leighblack | 2008: A Year in Concert

I'm not interested in filling out that typical year-end meme that's floating around. Instead I'll do this one, partly stolen from

seimaisin and partly from my own brain.

I made it to 45 concerts this year. Not too bad at all! =) But I'm definitely shooting for 50 in 2009. I've already got 12 concerts on the schedule (and that's before Butch has announced his tour dates) for next year, so I'm well on the way!

The official list for 2008:
01. 01/04 - Wannabe Hasbeens & Moxie Bliss at the Fine Line in Mpls
02. 01/28 - Shawn Mullins at Gluek's in Mpls
03. 01/31 - Cobra Starship, Metro Station, We the Kings & The Cab at the Varsity Theater in Mpls
04. 03/13 - Sherwood, Houston Calls, The Higher & We Shot the Moon at the Varsity Theater in Mpls
05. 03/16 - Lifehouse/Matt Nathanson/honeyhoney at First Ave in Mpls
06. 03/17 - Gaelic Storm at The Guthrie in Mpls
07. 03/29 - Hairball at Prime Time Sports Bar in Burnsville
08. 04/13 - The Audition/Hit the Lights/Every Avenue/The Morning Light/Kiros at the Varsity Theater in Mpls
09. 04/15 - Sara Bareilles at the Fine Line in Mpls
10. 04/19 - My Chemical Romance/Billy Talent/Drive By at the Fillmore Theater in Detroit
11. 05/07 - The Swell Season and Damien Dempsey at the Orpheum Theater in Mpls
12. 05/27 - Honda Civic Tour (Panic at the Disco, Motion City Soundtrack, The Hush Sound & Phantom Planet) at Myth in Maplewood
13. 06/04 - Old 97's/Hayes Carll/I Love Math at First Ave in Mpls
14. 06/07 - Blackboard Jungle at the Viper Room in Hollywood
15. 06/13 - Matt Wertz & Justin Rosolini at the Varsity Lounge in Mpls
16. 07/18 - Tony Lucca & Brian Wright and the Waco Tragedies at the Fine Line in Mpls
17. 07/18 - Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles at the 7th St Entry in Mpls
18. 07/19 - The Hush Sound/The Cab/Steel Train/The Morning Light at Station 4 in St Paul
19. 07/25 - Faster Pussycat/L.A. Guns/Bang Tango/The Dogs Devine at Station 4 in St Paul
20. 08/03 - Warped Tour at Canterbury Park in Shakopee
21. 08/08 - Romantica, Scythian, Flogging Molly & the Wild Colonial Bhoys at the Minnesota Irish Fair in St Paul
22. 08/09 - Sweet Colleens & The Tannahill Weavers at the Minnesota Irish Fair in St Paul
23. 08/09 - Idina Menzel & Martin Zellar at the Fitzgerald Theater in St Paul
24. 08/10 - Sweet Colleens, The Fuchsia Band & The Tannahill Weavers at the Minneota Irish Fair in St Paul
25. 08/15 - Possible Oscar & the Feng Shui Ninjas at Matty B's in Mpls
26. 08/22 - Gaelic Storm at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley
27. 09/06 - Graham Colton/Cedar Avenue/Hana Pestle at the Fine Line in Mpls
28. 09/12 - Great Big Sea at the State Theater in Mpls
29. 09/17 - The Cruxshadows/Ayria/I:Scintilla/Bella Koshka at the Varsity Theater in Mpls
30. 09/18 - Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson at Park West in Chicago
31. 09/19 - Skid Row at Joe's in Chicago
32. 10/03 - Breathe Carolina, Brokencyde and Every Avenue at the Triple Rock in Mpls
33. 10/05 - Voltaire, Stella Vector & The Bloody Turncoats at Station 4 in St Paul
34. 10/09 - Quietdrive, The Soviet Machines and Camera Can't Lie at First Avenue in Mpls
35. 10/16 - Cobra Starship, Forever the Sickest Kids, Hit the Lights and Sing in Loud at The Cabooze in Mpls
36. 10/17 - Stephen Kellogg and The Sixers & Serena Ryder at the Varsity Theater in Mpls
37. 10/21 - New Kids on the Block & Natasha Bedingfield at the Xcel Energy Center in St Paul
38. 10/24 - Family Force 5, Playradioplay and Danger Radio at Station 4 in St. Paul
39. 10/31 - The Academy Is..., We the Kings, Carolina Liar and Hey Monday at the Cabooze in Mpls
40. 11/01 - The Nadas and Transit at the Fine Line in Mpls
41. 11/16 - Forgive Durden & Empires at the Triple Rock in Mpls
42. 11/18 - Matt Nathanson, Jessie Baylin and The Break & Repair Method at the Pantages Theater in Mpls
43. 12/06 - Forgive Durden, Empires, Good News First, Pasiflora and Single Serving Friends at The Loft in Madison, WI
44. 12/19 - Sing it Loud, Take Cover, Gloria, Now and Forever and Skies Alive at Station 4 in St Paul
45. 12/26 - Quietdrive, Four Letter Lie and A Verse Unsung at Trocaderos in Mpls

(in chronological order, so I don't have to pick my actual favorite concert of the year, although it's probably Cobra Starship)

1) Gaelic Storm - 03/17/08, Guthrie Theater in Mpls: Gaelic Storm on St. Patrick's Day? Yes please! The Guthrie is a gorgeous theater and we were in the dead center of the front row. I definitely didn't miss the normal pushing and shoving that happenes when they try to cram their fans into the Fine Line. People danced and sang and there was a giant line-up of whiskey shots at the front of the stage when the band came back after intermission. Also, they were trying a new thing where the crowd booed them off the stage instead of cheering and it was bloody hilarious!

2) The Swell Season - 05/07/08, Orpheum Theater in Mpls: The dreamy songs. The fantastic storytelling. Seeing these guys being able to live out their dreams after winning a freaking Oscar? Priceless, indeed.

3) Sarah Borges & The Broken Singles - 07/18/08, 7th Street Entry in Mpls: I was so desperately tired this night, after working all day and then seeing a show at the Fine Line before stumbling down summer-evening-crowded Minneapolis streets to the Entry. But it was well worth it! The crowd may have been small but the energy from the band was high and

seimaisin and I couldn't help dancing our asses off! We stuck around to buy merch and talked to Sarah for a bit and she was all "I saw you guys dancing!" Seriously, they're amazing and you should catch them if you get the chance!

4) Warped Tour - 08/03/08, Canterbury Park in Shakopee: Of all the bands we saw at Warped, only one chased us away for being a little boring. I'd say that's a pretty good record! Family Force 5 was definitely the highlight of the day. We were standing at least 50 yards away and I could STILL feel the bass pounding in my chest. Good times! And The Audition absolutely killed their set. But closing our day with Motion City Soundtrack - Cobra Starship - The Academy Is... pretty much made everything perfect and right with the world. ;) I even braved the kids and went into the pit for Cobra!

5) Minnesota Irish Fair - 08/08/08 - 08/10/08, in St. Paul: Being able to see three days of fantastic music for free is generally a wonderful thing in itself, but there was just something about the Irish Fair this year that made it extra special. Spending Friday night with some of my closest friends and basking in the gorgeous summer night and the music drifting across the banks of the Mississippi was something magical. And catching the always entertaining Fuschia Band on Sunday made hiking a mile back to my car totally worth it.

6) Graham Colton - 09/06/08, Fine Line Music Cafe in Mpls: I sort of liked Graham Colton before this show. Certainly, I had his albums and had listened to them a bit.

seimaisin and I decided to see him pre-Rock Boat so we could decide if we'd want to see him while floating through the Caribbean. And his show blew me away! Great music, terrific stage banter, fabulous stage presence. What more could you ask for? I'm most definitely a fan now!

7) Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson - 09/18/08, Park West in Chicago: Four years ago, I was lucky enough to see Kasey perform at the Minnesota Zoo on a perfect summer evening. Two years ago, she had to cancel her US tour because she got pregnant. This year, I was thrilled to finally be able to see her again. Along with her husband and her father, they did a small, acoustic tour in a few US cities.

duckduck & I drove out to the Chicago show (after numerous traffic tie-ups) and I am so glad that we did! We ended up in a perfect spot and it was a wonderful night. Kasey is an amazing performer and I desperately wish she was more well known here.

8) Cobra Starship - 10/16/08, The Cabooze in Mpls: The Cabooze. Oh man. It is so NOT the place to cram a thousand excited kids into. They obviously had no idea what they were getting themselves into. Even though Gabe's voice was completely shot, he's still the most entertaining guy I've seen on a stage in years. I love everything about this band. Their ultra-catchy music! Their crazy dance moves! Their ridiculous 80s wardrobe & merch! ::squeezes Cobras tight::

Plus, this happened and I'm not ashamed to say it pretty much made my year. ;)

9) The Academy Is... & We the Kings - 10/31/08, The Cabooze in Mpls: The crowd was slightly less packed-like-sardines than the Cobra show. And a good majority of them got into the spirit of the holiday and dressed in costumes (ourselves included) which led to some awesomely confused looks from the biker crowd at next door at The Joint. The bands were also in costume and it just added to the sheer fun of the show! TAI had the unfortunate job of going on after Cobra at Warped and anyone would look a little lackluster compared to Gabe. But Beckett and the boys were absolutely charismatic this night! I laughed and jumped and danced and sang my heart out!

Also, how can you resist Travis from WTK in a in a T-Rex costume?

10) Matt Nathanson - 11/18/08, Pantages Theater in Mpls: There was just something about this night. You would think seeing Matty Nay in a seated venue would suck, but it certainly didn't. The crowd was just as rowdy as ever! The music was perfect. Matt was still pretty raunchy. And I finally got to hear "Laid" live! We walked out of the show cursing having to go back to real life. We kind of just wanted to exist in this moment forever.

Honorable mention: Forgive Durden & Empires in Madison. That show would have been on my list if Forgive Durden wasn't such a black hole of stage presence. But Empires totally rocked it!

some meme questions:
Band(s) seen the most: Cobra Starhip, We the Kings and Every Avenue - 3 times each

Biggest show night: For sheer number of fans, definitely NKOTB. Which just reminded me why I hate arena shows. For anticipation, well...waiting 4 years to see Kasey Chambers again is kind of hard to beat.

Smallest show: Probably Sarah Borges & The Broken Singles. There were definitely less than 50 people in the Entry. Maybe less than 30. Shame really since the show was so fantastic!

Band(s) you never want to see again: Ayria. Oh gods, never again. She opened up for The Cruxshadows. It was just her, a keyboard/computer player and a dude on an electronic drum kit. And she ran around like Goth Barbie. Even though she was really loud, I actually fell asleep for a while. Because she played for an ETERNITY. Also, Metro Station. WHY ARE THEY SO POPULAR??

Band(s) you didn't really know going in and came out loving: Graham Colton, Hayes Carll, Matt Wertz, Brokencyde (ha ha!), A Verse Unsung

I meant to get all my photos and videos from all these shows that have been sitting on my computer for months posted before I made this post. But yeah, that didn't happen obviously. =/

I'm also trying to get 65 books read for the year. I'm at 63 right now. Can I do 2 books in 3 days? Sure. Will I actually have the free time though? That's the real question.