Rock Cridick: Best Shows of 2009

Now, as objective as the other lists have been, this post comes from a more personal place.  Mainly because I was personally at these shows.   Passion Pit and White Rabbits at the Fillmore may have very well been a great show... But I wasn't there.  So, you get the idea and here it goes.


10. Bowerbirds and Elvis Perkins in Dearland
@ The Paradise 11/30/2009
I was forced to fly solo to this event as the Patriots and Saints were doing battle on Monday Night Football.  It was supposed to be a captivating matchup, but fortunately for me, the only captivating event that took place that night was on Comm. Ave.  During the opening set, the Bowerbirds held the audience in the palm of their hand.  No one made a sound and there was hardly any movement.  Eyes were transfixed upon an invading presence that gained entry not by force but through hypnosis.  And once the crowd was sufficiently softened, Dearland descended from on high, literally taking the stage from the balcony via jazz procession.  In time, Elvis would join the band on stage for a super tight set of cuts off their self-titled (and top 25!) album.


9. Charlie Hunter Duo
@ Narrows Center for the Arts 09/19/2009
Having recently moved on from his most recent trio, 7-string guitar freak, Charlie Hunter took the stage with professional percussion journeyman Eric Kalb (John Scofield) for two sets of hard bop jazz at one GEM of a music venue.  Having only been working with one another for  a short time, Hunter and Kalb gave off the impression that they had been touring together for years; trading off improvisations and playing off one another for two+ hours, sharing hearty laughs all the while.  Expect an album from these cats in early 2010 if you're feeling like you missed out.


8. Calexico and Andrew Bird
@ Bank of America Pavilion 06/19/2009
Set on the South Boston shoreline, with the city skyline in plain sight the Pavilion is one of the most idyllic venues in the land.  And it doesn't hurt when two of the most delightful acts in the business come together to spread some additional charm on an already enchanted environment.  Calexico couldn't quite get the zombified crowd going, but I was up and dancing, spilling wine and annoying the seated slobs to my 6 o'clock, and even the Birdman struggled in the early going.  Yet as the sun went down, the asses finally got up, culminating in the best collaboration I witnessed all year when Calexico and Andrew Bird joined forces for a stunning rendition of Scythian Empire.  These two bands should probably always perform together.  Somebody put that together.


7. King Khan and the Black Lips
@ Emo's, SXSW 3/20/09
When the all out fiesta that was SXSW began to wear on the gang, King Khan and a few shots of Feckin Whiskey come to save the day.  But before the Shrines could even take the stage we were treated to the biggest surprise of the festival, when Wu Tang's boy Genius (the GZA) took the stage alongside the Black Lips for some black out drunk collaborations.  More novelty than anything else, it was still enjoyable to receive something so unexpected.  Thank goodness, King Khan and company decided to tighten the screws a little bit, even in lieu of circus atmosphere in which they performed within.  Strangers were hugging strangers, naked men stormed the stage, and the dirty funk we were treated to left us more energized than we had been all day.


6. Phish
@ Fenway Park 05/31/09
It had been over 8 years since I had last seen the boys in action, and my expectations were low at least with respect to the quality of play. More than anything, I was showing up for the freakfest and I couldn't have been more fulfilled.  My seats would have been about the same price for a Sox game, but let's just say they would have been more desirable at a ball game.  I was too far away, and the sound quality was compromised by the time it arrived at my ears, but to see Fenway transformed so dramatically was well worth the price of admission.  I mean, have you ever smoked a joint behind home plate at Fenway Park?


5. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
@ Middle East Downstairs 12/05/2009
Punk music always manages to pull plenty of energy from a packed house, but Ted Leo's brand of punk, with its pop hooks and positive message extracts a different kind of energy that makes the whole affair that much more interactive.   With Boston receiving its first substantial snowfall of the season, the Downstairs was as hot as usual, just that much more humid.  Just some additional lubrication was all it ended up being. Featuring a heavy rotation of Shake the Sheets, Heart of Oak, as well as a slew of new material, I rocked out harder at this set than I had all year.  And based on the new material that was heard that night, Teddy got something special in store for us this Spring.


4. The Decemberists
@ Grant Park, Lollapalooza 08/07/2009
Oh, come on.  How could this not make the list?  The best album of the year is played from front to back on the soggy opening day of Lolla 09 on the main stage.  The Decemberists are dressed for the part and in character, to boot.  The sound isn't quite where it needs to be, but just about every band that day.  It wasn't long before Shara Worden stole the show.  Playing the role of The Queen, Shara OWNED the stage, delivering the most passionate performance of the day, and quite possibly the festival.  The overall performance satiates my discomfort, and what do you know?  The rain finally stopped.


3. Umphrey's McGee
@ Higher Ground
Averaging well over 100 shows per year for the last 9 years, Umphrey's McGee knows how to work a crowd.  Call it experience.  On this last night of a 3 night run at the famous Burlington, VT night club, the boys showed no sign of letting up.  In fact, it was their tightest and most relentless performance, yet the ease with which everything was executed may have been the most impressive aspect of the evening.  Whether it was gelling with a 3-piece horn section for a Michael Jackson cover or beginning the show with a seamless 4-song segue, merely a warm up for them, would probably cover a good portion of an entire show for the average band.  Most people do not really comprehend what a live show should be, but if you've seen Umphrey's, the you have a better idea.


2. Sam Roberts and Delta Spirit
@ Cedar St. Courtyard, SXSW, 03/19/2009
What happens when you show up a little too late to your can't-miss concert at SXSW and you're not allowed access?  Well, you sneak around the back alley and bribe the bouncer, of course.  And then you proceed to double-fist RBV's until you go blind, but not before Sam Roberts melts your face with and wins over some new fans with a rock star performance.  And then once Sam has gotten you hot and sweaty, Matt Vazquez and company take the stage to finish you off with some rock and soul.  This was easily the most alive I felt at a show all year.  Your SXSW MVP, Jables (He did something?  Really?), gets all the credit, outside of what credit the bands might deserve.  Because let's be honest, if you're not throwing up in the middle of a city street at the end of the night, did you really go all out?


1. Midnite
@ Manifestivus, Vermont 07/17/2009
It was a wet summer in the Northeast.  The ground is saturated, meaning that if any more rain falls, it's staying on the surface.  And that's exactly what happens, leaving mud pits forming all around us like quicksand.  But that's the beauty of a transcendent band like Midnite; they're above and beyond and their performances bring you up to their level.  For the next 90 minutes, the rain and natural sludge is an afterthought.  We skank, we get high, and we give Midnite the audience they deserve.  And they fucking love it.  Frontman Vaughn Benjamin takes notice of his impact on the crowd and starts to enjoy it himself, dancing and emitting a serious vibe of appreciation that I had never seen from him previously.  The bass is heavy, the guitars are sharp, and the keys fill in the blanks.  Vaughn?  He elevates.  Midnite is the best reggae band on the planet.  They're everything that reggae should be; namely, a transcendent medium whose simplicity allows a very real human spirit to roam free.

Fuckin A.  What a year.