 1986, then a big gap until I saw them again on the Time Machine tour a couple years back.
Kansas - 4 times
Genesis - 4 times
Supertramp - 4 times
Richard Thompson - at least half a dozen times
Wilco - 4 times (would have been 5 but their show sold out last time around before I could get tickets)
Old 97s - six times in the last five years
Neil Young: 7 times (backed up by on different occasions) Crazy Horse, Pearl Jam & Booker T and the MGs. Saw him solo on one occasion.
Dinosaur Junior: 4 times.
J Mascis : 1
Echo and the Bunnymen: 3
Radiohead: 3
Spiritualized: 2
I’d be even with you if I hadn’t had a heart stent op two days before the St. Louis concert in July '12. That caused me to miss the cross state trip. They usually hit two stops somewhere near KC when they travel this way and since they like to vary their set list nightly I find it worthwhile to catch back-to-back shows.
I caught the KC performance 3 days after the St. Louis one.
So Twixter - 6
Bubbadog - 5
It’s just a good thing that we’ve probably never been at the same concert. I’m pretty sure that the strain on Trucks marriage to Tedeschi would be too great if they saw both of us in the audience.
Bob Dylan: somewhere around 10 or 12 times.
Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets (featuring Sam Myers): 8 times.
The Pawnbrokers (local blues band): 40 or more.
The S.P.U.D.S. (local punk group): 15 times.
I’ve been a bit of a Dead Head in my time. At some point, back in early 90’s I was talking to a much younger head who asked how many times I had seen them. I replied maybe about 16 times - he said ‘Cool’ - he had seen them 16 times too - that year.