Rewind: Best/Worst Shows of 2008

I’ll have it be known I went to 80 shows plus SXSW, CMJ, and Bamboozle. Wow, what a crazy year for show-going for me.

Top 20 Shows of 2008 (in no particular order)
1. Valient Thorr, Early Man, Monotonix, Golden Error @ Bowery Ballroom 7/25 (Overall, awesome, crazy show. All the bands were great. Monotonix put on one of the sickest, floor, rock n roll bands I’ve ever seen. Meet some cool people.)
2. Ill Nino, Otep, Walls of Jericho @ Starland Ballroom 11/2 (I crowd surfed twice, moshed, I had so much fun. Great bands)
3. The Breeders & Matt and Kim @ McCarren 7/13 (The breeders and Matt and kim with cassie, nuff said)
4. Cavalera Conspiracy/ The Dillinger Escape Plan 7/19 (One of the best heavy metal shows I’ve seen. The openers blew, but cavalera and Dillinger owned)
5. Jesse Lacey, Kevin Devine, Brian Bonz @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 11/25 (I didn’t think this show was going to be as amazing as it was. Got turned onto Brand New’s music. Kevin Devine’s set was fabulous. Neutral Milk Hotel, Guns n Roses, Springsteen, Modest Mouse covers and more. What a lovely night)
6. World/ Inferno Friendship Society @ Bowery Ballroom (pretty grand)
7. Franz Nicolay, Brook Pridemore, Whack, Strange Things Done in the Midnight Sun, Emilyn Brodsky @ Maxwell’s 1/13 (fun show! I danced like mad during Whack)
8. Murder by Death, Kiss Kiss, O’Death @ Bowery Ballroom 4/4 (MBD were spot on, I had so much fun and enjoyed the openers to)
9. Issac Hayes @ Prospect Park 6/12 (epic set, rip hayes!)
10. Bomb the Music Industry!, Lemuria, The Ergs!, Bridge And Tunnel, Cheeky @ Knitting Factory 6/24 (really great show, BTMI were off but everyone else was fantastic)
11. Cold War Kids, Sam Champion, Elvis Perkins in Dearland @ Prospect Park 6/27 (really good show. The sound was phenomenal, the vibe was great, and I was with a good friend)
12. Best Friends Forever, Screaming Females, Puttin’ on the Ritz, Acht(en) @ The Tank 8/19 (Overall, great show. Scremales blew my mind, it was my first time seeing them.)
13. Nine Inch Nails @ Izod Center 8/27 (Amazing set. I had so much fun.)
14. Screaming Females, The Pussy Pirates, Slaw, Invincible Gods @ MeatTown USA 9/16 (Really good show. Fun. My first basement show)
15. Monotonix, The Mae Shi, Best Fwends, etc @ Knitting Factory 10/24 (Very weird show, but fun and interesting. Monotonix stole the show. What an insane band)
16. Maria Taylor, Johnathan Rice, and Nik Freitas @ Knitting Factory 6/18/08 (very lovely sets. Maria played "replay" and her new songs were great)
17. As Tall As Lions, Leah Siegel, and The Circus @ Maxwell’s 7/8/09 (lovely)
18. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltson, Ha Ha Tonka, Wakey! Wakey! @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 7/16/08 (very nice show)
19. Everclear, Jenny Owens Young, Cracker, and more @ Union County Music Fest, Cranford, NJ 9/5/08 (fun! young played a nelly cover)
20. Murder By Death, J Roddy Walston and the Buisness, and William Elliot Whitman @ Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ 11/11/08 (rock n roll greatness)

Worst (these were more disappointing shows. I expected much more)
1. Hot Water Music, Thursday, Paint it Black @ Terminal 5 (the sound was not that great, the vibe felt off)
2. mewithoutYou/ Maps and Atlases @ Maxwells 7/18 (I love mewithoutYou, but they played a short, rushed set and they were off a bit musically)
3. Math the Band @ Knitting Factory 8/12 (it weird, a bit fun, but I felt out of place)
4. Why? @ Bowery Ballroom (I like Why?, but I wasn’t into them live. Why? did I go to this show)
5. Bayside, Valencia, The Matches, The Status @ Irving Plaza 11/14 (the openers were okay, but nothing that impressed me. Bayside is one of the my favorites, but I don’t like the new songs and I was alone at the show. The vibe felt off and I couldn’t get into too much)