I probably have forgotten some shows from this past year, but it’s nice to reflect, especially since I moved to a smaller city with less concerts, and my work schedule doesn’t allow me to go to any weeknight shows out of town.

1/29 Deerhoof – Metro - Chicago
3/10 Slim Cessna’s Auto Club – Abbey Pub - Chicago
4/14 Black Angels – Empty Bottle – Chicago
5/3 Junior Boys – Empty Bottle – Chicago
5/19 Arcade Fire – Chicago Theatre – Chicago
9/14 Aesop Rock – Barrymore Theatre – Madison

You can also add the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago in July, and On the Waterfront in Rockford in September. On the Waterfront featured the New Cars with Todd Rundgren as the headliner one night! They actually weren’t too bad.

1. I usually go to about one gig a month. This summer I went to a couple of festivals as well.

2. The gigs I've been to this year (that I can remember):

The Lemonheads (at Rockefeller)
Brant Bjork (John Dee)
Jackie Leven (Kampen Bistro)
Metallica (Valle Hovin)
Melvins (Rockefeller)
Ill Bill (Blå)
El-P (Fabrikken)
Pase Rock (Blå)
Kreator/Celtic Frost (Betong)
New Bomb Turks (Last Train)
The Disciplines - Ken Stringfellows from The Posies new band (Mono)
Eagles Of Death Metal (Rockefeller)

At the Øya festival:

Tool
TTC
Justice

At the Hove festival:

Arcade Fire
CSS
Queens Of The Stone Age
Clipse
Chromeo
Amy Winehouse
Junior Boys
King Midas
The Killers
Gojira
Lamb Of God
Ludacris
TV On The Radio
Brightblack Morning Light
Hatebreed
Neurosis
Mastodon
Slayer
Nellie McKay
The Long Blondes

3. The best gigs I've been to, hmm.. The Posies last year was a blast. Queens Of The Stone Age back in 2000 was cool. Non Phixion a couple of years ago was the best rap gig I've been to. Mastodon and Arcade Fire this summer was great, as was Brightblack Morning Light, Gojira and Melvins. Not sure which one was THE best. Think I'll say Spiritualized in 2002 or 2003.

Since the first gig I've been to (Aerosmith at Bercy in 1994), I've seen almost all my favourite artists but there are still many of them that I've never seen because either I've missed one of their rare gigs or they never have played in France :
The Magnetic Fields
Richard Swift
Linus of Hollywood
Roger Manning
Elliott Smith ...it's too for me now... :-(
Primal Scream
Mercury Rev
Trashcan Sinatras
Spiritualized

Here are some of the memorable concerts I can think of...

The first big one, very important:

Smashing Pumpkins - 1996 - Oklahoma City

The concert I went to the very day before I left home for college

Flaming Lips w/ IQU, Sebadoh, Robyn Hitchcock, Sonic Boom - 1999 - Oklahoma City

Nine Inch Nails w/ A Perfect Circle - 2000 - Dallas

Frankenixon - 2000-2003 - various locations around Des Moines

Beta Band - 2002 - Lawrence, KS

Strokes - 2004 - Kansas City

Deerhoof - 2004 - Lawrence, KS

Sufjan Stevens - 2005 - Chicago

Caribou - 2006 - Chicago

Zappa Plays Zappa - 2006 - Chicago

Slim Cessna's Auto Club - 2006-7 - Chicago

I never saw Elliott Smith live either. He was my favorite artist in high school and college but every time he came through Minneapolis it was a 21+ show. I was really mad about that. It really bothers me that clubs take out the core audience in favor of people who just want to get drunk. Nothing wrong with drinking at a show or even getting drunk for that matter. It's rock and roll. But, cutting out a large part of the audience to cater to it is appalling and damaging to the local music scene. Actually, Minnesota clubs have cut back on 21+ shows in the past 5-6 years and our scene has become respectable again. Imagine that.

To quote Moeboid:

"some bands who release awesome music, are terrible live." My textbook example is Son Volt. When I lived in New York, their CD Trace was a great comfort when I was homesick for the south. Then I saw them live...just appalling.

"and some amazing live bands, release horrible music." I can't really think of an example, but I just picked up the new R.E.M. Live CD, and many of the songs I hated on Around the Sun actually sound quite good live (especially "Electron Blue" and "Boy in the Well"). Now my theory is that they're actually still writing good songs but the production on their post-Bill Berry albums has been totally screwed up (it would be pretty to think so, anyway).

I don't really get out to shows much any more. Memorable ones include:

Oingo Boingo, Houston, 1983 (shut up--it was my first)
UB40 and the Police, Houston, 1983
Squeeze, Houston, 1984 (still in my top 2 or 3 shows ever--I really liked Difford & Tillbrook)
Violent Femmes, Milwaukee, 1988
Too many to name in Austin, 1990-1992 (highlights were Arc Angels and Darden Smith among the locals, and a surprisingly good Bowie show)
Lollapalooza with Primus, 1992? (there were other bands, but I only remember Primus)
Radiohead, New York, 1998 (liked the show better than OK Computer, actually)
X, San Francisco, 1999 (with Billy Zoom back in the band)
Liz Phair, State College, PA, 1999 (in a tiny, sweaty club)
The White Stripes, Houston, 2003
The Hives, Chicago, 2003
R.E.M., Houston, 2003 (my fourth and most recent time seeing them; their live show constantly improves)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs at SXSW in Austin; I think it was '04