Last weekend, I was experimenting with Google Maps and geo-location. The result was http://bandmaps.org/.

Band Maps is a geographical concert tour viewer: it places onto the map all of the tour dates for a given artist in a given year, connected by colored lines and directional arrows. The user can then choose a show from the list or use her arrow keys to navigate chronologically, viewing a small bit of information about each show in the Google Maps “infowindow” (the thing that pops up when you click an icon on the map.)

Having collected all of the tour information myself, I’m surprised there are so many artists in the database already (and with semi-complete tour histories too.)  Bands currently supported: A Perfect Circle, Brad, Fuck Buttons, James Iha, Jimmy Chamberlin Complex, Mogwai, Nine Inch Nails, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, The Mars Volta, The Smashing Pumpkins, Tool, and Zwan.

The plan now is to make the info window for each tour date a wiki entry, such that the users will be able to add show reviews, photos, setlists, and other information to the site. It’d also be nice if it was kept up-to-date with upcoming shows too, giving one a way to find shows in one’s area. I guess. It started out as an experiment and I’m not sure it deserves more work.

Anyway, not bad for a weekend’s code output.

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