Best concerts is a totally subjective thing, of course, but among many “best of…” lists, it’s the easiest to see–I think–as something personal. This is not universal; I don’t think that if someone else attended the same fifty-four concerts I went to this year they wouldn’t have the same list whatsoever. Sometimes a concert is great because it completely blows away your expectations. Or it’s a great bill and everyone plays a nice show. Maybe it’s a great live version of a song that you’ve had stuck in your head for weeks that does it. Or maybe you had a horrible week/ month and a good performance snapped you out of it. Rarely does it require detailing of how drunk the band or I was.

Without any further delays, here’s my list of best concerts of 2007:

Best dozen concerts of 2007:

1. John Vanderslice @ Tiny Telephone, SF, CA, 5/24 (original post); @ KZSU, Stanford, CA, 7/25 (original post) — I managed, somehow, to get a couple private performances from JV, filled with excellent music, even some seldom heard requests. It’s hard to beat that.[1]
2. Andrew Bird @ the Fillmore, SF, CA, 5/2 (original post) — This show was a complete kick in the pants. I went in not knowing what to expect and came out amazed, at Bird’s talent and, moreso, his musicality.
3. Adem w/ the Dodos @ Cafe du Nord, SF, CA, 3/29 (original post) — Having only heard of them by recommendation the Dodos far exceeded my expectations and Adem put on a great solo set, even better than his set a week previously opening for Badly Drawn Boy.
4. Mt. Eerie @ ATA (Artist’s Television Access), SF, CA, 4/8 (original post) — I didn’t get Phil Everum, the Microphones or Mt Eerie until I saw this show of a man, his fragile voice, quirky songs and stories, guitar, 100 people and a fog machine.
5. Ted Leo @ Great American, SF, 3/1; @ Kresge Auditorium, Stanford, 3/2 (original post) — Halfway through the first show I thought “he’s only playing his hits. what’s he going to do when he runs out of hits?” But he didn’t because they’re all hits, especially live.
6. Apples in Stereo @ the Wall, Taipei, Taiwan, 10/30 (original post) — A joyful set of new and old songs was a quick way to turn things for the better after a rough month.
7. Polyphonic Spree @ Great American, SF, CA, 7/17 (original post) — Not sure if this was in my top 3 best Polyphonic Spree shows ever, but that’s still good enough to place them highly as just about any Polyphonic Spree show is a good show.
8. Elvis Perkins @ Cafe du Nord, SF, CA, 3/25 (original post) — A small room with Elvis filling the room with his magnificent songs, plus a few surprises like his drummer strapping on a marching kit and dancing while they played a traditional song (”Weeping Pilgrim”). [Trivia: the header for this site is was from a photo taken at that show.]
9. The Morning Benders @ KZSU, Stanford, CA, 6/6 (original post) — I’d seen them before (opening for the Long Winters) and I’ve seen them twice since but this was the time I came out of it thinking, “wow, these guys are going places.” Chris Chu and co. were on during this acoustic set.
10. Girl Talk @ Chi Theta Chi, Stanford, CA, 5/19 (original post) — After stupidly missing a few Girl Talk shows (including one at a tiny bar in Pittsburgh. doh!) I finally got to see the craziness that is Girl Talk live. It was wild, with a writhing, sweaty mass of mostly undergrads all around me.
11. The One AM Radio @ Fort Oregon, Berkeley, CA, 3/16 (original post) — Hrishi Hirway sang, played guitar, triggered samples and acted as sound man during a set of his bedroom intimate electro-influenced indie rock in this basement show with a small but appreciative crowd.
12. the New Year, David Bazan @ Bottom of the Hill, SF, CA, 6/21 (original post) — David Bazan was good, as pretty much always, doing possibly his best versions of “Secret of the Easy Yoke” and “Options” that I’d heard in a long time. New Year were a pleasant surprise and really enjoyable. Standing around with the indie rock hall of fame wasn’t bad either (see original post for more about that).

Honorable mentions: (in chronological order)

• 3/1 Hella @ 750 Pub, Stanford, CA
• 8/24 Oh No! Oh My!, the Morning Benders @ Bottom of the Hill, SF, CA (original post)
• 8/25 Or, the Whale; Birds and Batteries @ Great American, SF, CA (original post)

The first, Hella just rock-out incredibly and incredibly hard; the PA speaker quite literally started smoking and almost caught fire. The second two were great bills with great local bands all putting on nice sets.

[1] I don’t want to act with any sense of exclusivity at all and I actually thought of leaving these off the list–but how could I honestly not put these among the best concerts when they were.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 3rd, 2007 at 6:21 am Posted by adrian in SF bay area, lists, live. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.