 |
| LCD Soundsystem, Denver, 2010 |
Last night, I saw LCD Soundsystem at the Fillmore in Denver. When I left, I was trying to decide if it made the top five or the top ten list of best shows I've ever seen. It was A-mazing.
Here's a working top-ten list of my favorite concerts, in no particular order except Ellis Marsalis, Ice T and Mudhoney:
1. Ellis Marsalis, some piano bar in the Frenchman Triangle, New Orleans, circa 2003. Stumbled upon a chalkboard tent on the sidewalk outside of a hole in the wall, stared in disbelief, walked in, sat down ten feet from the piano. I'm pretty sure I cried at one point from the beauty of it. If I had an ounce of his soul I would be an angel.
2. Ice T, Compton Terrace, Phoenix, 1991. I don't remember what I told my parents I was doing, but it certainly wasn't "going to a rap show of some guy the Phoenix police are threatening to arrest if he plays Cop Killer". He did. They didn't. We won.
3. Mudhoney, X-Ray Cafe (R.I.P.) Portland, Oregon, circa 1994. The cherry on top of an era, and we knew it at this show.
4. Interpol, Mercury Lounge, New York, circa 2002. They played two songs and my girlfriend and I looked at each other and said "they're gonna to be huge", mostly because our boyfriends were dismissing the show as guys who listened to too much Joy Division.
5. The National, Minneapolis, circa 2007. After they had enough time together to play a brilliant show. One of my favorite drummers in current rock plays in this band.
6. Oakley Hall, The Knitting Factory, New York, circa 2005. They rock such hard American-era-rock-folk it hurts to think about it.
7. Jane's Addiction, the first Lollapalooza, Compton Terrace, Phoenix, circa 1991. No laughing. This show rocked and was definitely the highest energy show I've ever been to.
8. LCD Soundsystem, The Fillmore, Denver, 2010. Spot on, perfectly timed but not contrived. Just solid amazing individuals working in concert. This music has become my anthem for getting my feet back under me after the last two years of, um, dodging life's curve balls.
9. Andrew Bird, The Guthrie, Minneapolis circa 2007. I'm still not sure I believe two musicians can produce that many layers of sound. Played with Martin Dosh, another one of my favorite percussionists. Also, I consider this my first real date with my now husband, so I have hearts and bunnies drawn around this memory.
10. Public Enemy, Boulder, circa 2006. Way too late to see Public Enemy, but I finally got the chance.
What are some of your favorite shows? I'm curious.
