I honestly don’t think there’s any band, by your definition , that I’ve seen more than 3 times in concert ((and, even with an expansive definition including any band, whether known or unknown, it’s probably not more than a dozen or so times.) Actually, I’m having difficulty thinking of any popular band I’ve even seen twice in concert. I’m guessing–although it’s outside my normal musical tastes–that Poi Dog Pondering is the most popular band I’ve seen most, I think about 5 times in concert, but I don’t think the name will be recognizable by 60-70% of SDMB readers. Beyond that, good question. I’ve seen a reasonable number of shows (probably about 100-150), but I tend not to repeat.
I think I’ve seen the Indigo Girls about 5 times. I like them, but not as much as that statistic would indicate. Just so happens that I’ve had multiple opportunities to see them live and the circumstances (location, cost, etc) all worked out.
Yes, I’ve seen Rush 54 times now, the first time being (I think) the Grace Under Pressure tour in 83? Maybe 84. Still, that’s a good 30 years of seeing them.
Others I’ve seen multiple times?
Cowboy Mouth, more than 20
U2 - 2
Mighty Mighty Bosstones - 3
Gin Blossoms - 3
Mary Prankster - 10 or so
Cranberries - 2
God, I don’t know. I’ve seen thousands of bands. Pretty much if a band came through DC in the late 80s through the 90s I saw them.
I saw The Kinks 6 times in the 1980s, and Ray Davies solo once in the 90s. So sevenish for them.
I’m assuming this is restricted to rock/pop bands and not orchestras. I’m not sure how many times I’ve seen the L.A. Philharmonic, but it’s in the double digits.
Cowboy Mouth (I’m the other Doper fan of theirs; they don’t fit the “probably be recognized by name by at least 60-70 percent of readers of the SDMB” criteria, but Jonathan Chance mentioned them and now I can’t leave them out!)
Paul McCartney
Billy Joel and Elton John (both separately and together)
I have the “U-Li-La-Lu” promo 12" that’s etched on the b-side.
I’ve seen R.E.M. 6 times. 1985, 1989, two consecutive nights in 1995, 2004, and 2008. The 2004 show was at a small theater in St. Louis that was about 2/3 full, and it was BY FAR the best of all those shows.
And I’ve seen Rush 4 times, and each concert was in a different state. Des Moines in 1982, Omaha in 1990, and Kansas City, MO and Moline, IL several days apart in 1994. I considered seeing them in the Twin Cities a while back to keep this record going, but that fell through.
Moody Blues, Jethro Tull, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen and Eric Clapton - all six times. That’s a pretty weird assortment. Clapton was with Cream, Derek and the Dominoes and solo.
4 times:
Sonic Youth, Throwing Muses, Mudhoney
3 times:
Jethro Tull, Juliana Hatfield, Primus, Sinead O’Connor, Alice in Chains
2 times:
Too many, at least 50 different bands.