I’ve seen this band more times than any person who is not a member of their immediate inner circle (e.g. a roadie, family member, or significant other). Words cannot explain the depth of love… it’s not a “favorite band” kind of thing, it has to do with a friendship dating back to 1992. Collectively, they’re the single most influential thing of my life: it’s hard to explain how much this has colored my persona and influenced everything in the years since.

So here it is: my No Doubt show history. With notes and details. The numbers show 72 shows, but I could swear I was over 75, so I may have missed a few inbetween 2001-2005.

The most surreal, awesome, and eternally unforgettable “I can’t believe I was there for that” one: the ND/Sublime living room jam at Tony’s surprise birthday party (#10). Followed closely by gorilla’ing onstage with them (#60).

Other best ones: #1 (indescribable feeling where you feel like you found something that was made especially for you); #2 (met them); #5 and #6 (best shows + Angelo Moore guest appearance); #26 (Eric brought me onstage to sing his “secret” R-rated lyrics that only I knew); and #72 (emotionally walloped).

Noteworthy ones are in orange.

1. 7/12/92 – Cattle Club, Sacramento. I still have the shirt and hat that I bought.
2. 11/22/92 – Loco Ranchero, San Luis Obispo. This is where I first met them… the story is good, I’ll post it separately sometime. They were just finishing their first-ever national tour, and this was the 50th tour date. This was a tour sponsored by “Thrasher” magazine and there was a ND/Thrasher shirt produced for this tour only. I have mine signed by all five bandmembers and I guard it carefully.  I also got a red poster (from Interscope, promoting their debut album)… they’re exceedingly rare, and I have mine signed by all five and framed with a triple matte. It’s possibly the neatest thing I own.
3. 11/23/92 – The Anaconda, Santa Barabara. This was the very next day, so they remembered me from hanging out a mere night before. There was another show in San Diego on 11/24 that I went to and hung out with them, but couldn’t actually get into because I wasn’t 21. I sat outside with another friend/fan and listened in agony while people stumbled in and out. With three shows three nights in a row, by this point we were friends. It was Thanksgiving and the last show of the tour; Gwennie talked about how excited she was to get home and cook.
4. 12/22/92 – secret show, Newport Roadhouse, Newport Beach CA. I was on xmas break in San Diego… they invited me to come up for the secret show. I felt so much like one of the inner circle!
5. 2/13/93 – The Ice House, Fullerton CA. I still have the backstage pass. The extremely rare vinyl “Doghouse” single had a B-side of “Squeal” that was recorded at this show. This was possibly my favorite ND show ever. Followed closely by:
6. 3/26/93 – Inn at the Park, Anaheim CA. In the bottom floor of the Quality Inn. Guest appearance by Angelo Moore from Fishbone, who was dressed in a tiger costume and sang guest vocals on ND’s song “Doormat.” He kind of forgot the words so he kept saying “I’m not’cho do’mat.” One of the neatest things ever: showing up at the Beacon St. house before the show to find him kicking it on the couch.
7. 4/17/93 – USC Springfest, Los Angeles CA. Buncha bands. I have a lot of good pics but need to scan them. I REALLY loved this show. Met my friend “Melinda from Santa Barbara” there. We’re still in touch.
8. 4/17/93 – Cal Poly Pomona. They performed the very first song that Gwen had written on her own; it was called “Include Me.” It was a pretty cheesy and hokey song… it’s a good thing her songwriting improved! At Tony’s birthday later (see show #10) Cyndie Shrader asked them to do “Include Me” and Gwen said “nah, that song sucks!”
9. 6/30/93 – Glam Slam, Los Angeles CA. In a club owned by Prince. The remarkable memory from this show was that Gwen had the entire audience sit down on the floor and sing along to “Sometimes.” It was magical. Trusty pal Geoff and I hung with Tony’s brother Neil… Tony had asked us to keep an eye on him because he was middle-school age. Neil did fine on his own. The Stefani parents were at the show, and Gwen’s mom got really mad at her for swearing.
10. 8/93 – Tony Kanal’s surprise birthday party. At his parents’ house… it was No Doubt and Sublime jamming in the living room. UNREAL. Bradley from Sublime had to borrow Tom Dumont’s blue guitar because he’d forgotten his own.
11. 10/9/93 – Showdown at the Ghost Town – Pomona (?) CA. Crazy multi-band event at a ghost town. Very, very dusty. Showed up early and found Gwennie hiding out in a secret room, frantically sewing a fake USPS stripe on her gray pants. The band didn’t like this show that much, but it remains one of my top five.
12. 10/21/93 – Slim’s, San Francisco CA. AMAZING mini-tour… I sold merch for them because they couldn’t afford to bring their regular merch guy.
13. 10/22/93 – The Edge, Reno NV. Day two of the mini tour. The band and I ate at the Peppermill buffet. It was a fun drive up to Reno, in the legendary Camry, with Eric Stefani as my passenger… we listened to and dissected the new Jellyfish album. We talked about the recording process of ND’s first record; I told him I had found the one wrong horn note (in the recording) and he said that he knew of the note and it bugged him. He also played a demo of some of the new ND songs.
14. 10/23/93 – the Bear’s Lair, Berkeley CA. We visited Jill (Gwen and Eric’s sister), who was then a student at Berkeley. Final day of mini tour… I sold merch again. It was SO much fun! I took a photo of Gwen with a guy who had a Gwen tattoo. The picture later ended up in their “Beacon Street” album.
15. 10/31/93 – UCSD, San Diego CA. My dream lineup of all time: No Doubt PLUS Jellyfish. Together. On Halloween. There was a poster for it; this poster represented, to me, the absolute ultimate in musical pairings. Phil (ND’s trumpet player at the time) said he’d hold onto it for me, and rolled it up and put it in his trumpet case… I never saw it again. I occasionally hunt for it on eBay. I had a very cosmically weird encounter with a guy named Adam who would later become a friend of mine. That story is weird enough to merit its own entry sometime.
16. 12/4/93 – Paradise Lounge, San Francisco CA. By this time I’d now known the band for a year, and was on my 16th show and had toured with them. Salad days that I will never, ever forget.
17. 12/5/93 – FX, San Jose CA. This club has had a ton of names over the years. This show was notable because although it was my 17th ND show, it was my 100th show I’d been to overall. (I’ve since lost count). Backstage, I took a picture with the band… this picture was later included in the Beacon Street album.
18. 12/93 – “Post-Xmas Country Club LA”. My notes are vague– I don’t remember anything about this one, sadly.
19. 12/31/93 – Convention Center, San Diego CA. New Year’s Eve. ND had been hired to play an event full of Australian foreign exchange students. NOBODY watched the band at all or was even remotely interested in them. They sold one shirt the whole night, and joked that it was to me (it wasn’t.) Their set was done by 10pm. I was delighted to be spending New Year’s Eve with my favorite people in the whole world.
20. 2/20/94 – Red Dog, Santa Barbara. This one, I believe, was with Sublime. This was also the scene of the infamous “kitchen jam” where the band and those of us with them did an impromptu jam in the kitchen, banging on pots and pans, drum circle style… it was UNREAL. One of the neatest moments of my LIFE. Eric Keyes’ video of the kitchen jam made it onto the “extras” of ND’s DVD in 2004.
21. 5/19/94 – The Beach House, Santa Barbara CA.
22. 5/28/94 – The Palace, Hollywood CA.
23. 5/29/94 – The Belly Up Tavern, San Diego CA. This was the place I couldn’t get into a year and a half earlier because I wasn’t 21 at the time. This time, I was.
24. 6/3/94 – Paradise Lounge, San Francisco CA. With Dizzy Bam. One of Dizzy Bam’s members would later become ND’s lasting trumpet player.
25. 6/4/94 – Berkeley Square, Berkeley CA.
26. 7/16/94 – Metro Bay, Ventura CA. Notable at this show: Eric Stefani brought me up on stage to sing the R-rated version of Paulina. Also at this show: Eric was mad because he’d messed up on the piano solo of “Excuse Me Mister.” And the band’s friend Eric Keyes drew an AMAZING likeness of me in the style of the show “The Critic,” which he animated for.
27. 8/7/94 – Day at the Park, Los Angeles CA. The band invited a bunch of friends/family to have a day at the park, hanging out playing games and music. I played chess with Don Viramontes. He destroyed me.
28. 8/11/94 – World Beat Center, San Diego, CA. Adrian’s younger brother Damian was there; this was the first time I’d met him.
29. 8/12/94 – A Gathering of Oranges, Irvine CA. Featuring a bunch of OC bands. Notable about this show: ND had a very short-term sax player (Gerard Boisse) who recorded one song with them (“Doghouse”) and he played at this show. The band brought some high school marching band drummers out to play along with one of their songs. I think this was Eric Stefani’s last show with the band; if it wasn’t, it was the last one I saw with him.
30. 12/2/94 – Great American Music Hall, San Francisco CA. With 311.
31. 12/3/94 – Vets Hall, Pismo Beach CA. With 311. I did lights for both bands… fun! Although the Voodoo Glow Skulls stole my wallet out of the dressing room. F’real.
32. 12/29/94 – The Troubadour, Hollywood CA. The band passed out generic-label cassingles (remember those?) of a song that was probably going to be their single whenever the album came out, which (as it turns out) wouldn’t be for another year. The label on the cassingle was very generic– black writing on a white label, no logo or design, just words. The song was called “Just a Girl”. I still have my copy.
33. 3/24/95 – The Underground, Santa Barbara CA.
34. 3/28/95 – SLO Brew, San Luis Obispo CA. My hometown (at the time). It was like a show put on just for me.
35. 5/27/95 – Santa Barbara Fairgrounds, Santa Barbara CA. With 311. Big giant dust-bowl of a show. 311 was my other favorite band at the time, so this was a dream come true.
36. 7/26/95 – Great American Music Hall, San Francisco CA. Possibly with 311?
37. 7/27/95 – The Edge, Palo Alto CA.
38. 10/19/95 – The Underground, Santa Barbara CA. The “Tragic Kingdom” album had just come out. It wouldn’t receive any attention for several months.
39. 11/18/95 – Berkeley Square, Berkeley CA.
40. 11/19/95 – The Edge, Palo Alto CA. Last show I saw while the band was still unknown.
41. (I think I’m missing one in here)
42. 7/30/96 – The Fillmore, San Francisco CA. “Just a Girl” had hit and by this time the band was really getting big. They did two nights at the Fillmore.
43. 7/31/96 – The Fillmore, San Francisco CA. Second night at the Fillmore. The band then completely blew up, and embarked on big international tours… I was not to see them again for about three years.
44. 10/2/99 – The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas NV. Geoff and I road-tripped to see them, driving all night. Hung out with various family members afterward: Gwennie’s sis, Tony’s family. My friends June and Jim came to this one. It was the first I’d seen them in person in three years so it was quite emotional for me.
45. 10/9/99 – The Fillmore, San Francisco CA. Adrian proposed to his girlfriend Nina in front of the crowd at this show.
46. 10/11/99 – The Crest Theater, Sacramento CA. With Erika Spencer and Meier. We played leapfrog backstage with the band afterward. This is notable because Meier is 7′ tall.
47. 4/15/00 – The Warfield, San Francisco CA. “Return of Saturn” era; Gwennie had pink hair. I went with cousin Ashley, Dayna, Fiona, Geoff. Backstage, all the families were hanging out (like Gwennie’s parents). I took the famous photo of Gwen and my cousin Ashley. Gwen’s bodyguard said “no pictures.” And Gwen said “he’s okay, he’s my friend!”
48. 7/15/00 – Red Rocks Amphitheater, CO. This was a DREAM COME TRUE. Back in the early 90s, I told Tom that my big dream show of theirs would be to see them at Red Rocks. He scoffed and said “like that would EVER happen.” Really fun backstage party… it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
49. 7/17/00 – E Center Arena, Salt Lake City UT. Brought my cousins, and got them backstage afterward.
50. 7/25/00 – Sacramento Valley Amphitheater, Sacramento CA. With Lit opening. Crashed the backstage party afterward. My 50th ND show.
51. 7/26/00 – San Jose Arena, San Jose CA. With Lit. Crashed the backstage afterward. Went with Geoff, Fiona, Alexis.
52. 7/28/00 – The Greek Theater, Berkeley CA. With Lit. Crashed the backstage afterward. Went with Geoff, cousin Ashley, and T-Wong.
53. 7/29/00 – Santa Barbara Bowl. With Lit opening. Went with Geoff and my sister Tina. Really great show… crashed the backstage afterward and saw LOTS of old ND characters that I hadn’t seen in a few years, e.g. Eric Keyes. Hung out with the Lit guys, whom we had gotten to know by that point.
54. 7/31/00 – The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas NV. With Brandon and Geoff. This is where I met friends Froggy/Christie.
55. 8/17/00 – the X-Games in San Francisco, CA. Met up with Froggy and Christie.
56. 11/11/01 – Wadsworth Theater, Los Angeles CA. This was a weird show… it was being filmed for ABC Family TV. We had to do something special to get tickets– maybe be put on the list? I don’t remember. I went with my sister and Cathey (my gf at the time). The masses were lined up for miles and it felt pretty awesome to be able to just walk past them and waltz in. During the show, the sound went out once, and the band kinda freaked… which surprised me. This was also their first display of the “Rock Steady” artwork that was coming up… the stage was all done up with the “Rock Steady” art and it was a striking departure from their previous stuff. Backstage afterward, a bunch of friends-of-the-band were swarming. The security guard tried to shoo them out. And Tony said “don’t worry about it. These people are all my… family.”
57. 3/18/2002. Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento CA. My notes just say “on a school night. With Geoff.”
58. 3/20/02 – Paramount Theater, Seattle WA. At this show, I told Tom about my new career as a performing gorilla. He hatched a plan to have me surprise Gwen on stage at the San Jose show.
59. 3/23/02 – Rose Ballroom, Portland OR. With Cathey, my gf at the time. We got backstage passes.
60. 3/25/02 – SJSU Arena. Went with many people: Fiona, Tim, Geoff, Marika… It was at this show that I gorilla’d onstage with them, in front of 5000 people. Truly one of the most ridiculously fun moments of my life. The next day, a reviewer mentioned me, and it was syndicated into a bunch of Bay Area newspapers. I stole a stack.
61. 3/30/02 – The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas NV. With Geoff, Lisa B, and Brandon. At this show, I pulled a neat trick:  Fishbone was playing down the street. They were actually Gwen’s initial inspiration. So with some schmoozing and name-dropping, on Fishbone’s behalf I swindled THEIR way into the ND show as guests. It was kind of awesome.
62. 11/13/02 – Arco Arena, Sacramento, CA. My notes say “with Beth, Geoff, Adrienne… not much fun.” I remember that Beth was being annoying.
63. 11/14/02 – Compaq Center, San Jose CA. With Geoff and Cathey.
64. 11/17/02 – Rain at The Palms, Las Vegas NV. With Lit as the opening band. I loved those guys! The drummer, Allen, died in 2009. I miss him. My notes say “VERY fun show! Crazy backstage antics.”
65. 11/22/02 – Disneyland, Anaheim CA. It was a special secret show broadcast on the radio– “Breakfast with Kevin & Bean”– celebrating the band’s 10-year anniversary, and where they were awarded the “keys to the city” by the mayor of Anaheim. We had to do something special to get into this because the capacity was only a few hundred people, but I don’t remember exactly what we had to do. Geoff and I made a special drive down to see this show because the “keys to the city” was a big deal– I felt that I had to be there to see my friends get this. As a bonus, we got into Disneyland for free too as part of it.
66. 11/22/02 – Long Beach Arena, Long Beach CA. Not my favorite show… huge crowds, difficult to get in and around.
67. 11/23/02 – Long Beach Arena, Long Beach CA. Again, not my favorite.
68. 11/26/02 – Sports Arena, San Diego CA. This is where I used to see shows growing up… it was kind of a trip to see “my” band play there.
69. 11/29/02 – Long Beach Arena. Yet another show there.
70. 11/30/02 – The Pond, Anaheim. Big crowds, hard to get in and around.
71. 6/4/04 – Rain at The Palms, Las Vegas. This was a FUN show. The band had an afterparty at the Ghost Bar and we swindled our way in. Some famous tennis player was there… I want to say Anna Kournikova? The casino made $5 chips with the band on them. I still have two.
72. 8/7/09 – The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas NV. With Geoff, Froggy, Charlotte, and Sarah. Most emotional show (for me) of theirs I’ve ever seen. And my best moment of 2009. The “white” tour… outfits and stage stuff were all white. It was dazzling. I almost didn’t go… Froggy, I owe you big for being an enabler of awesomeness. And for understanding that I couldn’t not be there better than I understood it myself.