Winding down...the best concerts of 2011

Most people close to me know that I'm frequently planning a concert trip. I've been to quite a few over the past 12 years or so. By my rough estimate, I've seen close to 300 concerts...and that's only counting festivals like Lollapalooza as one concert, as opposed to counting each of the 10 bands per day, over three days, as one concert each.

This year was a little lighter on the concert calendar for me; lack of finances, concert-going friends spread out over the country, and relocating for a new career really cut down on my live music experiences in 2011. However, these were the two memorable (and surprising) highlights of the year:

Runner-Up: The Strokes @ PJ20, Alpine Valley, September 3 & 4

The weather really zapped the crowd's energy at Pearl Jam's huge 20th anniversary party over Labor Day weekend, but pre-PJ warm-ups The Strokes may have stolen the show in my mind that weekend. Having had little exposure to The Strokes prior to this weekend, I wasn't sure what they were all about. I knew their front-man Julian Casablancas was a wild, chic rocker, and their first album, Is This It, was wildly acclaimed as an indie classic.

Their set (which was performed in an eerily similar manner both days) was energetic, well-played, and fast and furious. Casablancas proved himself to be the egotistical snot that I had read about, but his whiney, fake-British accented choruses stuck with me long after the shows. In fact, I find that to be the sign of a really good show: I go home and, up to several months later, I still need to listen to a given track because it cathartically (is that a word?) takes me back to the show. Several of their songs still do that, particularly "New York City Cops" and "Take It Or Leave It." I guess that was one benefit of not being entirely familiar with their catalog prior to seeing them live, which is often not the way I go into concerts.

Pearl Jam was the big deal of the weekend, but I think The Strokes may have stole the show in my mind.

Winner: De La Soul @ Summerfest's Potawatomi/Sprecher Stage, July 9


I had plans to go to this show with a friend who had to cancel. I struggled with the idea of skipping, or heading down solo. I'm glad I decided to trek to the lakefront on my own.

Some of my fond memories of this show hinge on the fact that I executed everything perfectly. When I go to Summerfest alone, I normally find a free street spot on the lower East Side somewhere (around Metro Market, or sometimes even in the Metro parking garage) and hoof it to the fairgrounds. This night was no different, and I jammed some of my favorite De La Soul oldies from my high school days while I hiked the few miles to Summerfest. I arrived at the stage at 10:05 p.m., five minutes after their scheduled start, to hear house music still on the PA; in typical rap group fashion, they were fashionably late.

That was the only rap cliche that De La Soul adhered to that evening, though. At 10:07, as I was settling into my stealth, elevated corner spot with a good view of the stage, the DJ started scratching and soon Plug 1 and Derwyn were telling everyone to put their hands in the air. And, no, not in a super cheesy way that can convince people to not put their hands in the air.

The beats were good -- De La never really let the show fall into a lull. Between a DJ scratching legit vinyl, a la true 80's hip-hop DJs, and De La Soul actually playing entire songs (as opposed to song snippets and medleys like other rap acts are often prone to do), the hour-long set really flew by. I had known a limited portion of De La's song selection since I only had their classic 3 Feet High And Rising, discovered through a friend from high school, but immediately acquired the rest of their discography upon returning home after the show. They did do "Ghetto Thang" from that album, and also "Ooh Ooh Ooh" from Buhloone Mindstate, which I knew because that song had been showcased on an episode of Entourage. Otherwise, after the show I discovered that they did most of their historical classics, including "Keepin' the Faith" and "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" which have since become top-plays in my iTunes library.

The entire crowd was bumpin', which says a lot because at Summerfest, it's typical that one walks out disgusted with the audience. Such was not the case at the Potwat stage with De La Soul; it was an ass-shakin' throwndown that avoided typical rap concert cliches. I'd see De La again in a heartbeat.