Wilco

#27

Top 500 Rock Bands isn't 100% accurate as this includes solo artists, and though it does not include jazz or blues it does include soul, R&B, Americana, reggae, and classic country (yes, that is somewhat arbitrary, but for whatever reason i listen to blues and jazz differently than the rest, and would be too hard to compare Miles or Ornette or Hooker to, say, Aerosmith). Criteria for my greatest bands of all time list is a combination of recorded albums, live shows I've seen, live recordings I've heard, radio songs, and even overall image/album covers/general coolness or uniqueness. I guess that was a way of trying to explain that the ranking is just a gut feeling. But it's probably about 50% based on "live chops", hence the lower ranking of the Beatles, who quit playing live before the most creative parts of their career. I am very into live shows and live recordings. Obviously, this list will change over time. I'm adding commentary to items whenever i get a spare minute or something interesting comes to mind about a band, probably 10-20 entries a month.

#1

Chicago bands and Illinois bands in general. As a native Chicagoan who went to school in Champaign, i feel entitled to weigh in on this matter. That said, i'm probably missing the boat on some less prominent Chicago bands of the late nineties and "oughts".

One side note to this list - for the most part, i have a thing where i can tell by a band name if i WON"T like a band, it's about 95% accurate for bands that have albums out, and probably even more for all bands. the two times in my life where i have been most wrong about band names happened when i was still living in Illinois back in 1991. I saw a band whose name i hated but who had some local buzz at the Lounge Ax - they were called the Vulgar Boatmen. As predicted, they totally weren't for me. So, having broken my rule and gone out to see a band with a horrible name, i decided i wasn't going to get burned twice. The next two young bands i blew off, for "lame band name reasons" were called Uncle Tupelo and the Smashing Pumpkins.

doh!

#22

this list is a work in progress til the day i die

#27

#5

“Liveblog” of Bonnaroo 2009. Bonnaroo 09 Reviews, some Setlists, etc. Listed in order of preference, not schedule order. Continually updated.

5PM Sat update: In the middle of a no-win situation; that would be the combo of Mule>Wilco>Volta (3 of my alltime fave live bands, followed by another, The Boss). It will be impossible to see all of Mule or Wilco due to overlap. I will have to split the baby.

12:30 AM sat update - i did my best. i have seen a lot of amazing rock. it is entirely possible that this day, Sat June 13, 2009, will prove to be my best-ever single day of Rock (one must count sets that start in the early AM as part of the prior day, to be fair). The key variables will be a) my stamina. b) Nine Inch Nails, who are going on at 1am, and who were one of if not the absolute best sets of music i saw last year.

2AM Sat/Sun AM stop the presses:
Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails announces this is their last show ever in US at Bonnaroo

7:40PM Sun - it's current up to this point. Phish closing headline performance is the last thing on agenda. I need coffee.

10:10 PM Sun.
Coffee in bloodstream and halfway thru Phish there is BIG news: Bruce Springsteen is on stage performing with Phish. 3 songs so far. see details below.

Bonnaroo lineup of 2009 brought a slate of Phish, Springsteen, more Phish, numerous others and some great comedians. The lineup for Bonnaroo 2009 was a killer and hit the floors from June 11th-14th in Tennessee. Bonnaroo's green efforts started in the 2009 Bonnaroo event. Aside from thunderstorms on Thursday that brought mud on Friday, and sometimes oppressive heat, the event came off well. On June 14th, 2009 Bonnaroo fest ended drawing the curtain on what its producers feel was their most successful event ever on many levels.

#3

#1

My first "weekend festival" Grant Park Lollapalooza (I attended most of the touring festival ones in the 90s) - a very solid show and one that has kept me coming back to Lolla. Great weather and the perfect location in Chicago, my hometown. Met some cool people and had a great weekend. Ranked by how much I enjoyed the set.