Best Live Shows of 2008
Posted in Best Of, Concert, Festivals, Photography on January 4th, 2009 by Carrie – Be the first to comment
This past year ended up being a bit quieter for me on the concert front, seeing and shooting just over 200 bands. The past few years I was averaging 300, so even though 200 still seems like quite a lot, it was a pretty significant drop.
My overall highlight of the year was Bonnaroo, which is starting to become an annual trip. The breadth and depth of this festival makes it so fantastic, which is why five out of my top ten shows came from that weekend–and it looks like June 14, 2008, in particular, was a really great day for me.
These are in no particular order, aside from number one:
B.B. King @ Bonnaroo - June 14, 2008 (pictured above)
I already wrote about this show earlier in the year, and even though I didn’t see his entire set, what I did manage to catch was pretty amazing. B.B. King’s interaction with the crowd is second-to-none, and his spirit is infectious. The fact that he made eye contact and tried to throw a pick to me (which another photog grabbed) was just a bonus. I know this seems like a short cop out write-up about him, but it’s very hard to put into words how I felt watching the man play. You just had to be there.
Oasis @ Virgin Festival - September 7, 2008
Despite the totally shocking Noel Gallagher on-stage assault debacle, Oasis put on a helluva show. It was the one performance I was especially looking forward to seeing all weekend. Last time (and first time, actually) I saw Oasis was at the Molson Amphitheatre with four other bands, for $10. The plan was to leave right before Oasis came on—at that point in time I was totally sick of Oasis and was only at the show to see the four openers. For some reason I stayed and they completely blew me away. By the time V Fest rolled around I was loving them again, so figured the experience would be even better.
Besides the fact that I was gleefully singing along to every song and loving it, what puts this show in the top ten is the class that the Gallagher brothers showed by coming back on stage to (pretty much) finish up their set after the attack during ‘Morning Glory’. Given the scary situation, I’m not sure I would have if it was me in that position, so I give them a whole lot of respect for being so professional. We ended up getting 17 songs–a good mix of new and old, which closed out with a cover of ‘I Am the Walrus’. We also got a great story to tell.
Stone Temple Pilots @ Edgefest - July 12, 2008
Stone Temple Pilots were the sole reason I wanted to trek all the way to Downsview to cover the very wet and muddy Edgefest this past summer. I’m not sure if it was more out of morbid curiosity to see if the show would be a train wreck or if it was for the nostalgia of my youth, but I was hoping for some good entertainment, and the newly reunited STP didn’t disappoint. Scott Weiland’s voice was, for the most part, bang on, and although I didn’t find his sex appeal nearly as, uh, appealing as I used to, he still has it. After shooting, I watched the show from my dry perch in the media tent with the biggest grin on my face, as they brought out hit after hit, ending with one of my faves, ‘Dead and Bloated’. I’m not sure if the STP reunion was a short-lived commitment, given that Weiland has recently released a solo album, but I’m certainly glad I got to experience it, since I didn’t get to see them live the first time around.
