My 10 favorite shows of 2005

It turns out I saw exactly forty shows in 2005. I apologize to the thirty that aren't included on this list ... well, I apologize to most of them.

Something funny happened when I looked back over an entire year of music-related memories. It turns out that some of the shows I thought were really awesome right after they happened just don’t stick out in my memory anymore. And some shows that I initially thought were simply “good,” I found myself coming back to and thinking “you know, that was actually pretty freaking sweet.” Of course, some shows I was exactly right about all along.

To cut off further ramblings, here’s my list:

1. 1/29/05 Jeff Tweedy, SnS Basement – This predated my blog, but hot damn. It wasn’t just the best show (weekend, actually) of 2005, it may have been the best one ever.
2. 6/29/05 Wilco, Albright-Knox Art Gallery – I think this was the best Wilco show I saw all year, and I saw a lot of Wilco shows. And the setting couldn’t be beat.
3. 10/20/05 Decemberists, Orpheum – A little sloppy, but as fun and unusual a show as you could hope for. How often does one get to take home a piece of smashed mandolin?
4. 10/26/05 Rhett Miller, High Noon Saloon – Rhett and Madison are an excellent combination.
5. 12/7/05 Jason Molina, Robbie Fulks; Second City – Laid-back, intimate, and super. Robbie covered “Dancing Queen” and “Billie Jean,” and he meant them.
6. 5/9/05 U2, United Center– It may not have done for me what it did four years ago, but a U2 show is still a pretty grand experience – especially from the front row of the “ellipse” in front of The Edge. (Pictures)
7. 5/7/05 Wilco, Vic – the show where everything went wrong onstage created some of my fondest concert memories of the year.
8. 5/23/05 Glenn Kotche, Pick-Staiger Auditorium – I know he was just the opener, but this was the first time I heard and saw up close a lot of Glenn’s upcoming material, and I loved it. I even put one of the songs on a mix CD for a friend’s birthday.
9. 1/19/05 Colin Meloy, Schuba's – the first time I’d seen Colin solo, at one of my favorite places. He was charming, and the songs were lovely.
10. 7/17/05 Wrens, Andrew Bird, Decemberists; Union Park – It was about 100 degrees outside, and dusty, and gross, but this was a really fun trio of performances from a super-appreciative bunch of musicians. (Pictures)

That’s it! I can’t do an honorable mention list, because it would be far too long.

U2 yousendit

In case anyone else is interested, I finally compiled an 11-song mix of "lesser-known" U2 songs. More than that, these are just songs - to me - that are different from the type of sound people would normally associate with the band. They're more experimental, or more country, or more stripped down, or louder. Here's the tracklisting and the link to yousendit (it's a zipped folder, about 59 MB) to download it all.

Link

1. In the Name of the Father - Bono & Gavin Friday
2. Promenade - U2
3. Jesus Christ - U2
4. Corpse (These Chains Are Way Too Long) - Passengers (vocal by The Edge)
5. Falling at Your Feet - Bono & Daniel Lanois
6. Ito Okashi - Passengers & Holi
7. Gone - U2
8. Flower Child - U2
9. Slow Dancing - U2, Mickey Rapahel & Willie Nelson
10. The Wanderer - U2 & Johnny Cash
11. Elvis Ate America - Passengers & Howie B.

If you're curious, the one that sounds to me least like U2 ... "Ito Okashi". I guess Larry Mullen must have been on percussion for this song, but I cannot picture it at all. And my favorite song on here? A tough call, but probably "In the Name of the Father."

You're dangerous 'cause you're honest

Back from U2! And so amazingly tired. I haven't grabbed more than an hour of dozing in a chair since, well, Friday night. Our foursome arrived at the Bradley Center in the dark of the morning Sunday (just before 5:00 a.m.) and were rewarded with spots 10-13 in line. That probably sounds crazy, and I'm not denying that it is, but keep in mind that last time we all saw U2 together an 11:00 p.m. night-before arrival was good for #50.

And then it proceeded to rain all day. Did I mention that it rained all day? Because it did rain. All day. It barely stopped between downpours. Lindsey had enough foresight to bring her tent, so we pretty much lived in that. We were still wet from the first deluge, though, and then waiting in line for the final hour and a half before doors absolutely soaked me anyway. Yay!

However, U2 put on a really good show tonight. I think I enjoyed it a little more than last May's concert in Chicago. We were on the floor outside the ramp near the center, first row. Outside of the ellipse, you couldn't have asked for a better place. Highlights for me were "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" (acoustic, played right in front of us on the ramp), "Miss Sarajevo" (Bono was very impressive with the Italian opera singing - seriously), and "The First Time" (played for the fourth time ever). I also enjoyed how the wider view of the stage let us appreciate the set a lot more. Oh, and they played "Passenger Side" during the preshow music. You better believe Gina and I got a kick out of that.

Of course, it was still raining when we got out. And it rained all the way home. But now I don't care, because I'm inside, and it's time for sweet, sweet sleep.

I sway / wild, you grow wild

U2 has a demo called "Flower Child" that I heard for the first time a few months ago, and liked better than almost everything on their most recent album. I listened to it a few times and then forgot about it until a couple days ago. Trying to come up with the lyrics and melody, the chorus that kept going through my head instead was that of LeRoy Bach's song "Dad Says". Curious. When I finally remembered "Flower Child," I realized the choruses do sound a lot alike. I am almost positive "Dad Says" came first, which means that U2 must have had scouts at the Hideout Block Party in Chicago in 1999! Or some other time LeRoy has played the song. If I remember at lunchtime (and can stay awake until then, since I once again stayed up until 2:30 a.m. finishing A Million Little Pieces) I'll try to add a couple of yousentit links to the choruses so you can hear what I'm talking about.

Update: I forgot that "Flower Child" is trapped on my iPod and I don't know how to release it back into the wilds of my computer. Stay tuned...

...okay, all set. This was way more trouble than it's worth, by the way. And for some reason I couldn't compress the "Flower Child" chorus back down, so it's about 3.5 MB while the "Dad Says" chorus is 600K. Ahhh. Anyway.

"Dad Says"
"Flower Child"

Country Medley

Although my favorite U2 album is probably Achtung Baby, and I admire much of the work they've done since that album, sometimes I wish I could go back in time. By 1987-1988 the band was showing the first hints of emerging from its incredibly earnest shell. They were learning not to take everything so seriously, but they hadn't yet embraced irony and excess and cool facades. They also hadn't lived twenty years of mega superstardom. They were a few years older than I am now, on a big tour of the American southwest, and infatuated with all kinds of American music - particularly country. This recording was made in some little bar in Arizona, when Bono and the Edge decided to get up and have a little impromptu fun with some old country classics. There's much ad libbing, and it either foreshadowed or coincided with U2's incarnation as the Dalton Brothers, a country and western band that "opened" for U2 a few times. The recording is a bit rough, but it's something that would never, ever in a million years happen today. That's why I like it so much.


That's Adam Clayton, a.k.a. Betty Dalton, in the wig


DOWNLOAD the country medley MP3 here


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Flash bulbs purple irises the camera can't see

I got my U2 concert photos from the purloined camera back yesterday, and they're not half bad. I kind of wonder if any of mine would have made it into the contest, but I'm willing to bet the zillion other people got many that are better. Anyway, here are some of my pictures from May 9th at the United Center:


The Edge does his patented 'kicking the stage' dance


"The Hiss" during An Cat Dubh, or, "Bono Stars in a Musical"


The Edge plays right in front of us


Adam Clayton comes to see what's up on our side of the stage


Bono, Edge, and lots of red lights


My film ran out after this, so I didn't get a photo of the part of the show when they make out

Back to tired

Tired, with interest. Definitely worth it, though. Seeing U2 again after all this time was both exciting and profoundly weird. I had an excellent time at the show, but it wasn't - of course - the same as it was four years ago. Gina and I made a full day of it in line, for old times' sake. And I do mean full day. By the night before the show, a tent city had sprung up outside the United Center grounds. I reacquainted myself with friends I hadn't seen in three years or more.

Brief highlights of the show - I was very lucky (though I had an odd feeling before going in that I would be) and my ticket scanned as one of the first "winners" of the night to get inside the ellipse/bomb shelter/egg thingy. I yanked Gina over from her line, and sent her off to secure a spot while I filled out some weird contest thing for the DVD taping and picked up a disposable camera. Their plan was to have everyone in the ellipse at each Chicago show take photos and then turn in the cameras after to enter a "best photo" contest. Except I ended up just taking the camera with me. Do you suppose U2 will hunt me down?

The major highlight for me was that our friend Laura got pulled up onstage to play guitar with the band! She requested "Party Girl", and though she struggled a bit at first, she was able to pull it off. I had a great view of the other band members as she and Bono played, and Adam was particularly enjoying her work on the solo. Laura has always been a huge Adam fan from back in the day, so it was a great moment. I think I was pounding Gina on the back with glee. Sorry, Gina.


Laura and Bono

Oh yes, I mentioned the DVD. Apparently last night and tonight were when the majority of the show taping was set to happen. If they use any footage from last night, I doubt there's much chance Gina and I will not be in it. We were right between Bono and the Edge in the front row. As a bonus, apparently the two of us were the preshow entertainment on one of the giant screens. For like an hour. Thanks to the stealthy beneath-the-stage cameras pointed at the crowd. Awesome.