Best shows, plus bonus

Best shows I saw in 2008:

1. The Dirtbombs at the Earl, April 2nd— The best show I saw this year, hands down. Two hours of insane Detroit garage soul rock. They loved the crowd, the crowd loved them and nobody stopped moving the whole night. Their We Have You Surrounded album is essential. See them whenever, wherever.

2. R.E.M. at Lakewood Amphitheater, June 21st – The third time I’ve seen them, and the best. Touring behind their best album in 10 years, they sounded like a band re-energized. The mighty Justin Waddell and I went to this show together and I think both of us nearly cried when they fired up “Harborcoat.” Well, Justin cried. I stood there being all stoic and awesome.

3. Tom Waits at the Fox Theater, July 5th—I never thought I’d get the chance to see Waits play. But he came here a couple of years ago, the show was great, and I figured that was it. Then he comes back two years later with the Glitter and Doom tour and completely blows the previous show out of the water. “Innocent When You Dream” with the audience singing along—chills.

4. The Drive-By Truckers/The Hold Steady/Bobby Bare Jr. at the Ryman Auditorium, October 31st—Every bit as good as I hoped it would be. I’ve become a big fan of the Hold Steady over the last couple of years, and their live show lived up to their reputation. I can’t remember that last time I saw a band that so completely captured the emotion of what rock and roll can come to mean. The Truckers were on fire, and the whole night was pure joy. Couple that with the surprise of finding out that a good friend of mine from high school was Bobby Bare Jr.’s drummer and you’ve got a perfect show.

Now if somebody could hook a brother up with AC/DC tickets…

And now...