Here are the Top 61 live shows that I remember going to this year (I fucked up the counting, so there's a #5 and #5a - tie). For various reasons, I attended far fewer shows this year, and I know for a fact that I missed some amazing performances. Nevertheless, I also saw a ton of amazing things. With no further ado... (BTW: a picture of each performance is available here [link to follow soon - I've got a ton of shit to sort through]).
60. Moneypenny @ Hideout 8/6
59. Lucero @ Metro 4/10
58. Black Kids @ Metro 4/11
57. Chairlift @ Metro 4/23
56. Sea and Cake @ Millennium Park 6/22
55. M83 @ Pitchfork 7/18
54. The Thermals @ Pitchfork 7/18
53. Frightened Rabbit @ Pitchfork 7/18
52. Kings of Leon @ Lollapalooza 8/7
51. Raveonettes @ Lollapalooza 8/9
50. Snoop Dogg @ Lollapalooza 8/9
49. Pains of Being Pure at Heart @ Logan Square Auditorium 9/8
48. Arctic Monkeys @ Lollapalooza 8/8
47. Women @ Pitchfork 7/18
46. Of Montreal @ Lollapalooza 8/7
45. Cold War Kids @ Lollapalooza 8/9
44. Art Brut @ Green Music Fest 8/15
43. The Sounds @ Double Door 5/7
42. Julian Plenti @ Metro 11/21
41. Tapes n' Tapes @ Green Music Fest 8/15
40. Wavves @ Chopin Theatre 9/20
39. Elsinore @ Beat Kitchen 9/11
38. Deerhunter @ Lollapalooza 8/9
37. Vampire Weekend @ Lollapalooza 8/9
36. Santigold @ Lollapalooza 8/8
35. Tool @ Lollapalooza 8/8
34. Fleet Foxes @ Lollapalooza 8/7
33. Decemberists @ Lollapalooza 8/7
32. Vivian Girls @ Pitchfork 7/18
31. Grizzly Bear @ Pitchfork 7/18
30. Dirty Projectors @ Millennium Park 6/22
29. Titus Andronicus @ Metro 4/10
28. Los Campesinos! @ Logan Square Auditorium 2/7
27. Born Ruffians @ Metro 3/18
26. Mates of State @ Metro 4/11
25. The Faint @ Metro 4/3
24. Your Villain My Hero @ Cubby Bear 11/14
23. Walkmen @ Pitchfork 7/18
22. Hood Internet @ Hideout 8/6
21. TV on the Radio @ Lollapalooza 8/8
20. Black Moth Super Rainbow @ Millennium Park 6/29
19. Peter, Bjorn & John @ Metro 4/23
18. Tapes n' Tapes @ Metro 3/7
17. Ratatat @ Metro 3/23
16. Bloc Party @ Aragon Ballroom 3/28
15. Tokyo Police Club @ Metro 3/18
14. Ladytron @ Metro 4/3
13. Blitzen Trapper @ Pitchfork 7/18
12. Silversun Pickups @ Lollapalooza 8/9
11. Stellastarr* @ Double Door 7/23
10. Flaming Lips @ Pitchfork 7/18
9. Bat for Lashes @ Lollapalooza 8/9
8. Cymbals Eat Guitars @ Logan Square Auditorium 9/8
7. White Denim @ Lincoln Hall 11/6
6. Les Savy Fav @ Epiphany 1/31
5a. Hold Steady @ Taste of Randolph 6/21
5. Art Brut @ Schubas 6/8
4. Fucked Up @ Empty Bottle 2/14
3. Opeth @ House of Blues 5/6
2. Japandroids @ Schubas 10/9
1. Dan Deacon @ Lollapalooza 8/9
Showing posts with label 2009. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2009. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Best Albums of 2009
It's that time of year when everybody and their uncle puts out Best-Of lists, thinking they're so creative for coming up with an arbitrary, subjective ranking of whatever it was they managed to experience in the past 12 months. And, I'm no exception. Overall, it was a relatively weak year for new music. Nevertheless, with no further ado, here's my Top 25 Best Albums List of 2009!
25. Jason Lytle, Yours Truly, The Commuter: As close as we're going to get to new Grandaddy.
24. Spinnerette, Spinnerette (review here): As close as we're going to get to new Distillers.
23. Dead Weather, Horehound: Can't remember the last time a "super group" put out a solid album.
22. Manchester Orchestra, Mean Everything to Nothing: Overwrought, but there's some gems here.
21. Metric, Fantasies: Oh the ear worm!
20. Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix: Overrated, as their earlier material was far better, but nice to see some recognition.
19. Silversun Pickups, Swoon: I make no apologies for being a massive SP fan. This album rocks.
18. White Rabbits, It's Frightening: A disappointment compared to the prior release, but it's still well above average.
17. Wavves, Wavves: The lo-fi is played out, but there is beauty amidst the sludge.
16. Lilly Allen, It's Not You It's Me: What was most surprising about this album was after listening to it once I didn't hate it. The more I listened, the more I got sucked in. It's not high art, but there's some artistry at play.
15. Lamb of God, Wrath: Best death metal album of the year.
14. Julian Plenti, ...Is Skyscraper (review here)
13. Dirty Projectors, Bitte Orca: Unlike earlier DP albums, you can actually listen to this one! It's always good to hear prog go mainstream, and when it works like this does, it's truly notable.
12. Art Brut, Art Brut vs. Satan: Always a better live band, AB nevertheless put together a highly listenable, themed album with some punch.
11. Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion: The only AC album I can tolerate, which says a lot.
10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, It's Blitz!: The weakest YYY album of the last several, but it's still a YYY album, so how can it be bad? Let's just hope they don't continue to advance the dance theme further.
9. Beirut, March of the Zapotec: A deceptively catchy album that is typically off-the-wall Beirut and also heart wrenchingly beautiful.
8. The Bird and The Bee, Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future: A sultry, breathy album of mid-tempo pop that manages to effectively combine beauty, skill, and enjoyment. An extremely rare feat.
7. Eagle and Talon, Thracian (review here): Oh man is this good. I mean, really really good. There's nothing as good as stumbling across an unknown commodity and it turning out to be a rare gem. This is this year's High Places (not in terms of style, but in terms of quality), who I also absolutely adore.
6. Japandroids, Post-Nothing: Lots of ink has been spilled about this album across the blogosphere, but thankfully it's all true. One of the stellar debuts of the year that has garnered repeat listening, and deserves even more.
5. Ida Maria, Fortress 'Round My Heart: The girl rawk that Vivian Girls only wishes it could make.
4. Stellastarr*, Civilized: For a band that has only occasionally been brilliant, they release their most solid record to date. Every track is strong, catchy, and skillfully mastered.
3. Mastodon, Crack the Skye: mainstream metal goes more mainstream/crossover, but the chops and songcraft have never been better.
2. Cymbals Eat Guitars, Why There Are Mountains: You can't help but be sucked into this album from the very opening note. Sure, there is inevitable filler at times, but easily among the strongest debut albums - top to bottom - creatively and interestingly in years.
1. XX, xx (review here): This band is as equally likely to burn out and never be heard from again as it is to be a breakout star for many years to come. The only headphone album this year that gets better with repeated listen. A subtile yet powerful masterpiece debut. Here's to hoping for more to come.
25. Jason Lytle, Yours Truly, The Commuter: As close as we're going to get to new Grandaddy.
24. Spinnerette, Spinnerette (review here): As close as we're going to get to new Distillers.
23. Dead Weather, Horehound: Can't remember the last time a "super group" put out a solid album.
22. Manchester Orchestra, Mean Everything to Nothing: Overwrought, but there's some gems here.
21. Metric, Fantasies: Oh the ear worm!
20. Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix: Overrated, as their earlier material was far better, but nice to see some recognition.
19. Silversun Pickups, Swoon: I make no apologies for being a massive SP fan. This album rocks.
18. White Rabbits, It's Frightening: A disappointment compared to the prior release, but it's still well above average.
17. Wavves, Wavves: The lo-fi is played out, but there is beauty amidst the sludge.
16. Lilly Allen, It's Not You It's Me: What was most surprising about this album was after listening to it once I didn't hate it. The more I listened, the more I got sucked in. It's not high art, but there's some artistry at play.
15. Lamb of God, Wrath: Best death metal album of the year.
14. Julian Plenti, ...Is Skyscraper (review here)
13. Dirty Projectors, Bitte Orca: Unlike earlier DP albums, you can actually listen to this one! It's always good to hear prog go mainstream, and when it works like this does, it's truly notable.
12. Art Brut, Art Brut vs. Satan: Always a better live band, AB nevertheless put together a highly listenable, themed album with some punch.
11. Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion: The only AC album I can tolerate, which says a lot.
10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, It's Blitz!: The weakest YYY album of the last several, but it's still a YYY album, so how can it be bad? Let's just hope they don't continue to advance the dance theme further.
9. Beirut, March of the Zapotec: A deceptively catchy album that is typically off-the-wall Beirut and also heart wrenchingly beautiful.
8. The Bird and The Bee, Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future: A sultry, breathy album of mid-tempo pop that manages to effectively combine beauty, skill, and enjoyment. An extremely rare feat.
7. Eagle and Talon, Thracian (review here): Oh man is this good. I mean, really really good. There's nothing as good as stumbling across an unknown commodity and it turning out to be a rare gem. This is this year's High Places (not in terms of style, but in terms of quality), who I also absolutely adore.
6. Japandroids, Post-Nothing: Lots of ink has been spilled about this album across the blogosphere, but thankfully it's all true. One of the stellar debuts of the year that has garnered repeat listening, and deserves even more.
5. Ida Maria, Fortress 'Round My Heart: The girl rawk that Vivian Girls only wishes it could make.
4. Stellastarr*, Civilized: For a band that has only occasionally been brilliant, they release their most solid record to date. Every track is strong, catchy, and skillfully mastered.
3. Mastodon, Crack the Skye: mainstream metal goes more mainstream/crossover, but the chops and songcraft have never been better.
2. Cymbals Eat Guitars, Why There Are Mountains: You can't help but be sucked into this album from the very opening note. Sure, there is inevitable filler at times, but easily among the strongest debut albums - top to bottom - creatively and interestingly in years.
1. XX, xx (review here): This band is as equally likely to burn out and never be heard from again as it is to be a breakout star for many years to come. The only headphone album this year that gets better with repeated listen. A subtile yet powerful masterpiece debut. Here's to hoping for more to come.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Les Savy Fav @ Epiphany 1/31/9
Les Savy Fav is one of those bands that you have to see if only for its frontman, Tim Harrington, whose antics are legendary (no need to repeat them here). This show didn't disappoint, as Tim was 90% nude, standing atop the front left speaker array, acting his crazy self. We got to the show awfully late as we had been to the season opener of Roller Derby before hand, but what we saw was pretty darned good. Plus, it was my first trip to Epiphany, which is beautiful and instantly one of my favorite Chicago venues.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)