2017 Concert Year in Review
Back in in 2013 I started doing capsule summaries of the concerts I had seen. That significantly improved my recollection of individual shows and made these year end summaries much easier for me to assemble, so I've done it ever since. Add in that this year I only saw 29 shows (lowest since 2010) and 50 bands (lowest since 2009), and this summary should be a breeze!
It's worth noting that that smaller number was not because there were fewer good shows coming to town, but more because I specifically chose to curtail expenditures to help fund my California adventures, so I'm not complaining! This time, anyway. And now, on to the list.
Capsules 1 through 6
Cherry Glazerr w/Slow Hollow - F 1/27 - Grog Shop (bought CD)
Mike Doughty - R 2/23 - Beachland Ballroom
Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears w/Dams of the West - R 3/02 - Grog Shop
Los Campesinos! - S 3/04 - Grog Shop (bought CD)
Agent Orange w/The Queers, Guttermouth - T 3/07 - Grog Shop
Dinosaur Jr - Su 3/12 - Beachland Ballroom
Capsules 7 through 12
Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express - S 3/25 - Beachland Ballroom (bought CD)
Allison Crutchfield & The Fizz w/Vagabon - Su 4/02 - Beachland Tavern (bought Vagabon CD)
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard w/Orb - F 4/07 - Beachland Ballroom (bought two CDs)
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes w/Masked Intruders - W 4/12 - HOB
The Octopus Project w/Item - M 4/17 - Grog Shop
The Wedding Present w/Colleen Green - R 4/20 - Grog Shop
Capsules 13 through 14
The Growlers - Su 5/14 - Beachland Ballroom
Kris Kristofferson - R 5/18 - Ohio Theatre
Capsules 15 through 16
Sigur Ros - F 6/02 - Detroit Masonic Temple
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - S 6/03 - Detroit Masonic Temple
Capsules 17 through 18
2Cellos - W 7/19 - Greek Theater Los Angeles
Bruno Mars w/Camila Cabello - T 8/15 - Quicken Loans Arena
Capsules 19 through 25
Antibalas - Su 9/10 - Beachland Ballroom
Roky Erickson w/Death Valley Girls - W 9/13 - Beachland Ballroom
Matt Pond PA - R 9/28 - Beachland Tavern
Studio-A-Rama 2017 - S 10/07
- Public Squares, Sister Smirk, Fascinating, Heavenly Creatures, Teddy Boys, Herzog, This Moment in Black History, New Bomb Turks, Sweet Spirit
The New Pornographers w/Born Ruffians - T 10/10 - Beachland Ballroom
Gamelan Galak Tika directed by Evan Ziporyn and Jody Diamond w/Sarah Cahill and David Bowlin (Lou Harrison Centennial) - F 10/20 - Cleveland Museum of Art Gartner
Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox - T 10/24 - HOB
Capsules 26 through 29
Peelander-Z w/Half an Animal - W 11/01 - Beachland Tavern
Ben Folds w/Tall Heights - Su 11/05 - HOB
Luna w/Eleanor Friedberger - R 11/09 - Grog Shop
The Cleveland Orchestra (Preucil, Scottish) - F 11/10 - Severance Hall
By Venue:
Beachland Ballroom - 8 shows
Grog Shop - 7 shows
Beachland Tavern - 3 shows
HOB - 3 shows
Detroit Masonic Temple - 2 shows
I may have only seen 29 shows, but at least only one of them was flat out terrible - take a bow, Black Joe Lewis, and next time try not to be so stoned that you can't play a good show. I know that's possible because I've seen The Who, Tom Petty and George Clinton, and they all killed it.
Anyway, this year the clear class of the openers was Vagabon, who far surpassed their headliner Allison Crutchfield & The Fizz. I also liked Death Valley Girls, who provided rocking support for Roky Erickson. However, I should note that I'm specifically not counting The Queers, who were great opening for Agent Orange but were really more like co-headliners. I'm also not counting This Moment in Black History and New Bomb Turks, who were the local headliners of Studio-A-Rama. All of those bands can headline a Cleveland show with no problem, so it doesn't seem fair to bunch them in with the new bands on their way up.
Here are the finalists for show of the year in 2017. These were all great shows that I'm glad I saw, but they weren't quite as good as my top 3.
Los Campesinos!
The Octopus Project
Kris Kristofferson
The New Pornographers
Gamelan Galak Tika
[3] Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - I've been listening to their ridiculous punk covers for the last 20 years. The live performance probably isn't something I need to see again, especially at the HOB, but I certainly enjoyed the heck out of it. It far exceeded my expectations.
[2] King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - The Australians play it loud and aggressive, and put out new albums more frequently than some musicians change their underwear. The capacity crowd at the Beachland Ballroom had clearly been keeping up with their numerous recent albums and screamed their approval with the opening chords of each song. I'll see them again.
[1] Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Apparently it's a good year for Australians! The memory of this show has not faded at all since June. I would love to see him again, and will happily drive to Detroit, Columbus, Pittsburgh or Detroit to make it happen. This show was arguably the most positive religious experience I've ever had, and is almost certainly somewhere in the top 10 shows I have seen in my lifetime. I may be wrong though - I have been fortunate to see some ridiculously good shows over the years.
As it happens, Nick Cave was previously second in my "Must See Top 3". That list now looks like:
[1] Tom Waits
[2] Stevie Wonder
[3] William Bell
Tom Waits will require luck like I've never had before, since he almost never plays out and even more rarely tours. Stevie Wonder will require patience and a lot of money. William Bell is an old Stax musician. He doesn't tour nationally, but does play local and regional gigs in the Atlanta area. Since my sister lives there, seeing him will almost assuredly require me to visit her. All three are quite old (Wonder is the youngest at 67), so I definitely need to take the opportunity when (if) they appear.
It's worth noting that that smaller number was not because there were fewer good shows coming to town, but more because I specifically chose to curtail expenditures to help fund my California adventures, so I'm not complaining! This time, anyway. And now, on to the list.
Capsules 1 through 6
Cherry Glazerr w/Slow Hollow - F 1/27 - Grog Shop (bought CD)
Mike Doughty - R 2/23 - Beachland Ballroom
Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears w/Dams of the West - R 3/02 - Grog Shop
Los Campesinos! - S 3/04 - Grog Shop (bought CD)
Agent Orange w/The Queers, Guttermouth - T 3/07 - Grog Shop
Dinosaur Jr - Su 3/12 - Beachland Ballroom
Capsules 7 through 12
Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express - S 3/25 - Beachland Ballroom (bought CD)
Allison Crutchfield & The Fizz w/Vagabon - Su 4/02 - Beachland Tavern (bought Vagabon CD)
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard w/Orb - F 4/07 - Beachland Ballroom (bought two CDs)
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes w/Masked Intruders - W 4/12 - HOB
The Octopus Project w/Item - M 4/17 - Grog Shop
The Wedding Present w/Colleen Green - R 4/20 - Grog Shop
Capsules 13 through 14
The Growlers - Su 5/14 - Beachland Ballroom
Kris Kristofferson - R 5/18 - Ohio Theatre
Capsules 15 through 16
Sigur Ros - F 6/02 - Detroit Masonic Temple
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - S 6/03 - Detroit Masonic Temple
Capsules 17 through 18
2Cellos - W 7/19 - Greek Theater Los Angeles
Bruno Mars w/Camila Cabello - T 8/15 - Quicken Loans Arena
Capsules 19 through 25
Antibalas - Su 9/10 - Beachland Ballroom
Roky Erickson w/Death Valley Girls - W 9/13 - Beachland Ballroom
Matt Pond PA - R 9/28 - Beachland Tavern
Studio-A-Rama 2017 - S 10/07
- Public Squares, Sister Smirk, Fascinating, Heavenly Creatures, Teddy Boys, Herzog, This Moment in Black History, New Bomb Turks, Sweet Spirit
The New Pornographers w/Born Ruffians - T 10/10 - Beachland Ballroom
Gamelan Galak Tika directed by Evan Ziporyn and Jody Diamond w/Sarah Cahill and David Bowlin (Lou Harrison Centennial) - F 10/20 - Cleveland Museum of Art Gartner
Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox - T 10/24 - HOB
Capsules 26 through 29
Peelander-Z w/Half an Animal - W 11/01 - Beachland Tavern
Ben Folds w/Tall Heights - Su 11/05 - HOB
Luna w/Eleanor Friedberger - R 11/09 - Grog Shop
The Cleveland Orchestra (Preucil, Scottish) - F 11/10 - Severance Hall
By Venue:
Beachland Ballroom - 8 shows
Grog Shop - 7 shows
Beachland Tavern - 3 shows
HOB - 3 shows
Detroit Masonic Temple - 2 shows
I may have only seen 29 shows, but at least only one of them was flat out terrible - take a bow, Black Joe Lewis, and next time try not to be so stoned that you can't play a good show. I know that's possible because I've seen The Who, Tom Petty and George Clinton, and they all killed it.
Anyway, this year the clear class of the openers was Vagabon, who far surpassed their headliner Allison Crutchfield & The Fizz. I also liked Death Valley Girls, who provided rocking support for Roky Erickson. However, I should note that I'm specifically not counting The Queers, who were great opening for Agent Orange but were really more like co-headliners. I'm also not counting This Moment in Black History and New Bomb Turks, who were the local headliners of Studio-A-Rama. All of those bands can headline a Cleveland show with no problem, so it doesn't seem fair to bunch them in with the new bands on their way up.
Here are the finalists for show of the year in 2017. These were all great shows that I'm glad I saw, but they weren't quite as good as my top 3.
Los Campesinos!
The Octopus Project
Kris Kristofferson
The New Pornographers
Gamelan Galak Tika
[3] Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - I've been listening to their ridiculous punk covers for the last 20 years. The live performance probably isn't something I need to see again, especially at the HOB, but I certainly enjoyed the heck out of it. It far exceeded my expectations.
[2] King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - The Australians play it loud and aggressive, and put out new albums more frequently than some musicians change their underwear. The capacity crowd at the Beachland Ballroom had clearly been keeping up with their numerous recent albums and screamed their approval with the opening chords of each song. I'll see them again.
[1] Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Apparently it's a good year for Australians! The memory of this show has not faded at all since June. I would love to see him again, and will happily drive to Detroit, Columbus, Pittsburgh or Detroit to make it happen. This show was arguably the most positive religious experience I've ever had, and is almost certainly somewhere in the top 10 shows I have seen in my lifetime. I may be wrong though - I have been fortunate to see some ridiculously good shows over the years.
As it happens, Nick Cave was previously second in my "Must See Top 3". That list now looks like:
[1] Tom Waits
[2] Stevie Wonder
[3] William Bell
Tom Waits will require luck like I've never had before, since he almost never plays out and even more rarely tours. Stevie Wonder will require patience and a lot of money. William Bell is an old Stax musician. He doesn't tour nationally, but does play local and regional gigs in the Atlanta area. Since my sister lives there, seeing him will almost assuredly require me to visit her. All three are quite old (Wonder is the youngest at 67), so I definitely need to take the opportunity when (if) they appear.