top 10 live concerts of 2007
i went to a lot (77, to be exact) of concerts last year, and here’s a quick look to what i thought were among the best, but by all means not a definitive list, as there were a bunch of excellent performances that didn’t get listed here. Photos of most of these shows can be seen at tinnitus photography
Without a doubt of the best reunions to ever come about, the band shows fire in the live show and inspired songwriting, yielding material which can easily stand to scrutiny when compared to their heyday in the 80s. When you go to a MoB show, it’s a ROCK show. Oneida were a pleasant surpirse of percussive and singlemindedly insistent grooves.
Kind of a weird blend of hippie rhythms, horizons, fluid playing and just plain ecstatic proclamation of being. Also known for their work as Michael Gira’s backing band. It was great to see this sprawling band in such a small room (less than 200)
Robyn’s always a pleasure to see play, as he’s always got a grab bag of cover versions, and the inter-song banter is a surreal trip through his frontal lobe. Having the presence of a backing band comprising of Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey and Bill Rielfin was great, a seasoned bunch who were a great match for Robyn’s vision. Scorching versions of “See Emily Play” and “Ballad of a Thin Man” sealed it.
Any doubts about whether or not Iggy Pop has been slowed by father time’s relentless pull were immediately swept aside during the onslaught of “1970”, “Loose” and “I Wanna Be Your Dog” which were slammed out blam-blam-blam to start this show. The Asheton brothers were pounding and slashing away, and punk rock god Mike Watt was having the time of his life on bass.
A very rare club date from a true living legend, and with 2/3rds of The Attractions meant that there was no way I was gonna miss this show. Though Elvis didn’t say much at all to the crowd, he let his prodigious songbook do the talking, and it was a deep and varied look throughout his entire career. Sure, some of the obvious hits were played, but fairly obscure songs from This Year’s Model (“Lipstick Vogue”), Get Happy!! (“King Horse”) and Imperial Bedroom (“Shabby Doll”) rewarded the audience.
Spazzcore rockers from Japan stormed the hot, humid, cramped performance space, creating a writhe mass of audience members. After the third of so song I feared for the safety of myself and my camera gear, and bailed to the safe haven of side-stage. If you don’t like one song, don’t worry – 45 seconds later there will be a new one. Locals Doomriders dusted off the vintage metal sound of the like of Iron Maiden et al, which was actually a lot of fun. Neptune brought their mad scientist/homemade contraptions (electronics, drums, guitars, etc) to make a joyful, clangorous noise.
Having ditched the Smog moniker in favor of his given name, Bill’s not changed his songwriting style or direction, still favoring simple yet devastatingly direct emotionally-charged litanies of life’s travails. His dry baritone plainly told the story, violin, drums, bass and his acoustic guitar providing the musical backdrop. Rick Bishop made a lifetime of confounding audiences and listeners as one third of Sun City Girls, and he’s been doing his own Django Reinhardt-inspired picking for a while, but also hasn’t abandoned the damaged vision of street performance and runaway acid nightmares in the studio. He regaled the audience with some very funny tales and non sequiturs, and also took advantage of the presence of a piano for his closing number. One of my favorite performers, and a genuinely nice guy to boot.
The studio recordings hinted at it, and live, they never let up. The uptight and staid Bostonian crowd jumping and dancing all night, which is actually quite a feat. Read all about it here
When Yo La Tengo mean freewheeling, they really mean it. This was a hugely fun show, part of the tour where Ira, James and Georgia hit the road with no record to promote, no set lists to draw up. The premise was that they’d play some songs and entertain a Q&A session between songs, some of which were good questions, some of which were requests. Everyone know’s that Ira can be pretty funny, but James proved to be the droll counterpoint who probably garnered the most laughs. Great fun, and of course a good smattering of covers (Neil Young, Snapper, Bob Dylan, Flaming Groovies, etc).
You can read all about the show here, but a quick recap should include the fact that Neil’s still going strong, and there are very few people who can boast such as deep and varied career of songwriting. He wasn’t afraid to delve deep in that songbook, for both the acoustic and electric sets.
