Best of ‘09
Top ten shows of ‘09
10. Los Tortugas. Third times the charm. Its been fun and fascinating watching the festival evolve from its initial incarnation.
9. Jon Hopkins at the Grand. Its tough to impress me doing an electronica gig, but he delivered. He also did an excellent job of re-shaping his music for a live show.
8. Jackie Green + Friends at the Great American Music Hall. I’m sorta meh on Jackie’s material, but its always nice to see Phil and Bobby from 10 feet away.
7. Kyle HollingsWorth + Zack Gill at the Indy. Zack’s set build nicely from solo piano -> full band -> full band + all of ALO. Kyle then proceeded to tear it up. A wicked fun night, and was glad to catch the whole thing from start to finish.
6. The Jimmy Herring Band at the Grand. An amazing interpretation of a gem of an album. His touring band was phenominal. The interplay between the musicians left me dizzy.
5. Soulive w/ Roy Hargrove at Yoshi’s. Best Soulive set I’ve ever seen, which is saying something. It was chock full of guests and intensely funky grooves. And I HEART Yoshi’s.
4. Joe Ledbetter @ Cafe du Node -> Dumpstafunk @ the Indy. Two venues, two awesome shows, one dollar bill stuck down my drawers. ‘Nough said.
3. Bill Krutzman at the Indy. Easily the biggest surprise of the year. I didn’t have high expectations for that show, and my shit got blown apart. The trio took us through an incredibly adventurous path through the dead cannon. A truly fantastic ride.
2. Moby at the Warfield. There are very few shows that cause me to experience an entire spectrum of emotions. My respect for this guy knows no bounds, even if I don’t enjoy most of his work.
1. Phish at the Gorge. I won’t lie. It wasn’t the best Phish show I’ve seen. Not by a long shot. But it was a dream come true to see Phish at the Gorge. I’m glad the boys are back in action.
Best album of the Year: Inhumans, 97 Lovers. Their website is down. Maybe they were a one trick pony. That was one amusing pony though.
Best electronic music album of the year: Insides, Jon Hopkins.
Best free electronic music album of the year: Clash, Signal Path
