Hey, why not? Everybody is doing it this time of year. Might as well take stock of what stood out from the past year, musically speaking.
After two years of mostly pandemic silence, 2023 ’twas a very good year for concert memories in Richmond and nearby areas. In particular, I was more than ready to hit the road for some weekend trips, so this year’s list is a wee bit heavy on shows outside of Richmond, mainly due to my first return to Raleigh’s Hopscotch Fest in about 7 years, which was a blast. Far from “authoritative,” below are my own personal 10 favorite shows of the year, followed by a few songs and albums that stood out. Cheers!
The Feelies at Ottobar (Baltimore, Maryland), March 25: I hate to give my top slot to a show outside of Richmond, but this one was worth the drive and hotel room. As Lou Reed once famously said, the Feelies are the only band that really “got” what the Velvet Underground was about. His observation was made clear this night through their catchy originals that often built to a telepathic, full-band throttle, while choice encore covers included “Glory” and “See No Evil” by Television and “Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars)” by R.E.M. I can’t recall the Feelies playing Richmond in the last 20 years, but I wish they would. An added bonus of this trip was getting to spend the day at the Baltimore Museum of Art checking out the John Waters art exhibit, “Coming Attractions,” in his hometown.
Richard Thompson at the Tin Pan, Feb. 26: This legendary British guitarist who lives in New Jersey is arguably one of the greatest living songwriter-guitarists. As a musician friend of mine once boldly put it, he’s also one of the few solo artists who can actually pull off playing solo. He certainly did it again tonight on acoustic guitar, performing consistently brilliant songs from his entire catalogue, ranging from Fairport Convention (“Genesis Hall”) to beautiful solo gems “Persuasion” and “Beeswing,” and a rousing sing-a-long with the audience on “Tear-Stained Letter.” It was a pleasure to interview RT before the show (which I would link here, but Google has yet to catch up with the recent URL changes to Style Weekly’s story archives, which could take a month or two, I’m told. But the archived stories should be back).
ESG at Hopscotch (Raleigh, North Carolina), Sept. 9: This outdoor plaza show in downtown Raleigh during Hopscotch Fest was my feel-good favorite of the year. I knew these funky ladies from the South Bronx (1978) would be inspiring, but I didn’t expect the show to go this hard with nonstop dancing and cowbell action, not to mention dancing aliens onstage during thrilling performances of minimalist dance-punk gems like “You Make No Sense” and “The Beat.” To see original vocalist Renee Scroggins come onstage slowly using a walker, then sit down and proceed to rock an entire downtown block was a major highlight of my musical year. Coming up: Watch for the band’s new documentary, “Are You Serious? The ESG Story.” Long may they feel the beat.
Violent Femmes at the National, Oct. 22: Had a great night before my birthday by dancing to a seminal album from my youth, Violent Femmes’ self-titled debut from 1983, which does not have a clunker on it. Luckily for us, the band performed the album in its entirety, start to finish, to begin this sold-out show. Even better, after tonight’s tour-ending set, the band’s grill-playing drummer, John Sparrow, came outside onto Broad Street and played with a local bucket drummer to add a perfect coda to a joyful evening. I’ve yet to see a bad show by this band over the past four decades. That’s consistency.
Rosali at Pour House (Raleigh, NC), Sept. 8: Yes, I know, there’s a theme developing of good shows at Hopscotch, what can I say? Years earlier, I met the talented singer-songwriter, Rosali Middleman, and saw her play Richmond a couple times at Black Iris (once with garage rockers, the Long Hots, from Philly). But she really seemed to come into her own with the 2021 solo album, “No Medium.” Having just signed with Merge Records this year, Rosali seemed at the peak of her powers during this standing-room-only show, which left a long line of people waiting outside the club. Something about the energy in the sweaty room made it feel like ‘a moment’ in a rising star’s career, and Rosali delivered beautiful rock/pop/folk tunes backed by the excellent David Nance Group. Definitely an artist to watch; she told me her Merge debut should arrive early this year. Congrats, Rosali!
Dinosaur Jr. at the Broadberry, Sept. 5 : After a somewhat lackluster performance five years or so ago in Richmond, it was nice to see Dino Jr. pick it up a little and rock a mix of new tunes and classics from their best album, “You’re Living All Over Me,” to an appreciative, sold-out Broadberry crowd. Sure, I wish J. Mascis would figure out a way to make his vocals clearer in the bleeding wash of his onstage Marshall stacks, but this show rocked plenty.
Todd Barry at Ashland Theater (Ashland, Va.) Aug. 24: Why not toss a comedian-drummer onto the list? I don’t have a hard set of rules. Whenever I hear veteran New York comedian Todd Barry’s name associated with crowd work, I try to be there, as long as it’s within 25-30 miles or so. This night he was drily hilarious again, especially when riffing with members of the crowd, like a young kid named after baseball’s Nolan Ryan. This show took place just before Barry released one of his best comedy specials, “Domestic Shorthair,” now streaming on YouTube. Better to peak late than never.
Bob Dylan at Altria Theater, Nov. 27: At 82, Dylan is a grizzled veteran if ever there was one, and the songs on this lap of his Never-Ending Tour mostly felt like a gritty, extended blues vamp in the vein of one of his favorite modern performers, Tom Waits. Those hoping for golden Dylan oldies would be disappointed, as he stuck mostly to newer material, not even playing “Like a Rolling Stone” or a similar classic for an encore. But if this was the last time I get to see one of history’s most influential and important songwriters, I’m glad it was at the former Mosque, where Dylan first played in 1966 (a few days before recording “Visions of Johanna” in Nashville, one of his greatest songwriting achievements). And I’m glad he went out this night by blowing powerful harp on a lovely rendition of “Every Grain of Sand.”
Fishbone at Altria Theater, Aug. 12: At the age of 58, Angelo Moore, lead singer of Fishbone, is still performing virtuosic, high-energy, ska-punk-funk sets featuring new music. And he’s still a hell of an entertaining frontman, which was evident from the moment he launched himself into the Altria Theater crowd and kept belting out the tune perfectly as he walked across the tops of many chairs around the entire floor section. (I’m sure that’s not easy at any age.) While Fishbone played a mix of new songs and ‘80s and ‘90s classics, one memorable highlight was the jazzy, noirish opener, the band’s chilling take on the classic Abel Meeropol protest song about lynching, “Strange Fruit,” retitled as “Estranged Fruit” on the band’s latest album. This gig was an opening slot for George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic.
Digable Planets at Hopscotch (Raleigh, NC): The classic Brooklyn hip-hop group returned to the stage to “chill like that” as if no time had passed since their early-1990s heyday. This is no rap group that simply spits over pre-recorded tracks, they bring it live with veteran funk and jazz players; and original member Ladybug Mecca still has one of the finest flows around. If you get a chance to see them, especially outdoors, I would do it.
Some favorite songs of the year:
“Cool Water” – Kurt Vile
“Spiky Boi” – Surprise Chef
“Intercepted Message” – Osees
“Something in My Basement” – Purling Hiss
“Stuck Inside a Cloud” – Rosali (cover of George Harrison)
“Christmas Time is Hear/Skating” – Vince Guaraldi covers by pedal steel player J.D. Bohannon
“Got Over It” – Michael Hurley
“When the Wind is Blowing” – Nighttime
“Don’t Lie” (live) – Ty Segall and Emmett Kelly
“Echo from Deep Valley” – Ho Lan
Some additional albums that got a lot of play: Malombo Jazz Makers’ “Down Lucky’s Way,” “Padang Moonrise: The Birth of the Modern Indonesian Recording Industry (1955-69); and Arthur Russell’s “Picture of a Bunny Rabbit.”
