My Favorite Shows Of 2011

If I have any perennial list-readers here, most of them probably sighed preemptively as they imagined what would top my list this year, and they’re all correct: U2 (really impossible to choose between the two shows I saw), Phish (night one at UIC being the best of the seven), Secret Chiefs 3 at the Empty Bottle, Animal Collective at Pitchfork, and Paul McCartney at Wrigley Field. Oops, ya got me: I have favorite bands. I know music critics aren't supposed to reveal those, but there's no sense keeping it a secret. But rather than blather on about them yet again, it’s probably more productive for me to mention the top ten non-my-favorite-band shows of the year. So here goes. (To keep it interesting, I’m going to gloss over other obvious big names (Wilco, Pearl Jam, Primus, STS9), since they’ve all been covered plenty.)

Wilco: Riverside Theater, 12/9/11

How was the Wilco show last Friday, everyone’s wondering? It was really, really good. But you knew that already, right? Pretty rare that the band plays a less-than-great show these days. In its aftermath, I’ve been pondering what the hell to write about it that would be different from what I’ve written about the other times I've seen Wilco. In fact, what was different about it? Yeah, they played a bunch of songs from The Whole Love, obviously, but that can’t be it. The real question is: was it better or worse than the other Wilco shows I’ve seen?

Anthrax/Testament: The Rave, 11/19

It’s not hard to understand why thrash keeps getting “revived”: the best of it, i.e. Testament and Anthrax, doesn’t get old. The problem is that most revival acts are actually a cut below tribute bands--dumbed-down imitations of the real thing but without the killer songs. While the template remains vibrant as ever, it has been done to perfection with little room for evolution. Or, if there is room, nobody’s figured out yet how to make it happen (The Black Album doesn’t count). So the best you’re going to get in a live thrash show happened at the Rave last Saturday, unfortunately.

Seizure Chicken Fall Festival (Night One)

The City Of Festivals kicked it up a notch this year, particularly on the local music front. Not only did we have a bigger-than-ever WMSE Radio Summer Camp, we’ve got Riverwest Fest coming up in a few weeks, and last weekend was the Seizure Chicken Fall Festival, whose title you really shouldn’t be scratching your head about if you live in Milwaukee. The local blog certainly does enough for the scene to warrant a two-night celebration, and this one was as eclectic as the musical tastes of the folks who write its content.

Primus: Orpheum Theatre, 10/13/11

I went to the Orpheum on Thursday pretty much blind; all I knew was that Primus would be playing two sets. If you’d told me in advance that I’d be subjected to the new Green Naugahyde in its entirety, I probably would’ve gone in with a bad attitude. Sure, I and the rest of the Les Claypool geekosphere have been clamoring for new material to freshen up setlists for many years, but just playing the whole new album is gimmicky, likely to be constraining, and, um, I don’t really dig the album very much so far. The main reason: there’s not enough Ler on it. He’s mostly relegated to generic, Andy Summers-style fake reggae and staccato background strumming, frequently drowned out by the bass. It sounds more like a Claypool solo album than Primus. Knowing that the band would at least play a goodly amount from the album, I already had pretty low expectations going in; I just knew I’d be seeing friends I hadn’t seen in too long, and whatever happened, we’d have a blast rocking out to the classics if nothing else.

Dick Dale: High Noon Saloon, 10/10/11

I thought about going to Miller Park yesterday to try and score a scalper ticket for the Brewer game, but for various reasons, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.  Probably for the best; I am, unfortunately, one of those idiots who can get extremely pessimistic when one of our millionaire pitchers gives up a two-run homer to the fourth batter he faces, then proceeds to stink up the place for his second of two postseason starts.  I suspect my interests, and the interests of anyone trying to enjoy the game, were better served by driving to Madison and catching Dick Dale; the guy is 74 and I’m on a roll the past couple of years with seeing old geezers rock out.  Dale might not have another tour left in him, and I’m sure the Brewers will get to another NLCS in my lifetime…(*shudder*)

Katatonia: Peabody's, 9/25/11

The general trajectory for metal bands is to start off heavy and caustic and noncommercial, then gradually write more accessible music amidst cries of sell-out and, occasionally, greater measurable success. Some fans of Katatonia’s early, guttural-doom albums probably gave up after 1998’s Discouraged Ones, and many who embraced the band’s more melodic direction likely jumped ship after hearing the electronic and indie rock influences on the barely-metal Last Fair Deal Gone Down in 2001. But despite those guardians of static integrity, the impact of this album went deeper than anyone could have predicted, cementing the legacy of Jonas Renske and Anders Nyström as truly unique songwriters and musicians and permanently breaking down musical boundaries for those fans open-minded enough to stick around.

Secret Chiefs 3: Empty Bottle, 9/17/11

Grudgingly, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that for all time, most folks just aren’t going to get obsessed with Secret Chiefs 3. In my impossible quest to be objective, the best I can come up with is that in terms of unique style crossed with instrumental versatility and prowess, they can’t be topped. I used to think Mr. Bungle, but in the long run Bungle doesn’t quite stack up consistently. As much as I love Mike Patton, his former Bungle cohort Trey Spruance has evolved waaaaaay more as an artist since the breakup, and is now making music much better than he ever did with Bungle.

PJ20

Some bands win you over with amazing technical ability, some with superior songwriting, some on attitude alone. Pearl Jam gets you by making you feel like they’re playing and singing just for you. You know it’s not true, you know you’re not special. But Pearl Jam keeps telling you you are.

Phish: UIC Pavilion, 8/17/11

UIC Pavilion is one venue that Phish has only played sporadically but each time will go down as legendary.  It has the dubious honor of hosting the first known glowstick war in the fall of 1994, but musically, the most talked-about highlight (at least, prior to 2011) was probably the beastly “AC/DC Bag”>”Ghost” from November of 1998.  “AC/DC” has remained firmly IN the bag since Phish returned in 2009, and the specter of a big “Ghost” loomed large over this final night of tour, so in a sense, even though everything after Monday night was essentially gravy, hopes were exceedingly high for some sort of further madness to keep the scene abuzz for two weeks until the quasi-festival in Denver and during the long wait for more Phish in 2012.

Phish: UIC Pavilion, 8/16/11

With the bar set impossibly high the night before, Phish came out on night two with a trio of tunes that just happened to be exactly the kind of opening I dream about.  I don’t know what it is about “Dinner And A Movie”; it has always just been the most hilariously sinister song in the repertoire, and the little part of me that still cared about the novelty of hearing Phish play short bursts of geek-satisfying awesomeness that I thought I might never hear was suddenly and permanently satisfied when I heard Trey scruff his strings with a taste of that opening chord.  Same kind of excitement, though not as ecstatic, for “Ha Ha Ha”.  And then another tune that’s finally back in the saddle this year, “Chalk Dust Torture”, screechingly intense guitar picking by yer man Trey.  Absurdly, this beginning was my favorite part of the show.

Phish: UIC Pavilion, 8/15/11

Phish tends to open runs in Chicago with statements.  Last summer it was the barn-burner “Down With Disease” at Toyota Park to begin the tour, at a time when everyone complained that first shows of tours were always rusty and dull.  Fun fact: the band took three days just prior to that show to rehearse in a dingy shed known as the UIC Pavilion.  This year, Chicago ended the tour, but once again fans knew from the opening jaunt of “Back On The Train” on the first of three nights back at UIC that Phish meant business.

Paul McCartney: Wrigley Field, 7/31/11

When I saw Sir Paul McCartney play the Bradley Center in 2005, he was almost past the point where he could sing “When I’m Sixty-Four” in cheeky reference to the future any more.  Surrounded by a top-notch band, he still put on a pretty terrific show, but cracks were showing; not only had his range decreased significantly since I’d last seen him, the power behind it was lacking, and he seemed unsure of himself at times.  For the first time in my life, I thought he looked a bit frail up there, leading much younger musicians on a quest to update songs that are already timeless for an audience that either already gets it or never will.  I remember feeling like I couldn’t imagine the ol’ Beatle touring again after this, and I was glad to be there to witness it one last time.

Phish: Riverbend Music Center, 6-5-11

Let it first be said that if Sunday night in Cincinnati was sub-greatness Phish, we are truly in for a wild effing summer.  After two unimpeachable nights in Clarkston and Cuyahoga Falls, the Riverbend Amphitheater show fell just a bit short.  Despite some awkward moments, it did kick all kinds of ass.  So, I feel like taking a moment to deconstruct what's happening in the Phish world right now, my misgivings from Sunday and what makes Phish unstoppable right now regardless.

Phish: Blossom Music Center, 6-4-11

Phish didn't make it easy on the Midwest this year (okay, maybe a little easier than on the Southwest, though).  For the first time since 1995 (in years when Phish is actually touring), the band isn't doing its classic Deer Creek/Alpine Valley run, snubbing Wisconsin altogether and scheduling its only Chicago-area shows on weeknights.  On Friday night, the boys made the seven-plus-hour drive to Pine Knob worthwhile with possibly their best single set of music since the turn of the century.  They could've sat onstage in beanbags eating Cheetos on Saturday and this still would've been a successful trip.  Instead, they put together another stellar show bursting with creativity, permanently erasing my nostalgic pining for Phishes past.