DEAN BUDNICK
Favorite Live Performances of 2009
1. Booker T and the DBTs, Bonnaroo – 6/13/09*
2. Phish, New England Dodge Music Center (aka The Meadows) – Hartford, CT 8/14/09
3. Surprise Me Mr. Davis/The Low Anthem The Narrows Center for the Arts, Fall River, MA 8/27/09
4. Allman Brothers Band/Widespread Panic New England Dodge Music Center, Hartford, CT – 8/30/09
5. George Wein’s Folk Festival 50, Newport, RI 8/1/09: The Low Anthem/Mavis Staples/Avett Brothers/Brett Dennen/Fleet Foxes/Tom Morello/Gilian Welch/The Decemberists/Pete Seeger
6. Derek Trucks Band/Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band, Garde Arts Center, New London, CT 11/5/09- I hope there’s more to come but if that was the last gig I’ll see from this DTB line-up, at least I went out with a smile
*Considering that I came home from Bonnaroo and immediately tore though Dave Marsh’s Springsteen bio and the Tracks box set, I’d also have to point to Bruce’s performance from that night (which was all the more entertaining because Triumph The Insult Comic Dog and Al Schnier were riding the rail across from me).
Favorite 2009 Release
1. Toubab Krewe Live at the Orange Peel
2. David Rawlings Machine A Friend of a Friend
3. James Carter Heaven on Earth (with John Medeski, Christian McBride, Adam Rogers and Joey Baron)
4. Umphrey’s McGee Mantis
5. Emmitt-Nershi Band New Country Blues
6. Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavilion
Note: Derek Trucks Band Already Free would be on here but I picked it last year (as I had been spinning it for many months in 2008 while working on a Relix feature).
Favorite Reissue or Archival
1.Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins The Classic Prestige Sessions 1951-1956
2.Jerry Garcia Band Let It Rock Keystone Berkeley 11/7 & 18, 1975
3. Grateful Dead Winterland June 1977
4. Widespread Panic Huntsville 1996
Go To Disc Or Show (My 2009 list)
1. Miles Davis- either In A Silent Way or A Tribute To Jack Johnson depending on my mood
2. Grateful Dead Live Dead Easy to overlook but still pretty freaking amazing
3. Phish Colorado 88 – Comfort food, plus that “Antelope” cracks me up every time
4. moe. The Conch Still ideal for that 78 minute car ride or household chore
5. The Hold Steady Boys and Girls in America – When I’m in a certain mood, this one scratches the itch
*****
MATT BROCKETT
Favorite Live Performances of 2009
1. Phish- SPAC 8/16/09
2. Phish Returns- Hampton, VT 3/6/09
3. Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe- Mountain Jam, Hunter, NY- 5/30/09 Latenight
4. Barrington Levy- Festivus, Cabot, VT- 7/18/09
5. The Sword- Higher Ground, S. Burlington, VT 1/21/09
Favorite 2009 Release
1. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers- The Live Anthology
2. Madlib- Beat Konducta, Vol. 5-6
3. New Mastersounds- Ten Years On
4. Clutch- Strange Cousins From The West
5. Doom- Born Like This
Favorite Reissue
1. Nirvana- Bleach/Live at Reading
2. The Stone Roses 20th Anniversary Edition
3. King Crimson- In the Court of the Crimson King
Go To Disc Or Show (not from 2009)
1. Bad Brains- Rock for Light
2. Iggy & The Stooges- Raw Power
3. Phish- 12/7/97 Dayton, OH
4. Clutch- Self-titled
5. Ol’ Dirty Bastard- Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version
*****
JARROD DICKER
Favorite Live Performances of 2009
1. Bruce Springsteen – East Rutherford, NJ – October 8th & 9th
2. Bob Weir and Phil Lesh – New York Historical Society (mini-set) – October 21, 2009
3. David Byrne – Prospect Park, Brooklyn – June 9, 2009
4. Allman Brothers Band w/ Eric Clapton- Beacon Theater, NY – March 19, 2009
5. Them Crooked Vultures – Roseland Ballroom, NYC – October 15, 2009
Favorite 2009 Release
1. Alberta Cross The Broken Side of Time
2. Dirty Projectors Bitte Orca
3. Wilco The Album
4. Dan Auerbach Keep It Hid
5. The Antlers Hospice
Favorite Reissue
1. Blur Midlife: A Beginner’s Guide to Blur
2. The Beatles Stereo Box/In Mono
3. Beastie Boys Paul’s Boutique
Go To Disc Or Show (not from 2009)
1. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Hammersmith Odeon London ’75
2. Bob Dylan The Bootleg Series, Vol. 1-3
3. Johnny Cash American Recordings
4. The White Stripes Elephant
5. Sublime Robbin’ the Hood
*****
DAN ALFORD
Favorite Live Performances of 2009
There may have been other concerts in 2009, some of them may have even been fantastic, mind bending, soul searing events, but really the that was was all about only one band: Phish. And I’m not going to be one of those who tries to qualify my statements with, “They haven’t played the perfect concert yet,” or “They aren’t like they were in 1993 (or 1997 or 1991 or 1995 or whatever year you want).” In 2009, Phish played the best music they have played, and they played it with grace and style and utter joy night after night after night. In reverse chronological order then, my favorite Phish shows of the year:
1) 12/4/09 NYC: The last night at MSG, the quartet laid out a second set of music spanning their entire career, tapping every era from the “Sense and Subtle Sounds” anthemic opener to the grooved out “Twist” to the absolutely blisteringly tight “Mike’s Song”. Everyone was waiting for an Exile cover the whole run, and the “Shine a Light” encore was pure bliss-can’t stop listening to that set.
2) 8/14/09 Hartford: Probably the best live concert experience of the year. A hot hot hot muggy night and the band just let it all hang out. That second set is one for the ages, but all the more so (in this steal the soundboard instantly age) if you were there watching “Psycho Killer”, “Catapult” and “Icculus” unfold before your eyes.
3) 6/7/09 Camden: The second best live experience—that place was electric, and despite a few flubs here and there, the band seemed nothing less than ecstatic to be there. The jam out of “Fee” is heartrendingly gorgeous, and from there it was a show of shows. And the extended encore was the treat of treats. Remember how tentative we all still were back then? That encore was balm for the soul.
4) 6/4/09 Jones Beach, Night Two: The first set is my favorite set of the year. A crystal blue sky in between an overcast night and a downpour night, with a quirky “Grind” opener followed by a perfect “Divided Sky”—just brilliant. Many folks praise night two at Albany for the free form second set, and rightly so, but the best thing Phish did this year was keep the songs at the center, playing them clean and tight night after night. And that being said, the “Ghost” from this gig is a prime example of what is best about 3.0 jamming—focus and character with a transcendent plateau to bring it home.
5) 3/8/09 Hampton: Being able to catch one of those shows was just as special as a show can get.
Favorite 2009 Release
1. The Low Anthem – Oh My God Charlie Darwin
2. Brian Blade – Mama Rosa
3. Mother Hips – Pacific Dust
4. Phish – Joy
5. The Black Crowes – Before the Frost…Until the Freeze
Favorite Archival Release
1. Jerry Garcia – Jerry Garcia Vol. II Let It Rock
2. moe. – Dr. Stan’s Prescription Vol. II
3. WSP – Huntsville 1996
Go To Disc Or Show (not from 2009)
1. Warren Haynes and Friends 5/2/02
2. John Bell and John Keane 3/7/03
3. Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band, Season of Changes
4. John Coltrane, Live Trane Europe Box Set
5. Neil Young, Live at Fillmore East
****
ALEX BORSODY
Favorite Live Performances of 2009
1. Lettuce and Derek Trucks – 11/14/09 – Bear Creek Music Festival – Live Oak, FL
2. Birdhive Boys – 1/14/09 – National Underground – NY,NY
3. Bustle In Your Hedgerow – 12/22/09 – Brooklyn Bowl – Brooklyn, NY
4. Dickey Betts – The Concert Hall, NY, NY
5. Nas and Damien Marley – July/17/2009 – Camp Bisco
Favorite 2009 Release
1. Math Head – Dirty Deeds
2. Marco Benevento – Me Not Me
3.Gov’t Mule – By a Thread
4.The New Mastersounds – Ten Years On
5.My Cousin, The Emperor – A Long Way From Home
Favorite Reissue
1. Beastie Boys – Check Your Head
2. RadioHead – OK Computer’s “Collectors Edition”
Go To Disc Or Show (not from 2009)
1. Phish – Live Phish Vol. 9: 8/26/89, Townshend Family Park, Townshend, Vermont
2. Grateful Dead – Reckoning
3. Grateful Dead – Fillmore East: April 1971
4. Bela Fleck – The Bluegrass Sessions: Tales From The Acoustic Planet
5. Delaney, Bonnie and Friends (w/Duane Allman) – 7/22/1971
(Recorded live at A & R Studios, New York City, NY.
From this recording session only the track ‘Come On In My Kitchen’ was officially released on ‘Duane Allman: An Anthology vol. 2’ (1974)
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