This is the first of my year end lists for 2008. Stay tuned for my top albums and top song obsessions (and perhaps other lists too).

I’ve been to more concerts this year–a couple less than a hundred concerts–than any other year of my life. It’s been a bit ridiculous. (14 concerts in 5 days also helped at SxSW.)

There are a lot of things that can make a show great. The music has to be good, of course, but a lot of the shows I go to I know the music will be good. Or for the shows where I went in with no or low expectations, the surprise of it being good can be a big factor in my final estimation of a show. Sometimes the performer(s) has a special quality, energy, or seems “on” that night. Sometimes, it’s a good environment or is just what I needed on that day. The best shows do more than blow me away, they leave me entranced, almost unable to describe them.

You can also check out my 2007 list.

John Darnielle by ipickmynose–my number 1 show of the year

My best dozen concerts of 2008:

1. Mountain Goats, So Many Dynamos @ Bottom of the Hill, SF, CA, 3/2 (original post)
   Four encores, a packed crowd of die-hard fans, John Darnielle in top form, the audience on bated breath on every word from JD’s mouth, and some of my favorite Mountain Goats songs. I feel like those are only a few of the many reasons this show was so great. When Darnielle came on the stage for the last encore, he was so convinced he had already finished that his mouth was full of humus and pita bread, but we just wouldn’t–couldn’t–stop clapping. So Many Dynamos put on a pretty great set to and though they sound nothing like the MGs set them up pretty well.
2. J Tillman @ Habana Calle 6 (Patio), Austin, TX, 3/13 (original post)
   In the crazy rushing around and packed venues of SxSW this criminally underattended show was like an oasis of calm, gorgeous music. Just Tillman and a guitar (and backing vocals from Robin Pecknold of the Fleet Foxes on a few) serenaded a late night crowd with amazing folk song after amazing folk song.
3. Jens Lekman (solo) @ Bottom of the Hill, SF, CA, 3/23 (original post)
   Jens is a showman and he’s got his show down pat these days. This was special “solo” show–actually he had a bongo player with him–in a small venue, which made it even better. It had many of Jens’ entertaining stories, both between songs and mid-song. He play songs largely without recorded samples: during “Black Cab” he played the sample’s melody line on guitar and during “Pocketful of Money”, the song became a sing-along in lieu of the sample.
4. Sigur Ros @ Greek Theater, Berkeley, CA, 10/3 (original post)
   I’d waited about 6 years from when I first started liking Sigur Ros to finally see them. Between the long period of anticipation, having already seen them on film in the single most perfect location (Iceland, in Heima), and paying the most I’d ever paid for a concert ticket, I was really setting myself up for disappoint. But it wasn’t a disappointment at all: it was epic, magnificent and beautiful. It was really something special.
5. Dodos; Or, the Whale @ Cafe du Nord, SF, CA, 2/28 (original post)
   As if a bill with two of my favorite local live acts–both of whom I hadn’t seen in months–wasn’t enough, the show was during Noise Pop and the buzz had just started to build for the Dodos. This show was crowded and frenzied. With my face about 5 feet from Logan’s drums during the Dodos set, I felt the full effects of the band’s energy on this night, which was significant. Or, the Whale also put on a great set.
6. Boubacar Diebate @ Copa, Austin, TX, 3/15 (original post)
   This was a year filled with a lot of indie shows and not a ton else. In amongst all the other stuff, there was this gem of a show that knocked my socks off. Boubacar is a very talented singer and kora player–a griot if you will. On this night he played with a few people new to him, it seemed: a guitarist from Mali and an upright bassist and a saxophonist, both from America. Besides the entrancing repetitive kora parts and engaging vocals, the on-stage communication between these four thrown-together people was outstanding.
7. Explosions in the Sky @ Great American, SF, CA, 3/21 (original post)
   One of the few times I’ve seen a post-rock band that I was really in the mood to see a post-rock band, this show was a constant set of crescendos and decrescendos, songs flowing into one another and plenty of movement and energy from both the band and the youthful audience.
8. Joe Pug @ KZSU, Stanford, CA, 11/20 (original post), @ Cafe du Nord, SF, CA, 11/21 (original post)
   While I liked “Hymn #101″ from the beginning and the rest of Nation of Heat had grown on me, but the immediacy of the live setting, especially the KZSU set, really sealed the deal for me.
9. the Ian Fays, Rooftop Vigil (aka Geographer) @ Great American, SF, CA, 2/21 (original post)
   I’d been on a streak of going to very few shows and wasn’t particularly excited about live music or many local bands at the time. This unfortunately sparsely attended show snapped me right out of that. It was the first time I’d seen either band and without many expectations, I came out surprised. I left the venue with a great feeling. I was just buoyed by the energetic sets and good music at one of San Francisco’s best venues.
10. Fanfarlo @ Emo’s Annex, Austin, TX, 3/14 (original post)
    These British youngsters put on such a fun and charming set for their first ever American show. It delivered, in a nutshell, on what I wanted SxSW to be: a band I couldn’t see anywhere else putting on a great set in a good atmosphere.
11. Frightened Rabbit @ Bottom of the Hill, SF, CA, 11/2 (original post)
    It’s hard to say if this show changed my listening habits more than any other this year, but if it didn’t, it was close. Frightened Rabbit puts on an energetic and utterly charming show. Fefore I was listening to Frightened Rabbit occasionally. After it I’ve been listening to Liver! Lung! FR!, their live album (not so much Midnight Organ Fight) a lot.
12. James Hunter @ Bimbo’s, SF, CA, 7/11 (original post)
    This was like stepping back into the early 60s. The music, the classy stage persona, the old school venue and even patrons in suits and fedoras. Hunter’s band is like a well oiled machine and I’m sure some of the between song banter is honed from years of repeated use, but it was sharp show and a good time.

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And now a few more special categories [in chronological order]:

There was something special in the air for this debut:

• 2/7 Maus Haus @ the Hemlock, SF, CA

Exactly what I was hoping they would be:

• 3/13 Two Sheds @ Cedar St. Courtyard, Austin, TX
• 3/13 David Bazan @ Jovita’s, Austin, TX

Best afternoons of great music and cool people:

• 3/14 the Morning Benders, Johnny Flynn & the Sussex Wit, Peggy Sue & the Pirates, the Trainwreck Riders, Jeremy Yocum & the Last Rounders @ Hank Sinatra’s house, Austin, TX
• 8/24 Low Red Land, Maus Haus, Silian Rail, Emily Jane White, French Miami, Settler @ Rock Make Street Festival (Treat x 17th), SF, CA

Most people seen on a stage this year (and they still put on a good show):

• 4/28 I’m from Barcelona @ the Independent, SF, CA

Show where the support most showed up the headliner:

• 5/18 El Perro del Mar, Lykke Li @ Bimbo’s 365 Club, SF, CA

One of the most affecting shows of the year in that the fragile intimacy actually left me feeling a bit depressed:

• 5/28 the Ian Fays @ KZSU, Stanford, CA

Best local band line-up (and most self-serving category):

• 6/11 Geographer, Two Sheds @ Annie’s Social Club, SF, CA

Tightest set by a band that is already in my top concerts list:

• 6/19 the Dodos @ the Independent, SF, CA

Really gorgeous whispered folk music:

• 8/26 Neil Halstead @ Cafe du Nord, SF, CA
• 10/8 Horse Feathers @ Rickshaw Stop, SF, CA

After hearing many mixed reviews of their lives shows, I’m so so glad this wasn’t a disappointment:

• 10/27 the Notwist @ Bimbo’s, SF, CA

Boubacar Diebate by ipickmynose–he landed right in the middle of my list

So what was your best show of the year?

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 4th, 2008 at 2:28 pm Posted by adrian in SF bay area, lists, live review, photos. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.