The Best Shows.

I see a lot of bands. A lot. Most of my best moments every year are spent in a dark room with sweaty, drunk people and loud music. I never get tired of it. It's something that consistently makes me happier and feel better about my life. I'm always afraid I'm going to miss a great show. Even if you see the same band several times, you could miss their best show ever. Or their worst show ever. Either way, I want to be there.

Sometimes, I spend too much time thinking about what I'm about to do, rather than what I'm actually doing. I never fall into that trap that when I'm at a good show.

Here are the 13 best shows I saw this year:

13. John Wesley Coleman- Bad Lady Goes to Jail Record Release Party, October 22 at Murphy's. A great rock and roll show. The new songs sounded great and the band looked like they were having fun. There was a particularly small crowd there to see it, but they gave it all they had. I appreciate that. "Oooh Basketball" was excellent. Buy the new album.

12. So Cow, March 25 at Hi-Tone. One of those performances I went into knowing just one song ("Casablanca") by the band and left as a total fan. So Cow songs just sound right. They translate nicely in a live setting. There was plenty of energy and every song sounded like a pop hit. I bought the records when I left. By the time I saw them in September at Gonerfest, I knew every word.

11. Armitage Shanks at Gonerfest, September 25 at Hi-Tone. I should probably admit here that I fetishize bloke culture. I like britpop. I love Britain's thugs. Armitage Shanks are right in my wheelhouse. A song about coming home from the pub and seeing a bloke beating his bird? Yes, please. Armitage Shanks songs are perfect for screaming. They walked on stage wearing shirts and ties, looking like they just returned from the parole board. Frontman/giant human Dick Scum leaned over the crowd and snarled through some great songs that could be screamed along to, even if they were the first time you heard them. They were intense, threatening and perfect.

10. Ty Segall at Gonerfest, September 23 at Hi-Tone. This wasn't the best Ty Segall show I've seen. That distinction belongs to an early 2009 show at the Hi-Tone that made me a believer. But this show was great. Ty played "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath about 18 times. The crowd was really into it. Don't believe me? Here's a video. I'm the fellow in the red shirt jumping around from time to time. I apologize to Youtube for having to see that.

9. Titus Andronicus, August 29 at Hi-Tone. When Titus Andronicus plays, it feels important. They play songs that feel like they were written by and for young, smart, frustrated young men who drink a lot and read books. Their shows are full of passion and fun (drunken?) banter from frontman Patrick Stickles. Stage banter seems lost on a lot of bands lately. I always enjoy well-done stage banter. The first time I saw Titus Andronicus, they were opening for another band. I don't remember what band. That's how great they were. 


8. Tyler Keith and the Apostles at Gonerfest, September 23 at Hi-Tone. I had relatively low expectations for this show. Tyler Keith, who gained my love with The Neckbones, had another band that I imagined would pale in comparison to Oxford's mighty Neckbones. Plus, they were a last-minute fill-in to open the Thursday night Gonerfest festivities. Good God, I was wrong. I pity the poor bands that had to follow TK and the Apostles. They ripped the place apart. They played a show with an intensity and power that almost seemed inappropriate for a band OPENING the night's festivities. They didn't care. The crowd took about 5 minutes to be completely sold on this set. They gave and gave and gave. I loved every minute of it. 

7. The Neckbones and Cool Jerks, December 10 at Hi-Tone.  The Neckbones play every show like it's their last. I never feel like they're going through the motions. There are plenty of young bands who could learn a lot from these 15-year veterans of drunken rock and roll. They ripped through about two hours, which included Tyler Keith falling over drunk, getting back up and playing another 30 minutes of greatness. Young bands should be required to see The Neckbones. No half-assed shows from these rock and roll veterans. Cool Jerks were a nice surprise. A cover of  Wreckless Eric's "Whole Wide World" was amazing. I spent $5 for this show. Someday, I'll be amazed that I had that much fun for $5.

6. Jacuzzi Boys, May 7 at Hi-Tone. Jacuzzi Boys are a great band. I think they've been unfairly compared with the Black Lips. Was I one of those people prior to the show? Maybe. Was I after the show? Nope. There was plenty of energy and a shambling rock quality that felt right. And uniquely Jacuzzi Boys. Since the show, I have tried to get anything they put out. I haven't been disappointed yet. Young men on fire!

Ian Saint Pé of Black Lips, Photo by Kandi Cook

5. Black Lips and Box Elders, April 9 at Hi-Tone.  I think the Black Lips have been unfairly compared with the Black Lips. You know, a wild show with plenty of spectacle, hijinx and if you're lucky, a few songs that sound listenable. Not this time. Black Lips didn't disappoint with the hijinx (band members tongue kissing band members---well, I never!, etc.), but the music was RIGHT. The crowd was completely sold the entire show. They sounded the best I've ever heard them. By far. It was a wild, loud, hot show. They've come a long way. In a good way.

4. UV Race at Gonerfest, September 25 at Hi-Tone. UV Race are one of my favorite new bands. Well, they're new to me. Their songs are wonderful Aussie conspiracy rockers with the proper level of paranoia and anxiety that marks so much of that country's best music. Their songs take so many odd turns that it takes about 25 listens before that first-listen feeling wears off. Saxophone where it doesn't belong? Oh yeah. Frontman Marcus Rechsteiner held it down for the chunky gentlemen with a bouncy stage presence fueled by a seemingly endless supply of nervous energy. They were incredible. I only wish I didn't miss the Total Control show.

3. JEFF the Brotherhood, October 8 at Hi-Tone. Heaven help you if you're at a JEFF the Brotherhood show and not a fan of heavy riffs. They start and don't stop. Think of hearing the best parts of "Wheels of Confusion" or "Sweet Leaf" by Black Sabbath for 90 minutes. That's what a JEFF the Brotherhood show is like. I've seen them five or six times now. The October 8 show was the best one yet. They were road tested and at the height of their powers. They sounded amazing. Go see them.

2. Thee Oh Sees at Gonerfest, September 23 at the Cooper-Young Neighborhood Gazebo.  The highlight of Gonerfest. It was an "opening ceremony" scheduled the afternoon after the opening night. If people missed Useless Eaters or Spider Bags on Wednesday night, they missed some great bands. But if this Oh Sees set was the first show they saw at this year's Gonerfest, it was a hell of a way to open the festival.  I'm a smiler at shows. I am generally happy at shows, so I smile. I may have set a personal best for dumb smiling during this set. Oh Sees' songs are perfect for live shows. Their best songs bounce and echo around until they nearly fold in on themselves, then they start over. If you're not bouncing your head or jumping around at a good Oh Sees show, you're not trying. If my ham-fisted attempt at describing their shows doesn't work, here's video evidence.

1. Eddy Current Suppression Ring and Useless Eaters, June 15 at Hi-Tone. I went to a Q&A with Ian MacKaye earlier this year. It was an interesting hour with Ian being far less didactic than I expected. During the Q&A, he mentioned that he was planning to travel to Philadelphia to see Eddy Current Suppression Ring live. He said it was the first time he had traveled to see a band in several decades. He picked a good band to break that streak. Eddy Current Suppression Ring are one of the best bands playing today. Their live show leaves no doubt about that fact. Frontman Brendan Suppression nervously stomped around the stage with a level of energy I'll never forget. I bet Ian MacKaye was not disappointed.

Other things
Seeing Louis CK and Todd Barry at an odd Nashville comedy club called Zanies was another highlight of the year. Louis CK is the best standup alive today. Seeing a comedian who is taking the form to new places is a joy. He absolutely killed one of the most diverse collections of humanity I've ever seen at a standup show. This was a music-only list, though.

Davila 666 played a New Year's Eve show at the Hi-Tone that would be in the top three on this list, but it technically started in 2009, so I left it off.

If you live in Memphis and don't go see Jack O and the Tennessee Tearjerkers on a regular basis, shame on you. They're great.

Useless Eaters are still my favorite Memphis band. Paranoid pop songs with some surf guitar and punk energy. "Mr. Oscillations" is such an excellent song.

I'd also highly recommend that Memphis people see Burning Sands and Limes. I am also a big fan of True Sons of Thunder, who have gotten disturbingly good over the last 12 months.

Come on, 2011. Don't let me down.