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So a lot of people celebrate 3/11 day because of the band 311. I’m not really a 311 fan, but 3/11/16 is a date I will always remember. It’s the date my favorite band, Motion City Soundtrack, announced that they were calling it quits. I was shocked at first, but I understand how tour life could be a drag, especially since many of the band members have kids now. My sad turned in to glad when I realized all the great music and great times the band has given me. So while I’m sad that it’s over, I’m so glad it happened.

I’ve read what a lot of people wrote about the band, but this article is the best.

Trying to remember all the times I’ve seen them, I went through all my ticket stubs. I thought it was 14 time, but I guess I’ve only seen them 13 times. Number 14 will be this June. Here are all the Motion City Soundtrack shows I’ve been to:

05/23/2004 @ The Alerus Center, Grand Forks, ND
07/24/2005 @ Vans Warped Tour, Minneapolis, MN
11/12/2005 @ The Myth, Maplewood, MN
12/12/2006 @ Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St. Paul, MN
11/24/2007 @ The Myth, Maplewood, MN
05/27/2008 @ The Myth, Maplewood, MN
07/15/2008 @ The Venue, Fargo, ND
10/28/2010 @ First Avenue, Minneapolis MN
12/18/2010 @ First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
09/3/2011 @ Minnesota State Fair, St. Paul, MN
11/18/2012 @ Varsity Theater, Minneapolis, MN
04/21/2013 @ The Vault, Sioux Falls, SD
10/25/2015 @ First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN

This past Monday they announced the first leg of their “So Long, Farewell” tour, and Tuesday VIP tickets went on sale. They went on sale at 10:00 am. I started refreshing my browser over and over starting at 9:58. At 10:01 I selected two vip tickets only to discover they were all sold out when I hit enter. I was pretty bummed, but still kept refreshing the page out of disbelief. Then at 10:09 suddenly there were tickets available. I scarfed them up as quick as I could. I couldn’t believe it, I GOT VIP TICKETS. Here is what VIP includes:

One General Admission Ticket
A Stripped-down Acoustic Set with Band (two songs)
One Raffle Entry to Win Prizes*
A Photo with the Band
One Exclusive Signed VIP Lithograph
A Live “Ask-Us-Anything” Session with Band Members
One Exclusive Wearable Button
One VIP Laminate and Lanyard
Priority Merch Shopping
Early Entry into the Venue with First Dibs on Front Row Access
*Chance to win relics from the MCS vault. Relics can range from: an exact Realistic/Moog MG–1 synthesizer used on tour and in the studio by the band that may or may not still work, lyric sheets, vinyl test pressings, posters, stage back drops used on tour, and more. One entry per person. Actual prizes may vary based on availability. Winner selected at end of Summer 2016 tour.

So my 14th time seeing Motion City Soundtrack will be a memorable one, and if I’m lucky, maybe I can catch them one more time when they announce the second leg of the tour.

So tomorrow I’m going to see Fall Out Boy again. I honestly don’t remember how many times I’ve seem them. It’s more than five, but less than the 14 times I’ve seen Motion City Soundtrack. Everybody says I go to a lot of concerts, but really, I’m just old. I probably only go to two or three concerts a year. They just add up over the years.

My love of music started early. In 1985 I got a boombox, or as we called them, a “Ghetto Blaster” for Christmas. I wasn’t a fan of the couple of cassettes I got with it, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston, but I would soon enough find music I would enjoy. My Mom wasn’t one of those cool parents that introduced their kids to the Beatles. It would be decades before I would discover the greatness of the Beatles. Around that same time our cable company got MTV.

Thanks to MTV I got into a few of the hair metal bands of the 80s. I loved Bon Jovi, Poison, Skid Row, Gun N’ Roses, and Warrant. That’s about where my love for hair metal began and ended. As a poor middle school student, I was on a limited budget. Then I discovered the Beastie Boys. I had to find more music like them. What is this rap music? Back in those days, rap music wasn’t played on MTV. Eventually rap music got its own show, Yo! MTV Raps, and I was in heaven. I loved Run DMC, Public Enemy, KRS One, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, and many others.

Then 1991 came and along and with it came “Smells Like Teen Spirt”. I never listened to another rap album. Nirvana changed everything. I was now a high school student with a minimum wage job and no bills, so I could afford cassettes and eventually CDs. I was getting into underground 90s alternative rock. Bands with funny names that nobody ever heard of like Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Alice in Chains. They all would become huge. And others like Pavement, Dinosaur Jr., and Sugar, who weren’t as huge, but just as great. I would buy CD just because I’d heard of the band, or a band I liked mentioned them. I was buying a couple CDs a week. I loved when I could catch 120 Minutes on MTV. That was the only show that played the music I was into.

Eventually 90s alternative rock became main stream. The 90s seem to be the only time period in my life where my music was being played on the radio. I hear most peoples favorite music is from their college years. I was lucky to have a roommate that was into the same music. He introduced my to Matthew Sweet, and Urge Overkill. I got him into The Lemonheads, and Candlebox. We both discovered the greatness of Liz Phair and Juliana Hatfield. I also loved female singers. Not too many people I knew listened to many female bands. I loved Letters to Cleo, Tracy Bonham, Bree Sharp, The Breeders, Veruca Salt, Garbage, Hole, and many many others.

Then the late 90s came and music for me was blah. Also, since I was no longer in school, the years all blurred together. It’s weird how my music style seems to shift every ten years or so. In the mid 90s I was also into a lot of punk bands, NOFX, Screeching Weasel, Mr. T Experience, Bad Religion, and many others. These were internet years. It was easy to find and hear new bands. I pretty much loved every band on Epitaph Record, Fat Wreck Chords, and Lookout Records. The mid 90s were great, the late 90s though…blah.

Then in 2003 music became great again. I discovered my all time favorite band Motion City Soundtrack along with other bands nobody heard of like Fall Out Boy, Taking Back Sunday, Brand New, Dashboard Confessional, and many others. I still don’t really know what to call this phase, Pop-Punk? Emo? That’s the stuff I was listening to, and maybe still? I don’t even know what I’m listening to now. I am currently in a blah stage.

Now I’m mostly listening to podcasts. I’m still always looking for great music, but haven’t found much lately. Is there another phase coming? Am I just old and will only listen to old music now? Who knows?

I like to think I have a great taste in music, but I’m rarely into mainstream music. My tastes have changed from Hair Metal, to Rap, to Alternative Rock, to Punk, and Pop-Punk/Emo. I’m always looking for something new and different.

What’s next?