My Year in Lists: 10 Favorite Shows of 2009 (plus 3 pleasant surprises)

I started off the year with the goals of going to/taking pictures at least one show a month, and finally stepping it up and getting photo passes for things instead of shooting on the sly from the crowd all the time. Check and check! In the process, I logged way too many hours on NJ Transit (when I wasn’t missing trains altogether), attempted to battle my anxiety when dealing with pass mixups (with varying results), got crushed by masses of sweaty bodies a couple of times, learned to use my camera better, and saw a lot of really awesome music. These were my favorites:

#1: Florence + The Machine at Bowery Ballroom, October 27
Hands down, the best performance I witnessed all year. Florence Welch is beyond belief; she’s a force of nature, moving as if possessed, whipping her hair around, gesturing wildly, and beating on a drum in a fierce, hectic frenzy, all the while belting in this impossibly amazing voice. We packed Bowery Ballroom to see her at this, her first proper New York City show. Lucky thing, because I seriously doubt she’ll ever play anywhere so small and intimate again.
More photos from Florence + The Machine here.

#2: The Weakerthans at Music Hall of Williamsburg, September 17
The most fun I had at a show all year, without question. John K. Samson writes lyrics that wend their way under my skin and anchor little hooks into my heart, becoming personal anthems of sorts. I was looking forward to seeing these guys for the first time immensely, but I wasn’t sure how the experience would gel with the intense & personal relationship I have with their music. Then I was there, and the crowd around me was singing along with every word of every song and dancing, and instead of bristling with annoyance as I’d expected to I felt this vast outpouring of communal musical love, and joined in. The show ran late, I missed my train, I didn’t even care. (Note: this is remarkable because I’m usually a massive anxiety case about this sort of thing.)
More photos from The Weakerthans here.

#3: The Antlers at Bowery Ballroom, December 15
The Antlers’ album Hospice hit me like a ton of bricks, and I tried and failed to make it to their album release show at Mercury Lounge and a later show at Maxwell’s. Then I caught them at Music Hall of Williamsburg for CMJ, and while they sounded incredible the people standing next to me were pretty rambunctious and it took me out of the mood of the music quite a bit. At this, their first headlining show at Bowery Ballroom, though, The Antlers brought the full crushing power and emotion of their music and left me a quivering puddle of goo. I’ve never cried so much at a show and that’s about the highest compliment I can give.
More photos from The Antlers here.

#4: Sufjan Stevens at Bowery Ballroom, October 5
It was so quiet in Bowery Ballroom you could hear a pin drop, but for the music. I was sick and miserable with a terrible hacking cough that I tried, with little success, to muffle in my hands and jacket. It should have been a recipe for disaster, or a sign for me to call it an early night, but Sufjan and friends sounded so good I couldn’t have moved even if I wanted to.
More photos from Sufjan Stevens here.

#5: Amanda Palmer at Highline Ballroom, June 5 / Amanda Palmer & Neil Gaiman at Housing Works, June 3
Amanda Palmer always brings the goods, performance wise, but this show was particularly excellent. Maybe it was the various friends and family members who entered and exited the stage, giving the whole night the feel of a big family gathering that also happens to be totally welcome to interested strangers, so step inside; maybe it was that only two days before, I’d been present at Amanda & Neil Gaiman’s Liner Notes appearance at Housing Works, which was in and of itself an incredible, special night. I’ve been a fan of Neil’s for over a decade and hearing him read, as well as having a brief and painfully fangirly and gushing conversation with him over the signing table was a definite highlight of my year. Plus, the public revelation that night that he and Amanda are dating, thus becoming the ultimate weirdo power couple who you can look to and think, maybe there’s someone out there for me yet? All these things combined, I think, to create a vortex of supreme awesome.
More photos from Amanda Palmer here.

#6: The Mountain Goats & Final Fantasy at Bell House, December 2
Two amazing bands closing their tour together at one of the loveliest, most intimate venues in the city sounded too good to be true, and sure enough the night didn’t go off without a hitch. Poor Owen Pallett mangled his finger and, unable to play violin, was left to improvise his songs via some rough looped piano. All things considered, though, it sounded damn good, and only left me more in awe of his musical skills, even in a pinch. Then John Darnielle and his band came out to play a set of material from their newest album, older fan favorites, and some truly hilarious covers. The pinnacle of the night was when everyone in the room, John, Owen (who’d come out to join him for a few songs), the rest of the band, every person in the audience, shouted along together, “I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me!” Which was almost matched, a few songs later, with another whole room singalong to No Children. My only complaint about the night? The Bell House’s lighting is not my favorite, and I left with very few pictures I liked.
More photos from The Mountain Goats & Final Fantasy here.

#7: Andrew Bird at Radio City Music Hall, June 18
I was skeptical about seeing Andrew at a venue this cavernous, but he filled it with gorgeous looped violin and whistling better than I ever could’ve imagined, sounding the absolute best I’ve ever heard him. An encore of Why?, Don’t Be Scared, and Fake Palindromes was pure perfection. This was one of three times I saw the Bird man this year; the first, at Music Hall of Williamsburg in January, was the only one I really took pictures at, aside from a few sneaked at Radio City. For the third I went to Philly to see him with St. Vincent, and his collaborations with her there are totally worth mentioning, and tracking down audiovisual evidence of if at all possible.
Photos from Andrew Bird at Music Hall of Williamsburg here.

#8: Wilco at Keyspan Park, July 13
Jeff Tweedy looked like he was having grand old time on this stage, and his good mood was infectious. It was a perfect summer’s day at Coney Island, and this was just about the best soundtrack imaginable to close it out. And as an added bonus, guest appearances by Leslie Feist and Ed Droste.
More photos from Wilco here.

#9: Fanfarlo at Webster Hall, December 18
I missed a couple of Fanfarlo shows due to circumstances and scheduling, but the third time was clearly the charm. Fanfarlo delivered an epic tour finale complete with an escape artist and interpretive dancer (what can I say, I’m a sucker for theatrics). It was the sort of show where I couldn’t decide which I wanted to do more, dance or take pictures, so I settled for a little bit of both. Those are always my favorites.
More photos from Fanfarlo here.

#10: Ra Ra Riot at Webster Hall, April 4
Most attractive string section in indie rock? Perhaps! Of course, that isn’t the only reason to love Ra Ra Riot; they’re great on record and they’re great performers. This was a tremendous, high energy show, and Webster Hall’s weird blue lighting was really working for me photo wise. As an added bonus, Alexandra Lawn (cello) contacted me through Facebook afterward to compliment my pictures, be still my heart!
More photos from Ra Ra Riot here.

The 3 Best Pleasant Surprises:

#1: tUnE-YaRdS at Bowery Ballroom, November 18 (opening for The Dirty Projectors)
I took one look at Merrill Garbus’s band name, with its alternating capital letters, groaned inwardly, and prepared myself for a boring and/or insufferable opening act before the band I was really there to see, Dirty Projectors. What I didn’t expect was that Dirty Projectors, as great as they are, would be totally upstaged by Ms. Garbus, her dual mics, drums, ukulele, and looping pedal. After she left the stage to thunderous applause and shouts for an encore, I heard the guy behind me exclaim, “best opener ever!” I’m inclined to agree.
More photos from tUnE-YaRdS and Dirty Projectors here.

#2: The Lisps at Highline Ballroom, June 5 (opening for Amanda Palmer)
Amanda Palmer usually finds some excellent people to open for her who I otherwise probably wouldn’t have come across, and The Lisps were no exception to that. Very fun and catchy, they had me smiling: and as a bonus, they were super fun to photograph!
More photos from The Lisps & Amanda Palmer here.

#3: Arms at Pianos, October 23 (CMJ)
This was the first year I really attempted to “do” CMJ, versus just going to one or two shows during the week. It was a little bit more than I’d bargained for. After a couple straight days of working 9-5, catching a bus into the city, shooting five or so bands in some tiny club with no lighting to speak of, racing to make the last train home, maybe trying to do a little editing before falling asleep for a couple of hours and then waking up to do it all over again…my enthusiasm waned quite a bit. I had a couple of free hours on Friday before my assignment, though, and somehow I found myself in Pianos, catching a couple songs from Arms’ set. The music was quirky and tuneful and the singer was making self deprecating cracks and I felt like I was in a little oasis from the past few days’ madness. Too soon, I had to venture back out into the fray, but I remember leaving thinking & tweeting about how, well, special those few songs had been.
More photos from CMJ here.

Tags: 2009, amanda palmer, andrew bird, arms, best of, concerts, fanfarlo, favorites, final fantasy, florence and the machine, Lists, live music, Music, Photos, ra ra riot, Reviews, shows, sufjan stevens, the antlers, the lisps, the mountain goats, the weakerthans, tune-yards, wilco