Pencil Storm contributor Nick Jezierny had the cool idea of making a list of shows he has seen, with a band name covering every letter of the alphabet. I was pretty sure I could do the same, so I sat down and made a list. Some letters were harder than others, but for the most part, the biggest problem was deciding which shows to include. For that reason, I tried for each letter to include at least one honorable mention, sometimes more. Only two letters (U and Z) were limited to one band with no honorable mentions, so I almost made it through the alphabet twice. I also included a band and an honorable mention for bands that have a number for a name. I went for my favorite shows, but with a heavy lean toward picking bands people might actually know. Inevitably though, I do have some obscurities. I opted against linking videos, and opted instead to include a photo, a ticket stub, or a signed item just to provide some visual interest (and proof). Without further ado, here we go!
Note: Many shows indicate that they occurred at “the old 9:30 Club.” This refers to the 9:30 Club which was located on F Street NW in D.C. The Club has since moved to a new location on V Street NW and the venue is much larger.
A - Aerosmith This was at the Capital Center in MD, and was the very first concert I ever attended. Luckily, Styx did not open, Golden Earring did. My big sister took me in 1977; enough said. Honorable mention, The Alarm in 1983 in Charlottesville, VA. They opened for The Pretenders and they were truly excellent.
This is the show The Alarm opened…
B – The B-52’s This is just a great, fun band. I’ve seen them at least twice. The best was at GWU Smith Center in 1990 or 1991 with my (now) wife. Honorable mention, The Biters, Howard Theater, D.C. At the time they were my favorite band.
Tuk Smith of The Biters, photo by JCE, clearly at the front!
C – The Cars on the Panorama tour, again with my big sister. This was at Merriweather Post Pavilion in MD. Honorable mention, Cheap Trick, duh. Everyone loves Cheap Trick. Sadly, I can’t list The Clash.
D – The Damned Ontario Theater in D.C. around 1980. Epic. Minor Threat and Anti-Nowhere League opened. This was punk rock in its heyday. Honorable mention, The Dancing Hoods at the East Side Club, D.C. One of my many favorite bands that no one has heard of. I was on the guest list, but my buddy got there first and used my name to get in. I got in, but I had to pay. Mark Linkous (RIP, later of Sparklehorse), lead guitar, was an acquaintance of mine. Shout out for The Dead Boys too.
E – Enuff Z’Nuff My first concert with my (now) wife when we first started dating, at The Bayou in D.C. in 1990. It was a fantastic show. Honorable mention, Ex Hex at The Southern Café and Music Hall in Charlottesville, VA.
F – Faster Pussycat This was at The Bayou in D.C. Such a great band from that glam-metal Hollywood strip era. I’ve seen them a number of times. They can still bring it today. Honorable mentions, D.C. bands Foxhall Stacks and also The Factory. Both highly underrated bands.
Foxhall Stacks record – signed at The Pie Shop, D.C.
G – The Godfathers One of my favorite bands of all time. I’m not sure if the show at the old 9:30 Club or the one at The Bayou was better. Love these guys. Honorable mention, Girlschool at the old 9:30 Club in D.C. They rocked hard back then and they still do. And I have to throw in the Glorious Sons, amazing both times I saw them.
H – The Hangmen I saw these guys two nights in a row, in Richmond, VA and Harrisonburg, VA. They are without a doubt one of my all-time favorite bands. When you meet your heroes and get signed vinyl and the show melts your brain, those are good nights. Honorable mention, Juliana Hatfield (we’re going with last names for this exercise). I saw Juliana in a tiny room at a restaurant called Zippers in Charlottesville in the late 1980’s. She played an amazing set with no one in the room except me and my two best friends. It was awesome. (If I’m being honest, I think this may have been in the Blake Babies days, so maybe this should be a ‘B’). I’ll throw in Halestorm, who I’ve seen multiple times, just in case.
JCE and vocalist/guitarist Bryan Small of The Hangmen
I – Billy Idol I’ve seen Billy Idol a few times. My favorite would be at The National Theater in D.C. in 1982. His solo career after Generation X was just starting, but he had a hit with “White Wedding,” so the crowd was big. The opener was a guy named Dez Dickerson who played guitar with Prince. He was great that night too, and I always wondered what happened to him. A close second would be the Billy Idol show at The Patriot Center at GMU because The Cult opened that show. Honorable mention, D.C. band Insect Surfers.
J – Joan Jett & the Blackhearts I got to see Joan Jett & the Blackhearts in a tiny club in Bethesda, MD called The Psyche Delly. The show was right after the release of their debut record, and I was two feet from the stage. It was a great night. Man, I love Joan Jett. I also saw her in West Virginia once. Honorable mention, Jason & the Scorchers. I saw Jason & the Nashville Scorchers before they dropped Nashville from their name, and I saw them at least five other times. They never disappointed.
Joan Jett, Hollywood Casino, WV
K – Kix I am a huge Kix fan. I’ve seen them too many times to detail. Honorable mention, The Kinks. I saw The Kinks at Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA. The Romantics opened. That’s a fun show. I have to throw in Tommy Keene too, bunches of times.
L – Lords of the New Church This show was at a club in Richmond, VA called Rockitz. I went by myself. I met Stiv Bator after the show and he offered me a pile of cash for my leather motorcycle jacket that I had painted myself. It was an epic jacket with the Lords’ logo on the back with “Is Nothing Sacred” below it and the dagger down one sleeve. I did not part with it. Honorable mention, L.A. Guns and Lucero, both of which I have seen about five times each.
A terrible photo of a young lady modeling my leather Lords jacket.
Sadly it’s the only photo of the jacket that I have.
M - Michael Monroe I consider Hanoi Rocks to be a very influential band, but truth be told, I like Michael Monroe’s solo stuff much better. After the release of Not Fakin’ It in 1989, he made a stop at the old 9:30 Club. He did not disappoint me. Honorable mention, Mother May I, too many times in too many different places to count, but memorably, the very first time I ever saw them at the old 9:30 Club on a 3 bands for 3 bucks night. They blew me away.
N – The Neighborhoods Again, duh. Boston’s very best band of all time. I saw them often on east coast runs and once in Boston, but my favorite show was at New Horizons in Richmond, VA with my friends 98 Colours opening the show. That was late 1980’s. I saw them a few times in Charlottesville, VA as well. Heck, I even saw them play a rich boys fraternity party at Washington & Lee University one time. Honorable mention, Nada Surf at The Southern Café and Music Hall in Charlottesville, VA. Aaron Lee Tasjan opened and was amazing as well.
O – The Outlets Boston’s second best band of all time. They played two full sets at the Kings Head Inn in Norfolk, VA to a crowd of about fifteen people, including myself and four of my friends. I learned that night in talking with them that they won’t play the song “Tilted Track” ever again. I’ve always wondered why but they wouldn’t tell me the reason, just that they wouldn’t play it. Honorable mention, Oasis at GMU Patriot Center. I just like Oasis. I also have to mention The Obsessed. Before they went doom metal, they were a killer punk rock band with Vance Bockis (R.I.P.) on vocals.
P – The Professionals Another show at the old 9:30 Club in D.C. It was way too loud, but it was Steve Jones and Paul Cook, former Sex Pistols! Those guys are legends. Honorable mentions, The Pretenders and The Pretty Reckless, both on multiple occasions. Also The Pandoras, Paula Pierce was awesome, and we met them in the dressing room after the show. There are simply a ton of great bands that start with the letter ‘P’.
Q – The Quireboys The boys from London have a huge catalog of great tunes and they play a good live show. I’ve seen them twice. The first time was in 1990 when they were still the London Quireboys. That one was at a redneck bar called Cadillacs located in Hickory, North Carolina. We drove there from Charlotte, NC to see them, and the L.A. Guns. We barely made it out alive (exaggerating). There were fights breaking out and my (now) wife and I had to hide behind a second bar that was not in use. That worked out good because the little Coke dispenser was operable so the soft drinks were free! We saw them as The Quireboys more recently at the Salisbury Center in Manassas, VA on tour with Enuff Z’Nuff. Honorable mention, Questionniares. Has anybody ever heard of these guys? They play catchy power-pop type stuff. I saw them at the Bayou in D.C. with label mate Alannah Myles.
R – The Replacements Well, I got one on the list the same as Nick Jezierney’s. I saw them twice in the 1980’s at Trax Nightclub in Charlottesville, VA and once on a reunion tour with David Minehan on guitar at Echo Stage in D.C. All of the shows were good. Honorable mentions are really too numerous to even try. ‘R’ is an easy letter. But on second thought, let’s mention R.E.M. at the old 9:30 Club, opening for Tommy Keene in the early 1980’s and also the always excellent Roger Clyne & the Peacemeakers (formerly The Refreshments).
S – Social Distortion I’ve seen them multiple times, but a show with my wife at the new 9:30 Club was the best one. Honorable mentions, again there are just so many. ‘S’ is also easy. We’ll go with the Sceaming Tribesmen at the old 9:30 Club and Starcrawler at the Pie Shop in D.C.
Arrow de Wilde, Starcrawler, Pie Shop, D.C.
T – Johnny Thunders I saw this legend at the old 9:30 Club. He played some solo stuff and Heartbreakers stuff. He seemed coherent and it was a good show. Honorable mentions, Boston band The Titanics at The Rat in Boston and ‘Til Tuesday at the Bayou in D.C. Strangely, I don’t have that many ‘T’s.’
U – Ultravox This was the second most difficult letter for me. I can’t believe I have never seen U2, but I haven’t. And even more so, I wish I had seen The Undertones, but I haven’t. So Ultravox is it. And I don’t even recall where I saw them. They haven’t been to the U.S. all that much.
V – Vain This largely unknown band reached its peak of popularity in the glam-metal 80’s. I love them, I really do. I got to see them play at the famous Hammerjack’s Nightclub in Baltimore, MD. That place was iconic. Honorable mention, The Velvet Monkeys. This D.C. band featured Don Fleming, who went on to play in Gumball and also produced a ton of fairly well-known records in the 1990’s. Also, Voice of the Beehive, a very cool band if you have never heard them.
W – Butch Walker The live show I saw at the tiny U Street Music Hall in D.C. was nothing short of spectacular. This guy has the most passionate fans you can imagine. Honorable Mention, The Who -- this might not be amongst the best shows I have seen, but it was The Who, I had to see them once. I’ve still never seen The Rolling Stones though. And I’ll never forget Watershed at The Big Room in Columbus, OH.
X – X How easy was this. I’ve seen X a bunch of times. John Doe, Exene, Billy Zoom and D.J. Bonebrake are so great. My first time at the old 9:30 Club in D.C., Exene got kicked in the face by a stage diver and had to pause the show for a minute. It was bedlam with the D.C. punks on the Los Angeles tour. I saw them again at the Club playing acoustic, I saw them at The Ontario Theater in D.C., The Birchmere in Alexandria, VA, and at The State Theater in Falls Church, VA. The Birchmere show started with a screening of the excellent documentary about the band called “The Unheard Music,” followed by the band playing the Los Angeles record straight through, followed by much more. Honorable mention, The X-Raves, a band from Virginia Beach that played a ton on the college circuit in the mid-1980’s.
Y – Yo This was the hardest letter of all, at least in terms of naming someone that anyone might have ever heard of. I saw Yo at Trax Nightclub in Charlottesville, VA. They toured with some SST Records bands back in the day, although they were not on SST. They are punk, I guess, but melodic. Maximum Rock n Roll says this about their record that I own called Charm World: “This is the second record by this trio, and it mixes acoustic guitars, bagpipes, mandolin, and sax with great spartan-style punk.” They were actually great. I have no other band that I am certain I have seen whose name begins with a Y other than D.C. band Young Professionals, who were not all that memorable, but I do own a vinyl single by them. They get a mention, but maybe not an honorable one.
Z – Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction Anyone remember these guys? They were British. I saw them at the old 9:30 Club in D.C. They were a hard rocking band. At the time they were touring behind a record called Tattooed Beat Messiah. They had two songs that got a little traction; “Back Seat Education” and “Prime Mover.” Honorable mention…..yeah, I got nothin’. ‘Z’ was another tough one.
# - 999 999 is one of my favorite bands. Touring the U.S. in support of The Biggest Prize in Sport, they played The Bayou in D.C. Tickets for two shows on the same night were sold. I saw the early show, and it was so good, no one would leave. In the end, they just let in the late show people and I got to see both. Honorable mention, The 69 Eyes. I just recently got to see this rock n roll outfit from Helsinki, Finland. Excellent.
Phew! If you read this far, thank you. I hope you enjoyed the read. Now get out there and run through the alphabet a few times.
JCE, or John to his friends, was born in the Nation’s Capital and grew up in the VA suburbs of D.C. He just turned 60 years old, he has a wife of 32 years, and a grown daughter. He leads a bit of a double life, working by day as the chief administrative officer of a VA county, and spending as many nights as possible listening to live rock n roll with his wife at any club that has a decent band within 100 miles or so of their house (and sometimes further).