2010 – A Great Year for Music
The best concert festival of 2010
2010 was an exceptional year for live shows. It may have been due to the loss of album revenues to ITunes and digital trading or the weak economy that drove many of musical legends to tour the country this year. Or maybe it was age and the strong younger acts that scared many Hall of Fame Acts to cash in while they can.
Whatever the reason, it was an incredible year for the Midwest and especially the Louisville area. With two major Festivals, (Forecastle and HullabaLou) and the opening of The Yum Center music lovers pockets were stretched to the limits by big name acts and legends.
In my 35 plus years of attending concerts, my first was Three Dog Night in 1973, there has never been as many great shows in Louisville and surrounding cities in one year.
I pulled only three photos from each band I was lucky enough to shoot this year and ended up with 565 shots in my folder.
I had a wonderful time this year and got the honor of covering many of my all time favorite bands. I still have a wish list but really narrowed it down in 2010.
So here is my favorite 2010 music, Festivals and performances. Please understand my personal choices don’t include Rap, Country, or Pop music. You can go to Spin, Rolling Stone, or Paste for a broader list of top CD’s. NPR has a nice report on the concert industry for 2010. go to How The Disastrous 2010 Concert Season Could Work In Your Favor
I welcome your comments and thoughts on this years music scene.
Best New music of 2010
- Black Keys – Brothers
- Arcade fire – The Suburbs
- Joe Bonamassa- Live at the Albert Hall
- Robert Plant- Band of Joy
- Grinderman – Grinderman 2
- Avett Brothers- And I Love You
- Neil Young- Le Noise
- Derek Trucks – Roadsongs
- Band Of Horses- Infinity Arms
- Santana – Guitar Heaven
- Deerhunter- Haylcyon Digest
- Eric Clapton- Clapton
- Black Country Communion
- John Mellencamp- No Better than This
- Spoon -Transferences
- Brad- Best friends?
- Mgmt- Congratulations
- Buddy Guy- Living Proof
- The National- High Violet
- The Dead Weather-Sea of Cowards
- Peter Wolf-Midnight Souvenirs
- Dr Dog – Shame Shame
2010 Best Shows ( I attended)
- Crossroads Guitar festival- Chicago, Il (buy the DVD)
- Wanee Festival- Suwanee, Florida
- My Morning Jacket = Yum Center, Louisville, KY
- Experience Hendrix 2010- Cinn. OH
- Santana / Stevie Winwood- Riverbend, OH
- Bonnaroo- Manchester, TN
- Louisville is for Lovers with Jim James- Louisville, KY
- Ear X – travaganza featuring Jim James
- Forecastle- Louisville, Ky
- Neil Young- Louisville Palace
- Crosby, Stills and Nash- Louisville Palace
- Avett Brothers- HullabaLou
- Buddy Guy/ Jonny Lang- Horseshoe Casino IN
- Band of Horses/ Brad – Brown Theater, Louisville, Ky
- HullabaLOU- Churchill Downs
- Kiss – Indiana State Fair
- Aerosmith/ Sammy Hagar – Riverbend, OH
- Stone Temple Pilots- Louisville Palace
- Moody Blues- Horseshoe Casino In
- Rodrigo Y Gabriela- Brown Theater, Louisville, KY
2010 Best Performances ( I saw)
- Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood- “Voodoo Chile” – Crossroads
- Joe Bonamassa and Robert Randolph – “Going Down”- Crossroads
- Buddy Guy, Jonny Lang and Ronnie Woods- Miss You”- Crossroads
- My Morning Jacket – Yum Center _ The Whole Show”
- The Allman Brothers -Wanee Festival
- Black Keys – Bonnaroo
- Santana- “Oye Como Va”
- Jeff Beck – Bonnaroo
- Black Crowes – HullabaLOU
- John Fogerty- Bonnaroo
- “She and Him”- Forecastle
- Cake- Forecastle
- Flaming Lips – “ Dark Side of the Moon” – Bonnaroo
- Hot Tuna Electric- “Wanee Festival”
- Neil Young- “ After the Goldrush”- Louisville Palace
- Brad Whitford and Jonny Lang- “All Along The Watchtower” Experience Hendrix
- Sammy Hagar- “Bad Motor Scooter”- Riverbend, OH
- Jonny Lang – “Quitter Never Wins” Horseshoe Casino
- KISS- “Strutter”
- Devo -Forecastle
- Widespread Panic- Wanee Festival
- Grace Potter – Forecastle
- Darryl Hall – Bonnaroo
- Spoon Forecastle
- The Doobie Brothers – HullabaLou
Musicians I got to photograph in 2010 for the first time.
- Jeff Beck (twice)
- Jonny Winter (twice)
- Kiss
- Aerosmith
- Santana
- ZZ Top
- Steve Winwood
- Ronnie Wood
- Taylor Swift
- Neil Young (solo)
- Devo
- Smashing Pumpkins
- The Eagles
- John Fogerty
- Sammy Hagar
- The Moody Blues
- Jimmy Vaughn
- Chicago
- Kansas
- Snoop Dog
- Steve Via
- Bon Jovi
- Train
- Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Stone Temple Pilots
- Band of Horses
- Zac Brown Band
- Steppenwolf
- Phoenix
- Miranda Lambert
Ear-X tacy Extravaganza
I waited for this show before putting the final touches on my best of 2010. It was the correct decision. The benefit to save ear X- tacy, the landmark local record store, sold out Headliners Music Hall and brought many of Louisville’s top musicians out pleading with the audience to keep our city from becoming a box cutter town full of out of town chain businesses.
Jim James, of My Morning Jacket thanked the audience for supporting the show stating, “ We travel a lot on tour and every city seems the same. Local businesses like ear X tacy make our city real. This is the place we go to discuss our music, and share our stories. We have all grow up spending our youth shopping and learning about new music there”.
The employees of the store, with the help of Production Simple organized the benefit, contacting the musicians and venue. It was all done without the knowledge of store owner, John Timmons who remarked,” I wouldn’t have asked for this. It’s the best Christmas present I have ever received,”
Scott Carney of Wax Fang began the show with a beautiful acoustic four song set, displaying his wonderful voice. Carneys’s voice sometimes goes unnoticed in the heavier sounds of his band. This set allowed you to understand how talented he is.
The Watson Twins followed with a soulful set that featured MMJ’s Patrick Hallahan on drums.
When Ben Sollee walked out with his cello the excitement continued to grow. The talented local favorite played his unique style of music brilliantly and was joined by Jim James for two inspiring numbers to end the set.
Cabin led by Noah Hewitt-Ball whose angelic vocals and range along with his bandmates came out specifically for this show. “ We weren’t planning on playing for a while but when I got this call, I said count us in”.
By the time Jim James and Patrick Hallahan took the stage the show was into it’s third hour. The audience was primed and ready for the pair of My Morning Jacket members to put an exclamation mark on a legendary show.
As the pair began with a grunge version of “Ill be Home for Christmas” it was clear that these guys were up to the challenge of finishing the show with a bang. With James playing bass, acoustic guitar and mixing sound from his distortion box, while Hallahan furnished his usual powerful drumming as backing they played many fascinating versions of My Morning Jacket’s most popular songs.
The genius of Jim James is evident. He continues to rearrange his songs in a way only he can conceive, It is always enjoyable and amazing to see him in different elements from his band. The music and energy takes off when James hits the stage, he is controlled by it. They finished the set with “One Big Holiday” which included the normal guitar solo played on the bass and thanked ear X tacy for giving them the opportunity to find music and friends while growing up. “Thank you for supporting the store now go tell your friends to buy there too!”
John Timmonds stood by the exit thanking everyone for their continued support through the years. Let’s hope this show was recorded as part of this benefit. It was a night worth reliving.
More Photos :http://albums.phanfare.com/isolated/TFjDNhXn/1/4955774
Headliners presents Ear- X-tasy Benefit with Jim James
Horseshoe Welcomes Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson To Perform in the Showroom
These two country music greats will join together for the performance of a lifetime on March 4, 2011 at Horseshoe Casino Southern Indiana.
The word “legend” usually makes an appearance at some point when discussing Merle Haggard. It’s an acknowledgement of his artistry and his standing as “the poet of the common man.” It’s a tribute to his incredible commercial success and to the lasting mark he has made, not just on country music, but on American music as a whole. It’s apt in every way but one.
Kris Kristofferson has always identified himself first and foremost as a writer, and true writers know that what works best is giving a piece of themselves to the listener. With his latest album, This Old Road, Kristofferson lays a chunk of his own soul on every track. This beautifully sparse recording, produced by Don Was (Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones), puts an emphasis on his fine lyrics and distinctive voice by featuring Kristofferson, his guitar, and harmonica. Subtle accompaniment is added by Was (bass, piano, backing vocals), longtime sidekick Stephen Bruton (guitar, mandolin, backing vocals) and Jim Keltner (drums). The album is so intimate it makes the listener feel as if they are sitting in Kristofferson’s living room while he picks and sings just for them.
This legendary performance will be held on March 4th, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. in the Showroom. Tickets go on sale Friday December 3rd. and may be purchased through Ticketmaster 1-800-745-3000 or the Horseshoe Box office.
Scene and Heard 
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