Here are my top ten concerts of 2017. As always, this will not include the shows I saw at Lollapalooza, which I separately ranked here. I'm also not going to include the shows I saw at Chicago Open Air, which was a three-day metal festival at Toyota Park (where the 1998 MLS Cup champion Chicago Fire play their home matches) in July. I attended the fest on Friday July 14, where I saw the likes of Kiss, Rob Zombie, Megadeth, and Anthrax. It was a hell of a line-up, and even better people watching.
Anyway, with those festivals out of the picture, here's my list. As in years' past, it was tough to narrow down to ten, and even then, tough to rank them.
Other shows attended (in chronological order):
Japandroids and Craig Finn - February 15 - The Vic
The Hold Steady - June 15 - Thalia Hall
Three Minute Mile - August 26 - Tonic RoomTrombone Shorty and Vintage Trouble - October 21 - The Riv
Black Pistol Fire - December 7 - Bottom Lounge
U2's Joshua Tree 30th anniversary show wasn't quite the religious experience my friend Greg said it would be, but it was still very cool. Admittedly, I'm not a huge U2 fan, and I wouldn't call The Joshua Tree my favorite U2 album, but the the visuals for the show were spectacular. Behind the band was a massive screen that went the length of the stage, and each song had its own mini movie playing behind the band. It was one of the more impressive concert visual effect that I've ever seen. As you may know, U2 knows what they're doing when it comes to live performances. I also may have been a little more excited about this if the opener wasn't The Lumineers.
9. Blackfoot Gypsies - August 18 - Schuba's
It has been a few years since I've seen Blackfoot Gypsies. Since the last time I saw them, they expanded from a duo to a quartet, adding a bassist and a harpist. The band still plays with a ton of energy, mixing blues, garage rock, slide guitars, harmonica, and awesomeness. And they are still cool enough to hang out after the show. We had a good conversation with drummer Zack Murphy, who was wearing a pretty phenomenal '80s Camel football jersey, no doubt purchased as some point with Camel Cash. Unfortunately, he is blocked out in this picture.
This was our annual "limo show," where a group of us get a limo to take us to Tinley Park to see some rock and roll. I've seen Def Leppard more than any other band except The Hold Steady, and I've never seen a bad show. Poison and Tesla were both great too. It was basically heaven for me.
7. Green Day - August 24 - Wrigley Field
Before this show, I had only seen Green Day at Lolla, and they were great. This time around was no different. It was a sellout show at Wrigley, and I had GA field tickets. Even in their 40s, the band is all energy.
6. Metallica and Avenged Sevenfold - June 18 - Soldier Field
Metallica was predictably awesome, and this was a great way to spend Father's Day night. Like U2, Metallica had a huge, stage-width screen behind the stage, as well as pyro. Can't forget the fire. Every time those flames went up, it was strong enough that we felt it back around halfway back on the field.
5. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers- June 29 - Wrigley Field
This one is obviously bittersweet, and I'm giving it a bump of a few spots based on the sentimental value of it. With rain coming down for most of the show, the weather wasn't perfect, but no one cared. Petty and the Heartbreakers played a great show, and I don't think anyone in the audience thought Petty would be dead a little over three months later.
Every January, blues legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Buddy Guy does a residency at his blues club in the South Loop, Legends. I've always talked about going, and finally, I just went ahead and did it. I'm mad I waited so long, but I'm glad I saw the show I did. Opening was Chicago bluesman Linsey Alexander, whose song "Two Cats" (spoiler alert: it's not about felines!) is still in my head, killed it as the opener. Then Buddy Guy came on and destroyed. He's in his 80s, his language is rated R, and he plays guitar better than most people a third of his age. On top of that, he walks through the crowd at some points in the show, so you can see him up close. If you get the chance to see him at Legends, do it while you still can.
3. Experience Hendrix - March 25 - Chicago Theatre
I'm obviously never going to get to see Jimi Hendrix live, but this might be the next best thing. It's an all-star lineup that goes on a limited tour and plays all Hendrix songs. The lineup changes with each city, although there are some musicians who play in all cities. The show was nothing short of amazing. In Chicago, former Band of Gypsys bandmate Billy Cox held down the bass, with Chris Layton (of Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble) on the drums. And then there were the guitarists: Dweezil Zappa, The Slide Brothers, Mato Nanji, Ana Popovic, Zakk Wylde, Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and Buddy Guy. It was 30 songs, and every one of them was awesome.
2. The Struts and Gin & Tonic (Struts as Oasis) - October 30 - Bottom Lounge
The Struts play glammy rock and roll with swagger and energy, and I think they might be able to save rock and roll. This show was in a relatively small venue, and it was the day before Halloween, so as a bonus, the band opened for themselves as "Gin & Tonic," which was the band dresses as Oasis. They played a six-song set of Oasis covers pretty fantastically, and then came back out a little while later and torched the place with their own songs. The first picture below is of them as Oasis.
1. The Hold Steady - June 17 - Empty Bottle
I posted about this back in June. Seeing one of my favorite bands in a venue that only holds about 300 people was pretty damn cool.
2018 is shaping up to be pretty damn good too, with Def Leppard/Journey/Pretenders, Foo Fighters, and Pearl Jam all scheduled to play at Wrigley, and tickets to see Robert Plant, The Struts, Hall & Oates, and The Darkness (with Diarrhea Planet opening) already purchased or in the queue to purchase.
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