OZ Beat: Music That Matters

My 2003 concerts

I knew it would be a formidable task to list and rank all the great music I have seen this year.... and then it was 2:30 a.m. before Christmas broke morning and I couldn't sleep, so I thought- now is as good a time as any.... so I started digging through my piles of stubs, then I grabbed the calendar because I knew that any small club (non ticket issuing gigs) where captured there. A creature WAS stirring indeed. It was the Spirit of Rock and Roll evenings past! The whole experience was mind blowing! With each stub came memories, the sounds, the people involved, the crazed exuberance and fragments of the year's history shook loose and scattered more with each scrawled on square and paper nub I touched.....

And guess what? After lining it all up in columns on yellow legal pads with intricate coding for date, venue, who I saw the show with,, if I'd reviewed it, if I liked it, how much I liked it..... I've come up with this- a declaration if you will...... "I can not rank and order this year so I'm not going to!" To put things in "order" would cheapen each one of these precious gems. So here I go- in no particular order are the shows of 2003. Nights that have shaped my life and made it all the richer (though the tickets made me a bit poorer!) So here it is, in no particular order....... and not limited to 10 or 20

White Stripes 7/1 and 7/2 Aragon Ballroom (I can't imagine that the show w. The Flaming Lips on NYE will let me down either Becky)

Interpol 1/12 Metro, 1/13 Empty Bottle, 7/? Sheffield street fest and 9/19
Riviera
Seeing this band 4 times this year and watching them grow more amazing with each show.

Belle & Sebastian 10/30
Congress Theater
Show reviewed see archives

YYYs 4/30 Metro 11/23
The huge angry Samoan aside in April and Karen O's illness in November- "this is our time sweet baby....." Seeing how this band has evolved in their live sets and how Karen O has honed her skills since last year.... also amazing

The Eels 7/23 Metro
Show reviewed see archives

Rocket from The Tombs 11/29 Abbey Pub
I never thought I'd see these guys get back together much less throw a show on the road- coming to Chicago not once, but twice in one year! David Thomas has won me over after all these years. I guess the visual key......

The Libertines 8/10 Empty Bottle
I had waited so long to FINALLY see the Libs nothing could take away from my complete joy at this show. I stood squarely at the front of the stage (no tall fuck was going to impede my sight lines for this one!) and rocked my ass off! Minus Pete or not- At least I'll have something to dream on for next year....... a Libs show with Pete, and Karl in leather and a sexy eye patch :)

X 7/11 House of Blues
I love this band, I will always love this band.... and even though it got a little violent, shoving with the great unwashed backpack people, a stellar show. Billy Zoom faster than ever and completely charming with his banter and camera antics with us in front, Exene in top vox, John Doe smoother than Chinese silk and DJ buckling it all down in back...... holy shit! The old songs still hold up.

Buzzcocks 6/20 Metro 11/26 Double Door
The Metro show was the real deal, DD, they couldn't replicate the energy they had had at Metro, and the crowd was restless...

Jonathan Richman and Tommy Larkin 6/6 Metro
Show reviewed see archives

God Speed You Black Emperor 3/21 Abbey Pub
A lush, brilliant, sonic landscape, complete mind body experience. I was speechless after this show.......

Wire 6/26 Abbey Pub
One of the best "reunion" shows this decade

Ted Leo and Pharmacists 2/2 Empty Bottle
Still not getting the respect he deserves- unbelievable live!

Mclusky 4/15 Schubas
Show reviewed see archives

Polyphonic Spree 4/11 Metro
The whole show was completely uplifting, but the cover of Bowie's "5 Years" sent me over the edge- some of my best sex this year wasn't as blissful as that moment

Scene Creamers 3/29 Fireside Bowl
Ian is an amazing showman. Becky did such a great job of describing this show for you already, so I won't bother. Though for me, the one second when I saw Ian blow his cover and break character.... I'll never forget it.

Frisbie 7/14 Schubas
Show reviewed see archives

Nina Hagen 5/31 Double Door

Datsuns 4/3 Metro

Spoon 3/31 Abbey Pub

Other bands of note seen this year included (no less special) : The Apes, The Bamboo Kids, Weird War, The Rapture, Mars Volta, TSOOL, Trail of Dead, Johnny Marr & The Healers, Division of Laura Lee, The Burning Brides, The Warlocks, The BellRays, D4 and Electric 6, Cinerama, James White/Chance, The Dishes, The Drapes, Magnus The Audreys, The Pony's, The Paper Airplane Pilots, The Methadones and The Star Spangles..... were there more.... sure there were.... can I remember... NOPE!

I love this group! You are all artistic, literate, free thinkers, true music lovers and some of my favorite people on the planet! Thanks for a great year-health and happiness to you all in 2004. My biggest thank you to Dem, who brought us all together and makes this all possible.
--Sky

my big 2003 concerts

1. Scene Creamers
Fireside Bowl (March)
The CD will never do this band justice. I would follow them into a lair of rabid spiders. A frontman presence that has admittedly jaded me to many shows following. I don't know that I got quite swept up with other shows in not only the music, but the talking in between... the transitional words leading me through a catacombs with bright blue eyes to pierce any darkness, and the audience, a pulse point of energy unto itself. My only concern during this show: What's next and don't stop. Something to be experienced, and all this happened in a shitbag bowling alley. It's never left my top, and the fireside has never been transformed for me the same way since. For all those reasons, even with the big names I've seen, it's number one. Too much showmanship to pass up, so I have to give it the creation it was -- even if it was just once.

The next two ran very close....

Gigs of 2003

First off - I rely a lot on ticket stubs to jog the grey matter cos I'm old and my memory is going. This tends to mean the small pub gigs are forgotten, which doesn't make for a fair reflection of what's out there, but does reflect that beer and total recall don't mix. Anyway, here goes:

Soundtrack Of Our Lives/Ikara Colt/Raveonettes - London Astoria Feb
Libertines/Detroit Cobras/Sights/Hiss - London Astoria Feb
Datsuns/Polyphonic Spree/Interpol/The Thrills - London Astoria Feb
The NME gigs were particularly well-chosen this year.........I already have
tickets for this year's "Award Show" package of Funeral For A Friend/The
Rapture/The Von Bondies/Franz Ferdinand, and I'm supposed to be picking up
tickets tonight for BRMC/TCTC. And I suspect I'll get some for the just-announced Jet gig....if I ever have enough money.

Best shows of 2003

I didn't see The Strokes this year and I have tickets for Flaming Lips/White Stripes for December 31 which had better be toward the top--so excluding those--the first 5 were easy.

1. TCTC at Irving Plaza, NYC (best show in a few years)

2. Rocket From the Tombs, Abbey Pub (early summer and late November-- seeing them is like reliving my punk youth only they spent their time in a vacuum and have the edge and energy that is lacking with most bands today)