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.

Intonation photos

Click on the thumbnails for (very) big versions. For extra fun, hover over the thumbnails first - some have secret messages!

Sunday, July 17 2005
Intonation Festival
Union Park, Chicago

Andrew Bird









The Wrens





The Crowd




The Decemberists

July, July

Sunday was the second day of Pitchfork's Intonation Festival, and the only day I decided to attend. I drove Gina down and we met some Chicago peeps, and we saw Andrew Bird, the Wrens, and the Decemberists. They were all good, even though the weather was hot, sticky, and gross. Combined with the dust and sand blowing around Union Park by the time the Decemberists came on, we were incredibly disgusting by the time we left.

Andrew Bird played for a little under an hour (that was the standard festival set). It's hard to compare his performance to the one I saw in Madison. On one hand, he of course didn't get to play as many songs yesterday. He also didn't seem quite as intense as he had in Madison (though that's not exactly a complaint.) On the other hand, his longtime collaborator Kevin O'Donnell was there playing drums, which added a whole new cool dynamic to the show. And he didn't have nearly as many false starts and screw-ups as there were in Madison. All told, I enjoyed the performances about equally (though I could actually see well this time.) But someday I shall see Andrew Bird in a setting where I'm not in danger of melting from the heat.

I don't have as much to say about the Wrens - they put on a really good show. I haven't listened to the Meadowlands very much, but they really performed the hell out of everything. During one song they invited some fans up onto the stage to play percussion with them. I enjoyed that very much.

The Decemberists were the last act of the festival, and played for about an hour and 20 minutes. A really fun, upbeat set. This was the third time I'd seen them (fourth including Colin solo) and there were two songs I'd never heard live before but always wanted to - Song for Myla Goldberg, and The Legionnaire's Lament. We got both last night. Plus a lovely solo version of Red Right Ankle. I'd probably have rather heard some other songs (or The Tain) instead of the Mariner's Revenge Song, but I can't really complain. My favorite Decemberists show was still the first time I saw them, at Luthers (R.I.P) ... but this was probably second. The crowd was very enthusiastic.

I should have some pictures later, if all goes well.