Monday, 26 Nov 2007
2007 provided a bunch of memorable nights of live music here in Madison, nearby in Milwaukee, south to Chicago, and at various festivals and cities across the US. Below you’ll find my 25 favorite concerts of 2007. Inevitably, there are probably ones I forgot about, didn’t attend, or straight up didn’t know about. That being said, the 25 shows listed below represent some of the best times had this year.
1. The Rosebuds - South By Southwest, Austin (Muzzle of Bees Review)
2. Daft Punk - Lollapalooza, Chicago (Muzzle of Bees Review)
3. Arcade Fire/The National - Radio City Music Hall, NY (Muzzle of Bees Review)
4. LCD Soundsystem/YACHT - Metro, Chicago (Muzzle of Bees Review)
5. Bon Iver - Madison Pop Fest, Madison (Muzzle of Bees Review)
6. Beirut - Portage Theater, Chicago (Muzzle of Bees Review)
7. Girl Talk - Pitchfork Music Festival, Chicago (Muzzle of Bees Review)
8. Grizzly Bear - Pabst Theater, Milwaukee (Muzzle of Bees Review)
9. Hot Chip - Bonnaroo Music Festival, Manchester,TN (Muzzle of Bees Review)
10. The Hold Steady - Lollapalooza, Chicago (Muzzle of Bees Review)
11. Ryan Adams - Barrymore Theatre, Madison (Muzzle of Bees Review)
12. Great Lake Swimmers/Sean Hayes - Schuba’s, Chicago (Muzzle of Bees Review)
13. Flaming Lips - Willow Island, Madison (Muzzle of Bees Review)
14. The Hold Steady - Orpheum Stage Door, Madison (Muzzle of Bees Review)
15. Neko Case - Barrymore Theatre, Madison (Muzzle of Bees Review)
16. The National - High Noon Saloon, Madison (Muzzle of Bees Review)
17. Wilco - Overture Hall, Madison (Muzzle of Bees Review)
18. Dan Deacon - Pitchfork Music Festival, Chicago (Muzzle of Bees Review)
19. The National/St. Vincent - Pabst Theater, Milwaukee (Muzzle of Bees Review)
20. Pearl Jam - Lollapalooza, Chicago (Muzzle of Bees Photos)
21. Lucero/Catfish Haven - Otto’s, DeKalb (Muzzle of Bees Review)
22. Spank Rock - South By Southwest, Austin (Muzzle of Bees Review)
23. The Apples In Stereo - High Noon Saloon, Madison (Muzzle of Bees Review)
24. Architecture In Helsinki/Glass Candy - High Noon, Madison (Muzzle of Bees Review)
25. Spoon - Summerfest, Milwaukee (Muzzle of Bees Review)
That’s our list kids. What did we leave out? What did we miss? Leave your favorites, memories and thoughts in the comments!
+Remember to bookmark our shows page for all your Wisconsin concert announcements+
November 26th, 2007 at 7:15 am
I would include Josh Rouse @ the Annex in that as well. Very good show, even though the showing was a bit small. Though, the minimal audience may have part of the reason for such a great show.
November 26th, 2007 at 11:29 am
off the top of my head, my favorites (from top to bottom):
girl talk / man man [club 770]
hold steady [orpheum stage door]
flaming lips [willow island]
beirut [emo’s]
my morning jacket [the fillmore]
daft punk / spoon [lollapalooza]
toubab krewe / yawo [high noon]
jose gonzalez [terrace]
ryan adams [pabst theatre]
edgar meyer & mike marshall [union theater]
pyg / malajube / boniver [madison popfest]
the national [high noon]
November 26th, 2007 at 11:46 am
I would definitely vote for the Sam Beam show at the Pabst last February.
November 26th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
agree with arcade fire (different venue, but alas), bon iver, hold steady and national in madison. would add Yo La Tengo @ the barrymore and Tortoise w.\ Make Believe @ the Cedar in MLPS. A lot of really solid shows this year.
November 26th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
hmmm, you must have missed Antibalas at the High Noon Saloon last spring…hot hot hot!
November 26th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
What about My Brightest Diamond opening for The Decemberists at the Pabst back in April? Wow! I also liked The National at the Pabst and Built to Spill at Summerfest.
November 26th, 2007 at 5:33 pm
@ High Noon:
Long Winters
White Rabbits
@ Orpheum:
The Hush Sound
I don’t think there were any others you didn’t list that were great top to bottom. Maritime’s February show at Club 770 featured really solid support from Bound Stems and Kid, You’ll Move Mountains, along with a good headlining set, but I see them so frequently that it’s hard to think of any one show as “great.”
November 26th, 2007 at 6:40 pm
I really wanted to see that Long Winters show…I was, in fact, spinning the
Ultimatum EP today in fact.
November 26th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
For stuff not on the list…
*John Butler Trio at Barrymore
*I agree that Bound Stems at Club 770 was great — better than their High Noon stint with Long Winters, but the Long Winters portion was a good time.
And in early ‘07…
*Autumn Defense at Momo
*Judah Johnson at Momo
November 27th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
#1: Horse Feathers @ Montmartre [so perfectly quiet and beautiful]
Honorable Mention:
Jose Gonzalez @ the Union [waited three years for that]
Great Lake Swimmers @ Montmartre [see Horse Feathers]
Cold War Kids @ The Annex [”St John” jamdown with 10-piece percussion, help from Tokyo Police Club & Delta Spirit, amazing]
P.O.S @ The Annex
The Long Winters @ High Noon Saloon [”Commander Thinks Aloud” live? OMG! And chatting with John Roderick at Nabil Ayers at ERC the next morning, cool]
TV on the Radio @ The Orpheum [and drinking with them @ Jenna’s afterwards]
White Rabbits @ High Noon [and drinking with them at Paul’s Club afterwards]
Pale Young Gentlemen @ Montmartre, CD release [and every performance thereafter]
November 29th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
Why post this five weeks before 2007 is over? Are you planning on giving up live music in December? If so please forward all of your December concert tickets to me. In return I’ll write up a “Best Concerts of December 2007″ for you.
December 7th, 2007 at 9:50 am
You might have already seen this, but Chicago Public Radio has a really good stream of that Portage Theater Beirut show up on its website right now, along with some videos. Go to http://www.chicagopublicradio.org and look for the Radio M show.