Best Live Shows of 2009 (Part 2)

It's funny, Abby's not even walking yet but crawls at approximately the same speed as a bullet train, so my time spent blogging and Facebooking has decreased dramatically.  She can go from zero to trouble in about 3 seconds.  She also has a predilection for cords, cables and shoelaces: basically any extruded, flexible item that you can find on your average floor.  Here's my last installment of milking last year's "Best of".

U2 - Soldier Field - September - So our seats were a little high, at one point a helicopter covering the concert for television was actually closer to the band than we were. And $45 parking was sticker shock for even this jaded concertgoing veteran but even those factors couldn't dim what was a remarkable concert. As a lifelong (or at least 28 years of it) fan, I doubt I could ever hate a U2 show.  This one was pretty great. Sure, song selection skewed toward the last 20 years but I'll take four songs from 1984's The Unforgettable Fire any show.  I only feel slightly cheated that they debuted "Your Blue Room" the following night and also played "Until the End of the World".  Oh well, there's always this July, right?

Devo - The Vic - November - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We are Devo - I'm not sure they adequately tested everything during soundcheck because the first half-hour of this show was a video screen showing blips that looked like someone was trying to play a PAL-formatted disc on a NTSC player.  Once they scrapped the video intro, this show was flawless.  We all have our favorite Devo albums and this one's mine.  "Gut Feeling" sounded like it could've been written last week and was a personal highlight with "Mongoloid" a close second.  

Lily Allen - The Riviera - April (Easter Sunday) - I wasn't sure what to expect from Lily live.  When I arrived at the Riv and saw the extensive stage setup, I knew she had to deliver.  You can't pull off your name in giant 8' letters onstage without a ton of swagger but she did.  At one point a dickhead (her word) kept harassing her from the barrier at the front of the stage and she shamed the dude right out of the room, no bouncers necessary.  She played nearly everything from her latest It's Not Me, It's You (see my best albums of 2009) and had everyone flipping off George W. Bush in unison during "F*^K You", ahh the days when President Obama was still untouchable.  Oh, did I mention her fondness for sheer tops and hatred of bras?

XRT Holiday Concert: Flaming Lips/Phoenix/Pete Yorn/Nicholas Tremulis - Allstate Arena - December - This was as much a social event for us as it was a concert experience as it was only the second show me and Carla have seen together since Abby was born. I had the distinct pleasure of getting to spin records before the show over the Allstate Arena's massive PA, which was awesome.  We caught portions of NTO, Pete Yorn and all of Phoenix inbetween catching up with friends and noshing on catered food and free beer and wine.  We made a point of settling into our seats for the entirety of Flaming Lips.  There's no such thing as a bad Lips show.  They are the weirdest band since Talking Heads to enjoy radio airplay and sell out major league arenas.

The Hold Steady - Taste of Randolph - June - In any other year of the last 5 or 6, THS would've topped this list.  They are still the best live band consistently working today.  It's not hyperbole to say they are the Replacements of this decade, with a much better live track record. Where the Replacements were hit-or-miss live: transcendental when they were on, horse shit when they were wasted, The Hold Steady are pretty much always 'on': stadium-sized riffs and more lyrics and stories than a rap song.  Where they take it to the next level however, is how much they absolutely love what they're doing.  They smile and laugh during shows, they're not afraid to admit they're having fun, in fact they wouldn't have it any other way.  The Pixies may have killed in their recent reunion shows but no one could accuse them of having much fun (and hey, I'm a fan) The Hold Steady always have fun and always rock.  It's just sad to think that Chicago seemed tired one night.

The Jesus Lizard - Pitchfork/Metro - July/November - There are two types of people in this world: those who have seen the Jesus Lizard live and those who haven't.  There aren't many in the former category who wouldn't make a significant sacrifice to experience it again and again; fortunately, if you had the dough you could've seen them four times in Chicago last year.  I got to see them outdoors at Pitchfork Festival (violating my long-standing "No Outdoor Festival" Rule) and was thrilled to hear their stage announcement that they were returning to town in November.  While the sheer novelty of seeing them live again after a decade's absence made the Pitchfork the early favorite, the fact that an ambulance had to be dispatched to their November Metro show to repair singer David Yow gave it an edge (bruised ribs).  Any year in which there are four Jesus Lizard shows in Chicago is a good year indeed.

Comments

[Loren]

Nice list here Ken, thanks for sharing. So what kind of stuff did you play before the XRT concert?

[Chad]

Ken, nice list, but you missed the Nine Inch Nails tour... I saw them twice in Chicago this year and both times were amazing.

The outdoor show in the Spring was a fantastic showing, but ended too early due to noise ordinances.

The fall show at the Aragon was truly awesome, and even featured Peter Murphy in a guest appearance.

"Wave GoodBye" was a stripped down show, from a tech persepctive, but he brought the rock and even waxed sentimental about his career and the many trips through Chicago.

Download the bootlegs and fan videos, they had a VERY open camera policy, so the stuff that got produced was super wow...
http://www.reflectinginthechrome.com/

[Andy]

Wouldn't you be tired if you had cigarettes for eyes too?

I don't get out much anymore either (girl is walking, don't get paid for personal appearances, you know the usual reasons) but one of the two or three shows I saw last year was THS. I finally understood what all the fuss was about. The fun onstage is pretty infectious, and the stories Finn tells have a life of their own -- how many songs have characters that you find yourself wondering about how they end up?

It would be fun to see U2 again. Last time was almost 25 years ago (!)

[Brian]

Great list, Ken.

I was also wondering what songs you played before the Holiday concert?

I, too, was pretty bummed when I heard that U2 debuted "Your Blue Room" and played "End of the World" during the second concert. I still think U2 should play have a tour that concetrates more on their B-sides or lesser played songs than their warhorses.