Top 10 Live Shows of 2008
X with The Detroit Cobras -Theater of Living Arts (Philadelphia, PA) – May 22, 2008
Although they haven’t put out an album in 16 years (furthermore, it’s been 23 years since their last effort with guitarist BILLY ZOOM), X reformed in the late ‘90s with Zoom and each show is a complete revelation. Although they rarely played anything beyond their classic first four albums, and although on this night EXENE CERVENKA’s voice was a bit off, this show was still incredible. It may the best I’ve ever seen them. It sure didn’t hurt that they played “Some Other Time,” my favorite song of theirs (from 1981’s incredible Wild Gift) and that months later, I still remember the performance so vividly.
Jay Reatard with Dark Horse and the Carousels and The Tough Shits – Johnny Brenda’s (Philadelphia, PA) – July 14, 2008
Although both openers frankly left a lot to be desired, Jay Reatard then came on and proceeded to just obliterate the place. Raw energy and physicality of that sort is all too rare in rock and roll these days, but Jay almost single-handedly makes up for it.
Hot Chip with Free Blood – Starlight Ballroom (Philadelphia, PA) – April 10, 2008
My favorite dance/electronica performance of the year was hands down this gig. It was like a dance party that you didn’t wanna love them, a pure and unfiltered celebration of joy with the crowd responding in kind (as opposed to the stereotypical folded arms and lack of movement that so many people decry; they should’ve been at this show!) and an amazing band giving them a great soundtrack to dance their little hearts out. The weather was gorgeous that night, too, so it was awesome to go out into the night air afterwards as well. Amazing.
King Khan and the Shrines – Union Park (Chicago, IL) – July 20, 2008
Although there were many other great performances (particularly PUBLIC ENEMY, MISSION OF BURMA, Jay Reatard, SPIRITUALIZED, JARVIS COCKER, DINOSAUR JR, and NO AGE) during the three days of last year’s Pitchfork Music Festival, the highlight of the entire weekend was this performance. Previously unknown to me (and I’d bet to lots of other folks watching him on the side stage), King Khan and his Shrines just proceeded to blow me away. It was like an (outdoor) early ‘60s frat-rock party with mid- to late ‘60s psych/garage touches and a manic frontman who riffed on everything from Indian cultural customs to cunnilingus (in the same song, too) and ended the show by exalting “space is the place” (the mantra of SUN RA and the title of his most well-known album). If this sounds like a good time, make sure not to miss King Khan and the Shrines if they come to your town!
Yo La Tengo with Jennifer O’Connor – Maxwells (Hoboken, NJ) – December 24, 2008
This was night four of Yo La Tengo’s eight nights of Hanukkah at Maxwell’s, and as usual, they were amazing. And as usual with these special shows, we got a comedian (JON BENJAMIN), a great, unannounced opener (Jennifer O’Connor) and some nice covers from both O’Connor (“Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”) and Yo La Tengo themselves (THE VELVET UNDERGROUND‘s “I Heard Her Call My Name,” HERMAN’s HERMITS’ “Hold On,” JAN TERRI’s “Rock and Roll Santa,” and perhaps most surprisingly SPARKS’ “Angst in My Pants”). Of course the Sparks cover wasn’t really that much of a surprise since RUSSELL MAEL compiled that evening’s mix CD-R, so the song was done as a tribute to him.
The Cro-Mags – Broad Street Ministries (Philadelphia, PA) – December 26, 2008
Two-fifths of the lineup that made 1986’s classic The Age of Quarrel, specifically vocalist JOHN JOSEPH and incredible drummer MACKIE JAYSON, are in this current (and umpteenth) edition of The Cro-Mags, but this one is solid as the guitarist is AJ NOVELLO from LEEWAY and the bass player is CRAIG SETARI from SICK OF IT ALL and many other bands. Thus it was like a NYHC all-star tribute to The Cro-Mags, but I’ll take it when the show was this good. Their set list didn’t stray at all from The Age of Quarrel, adding a well-placed BAD BRAINS cover (“Banned in DC”) and an ill-advised attempt at THE WHO’s “Baba O’Riley” (the evening’s only misstep).
The Night Marchers with Obits and Two Tears – The Khyber (Philadelphia, PA) – December 16, 2008
This evening reminds me of the J CHURCH album title Camels, Spilled Coronas and The Sound of Mariachi Bands. OK, so no mariachi bands played and smoking is now banned at the Khyber and most other Philly bars, but I guess it’s the Coronas that SPEEDO (aka JOHN REIS) chugged down between songs and occasionally poured over the audience that reminded me of this. In any case, what a great night for lovers of all that emanates from Reis and by extension RICK FROBERG. Appropriately enough, Froberg’s new outfit Obits reminded me of HOT SNAKES and DRIVE LIKE JEHU, while Reis’ new outfit reminded me of his previous outfit, ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT, sans horns.
Ted Leo with Cale Parks – Barbary (Philadelphia, PA) – December 14, 2008
This was my first time seeing Ted Leo play solo, and boy was it great! The highlights were unexpected covers of EDDIE AND THE HOT RODS’ “Do Anything You Wanna Do,” THE MISFITS’ “Angelfuck,” and an AMEBIX song, but the rest of the set was just as solid!
David Byrne – Tower Theater (Upper Darby, PA) – November 8, 2008
Lots of early TALKING HEADS songs, since the evening focused on the music that Byrne has made in collaboration with BRIAN ENO (we even got one track from their incredible 1981 album My Life in the Bush of Ghosts) balanced with lots of songs from the new and solid Everything that Happens Will Happen Today would already make for an enjoyable evening. It also helped that the choreography for this show was incredible and that the use of backing singers was great as well. The choreography gave the show a multimedia arts feel that’s very appropriate for Byrne, who famously likes to dabble in other artistic mediums and not just music. It also helped that we had great seats, too!
The Dead Milkmen with Women – Johnny Brenda’s (Philadelphia, PA) – October 25, 2008
What a great show! I never thought I’d get to see the Dead Milkmen. Not only did I get to seem them, but in a small club to boot. The set list was flawless, concentrating heavily on their debut, Big Lizard in My Backyard. Some have complained that they didn’t play enough from their later records, but who cares? This show was just pure, exuberant fun. I loved singing along to every word, and watching singer RODNEY ANONYMOUS verbally lambast SARAH PALIN at every opportunity was priceless, too.
