Favorite Concerts of 2009

I took an informal text message poll of my friends on New Years Day. The question was simple: what was your favorite concert of the year? I got a lot of great responses (and very few "who is this?" responses, which was nice). The results are as follows:


Phish won by a landslide. Not much of a surprise; when one of America's most beloved bands goes back on tour, people are gonna get excited. Especially people who I hang out with. See the video below for an explanation. I could have picked a higher quality vid, but this one best captures the live Phish experience.



Bands that received multiple votes:
STS9 (blog video here)
Phoenix (blog video here)
The Avett Brothers (blog videos here)
Metallica

Other interesting votes worth investigating further:
Shamarr Allen and the Underdogs - as chosen by Clayton Scherrer


Mew - as chosen by Kevin McAfee


Widespread Panic (on New Years Eve!) - as chosen by Mike Wadsworth


And a few more:
Mos Def, Depeche Mode, The Dead, Billy Joel and Elton John, Band of Horses, Gaslight Anthem, Shiny Toy Guns, Brand New, Lady GaGa, needtobreathe, Ray LaMontagne (acoustic show), Britney Spears, Cage the Elephant, The Pixies, Dr. Dog, Gary Allen, Jimmy Buffet, Pearl Jam, Ratatat, and Andrew Bird

My personal choice: Phish at Alpine Valley. Tight jams, unreal setlist. Nothing but the hits. I also greatly enjoyed Thievery Corporation, Jackie Greene, The Hold Steady, Fleet Foxes, Passion Pit, Portugal. The Man, Wilco, The Dead Weather, Grizzly Bear, several of the bands listed above, and some other shows that I know I'm forgetting. Rock on. I'm already looking forward to Muse and The Avett Brothers this year. Thanks to everyone who responded. Go see live music in 2010!

Stew