Mine was Neil Young in oslo in August. It was like being hit with a wall of sound for two hours.

I also appreciated seeing REM play Let Me in and At my most beautiful in September, and seeing Sonic Youth for the first time.

What's your best live memories from last year?

I've only been to one show, but seeing Tommy Emmanuel perform "Initiation" was quite an experience.

pj at bonnaroo.

I can't decide this year, it's between these 3:

-> Portishead (nothing to say, just perfect)
-> Massive Attack (sunset at a small festival, MA headlining, crowd totally into it, MA totally into it, visuals were fantastic)
-> Sigur Ros (the overwhelming experience of Sigur Ros performing so majestically in a bigger venue)

After that:

-> Rage against the machine
-> Conor Oberst
-> Bon Iver (twice)
-> Lanegan & Isobel Campbell
-> Babyshambles (twice)

NIN:
-lights in the sky tour (incredible visuals)
-row 4
-red rocks
-with an 8 month pregnant wife

i don't know if that concert experience will be topped.

other moments:

-Glen Hansard opening the swell season show with say it to me now sans-PA in-fucking-credible
-Rage Against the Machine: i was back in the pit for the first time in, i don't know, 6 years? and i hadn't seen them in like 10.
-Toadies closing the show with Doll Skin and Tyler (hadn't seen them in 8 years)
-Oasis run of Masterplan-Songbird-Slide Away-Morning Glory
-Wilco's 2nd encore of Passenger Side-Redeyed and Blue-I Got You-Casino Queen-Hoodoo Voodoo

That's pretty sweet.

I was extremely stoked to hear this at the Garden as well.

I'll probably do a year end review of my '08 shows, as there were moments from each that are very memorable good or bad.

without a doubt... Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds!!!!

they were fucking amazing

While the best show I went to was Spoon/The Walkmen/White Rabbits at the Norva, it's hard to argue with the madness that was seeing Girl Talk. Getting up on stage for the last 10 minutes or so of the show was surreal.

Ray Lamontagne

Jenny Lewis from the front row

Did you look up her skirt?

My Morning Jacket in Louisville.
PJ closing with Indifference.
Wilco at the Ryman.

This has been one of my best all around concert years. Usually the list consists mainly of PJ and local shows, but a lot of cool stuff fell into place for me in '08. I'll just list all the shows I went to.

Editors - Louis XIV, Hot Hot Heat -Montreal, QcJan. 20, 2008 *A friend offered me his extra ticket for this. I was reluctant because I didn't know the band and had to drive up to Montreal and back on a weekday in Jan., but the Editors were actually not bad and I had fun. The two openers were shite though.

Bruce Springsteen - Montreal, Qc - Bell Centre Mar. 2, 2008 *this show was fucking awesome. We waited hours and hours outside in freezing weather for the draw, but we were rewarded with front row. Bruce is a machine!

Foo Fighters - Hi-Fi Hand Grenades, Against Me -Ottawa, On - Mar. 19, 2008 *3rd time seeing them. Good show for a big production I guess, but it wouldn't make my top 10.

New Pornographers- Land Of Talk - Ottawa, On -Apr-08 * No Neko Case AGAIN

Eddie Vedder-Liam Finn-Los Angeles, CA- 12-Apr-08 *wow. first time in LA, Liam and Ed were both amazing, the whole experience was surreal.

Queens of the Stone Age- Mugisen-Ottawa, On -11-May-08 *not terribly impressed by this show.

The Cure - 365 Days of Static - Montreal, Qc - 14-May-08 *one of those bands I always wanted to see. Fun show

Death Cab For Cutie - Young Galaxy, Rogue Wave, Stars -Toronto, On 07-Jun-08 *After seeing the Stars 3 times I confirmed after this show that I don't like them. DCFC were great, the new album sounded great live. Too many tweens holding their cell phones up in the air though. The good thing about that is that all of the show is on youtube.

R.E.M.- The National, Modest Mouse - Toronto, On -08-Jun-08*awesome weekend. 3 bands were great.

Pearl Jam -Ted Leo and the Pharmacists- New York City, NY -24-Jun-08 *Amazing week in NYC, nice to be back with friends. Best Present Tense I've ever heard.

Pearl Jam -Ted Leo and the Pharmacists New York City, NY- 25-Jun-08 *seeing shows with good friends can't be understated. What a fun show.

Primus - Terry Gillespy, Snoop Doggy Dogg, The Acorn, Johnny Winter, The Wailers -Ottawa, On Bluesfest 06-Jul-08 *love the bluesfest every year. Always wanted to see Primus and they did not dissapoint.

Muffler Crunch - n/a Ottawa, On Dominian Tavern 18-Jul-08 *local band, loud, dirty, drunk, and fun

Coldplay - Santagold, DJ John Hopkins - Montreal, Qc -29-Jul-08 *my guilty pleasure/cheese band. Their shows leave me feeling happy and hopeful, i can't help it.

Osheaga Festival-N.E.R.D., Spiritualized, Metric, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Cat Power, Iggy Pop & the Stooges -Montreal, Qc- Aug. 3, 2008 *wow...spiritualized sounded great, Underwhelmed by Metric again, Sharon Jones cannot sing a bad note, mesmerized by cat power, fucking IGGY! He makes you do things you wouldn't normally do like lose your shoes, sweat your ass off, jump on stage and not give a shit. Awesome.

Radiohead- Grizzly Bear Montreal, Qc -Aug. 6, 2008 *standing in torrential rain and mud in a field with 30,000 people for 3 hours before the bands even come out on stage....not fun! Standing in the same conditions, not being able to see the band with beautiful fireworks going off beside the stage while RH plays Videotape...worth it.

Eddie Vedder- Liam Finn -Montreal, Qc -Aug. 9, 2008 *so blessed to have Ed in Montreal. He looked so happy and laid back. Such a different vibe from LA, and it was great seeing the show with a good friend in a beautiful theatre.

Eddie Vedder-Liam Finn Montreal, Qc -Aug. 10, 2008 *awesome all around day, I love MTL in the summer, and Ed was just as gracious. So grateful to have been there.

Eddie Vedder - Liam Finn -Toronto, On -Aug. 12, 2008 *got 2nd row. Great shows, great friends. Didn't want it to end.

Eddie Vedder -Liam Finn -Toronto, On - Aug. 13, 2008 *got 2nd row again, so lucky and grateful. Spent an amazing few days with my best friends in TO with my fave singer, what more can I ask. The whole Neil Young/Massey Hall vibe was amazing, and Liam was great every time I saw him, first time I didn't care how long the openers played for.

Cimematic Orchestra -Grey Reverand -Montreal, Qc -Aug. 30, 2008 *worst fucking show of the year. Kind of night where you can't even get drunk no matter how much you drink. Guest appearance by Patrick Watson couldn't even save it.

Oasis - Ryan Adams, Matt Costa - Ottawa, On - Sept. 4, 2008 *fun night, I wanted to see all 3 acts. Matt was quiet, Ryan was great with an indifferent crowd, and Oasis sounded good and did as expected.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds -Tam -Montreal, Qc - Oct. 2, 2008 * Nick's show at the same venue in 2002 is my all time favourite show ever. This one came very very close. The most intense fucking artist ever.

Wintersleep - Dirty On Purpose - Ottawa, On - Oct. 4, 2008 *huge expectations after a great show in 2007, but it ended up being just ok.

Coldplay - Stars -Ottawa, On Scotiabank Place Oct. 20, 2008 *still left feeling happy and fuzzy, loved it.

Feist - Hayden - Ottawa, On -Oct. 25, 2008 *one of the better shows of the year. First time I saw her and was able to really hear what a great singer she is thanks to the venue, and the great crowd. Hey who knew that people could actually go to a quiet show and be respectful and listen and not yell out every time the singer fucking talks (Ed shows).

David Byrne -n/a- Montreal, Qc -Oct. 30, 2008 *Awesome show!!!!!!!!

Melissa Auf Der Maur - n/a - Montreal, Qc - Nov. 1, 2008 so so show, fun night out

The Sadies - The Murder Plans, The Allrights - Ottawa, On - Nov. 14, 2008 *The Sadies never disappoint.

Chris Cornell -Mobile -Ottawa, On - Nov. 22, 2008 *fucking hated Mobile and Chris was way better than expected if you ignored the posturing of his band.

Neil Young - Everest - Wilco - Ottawa, ON - Dec. 2, 2008 * I ended the year on a high note. What a show! Wilco were great as always, and Neil left me in awe, in tears, and with my jaw on the floor at the end. So incredible.

how do you afford that

Probably seeing Pearl Jam on the 1st night @ Camden... 10th row. Got some amazing photos and the set was pretty cool too.

I'd find it hard to get my eyes to pay attention to anything below her waist with what's gloriously above.

Saw over 50 shows this year... hands down David Byrne:

http://www.moemoephoto.com/?p=221

The Raconteurs on back to back nights in Austin.

PJ tours always break the bank a little because I have to travel and usually it's for more than one, but besides that 1 or 2 local shows a month isn't so bad. I have friends who spend more on beer or clothes every weekend than I do on shows. For out of town shows I generally crash at a friends place, or gas and hotel costs are split 3-4 ways.

1. pj at msg both nights
2. rage during the rnc
3. ed in milwaukee
4. beastie boy/tenacious d/ben harper
5. flight of the conchords
6. stp
7. foo fighters
8. toadies
9. local h
10. beck

it was a very good year.