Top 10 Shows of 2009.

2009 is coming to an end and the "best of" lists are starting to appear... I witnessed some great shows in 2009... but sadly I only attended twenty-three... probably an all time low since I was sixteen... maybe I’m showing my age or just becoming picky about what I’ll sit through... although I’ve had a healthy distraction for the past six months that I can’t begin to complain about... sometimes other aspects in ones life takes precedent over me desperately trying to lose my hearing by forty.
Yet a few of these shows would make my all time list... Sufjan easily walked away with my number one choice by giving a jaw dropping performance at Lee’s... playing a handful of new tracks that sounded like nothing Stevens has done before... along with classics like... “The Dress Looks Nice On You” and “John Wayne Gacy Jr”... Annie Clark once again renewed my faith in female guitarists with St. Vincents’ show at The Horseshoe... and aside from sound complications or what I later learned was done on purpose... Antony brought most people in attendance to tears while singing “Another World” at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre... I was mesmerized so much by the Dirty Projectors live performance... that I went twice... and I won’t soon forget about Magnolia Electric Co. in Paris... not only the texas ties... but the cutie I was with that forced herself to drink red wine.

Enough banter... here are my top 10 shows of 2009:

1. Sufjan Stevens

October 1, 2009

Lee’s Palace, Toronto, Ontario

2. St. Vincent

August 8, 2009

The Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto, Ontario

3. Antony & The Johnstons

February 17, 2009

Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto, Ontario

4. Dirty Projectors

July 22, 2009

Lee’s Palace, Toronto, Ontario

5. Built to Spill

October 7, 2009

Lee’s Palace, Toronto, Ontario

6. Magnolia Electric Co.

September 14, 2009

Café la Danse, Paris, France

7. Bonnie “Prince” Billy

May 14, 2009

Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto, Ontario

8. Patrick Watson

May 2, 2009

Trinity St. Paul’s Church, Toronto, Ontario

9. Animal Collective

May 16, 2009

Sound Academy, Toronto, Ontario

10. Beirut

July 9, 2009

The Phoenix, Toronto, Ontario