Tag / Allstate Arena

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #5

Music.  It is a powerful thing that brings people together, creates memories, and evokes emotions.  It is the universal language that speaks to the soul.  It forms the soundtrack of our lives.

It has now been five years since we last counted down the Top 200 artists in my iTunes library, featuring the songs I have listened to the most since 2007.  It is time to do so again, seeing which performers still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray.  So, without further ado, here are my most listened to artists, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2026.

Today, we break into the top five as we approach the top of our chart.  Born out of the death of Kurt Cobain in 1994 and the subsequent breakup of Nirvana, our next entry is the Dave Grohl solo project that turned into the real live band known as Foo Fighters.

 

#5: Foo Fighters
iTunes stats: 1249 plays
Previous ranking: #5

Adding listens to an additional six songs, pushing them up to 54 tracks, helped the Foo Fighters raise their total by nearly 22%, leaving them static in their spot on the charts.  Their most popular song, a live version of My Hero from a concert in London’s Hyde Park in 2006, clocks in with 68 listens, while twelve different tracks bring up the rear with only a single play.

I’ve managed to see the band in concert twice: first in 2005 and again in 2015.  The first show was an indoor affair at the Allstate Arena, where they were touring with Weezer, who got things started by mixing a cover of Big Me into their set.  Once the Foo Fighters came out, they mixed in old hits with selections from their new album for a fun, 16-song set.  They also managed to break down some of their hits with elongated guitar solos that gave the audience an opportunity to thrash themselves as much as humanly possible.

Ten years later, I saw them for the second time at Wrigley Field.  Having broken his leg over two months earlier, Dave Grohl spent the show sitting in an electric throne that could bring him out into the crowd thanks to an extended stage.  The band wasted no time in getting things started, blowing out Everlong and Monkey Wrench straight out of the gate.  Over 2 and a half hours and 21 songs later, they closed down the joint with a rousing rendition of Best of You.  In between, they put on a hell of a show, featuring their own hits along with some snippets of hits from Van Halen, Yes, and Alice Cooper.

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Travelling The 50 States – Illinois

Over my 47 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we continue today with the 21st state to be added to the Union: Illinois.

State: Illinois
Joined the Union: 1818
Visits: 16,000+

How do you track how often you’ve been in the state you’ve lived in your entire life, save for your time away at college?  My first “visit” came nearly 48 years ago on the day I was born at Mercy Hospital on the south side of Chicago.

I’ve managed to do 18 of the Bicentennial Bucket List: 200 Things To Do In Illinois, published by the Chicago Tribune in 2018 to celebrate the best the state has to offer in history, food, architecture, culture, sports, nature, drink, and oddities.  Among the places I visited were Water Tower, Morton Arboretum, Route 66, United Center, Skydeck at Willis Tower, the former Arlington International Racecourse, Rialto Square Theatre, Lake Michigan, The Second City, Chicago Sports Museum, and the Superman statue in downstate Metropolis.

I’ve seen baseball games at Wrigley Field, Comiskey Park, and Guaranteed Rate Field.  I’ve seen football games at Soldier Field, Memorial Stadium, Ryan Field, and Wrigley Field.  I’ve seen basketball games at the United Center, Welsh-Ryan Arena, State Farm Center, and Allstate Arena.  I’ve seen hockey games at the United Center.  I’ve seen both the White Sox and the Cubs win the World Series.  I’ve seen the Bears win a Super Bowl.  I’ve seen the Bulls win 6 NBA Championships.  I’ve even seen the Blackhawks win a Stanley Cup or two.

I’ve seen concerts at Wrigley Field, City Winery, Ravinia, the Riviera Theatre, Abbey Pub, Metro, the Chicago Theatre, United Center, Charter One Pavilion, Allstate Arena, The Vic Theatre, House of Blues, World Music Theatre, Soldier Field, and Mabel’s,

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #5

6 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 artists in my iTunes library.  Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact and expanded the count down to the Top 200..  It’s been 3 years, so I figured it was time to take yet another look at my Top 200 artists, based on the number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2021.

Today, we break in to the top five and surpass four digits in the number of plays for the first time.  Born out of the death of Kurt Cobain in 1994, our next entry is the Dave Grohl solo project turned band known as Foo Fighters.

 

#5: Foo Fighters
iTunes stats: 1026 plays
Previous ranking: #3

Adding an additional 2 songs, up to 48 songs, helped the Foo Fighters raise their total by 54%, which caused them to drop 2 spots on the charts.  Their most popular song, a live version of My Hero from a concert in London’s Hyde Park in 2006, clocks in with 60 listens, while 6 different tracks bring up the rear with a single play.

I’ve managed to see the band in concert twice: first in 2005 and again in 2015.  The first show was an indoor affair at the Allstate Arena, where they were touring with Weezer, who got things started by mixing a cover of Big Me into their set.  Once the Foo Fighters came out, they mixed in old hits with selections from their new album for a fun, 16-song set.  They also managed to break down some of their hits with elongated guitar solos that gave the audience an opportunity to thrash themselves as much as humanly possible.

10 years later, I saw them for the second time at Wrigley Field.  Having broken his leg over two months earlier,  Dave Grohl spent the show sitting in an electric throne that could bring him out in to the crowd thanks to an extended stage.  The band wasted no time in getting things started, blowing out Everlong and Monkey Wrench straight out of the gate.  2 and a half hours and 21 songs later, they closed down the joint with a rousing rendition of Best Of You.  In between, they put on a hell of a show, featuring their own hits along with some snippets of hits from Van Halen, Yes, and Alice Cooper.

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Concert Flashback: Foo Fighters/Weezer

05foofightersThe story of this show begins months earlier, when tickets were first due to go on sale.  I had access to a pre-sale, and just as it was about to go live, there was a fire drill at work, which left me away from my computer for some time.  Thankfully, I was able to still find decent seats once the drill was over.  My plan was to try and entice a girl I had a crush on to attend with me, and I had a few months to work that angle.

Sadly, things did not work out in that regard, so I dumped the extra pair of tickets I had and ended up going with Tina.  It seems as though the Kaiser Chiefs were the opening act for the night, but I don’t remember if we were there in time to see them or not.  Weezer was the second act of the evening, and, according to Internet reports, they played a decent mix of old and new songs.  They even mixed in a few covers, including a version of Big Me by their show mates.

Once they were done, the Foo Fighters came out and also mixed in old hits with selections from their new album.  They also managed to break down some of their hits with elongated guitar solos that gave the audience an opportunity to thrash themselves as much as humanly possible.

The combination of the two headlining bands made this seem like a the closing acts of a festival from a decade previous, but they both provided a good night for the crowd and a good kickoff to what ended up being one of the busiest, and most exciting, weeks of my life.