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Albums, singles, concerts, music videos, transcendent TV performances, songs getting stuck in your head in a really good way—whatever! This way, we can end the week on a good note, be polite since we spend so much time blabbing, gank recommendations from the bestest music-blog readers in the world (oh, you know it’s true, hush), and have a great excuse to keep links to all our year-end stuff on the front page over the weekend. Happy New Year and happy commenting, everyone!
Maura Johnston’s Top 12 Albums, Singles, And Concerts Of 2008
80 ‘08 (and Heartbreak): Idolator’s Year-End Extravaganza
The Top 12 Idolator Posts Of 2008
After a lengthy and often loud three days at Terrastock 7 Makato Kawabata concludes the festival by sitting down with just a guitar and one other instrument, following a set by Paik that made Motorhead seem calm. I figured, “Okay, this might well be an easy comedown from Kawabata for everyone.”
About thirty minutes later at the conclusion of Kawabata’s set I talk with a friend who had stepped outside after he couldn’t take it anymore, because it was *THAT LOUD* — said friend: “I found the perfect spot for listening was outside leaning against the wall.”
Runner-up: MBV at Santa Monica, just for realizing that Kevin Shields had finally figured out how to make the floor shake during “You Made Me Realize.” I think my jaw is still rattling.
*Girl Talk @ The Fonda
*Titus Andronicus/No Age @ The Troubadour
*Abe Vigoda/HEALTH/Dan Deacon @ The El Rey
*And it wasn’t a musical thing per se, but The Onion had a really great party on Election Night. All my friends, free Dewars, an overwhelming sense of optimism, and Patton Oswalt headlining. I get chills just thinking about that night.
- Cobra Starship and thousands of excited kids at Warped Tour
- The Academy Is… & We the Kings on Halloween
- Flogging Molly on a beautiful summer night at the still-completely-free Minnesota Irish Fair
@RaptorAvatar: My non-musical thing is election night too, I was at Grant Park…it was crazy.
My musical thing is going to see the Gorillaz-created “Monkey: Journey to the West” opera at the Spoleto festival in Charleston. I am so far gone on the Damon Albarn Kool Aid that I champion anything he does, objectively though, it was amazing.
Runners up include My Bloody Valentine at the Aragon, Jarvis at Pitchfork, and the bit during Radiohead’s Lollapalooza set when all the fireworks went off.
The final Police show. I can’t imagine anything being more awesome than that, even though I was (literally) in the last row.
Other favorite shows of the year: Freezepop (twice, front row both times); the Hold Steady (second row) at McCarren Park Pool (I also kicked a small amount of ass in dodgeball); Busta Rhymes / The Bravery / Chris Cornell (first row behind the pit) at Projekt Revolution (I left before Linkin Park, else I would have killed myself) with free tix; World/Inferno Friendship Society’s Hallowmas
Nine Inch Nails – Lights In The Sky Tour, Key Arena Seattle 7/26/08. It was seriously feckin’ amazing. One of the best shows I have ever been to. It was sooo good I had to see them on the fall leg in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio. That too rocked.
Lyle Lovett at the Ravinia Festival outside Chicago. Perfect weather outside, with a long, wide-ranging set by one of the best showmen in the business.
@moomintroll: My mom and stepdad saw the Albarn show/opera at the Spoleto festival. I was trying to explain the concept to them and such but I don’t think they totally “got it.” However they did say it was odd but they liked it anyway.
@octobersky: That’s funny. The whole crowd was much older (I’m talking mostly retirees). I guess the festival generally skews towards that demographic. I was convinced some of them would walk out or something, sure that they didn’t know what they were getting into. At the end though, this old man (who looked at least 80) sitting next to me was so excited. He went to go buy a t-shirt!
It was a strange crowd to see it with, but fantastic nonetheless.
- Finally going to Francois K’s night at Cielo and being a part of a ridiculous swarm to the dance floor as Quiet Village finished up and Francois went on.
- MBV. So wonderfully loud and awesome.
- Going to see the Mountain Goats two nites in a row in NYC cuz my buddy had free tickets for the second night. Still one of my favorite acts in the world to see live.
- Public Enemy (and the Bomb Squad’s opening set of BASS) at Pitchfork. Soooooo fun.
- Dancing to Daniel Wang’s opening disco set on Halloween at Studio B with my friends, before most folks had gotten there, dressed as Lambchop.
Grammy Noms @ Nokia Theater @LA Live
Fall Out Boy @ Epicentre San Diego
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at the Electric Factory, Philadelphia. Their first Philly show since ‘93 or so.
@brianblank: The staging for the NIN tour was unfreaking believable
Hmm. Now I regret not going. (And I saw them in 2007 and all.)
For whatever reason, I didn’t go to any all-time great concerts this year. I’m gonna have to fix that in ‘09.
But since Maura asked for albums, singles, etc., I will add that, out of nowhere, T.I.’s Paper Trails rose up to be my favorite album of the year. And when I say out of nowhere, I mean, I happened to see him on Jimmy Kimmel, thought he was funny in the interview, thought the song he sang was catchy enough and was buying a bunch of albums one day and thought to myself, “what’s one more?” And then I proceeded to listen to some of the songs more than 50 times in two months.
DeVotchKa with Basia Bulat. Amazing show, including a performer who climbed giant scarves suspended from the ceiling while the band played. And it was ridiculously cheap.
A close second: seeing Islands live. Tiny bar, half-full, but a face-rocked-off show.
Top concerts of 2008 in no particular order:
Girl Talk @ Terminal 5, Manhattan
Chromeo @ Webster Hall, Manhattan
Hold Steady @ Mccarren Park Pool, Brooklyn
Hold Steady/Drive-By Truckers, Terminal 5
Hot Chip @ Terminal 5, Manhattan
Fall Out Boy @ Nokia Theater Times Square
Rilo Kiley @ Terminal 5 (Not gonna lie, I dig that place)
AC/DC @ MSG (guilty pleasure pick)
Robyn at Highline Ballroom
Nat Baldwin at Hampshire College Red Barn
although i saw relatively fewer shows this year, i’m sure there are several omissions on this this. that said, the highlights (in chicago unless otherwise noted):
1. wilco’s career-spanning shows at the riviera. i got to see 2 out of the 5 shows, and both were fantastic.
2. the “secret” andrew bird show at the hideout a couple of weeks ago. i’d also gotten to see his big concert at millenium park, and while that was amazing in its own right, it was apparent that bird and band were out of their element. this felt like a homecoming for him/them, and sort of was…there were maybe only 150 people there (probably half of which were part of mucca pazza, who put in a guest appearance for a video filmed that night).
3. also at the hideout, day two of their annual block party, generally. but especially the crazy revue in honor of michael jackson’s 50th, staged by robbie fulks et al. “et al” including rhymefest, which was a smoother transition than you might assume. truly, you had to be there. also, while i love the new pornographer, in recent years, i’d gotten a little, not jaded, but complacent about their live show. as their catalogue becomes more complex and they evolve into a touring machine, their shows have gotten a little more “professional,” which can be a double-edged sword. this set was totally loose and full of the withering banter of old.
4. ida at schuba’s. rare, intimate, gorgeous.
5. les savvy fav performing “precision auto” at p-fork. even though: it was 90-something degrees and 3 in the afternoon, i am nearly 29 years old, i was wearing gladiator sandals, and i was on my, like, fourth date with my now-boyfriend (clearly a trooper)…I HAD TO POGO. it was a pavlovian response.
6. jarvis cocker at p-fork. i’ve always been a casual pulp fan but i suspect that will change. an incredibly witty, engaging, thoughtful rock show.
7. neon neon at some club in london. i’m sure the “in london” aspect is part of why this was so memorable for me, but the music backed it up. i’ve been spinning that album a lot lately – could be mere pastiche but transcends it, and is incredibly infectious live. also, like most people i thought i was pretty over har mar, but this was the perfect venue for his, um, talents, and i have to say he killed it as a guest rapper/backup.
The Hold Steady at Cat’s Cradle in Carboro, NC and Wilco at an amphitheater in Cary, NC
Same as most every year: GWAR.
@brianblank: Yeah after we saw NIN in Seattle we had the very same reaction. I was totally on it for the fall leg in Columbus. Scored excellent seats in C-bus too, since I don’t do the pit anymore. Even had the pleasure of seeing Reznor and Co. at the movies the night before the show.
Swear to gawd, we sounded like female Beavis and Buttheads after the show in Seattle! Those LED screens were absolutely incrediable, in all my years of concert going I have never seen anything so visually amazing.
Seriously envious that you saw David Byrne. Wow.
Best show: The Hold Steady at the 40 Watt in Athens
Runners up: Kings of Leon and The Whigs at the Tabernacle in Atl
and the 311 day show at the NOLA arena
Mine were:
1. The Long Blondes (Great Scott)
2. Los Campesinos! (Paradise Rock Club)
2. The Decemberists (Orpheum Theater)
3. The Cure (Agganis Arena)
4. Kate Nash (Paradise Rock Club)
5. Noah and the Whale (The Middle East)
And those were the only show I went to all year aside from a Fleet Foxes concert (they were surprisingly good, but I had more fun at the Noah and the Whale concert).
And Los Campesinos! are coming back to the Paradise in February. Boy, for someone who lives in a state with great venues like Lupo’s, I sure do rely on Boston for most of my concerts, huh?
@DocStrange: Also, that Long Blondes show wouldn’t have been #1 if they hadn’t imploded a few weeks afterwords because of Dorian’s stroke (yes, they didn’t break up until months after, but they didn’t play any shows after he had it). It kind of made that show special.
- Iron Maiden at MSG
- Judas Priest/Heaven & Hell/Motorhead (arrived late, missed Testament) at PNC
- AC/DC at MSG (no guilt in my pleasure)
As for albums: Amon Amarth, Opeth, Judas Priest, AC/DC, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, GridLink and Hayaino Daisuki, several dozen death metal bands, Los Tigres del Norte, Calle 13, Julieta Venegas, finally getting around to Magma, finally getting around to weird 70s Vangelis stuff like Heaven and Hell, Aaron Parks, the Anthony Braxton box on Mosaic…
Show I wish I’d gone to: GridLink and Hayaino Daisuki in the basement of a nail salon in Jersey City.
Best concert of 2008: Electric Six and Local H at the Key Club in Hollywood. First time seeing either band, and both were great. I didn’t know anything about Local H before this show, but they made a believer out of me.
Honorable Mention: I saw two terrific shows in one night back in March, but I had to race across town to catch them both – Hanne Hukkelberg at an early gig at the Hotel Cafe, and then Travis Morrison Hellfighters later that night at Spaceland.
DJ Pierre in London at an acid house retrospective night, possibly the densest concentration of pure joy I’ve ever heard packed into 3 hours. My accomplice and I kept stumbling out to see what A Guy Called Gerald was up to in the other room, and then somehow finding ourselves back in there a few moments later without even having remembered coming back.
October 2008 is pretty historic.
October 2nd: My Bloody Valentine in Santa Monica, CA
October 15th: The Dead C in Seattle (Nectar Lounge)
October 31st: The Sonics in Seattle (Paramount Theater)
Also:
March: The Mountain Goats & Jeffrey Lewis in Seattle (Neumo’s)
June 2nd: Caroliner Rainbow etc. in Seattle (Re-bar)
August 8th: 88BOADRUM in Los Angeles at LACMA
December 15th: Ya Ho Wa 13 in Seattle (Nectar Lounge)
oh yeah, duh, Decibel Festival 2008 in Seattle. The Finale show.
Flying Lotus = bomb
The Bug & Warrior Queen = explosion
Supermayer = groovy fallout
Glow in the Dark Tour in Tampa (Kanye’s self-made apotheosis) and the first date of the Heart of the City Tour in a Miami arena that saw Kanye turn Jay into a hype man by showing up for “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” and “Good Life.”
Both fantastic shows for a hip-hopper like me. Recaps here.
Against Me! at Webster Hall
Definitely the My Crew Be Unruly party at The Paradox in Baltimore at Artscape’s weekend. Massive, booming soundsystem, three rooms, 21 of club music’s biggest names and best DJs spinning from 10pm to 5am, an amazing and harmonious mix of local Baltimore club kids and hipsters, and what would turn out to be K-Swift’s last club set ever (she’d be dead less than 48 hours later, it turned out). Simply an incredible night.
mount eerie and julie doiron at the lemp arts center. one of the wittiest, most fragile performances i’ve seen in years.
Seeing Wilco at The Lyric Opera House in Baltimore, MD. It was the best show I’ve ever seen by anyone.
And after 24 years of waiting, finally meeting Simon Le Bon and Nick Rhodes. Astonishing.
catching one of the last the ergs! shows at a tiny hall in towson, md. despite having an impacted tooth, no pain medication, and the anxiety of having a root canal looming on the horizon, it managed to be my favorite show in ‘08.
@NeverEnough: NOO!!! You met Le Bon and Rhodes?!?!? I would have DIED. My inner 11 year old is green with envy.
I did see a Duran Duran concert this year after waiting about as long as you did. Joy! I’m pleased to see how well they have all aged. One of my top five concerts due to all the associations, very meaningful and enjoyable.
@Mike P.: Funny, mine is Nick Cave & the Seeds in San Francisco. They were on fire, and I’ve never been part of a happier audience.
2008 was an amazing year for concerts, I’ve never been to so many in one year and they have never been of such high caliber. The best of the year is a toss up between NIN at Red Rocks (9th row), NIN at the Planet Hollywood (4th row) and David Byrne at the Buell in Denver (4th row).
The staging for the NIN tour was unfreaking believable, I’ve never seen anything like it and probably will never again. So much so that the day after the Red Rocks show, we started making plans to see them again in Vegas.
However, seeing the legend Mr. Byrne from the 4th row was my musical highlight of the year. The man is a legend, he still has “it” after all these years. While it didn’t have the staging of NIN, the show had it’s own personality, everyone in white from head to toe, the 3 dancers, the backup singers, etc.
Black Mountain in Philly made me want give in and completely outfit my apartment in lava lamps.
Radiohead at Molson Ampitheatre. The light show itself was spectacular enough but it also happened to be the first night of the Canadian National Expo so we had a huge litup midway as a backdrop and fireworks near the end of the set.
Also Okkervil River at the Phoenix in Toronto.
Lack of money and lack of venues where I live prevented me from seeing much this year, but my top four were probably (in what I think is chronological order) Calvin Johnson, Burt Jansch, HEALTH, and the new Homosexuals.
I reeeeeeeeally need to start going to Boston/Northhampton for more shows…
Being the only white person over the age of 30 at Lil Wayne’s amazing debut European show, at Amsterdam’s nearly sold-out 5,000 capacity Heineken Music Hall.
Back in March.
in no particular order:
Vivian Girls/Meneguar at Dead Herring
Daniel Johnston at Warsaw
Hallelujah the Hills at Soundfix
Mission of Burma at Bowery Ballroom
missed the Hold Steady and Nick Cave, dammit.
Toss up between Matmos and the Elephant 6 Collective.
@slowburn: Agreed – saw them on night #2 in SF, and they were on fire. Probably the closest thing to a spiritual experience I’ll ever have…
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds at Madison Square Garden and The Secret Machines in the basement of The Charleston in Williamsburg. Oh! And! Shearwater and Baby Dee, seperate shows — but both at Le Poisson Rouge. And pretty much any/all times I saw Preacher and the Knife.
The only 3 shows I saw this year easily stand as some of the best show’s I’ve ever seen:
May 2008 – Clutch. First time seeing one of the best rock bands working today…
September 2008 – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds @ the Warfield in SF. Amazing – Cave rocks harder than just about everyone his age…
November 2008 – Neil Young. Really can’t say much other than only Neil could pull off closing his show with a blistering cover of “A Day in the Life” which he concluded by literally shredding the strings off his guitar…
MBV at Roseland, both nights. Anyone dumb enough not to wear earplugs is probably in surgery right now.
And the near polar opposite of that: The Swell Season at Radio City. Glen Hansard opened the show by singing “Say It To Me Now” sans amplification and made 6000 New Yorkers shut the fuck up. Brilliant.
finding a vinyl copy of ernie graham’s 1971 album.