To say that 2008 was the year of the emerging indie artist would be an understatement. Many exciting up-and-coming acts made headlines. To wit: Guns n' Roses' mythical album Chinese Democracy was finally released. November 23 was all too long in coming for fans of the band Dr. Pepper. You can pick up this legendary disc at your local Best Buy, but only Best Buy. If you want to pick up AC/DC's latest offering while you're there, you're screwed. Black Ice is only available at Wal-Mart. To make it worth your time you can buy exclusive albums from hot newcomers Journey and The Eagles while you're there.
Sorry for misleading you. I know you're not here to read my thoughts on bands from 25 years ago. Too bad, because I have more. David Byrne and Brian Eno hooked up again and produced a pretty good album that was, speaking of exclusivity, exclusively self-released, at least for a while. My Bloody Valentine reunited and their first American gig in forever went down at a golf course in New York and it doesn't get much more cooler/weirder than that. And how about the late word that The Smiths might be reuniting for a Coachella gig? Cool! And if that doesn't happen when Moz and Marr can't work out their differences, we have Graham Coxon, Damon Albarn and a reuinted Blur to step up. The pattern of modern rock continues. Everything old is new again.
But, in fact, many exciting up-and-coming artists did make a splash in 2008. Fleet Foxes, Vampire Weekend, Bon Iver, The Dodos and No Age are topping best of lists all over the place. Katy Perry apparently kissed a girl and liked it. That doesn't matter much except for the fact that she looks a lot like Zooey Deschanel. She, along with Him (M. Ward, not God), join the aforementioned artists in most reviewers' critical acclaim. Not wanting to be outdone by her acting cohort, Scarlett Johansson released an album too, but I don't know if anyone listened to it. Pitchfork listened to the Black Kids' full-length debut with hilarious results that included LOLdogs and a truckload of hipster bitching. Not content to let the youngsters have all the fun, veterans Death Cab for Cutie, of Montreal, The Magnetic Fields and Beck dropped albums too. R.E.M. then showed all these whippersnappers how to rock and were probably summarily rocked by über veterans Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The pattern of modern rock continues. Everything old is new again. On to the show.
I'm struck by a few entries from this year's concert chronology. I never would have guessed that I would see the same number of shows away from home than I did in town. I certainly never would have guessed that I would see shows on both coasts of America. I saw shows by bands that I had seen before, but never thought I would see again. I followed a band around the midwest for the first time ever. I went to massive outdoors festivals even though I told myself I wouldn't. I saw new favorites. I saw old favorites. I didn't see some shows I should have. I've resolved to change that. We'll see how long that lasts...
Jeffrey Lewis and the Jitters (May 26 @ The Empty Bottle, Chicago)
I liked this gang's enthusiasm and creativity. They were a perfect match for the upbeat youthfulness of Los Campesinos!. Plus, they were so much better than the last opening act I saw grace the Empty Bottle's stage. That band, The Caribbean, gathered six uses of the word "awful" in my show review, and to this day remains my worst supporting act ever.
White Denim (January 21 @ Blueberry Hill's Duck Room, St. Louis)
White Denim became my (and several critics') obsession for a short time in late 2007. When they announced their Midwest tour in support of White Rabbits and The Walkmen, I knew I had to make one of the dates. They played a good set, but didn't play a single track off their debut LP, which was the only album they had released up to that point. Sadly, their 2008 EP Explosion failed to click with me.
Okkervil River (April 19 @ The Pageant, St. Louis)
I use the term "opener" loosely here, because from my vantage point, I saw two headliners when Okkervil River and The New Pornographers took the stage that night. This review succinctly sums up my thoughts of the show. Every New Pornos performance I have seen has been solid, if not a bit too tight. Okkervil River's performances lack that perceived rigidity. They clearly are passionate about their music and it shows every time. This was a top performance of the year.
Shearwater (May 9 @ Paradise Rock Club, Boston)
Opening acts seemed to fall to the middle of the spectrum this year. As you can tell from the "Best Opener" section, there weren't many notable supporters. Fortunately, there weren't many duds either. Since I have to pick at least one, I'm going with Shearwater opening for Clinic. Jonathan Meiburg sure knows how to get around my lists...
Shearwater broke my brain. My mind was prepared for Clinic's raw rock show but got sideswiped by a sweeping musical performance. I dislike openers that are diametrically opposed to their headlining counterparts. Shearwater's Rook is showing up on a lot of lists this year, but their live show, which was rather slow, a bit haunting, and ultimately rather beautiful, left me bored. They weren't a good match musically, stylistically or attitudinally for Clinic at all. Any other night with any other number of bands, and Shearwater may have picked up a fan. Unfortunately, they ended up detracting from my enjoyment of Clinic since I had to jump start my synapses.
Yo La Tengo (September 20 @ Pygmalion Music Festival, Urbana)
Islands (April 18 @ Independent Media Center, Urbana)
Indie rock icons Yo La Tengo seemed to be an obvious choice for this category. But after watching their performance and reading a bit more of their history, the show was actually a natural fit. They had played Champaign-Urbana before and their performace art was every bit worthy of our world-class performing arts center. The show that still boggles my mind, and not for any good reason, really, was Islands. I'm not sure how this band built up such a mythos in my mind, but they managed. And, here they were, a bit iconic in their own right, playing my town's community center. I still shake my head in disbelief when I look at that show's stub.
Toadies (July 30 @ The Pageant, St. Louis)
The Presidents of the United States of America (May 10 @ WFNX's Best Music Poll Fest, Boston)
You remember 1995, right? You remember Toadies' smash alternative rock masterpiece "Possum Kingdom", right? You remember PUSA's cheeky, self-titled debut album and its spawn of singles ("Lump", "Kitty" and "Peaches"), right? I sure do. I cut my musical teeth on this stuff. So, it was only natural to seek out these two shows. I can truly appreciate when a reunited band cuts an album, goes on tour and plays shows bulked up on the songs you know by heart. Toadies ripped through their set, barely touching material from their last two albums and playing the entirety of their debut sans one song. Loved it. PUSA showed they still had it as they bounced through a good portion of their seminal and familiar-to-everyone early work. Loved it.
Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival (August 30 - September 1, Seattle)
Bonnaroo was sweaty. Lollapalooza was crowded. Pitchfork leans a bit hipsterish. Bumbershoot was just about perfect. I loved the festival's setting. I felt connected to the city, but the grounds had an intimate, comfortable feeling. There were clean and beautiful gardens, trees, fountains and art installations. The 605-foot Space Needle, the wild Frank Gehry-designed Experience Music Project and an old football stadium all served as elaborate venues and backdrops. The stages were laid out impeccably - not too far from each other, but not a 15-minute trek between the ones on the edges. The crowd was wholly manageable. You could always move freely, breathe easy, and get where you needed to go and see what (and who) you needed to see. People were friendly too. All in all, it was an awesome experience. Music wasn't bad either.
5. Dan Deacon with Dark Meat & Monotonix (September 18 @ Pygmalion Music Festival, Urbana)
If I were rating this year's shows based solely on musical content, this show would rank towards the bottom of my list. However, the extreme doses of showmanship that were put on that night made this a memorable evening. Monotonix is a three-piece from Israel and they make it their business to put on a show. They had no use for the stage. They performed in front of it. When they grew tired of that location, they moved on to play on the Canopy Club's ledges, railings, lighting rig, and eventually, courtyard. They would literally sing, drum, shred guitar and wave their asses in your face. The singer dumped a garbage can on the drummer, who continued playing with the can lodged over his head and shoulders. The music itself was raw, it was loud, it was messy, but it was wholly forgettable. Dark Meat, a collective out of Georgia, followed with an even louder dose of scattered tunes that proved to be a bit more cohesive and sane.
Next up was poor Dan Deacon. Dan Deacon and the Canopy Club sound system just couldn't get along. During the extended set break, I watched a man who looked so eager to play music for the packed room, but was thwarted at every turn by electronic false-starts, balance problems and fuzzy feedback. Eventually, Dan had his rig set up satisfactorily (but still teetering on the edge of complete failure, at least to my untrained ears) and was ready to go. And go he did - straight into "Okie Dokie", the perfect opener. The room exploded. As with all his shows, Deacon set up in front of the stage and the dancing crowd enveloped Deacon to the point where he couldn't be seen. Those above and behind him rocked so hard that they broke the stage. Unfortunately, the sound throughout was very poor, but that didn't seem to be of consequence to the crowd or Deacon as they had a dance-off, formed a conga line and generally reveled in the ocean of electronic tones. Pics and other reviewy items can be found here.
Side story. During Deacon's extended set break, Belinda Carlisle's "Heaven is a Place On Earth" was blasted over the PA. That song has sadly become entrenched in my head. If it was Dan Deacon who made this selection, I applaud him for this seemingly ironic selection. If it was from the soundguy's stock, I just want to say you have no clue how to pick fill music and I hate you.
4. The Magnetic Fields with The Forewords (October 11 @ Capitol Theater, Madison)
During 2008 I developed a serious obsession that focused on seeing Stephin Merritt and company in concert, based almost exclusively on my love for their album i. Fortunately for me, they decided to roll through the upper Midwest during a short tour. The show was quite beautiful from beginning to end. The recorded distortion found on the Distortion songs was replaced by more dulcet tones. These versions were neither better, nor worse necessarily, but did give me a deeper appreciation of the album which had been a middling offering on my album landscape for 2008 until that night. Openers The Forewords gave the crowd a humorous look at cultural minutia, namely unique magazines and urban recycling. Good times with good friends.
3a. The Apples in Stereo with Poison Control Center & Big Fresh (July 19 @ Blueberry Hill's Duck Room, St. Louis)
3b. The Apples in Stereo (July 20 @ Pitchfork Music Festival, Chicago)
During 2008 I also developed an even more serious obsession with all things Apples in Stereo. New Magnetic Wonder was one of those albums that I discovered well after the fact. After that, I couldn't believe that I had ignored this band for so long. Naturally, as is my modus operandi, I got it stuck in my head that I would go to great lengths, if necessary, to sate my need to see this band live. When I saw Pitchfork announce that they would be performing at PMF that summer, I performed my ritual of letting out a yelp at my desk and then making a beeline through the halls at work to tell anyone who might remotely care (few did, screw them). I'm told that when I get really, really exciting news about tours, I beam. I was doing a lot of beaming that day. Later on, the band announced dates surrounding their festival appearance in support of Electronic Projects for Musicians. There would be a show in St. Louis the night before. I could see Apples in Stereo twice in 24 hours. Book it. Done.
I don't have much to say about the shows themselves. Sadly, their set at Pitchfork was just a pared down version from the night before. Still great though. They played most of my favorites, and I can never complain about that.
2. Radiohead with Liars (May 14 @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, St. Louis)
I signed up to be a member of Radiohead's fan club in preparation for their much anticipated tour of North America. I was equipped with the knowledge that fan club tickets are snatched up fast and since they are such hot commodities, unscrupulous scalpers like to take part in the frenzy. Challenge accepted. WASTE decided to be cute and announce a sale date, but not a sale time. I spent a mostly sleepless night randomly refreshing the tickets page. 8 a.m. rolled around. I hadn't taken the proper precaution of taking a personal day from work and I resigned myself to the fact that I would have to try for these tickets during the day - a dubious proposition. I pressed refresh one last time before shutting downthe computer and there they were! I love the adrenaline surge I get when going after really hard to get tickets. I'm focused. You have to be. One false step and you're relegated to the lawn or worse. Select your venue. Select your preferred seating area. Enter your credit card (carefully!). Processing. Processing. Processing. Processing. Processing. Uh oh! The server can't handle it! C'mon... Processing. Processing. Complete. Please print this page for your records.
I don't think much needs to be said about the show here. It's Radiohead and Radiohead cannot put on a bad show - musically, visually, emotionally or otherwise. My favorite part of the evening was watching thousands of cars trying to leave the parking lot via the single access road from the comfort of my venue-adjacent hotel room.
1. Wolf Parade with Listening Party (July 8 @ House of Blues, Chicago)
I hold the opinion that the best time to see a favorite, popular up-and-coming band is when they go out in support of their sophomore album. This gives them at least 20-30 songs to pick from, and you are likely going to hear a good majority of your favorites without a lot of filler. This show certainly proved the theory. Wolf Parade, playing in front of a packed House of Blues (yeah, I know, weird non-indietastic venue, right?) sailed through their main set, playing every song from At Mount Zoomer while scattering in songs from their debut. Clearly the audience was more receptive to the familiar tunes from Apologies... but the band converted many doubters with their excellent performances of the Zoomer tracks. Then it was time for the encore. Having exhausted their latest offerings in total, they made one of the best tactical decisions a band can make. They only played songs that the crowd would go apeshit over. No slow songs. No covers. No deep cuts. They made the choice to tear the place down. "It's a Curse" and "I'll Believe in Anything" were blasted out and everyone loved it.
I hate/love the moment just before the last song is played and I have one more song on my personal wishlist. Will they play it? They wouldn't close with it would they? They have to play it, right? But they could play that other song too. Oh, man, this is unbearable. Just give me the first note! C'mon, let's do this. You guys HAVE to play this song. If you play this song, it will be so incredibly awesome. Best show, hands down if you play this song. No question. JUST DO IT ALREADY!!! That night, the song remaining on my list was "Fancy Claps". Their last song was "Fancy Claps". And it was a perfect rendition. Best show, hands down.
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