Top 10 Shows of the year

2009 was an odd year for concerts - seeing as I saw concerts in 5 flipping states (California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Washington DC) and because of the move and all. I could easily do top 20, but trying to keep it somewhat focused, here are ten:

10. Our Lady Peace - Antones, July 2009 (Austin) - I'm a longtime fan of OLP and haven't had the chance to see them in quite a while so when I heard they were doing a summer tour, it was quite important I go. Raine Maida (lead singer) is a very focused and powerful performer and while this show wasn't in the top 10 ever status that the show in 2000 was, it was still very good. I appreciate when a performer gives more than you expect and then some. They decided on some funny light bars behind the stage which were more annoying than anything, but, when the entire crowd sings the chorus of 'life' to those lights half lit, its was a pretty special thing.

9. Elvis Perkins in Dearland w/ Other Lives - The Parish, May 2009 (Austin) - I saw EPID quite a while ago, opening for My Morning Jacket at the Marquee. I've not missed them since then. The Parish is a venue that you'd see in a movie, cool paintings and decor, large paper lanterns above the floor on the second level of a very old 6th street building. While Elvis was awfully good, equally good was the opening band Other Lives. Their amazing version of Leonard Cohen's 'Partisans' was bouncing around my head for weeks afterward. I got a chance to see them again when they opened for The Decemberists with Mr. Paul a couple weeks later in Oakland. Anyway, the show was very good top to bottom.

8. Raul Malo & Shelby Lynne - Great American Music Hall, March 2009 ( San Francisco) - I've been listening to Raul Malo for a long time, starting with the Mavericks a good 15 years ago. His absurdly great voice worked well for country crooning but even better for western swing meets cubanismo dance hall stuff & his solo work has reflected that. This was such an odd pairing because Shelby was very angelic and powerful and introspective, a very intimate feel to her set. Raul's band on the other hand was loud and fun and tight and just shook the building. It was kind of neat to have that offset, as both performers were so excellent.

7. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit and Justin Townes Earle - Independent, April 2009 ( San Francisco) - Another one of those odd pairings, I was a fan of both performers in different contexts, Isbell formerly of the Drive-By Truckers. Justin Townes Earle is (as I found out) a surly but charming performer, glaring at talkers while riffing through the songs. This may seem like an odd thing to point out for a professional musician, but he has uncanny timing. Isbell is such a good songwriter that it helps to overcome some of the pushy guitar work at times. That being said, his backing band is very together and sonically speaking, they really put it together. One of the reasons I enjoyed this show so much was that even in a crowded venue, you felt very part of the performances. Many times you get lost in the field, but this wasnt the case with this one at all.

6. Fleet Foxes - Fillmore, April 2009 (San Francisco) - Ok, so I had just gotten back from Vegas having seen the Hold Steady and the night after was the Foxes, three days later was Band of Horses in Oakland. Kind of a packed week. Anyway, this show was really neat for a number of reasons, for one, quite a few friends were there including Lisa's parents from Arizona. Two, even though the Live Nation crap has undermined things, the Fillmore is still a beauty of a venue. And piggybacking on that, to hear a band like Fleet Foxes in a place like that is pretty special. They were how you'd expect, very well put together, beautifully blended and sincere about the crowd being there. It felt to me like it could have been 40 years previous, there in that building listening to that timeless, graceful music.

5. Gourds & Patrick Sweany - Slims, February 2009 (San Francisco) - Now that I live in Austin, I have plenty of chances to see the Gourds play. In fact, Conlin's first show when he got here was the Gourds at Threadgills. Anyway, I didn't know this then, so seeing them was very cool. Even more so because of the opener. I saw Patrick Sweany for the first time in 2006 in Cleveland, opening for the Black Keys. He has this fantastic sound and is a remarkable guitar player and I have very fold memories associated with his music. So combine these two and it made for a good show. Slims is kind of a take it or leave it place. The venue is good but the staff is God-awful, so that always detracts from it. Overall, was a fun time, got to talk with Patrick and a couple of the Gourds and generally went home smiling.

4. The Hold Steady - Beauty Bar, April 2009 (Las Vegas, NV) - This was a fun trip and a fun week. Started with going to Vegas, coming back, seeing Fleet Foxes and then seeing Band of Horses. Back to this show and trip. I got to Vegas on Sunday and meandered around a while, Paul got into town and we had a fun evening of just schlepping around. Monday night was the show and while Pauly was intent on losing a little more on blackjack, I went direct to the venue and ended up meeting some locals, half of the band and had a great time. One of the openers had a lead singer that looked like my friend Troy's doppelganger, but thats another story. They were manic and loud and fun and just put on a wonderful show. The folks I met there were so very cool, made it even better. All in all, a worthwhile trip.

3. Eleni Mandell - Cafe Du Nord, March 2009 (San Francisco) - So, Eleni is one of those performers who is from another planet. Its not a bad thing, its just that she is not from here. She and Chan Marshall and a couple others just are otherworldly in their performing. The Du Nord is a great venue in general, so her off the wall personality mixed with that voice of hers made for a good show. The greater thing sometimes about a show is the people you see it with and this was certainly one of those. Quite honestly, it was just a bonus that a performer I really liked was playing because the time and talk and all with my companion that evening was the best part. And considering it was Eleni Mandell playing, thats saying a good bit!

2. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass - Golden Gate Park, October 2009 (San Francisco) - Warren Hellman does an amazing job of putting together a wonderful lineup every year for HSB. With the backdrop of Golden Gate Park, it makes for a pretty darn cool show. This year I got to see Eliza Gilkyson, Hayes Carll, Buddy Miller (who did a couple songs with Emmylou and 4 with Robert Plant!!!!), Okkervil River, Billy Joe Shaver, Gillian Welch and Steve Earle and the bluegrass Dukes. On Sunday I saw Elvis Perkins, Booker T playing with the Drive-by Truckers, Allen Toussaint, Galactic, Neko Case, Mavis Staples, Billy Bragg and Emmylou Harris. So yes, not a bad way to spend a weekend. I got the added bonus of spending time with friends and meeting a new little boy in the world, so all in all it was nice. Somewhat sad and such in certain respects, but overall a good experience.

1. Ben Sollee and Kate Noson, Lets Go Sailing - Cafe Du Nord, May 2009 (San Francisco) - Why Ben is not hugely popular and well regarded is beyond me. His ability with the cello is nothing short of amazing. His ability to weave great rhythm, to bend the confines of the instrument while all the while singing in a voice that is earnest and tonally amazing is nothing short of arresting. His opener Kate Noson (out of Oakland) sang a couple with him, their harmony was up there with Richard and Linda Thompson, just perfect. Not flawless, but perfect. He did a cover of "Chocolate Jesus" by Tom Waits which was fun...I could go on and on, as a performer he did a wonderful wonderful job. I was in an emotional state at that time where the longing, shaded lyrics and sounds were exactly what I wanted to hear and still do. His songs, 'I cant' and 'Copper and Malachite' just worked in a very personal and intimate way so much so that if I put myself back in my head at that time, I get a tad misty. Now as sappy as that sounds, I don't care, a good performance and a good memory are worth more than anything and regardless of anything since then, I am thankful for that time and place.

Top 10 Movies of the year

So I'm doing three top 10 lists, shows, albums and movies. The thing of it is, I wish I had seen more movies that have been out this year. Things like Crazy Heart (out Jan 8th in Austin), An Education, Hurt Locker etc etc, will catch as they come on DVD. But in the meantime, here are my favorites this year:

10. Let the right one in - Now, this doesn't actually count as 2009 because it had festival releases the 2nd part of 2008, but I didn't get a chance until this year. Anyway, this is a wonderful, deep film that deals so eloquently with connections and fear on an adolescent level. Forget stupid Twilight for vampires, watch this one instead.















9. Where the Wild Things Are - I have no doubt that the award shows will leave this out and I really don't understand why. I thought it was beautiful and so well done, no stupid winks at the camera or reference a minute crap - in the vein of Labrynth.


8. Julie & Julia - Meryl Streep is from another planet. She is not from our planet. Like Daniel Day-Lewis and Gary Oldman, she is from a chameleon planet that allows her to perform so well again and again and again. This film, thankfully, is not too super sweet, but resonates with a good bit of heart in each woman's storyline. Plus, Amy Adams is always great to watch.


7. District 9 - How is is possible that the effects in this 30mil budget movie look better than those in the 180mil Transformers movie? I really enjoyed this movie, it has a sense of purpose, not just to exist like most action type movies. I thought a little of Enemy Mine while watching it. When you have a compelling lead actor and an (amazingly) believable story, it makes a big difference.



6. Bad Lieutenant - Port of Call New Orleans - Okay, so this movie is just nuts. Werner Herzog has an amazing and gonzo vision of how things should look, sound and feel. This only adds more to the film along with the completely berzerk performance from Nic Cage and creates this off kilter but never self aware bit of filmmaking that was really enjoyable, if not completely off the wall.



5. Coraline - Henry Sellick's latest stop motion film is a great enforcer of my feeling on beauty - sometimes you can find beauty in scary or ugly things. While this was so amazingly well executed with color and design perfection, it was also a little unsettling and scary at spots with very little apology. Scary things can be really lovely, this beauty of a film was so enjoyable in that respect.



4. Unmade Beds- I saw this as the closing film of the San Francisco International Film Festival in May of this year. It was a wonderful festival, but I think this was my favorite of all of them. Alexis Dos Santos' second feature was not trying to be too hip or too aware, it was just able to be what it was. To me, many sections of the film were like watching a watercolor come to life, the fluidity of the director's eye and the use of music, was really just a wonderful film full of life and hope.



3. Up - Well, I'm sure you can go all over the internet and read all manner of praise about Up, it is a truly beautiful and caring movie. The montage sequence in the beginning was remarkable for its delicate and honest way; something you don't expect from an animated film, Pixar or otherwise. The main reason I really liked Up was because it felt like a timeless story that could have come from Grimm or Arabian Nights or any other kind of lore - just very elegant and funny and wonderful.

2. Shrink - This was one of those DVDbox finds, didn't actually know the movie existed, but it had Kevin Spacey and I'll see anything he is in, so there you go. One of the big problems with films about Hollywood or anything to do with the film business, especially artsy-fartsy ones, is the total focus on negative, envelope pushing content or mindless indulgence. Everything is either plastic and fake, or, is so dark and depressing that its just roundly unpleasant. This film doesn't do either thing. There is some heavier subject matter, but its done in a real way. Spacey's character is complex and interesting and sympathetic and engaging. The whole film becomes an interesting journey, not for the spectacle of it, but the day to day pains and beauties that make real life. The soundtrack is wonderful too, with an amazing song by Jackson Browne over the credits.


1. Up in the Air - Besides noting the odd naming of the main character (shares the name with alt-rock-country singer Ryan Bingham) much has been said about this film too. I can't really talk about why I loved this movie so much without basically giving away the ending, but sufficed to say if you're looking for the big rainbow and altar and puppies and rainbows ending, you won't find it. However, that doesn't mean its some dark and depressing ending either. What this film manages to do is tell an interesting story without laboring under the expected outcomes. The script is sharp and funny and not too pushy - Clooney and cast are very natural; a sense they own the material and aren't playing the face time game. The style of the direction and the use of music is enhancing, not distracting. Overall, about as good as a movie can be.