Top Rock Shows of 2006 (Part II)

No ado necessary, here's my Top 5 Rock Shows of 2006.

5) The Damnwells - The Hideout - April - You know those nights when you have nothing special planned and then out of nowhere something happens and it ends up being better that if you'd planned it?  That's what happened for this show, our friend Erin was visiting from NYC with her friend Tanya. We were going to go into the city and do something but weren't sure what. Then I got a phone call from my friend Andy who'd recorded with The Damnwells and told me the band booked a last-minute gig at Hideout. Erin, Tanya and Carla are all fans and were game so we high-tailed it to Hideout just in time to see the band take the stage and put on a great show heavy on material from their new record.

4) Ray Davies/My Morning Jacket/Mike Doughty - July 4th - Petrillo Music Shell - I'd missed the two previous XRT Free 4th of July Concerts due to work conflicts but didn't want to miss this lineup. I'd seen all three acts before but in different contexts. I'd only seen Ray solo, so having a band with him was the closest I'd ever get to seeing The Kinks. My Morning Jacket were limited to an hour, so they were just getting warmed up when their set ended but still killed. And I'd only seen Mike Doughty solo acoustic, so seeing him with a full band was great.  Two highlights of the show were seeing the woman 'sign' the entire concert at stage right and Kevin and me getting to see a few songs from the Metro Mobile Truck.

3) Morrissey - November - The Aragon -  I almost didn't go to this show. I'd read that the last time The Mozzer was in town, he played less than an hour and was in a foul mood. This show however was billed as his only North American appearance of 2006, so 0ne would imagine that this was going to be a special show. He eschewed Smiths songs in his early solo years but I knew this one would have a few Morrissey/Marr gems. Opening with "Panic" set the tone nicely.  Since the last time I'd seen Morrissey on a stage in Chicago was with The Smiths at The Aragon 20 years ago, this was a long time coming. This wasn't close to that show but there were solid doses of that trademark Morrissey theatrical flair and the band was top-notch. Even if hell froze over and the original Smiths reunited for a tour, they would have to augment the original quartet with a few sidemen to approximate the power those old Smiths songs carried with this band, no knock on Marr, Joyce and Rourke. "How Soon Is Now?" needed three guitarists and still sounded a bit anemic.

2) The Hideout/Touch & Go Block Party - September - Hideout - I hope the Lollapalooza folks were at this show because without any big-budget production team helping out, this event managed to be well-run, inexpensive and impeccably booked.  Of course when you have the stable of 25 years worth of Touch & Go bands to choose from, the music was the least of their worries. I remember getting a pulled pork sandwich, homemade chips and a Goose Island beer and getting  change back from a $10. All CDs (from every band appearing) were $10 as were all t-shirts. And for me, it was a high school reunion, punk rock style. I must've seen at least a dozen Hilltoppers there. Of course, I had to miss what were probably the two biggest draws of the festival: Big Black and Scratch Acid but did see Seam, The Didjits, Pinback, Killdozer, Girls Against Boys, Ted Leo, !!! and so many more. I just wish TAR and The Jesus Lizard would've completed the lineup. Oh well, next time, in 2031.

1) Sufjan Stevens - Riviera - September - Everytime I lament not being able to see a show because of work, I think of how many shows I would've missed were it not for that same job. That logic made me feel better about missing both of Sufjan's shows last year at Metro. While I suspect the Metro shows were probably slightly better than this Riv show, I'll never know, so this was tops for me this year.  A year's time has not diminished the power of "Come On Feel The Illinoise" one bit. A Sufjan show is one of those all-too rare occasions in Indie rock where irony is completely absent and earnestness on full display. The Flaming Lips, Arcade Fire and Polyphonic Spree are the only other examples I've seen of this phenomena.

So did I miss your favorite?

Comments

[Marc]

Ken;
Great list, I always say to myself when I miss a show because of work conflicts, when i get to go to a show, I know it's very rare I have to pay. So it's a sacrifice I make.

Touch and Go/Hideout was hands down the best shows of the year. I had friends come from out of town, where I was made to make a stop before Saturday's gig to Jeff's Hot Dogs (on Cicero) for 2 Chicago Dogs then immediatly after over to Roma's for a Beef. I ran into friends I hadn't seen in over 10 years and they weren't from Chicago. Ran into old punks from Chicago and the bands re-ignited the passion of the collective in me.

I will say Ray Lamontagne's gig at the Vic, The Black Keys at Taste of Randolph Street (It might of been the storm, then the thunderous set) and a late comer was last week's Rodrigo Y Gabriela set at The Hideout.I love me some charm and talent.

[Mike]

The Hideout Block Party was a reunion for me, too. I ran into several old roommates and former classmates, along with literally running into Larry Damore of Pegboy and spilling our beers.

[Kent]

Morrissey is God and that show ruled!

[TWM]

Best shows I saw in 2006:

1 - Bruce Springsteen and the Seeger Sessions Band, Midwest Tweeter World (or whatever it’s called now), June 13

2 - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, that new outdoor place where Meigs Field was, September 15

3 - Acoustic Africa (Habib Koite, Vusi Masehela, Dobet Ghanore), College of Dupage, November 3

4 - Richie Havens / Christine Kane, Old Town School of Folk Music, April 30

5 - Lunasa / Karan Casey Band, Fermilab, March 18

6 - Roches, Old Town School, December 3

[kate]

best shows of 2006
1. Tom Petty at Northerly Island
2. Arlo Guthrie at symphony hall
3. Mike Doughty in Fort Collins, CO.
4. Mike Doughty/ My morning jacket/ Ray Davies- fourth of july at petrillo music shell (Thanks ken!)
5. Citizen Cope at house of blues