Top Ten Shows of 2008

10. This was an event called ‘Culture Shock,’ held outside of a little bar in a little Wisconsin town called Romance. I believe it was a two-day thing but I was only there for a night. I’ve actually surprised myself by including this in the top ten. That night, I saw some of the most wretched acts I will ever see. There was an instrumental jamband (already covering the most insipid genre in all of music) that appropriated the worst elements of the disco-era as some kind of hoped-for means of making up for the lack of emotion brought to the table by lyrics, vocals, and melodies. This was followed by an unbelievably awful rap group that tried way too hard and featured an obese member that spent the entire set slowly removing his shirt. It was ONLY funny when Chris Farley did it. So, why is this turd on this list? Two words- Smokin’ Bandits. This La Crosse WI area band played a lengthy show with several encores that saved the entire night. Also on the positive side, a fellow named Davemon (a Wisconsin musician who knows his way around a soundboard) made sure the ears were never wounded despite the oft-band bands. And, the audience was terrific.

9. Jason Mraz/Lisa Hannigan, Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, 11/21. I’m not a Jason Mraz fan, this was a birthday gift to my brother. I am however, a very big fan of Lisa Hannigan. She used to sing with Damien Rice and, as far as I’m concerned, she looks just about perfect. She is as Irish as a lass can be and just as cute as any button. Since the breakup, as it were, I’ve been far more interested to see where she goes musically than Rice. Anyway, her set was amazing and easily won over the mostly very young crowd. When Mraz played, it was the loudest audience I’ve ever heard in this particular building. We had “VIP” tickets that, for all the extra cost, placed us on the balcony at the side of the stage with a poor view. We asked a security guard why we couldn’t use the seats in the middle of the balcony and we told they were reserved for ‘friends and family.’ Yeah, Jason Mraz (California by way of Virginia) and Lisa Hannigan (Ireland) have a ton of family in fucking Wisconsin. If it were anywhere else but the Rave, I would be surprised by this level of dumb.

8. Jambeau w/ Lina 12/5. This a highly talented Wisconsin group that combines jazz, folk, and a lot of quirkiness to make something work. Lina is one of the best singers I’ve ever heard and is more than ably backed by this two-person band. They played a tiny place in Richland Center WI; the sound and the view was plenty good. Being December, they played a set of Christmas music that was aided by audience participation and falling snow beyond the windows. I wish more people could wrap there heads around the notion of music being BETTER when it’s not on the radio/television.

7. Marilyn Manson, 2/7, Eagles Ballroom. I’m not into Manson’s songs all that much but the spectacle of show is certainly entertaining. The weirdest fucking people always come out of the woodwork. This show, which also included a returning Twiggy Ramirez, was no exception.

6. Atmosphere at the Orpheum, Madison, 10/31 - I don’t think there is any live music I love more than really good rap, and a Rhymesayers lineup makes a promise about as good as it gets. DJ Rare Groove, Blueprint, and Abstract Rude opened up the event while I became considerably drunk. I was a bit perplexed when Slug, the Atmosphere rapper, took the stage about two minutes after Abstract Rude left. It seemed too early for the headline act. It was. Slug introduced a bonus, unannounced group as a Halloween treat, Eyedea & Abilities. Their thirty-minute energetic set was a tremendous segue into Atmosphere’s usually incredible show. I have never been disappointed by Atmosphere live. I feel deep embarrassment as a human being that so many people confuse the repetitious dogshit they hear on the radio for hiphop, or even music.

5. SoCo Music Experience, Willow Island Madison 9/6 - This show was free and was headlined by the Roots. If it’s possible to find disappointment in something like that, it’s probably time to just pack it in. GZA, Benevento Russo Duo, Black Keys, and several local bands also played. For free. It was nice of Southern Comfort to give me such a birthday gift. Hell, I didn’t even think they knew me!

4. Soundest, HHH Metrodome parking lot Minneapolis 5/25 - This was an all-day underground hiphop show. All of the Rhymesayers label was there along with several other non-radio/tv acts and other performers from the Twin Cities area. Here’s what I saw that day: Atmosphere, Brother Ali, Mac Lethal, Doomtree, Dilated Peoples, Little Brother, Eyedea & Abilities, POS, Abstract Rude, Blueprint, Musab, I Self Devine, and Toki Wright. It was supposed to be terrible weather that day, and it was, but somehow managed to miss that patch of Minnesota.

3. My Morning Jacket, Riverside Theater, Milwaukee 10/3 - This band is cartoonishly good. What they can do for three hours would have me sucking on an oxygen tank after 10 minutes. The sound at the Riverside (being a nice theater and all) was perfect. The energy was nonstop. They played about 25 songs and finished, as they had throughout the Evil Urges tour, with ‘One Big Holiday.’ The popular gripe among the less-informed is that Jim James can’t sing. Well, the same canard has been used repeatedly before (Geddy Lee, Neil Young, Thom Yorke, other ridiculous accusations) but it never gains credibility. Singing is and always has been, for me, more about emotion rather than about technique. If I wanted the perfectionism of a fake plastic studio, I would become a devotee of radio rock or Nashville-style country. I don’t. I want to go to a different place, within and without my head, when I buy a ticket. My Morning Jacket is as good a vehicle as any to take that kind of ride.

2. Get Out and Vote ‘08 - Beastie Boys, Tenacious D, Crosby/Nash, Ben Harper & Relentless Seven - Milwaukee 11/2 Ben Harper opened up the show with his new band, the Relentless Seven (which actually has four members, counting Ben, rather than seven). Tenacious D joined them for a cover of Queen/Bowie’s ‘Under Pressure.’ Incredible stuff. The D themselves then played a full set complete with a band-breakup skit and Jack Black nearly snapping a leg after falling offstage. They teased a bit of Neil Young’s ‘Ohio,’ something of musical foreshadowing for later. David Crosby and Graham Nash were up next and I’ve never been disappointed by any combination of CSNY. I feel confident that those of us at that show will long be the only ones to have seen Tenacious D fill in for Stephen Stills and Neil Young for ‘Find the Cost of Freedom.’ It would be unbelievable, really, were it not for Occam’s Razor of Youtube footage. Tenacious D returned yet again to introduce the headliners, Beastie Boys. They played with the energy of a group half their age. The crowd was about as loud as I’ve ever heard, especially for the intros to ’Intergalactic’ and ’No Sleep Til Brooklyn.’

1. Pearl Jam/Bonnaroo 6/14-15 - We were supposed to be in Manchester early Friday but instead arrived around 2am Saturday morning. I blame my Irish luck; fucking clover’s missing a few leaves and somebody fastened it to a voodoo doll. I’m pretty sure that’s accurate. Whatever, though. Two days of Bonnaroo is like a million days of not-Bonnaroo. Pearl Jam’s marathon Saturday night show was nothing less than one of the four best shows I’ve ever seen (only Neil Young and Crazyhorse, Radiohead, and Saul Williams reading poetry practically in my lap can compete with it). Jack Johnson played before them and Eddie Vedder joined him for a song. Sigur Ros followed them. There was going to be a big-time rap show after Sigur Ros but I don’t feel that “artist” deserves mention. Fuck him. Other stuff that weekend: BB King, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Mason Jennings, Against Me, Jakob Dylan, My Morning Jacket w/ Zach Galifinakis dressed as Little Orphan Annie, Phil Lesh, Disco Biscuits, Tiesto, and OAR shocking me by not being terrible. Pearl Jam’s show alone earns the 2008 number-one spot, the rest glazes the delicious ham. And a certain rapper from Chicago should move to Shelbyville, Indiana.

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