Intimate affair: Jackie Greene at Club Congress, July 18. In his Tucson debut, Greene reminded us that music, really good music, should not be confined to labels. His style is all over the map: blues, rock, R&B and soul, with a deep vein of rootsy integrity.
I-was-there moments: The Rolling Stones (Nov. 8, University of Phoenix Stadium) and Barbra Streisand (Nov. 16, US Airways Center) made it worth the drive to Phoenix — and not only because they put on great shows. They also proved to be worthy bragging rights the next day at the water cooler.
Thank you for coming: It took eight months, but Alison Krauss and Union Station made good on their pledge to make up the Tucson Arena concert they canceled in March. Their Nov. 14 concert attracted 5,500 fans, making it one of the year's biggest.
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Country fun: Country Thunder USA last April gave us a first glimpse at superstar-in-the-wings Carrie Underwood and reunited us with Neal McCoy and Larry the Cable Guy, among others.
Biggest disappointment: Inaugural Country Sunday USA, July 23 at Tucson Electric Park. The lineup — Gary Allan, the Wreckers, Blake Shelton and Rockie Lynne — wasn't the problem. It was the location. The ballpark was far too big for the 3,000 people who braved the 107-degree day. Allan and company appeared to sing to an empty baseball field.
– Cathalena E. Burch
Beck, Rialto Theatre, June 24. Beck played hits from his amazing catalog and new stuff from "The Information," which hadn't been released yet — all while marionette puppets mimicked him live on a giant screen. Later, a video showed the puppets shopping for UA gear, hanging outside Che's and looking for ghosts in Hotel Congress. Show of the year.
Hold Steady, Club Congress, Oct. 12. Coming off buzz from the band's new album, "Boys and Girls in America," the divisive Hold Steady played an early show at Congress and tore through the best bits of "Boys," as well as "Separation Sunday." Half the audience poured onto the stage for the final few songs. Awesome.
Beta Sweat/Deludes/Army of Garbage, some warehouse, Aug. 26. In a night this town doesn't see nearly enough of, two bands capable of headlining club shows played in something like an airplane hangar/warehouse for free. It ended up being a house party with no house, and two of the best performances I've seen from either the Deludes or the Beta Sweat to end the summer.
Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, Club Congress, June 16. This was a performance for TapeOpCon, except most of the conference's attendees were hung up in some workshop or something. Lytle, fresh off the news that Grandaddy was done, stoically played classics like "The Crystal Lake" and "El Caminos in the West" by himself onstage in his trademark trucker hat to a small but entranced audience. So worth it.
Franz Ferdinand/Death Cab for Cutie, Centennial Hall, March 27. No matter which band you endorse on this bill — and even if it's neither — you couldn't ignore this show. Franz tore through Centennial playing their Glasgow-dance rock while energetically bouncing around stage all smiles. Then Death Cab came on, and couples in the audience melted and embraced.
Jason Mashburn Memorial Show, Surly Wench Pub, Oct. 13. This tribute concert really displayed the strength of the local music community, with bands like Chango Malo, the Koffin Kats and the remaining members of the Demon City Wreckers.
– Kevin W. Smith
Seventh annual Slow Jams Live Concert, TCC Arena, Feb. 19. It was a bit of the old, a bit of the new as Keith Sweat, Shai, Ginuwine, Ne-Yo and Phoenix's MC Magic joined forces to shake some rumps and melt some hearts during this three-and-a-half-hour event. Sweat was the billed headliner, but it was Ginuwine's shirt-stripping rendition of "Pony" and newcomer Ne-Yo's heartfelt "So Sick" that received the most approval.
Sin Bandera, Casino del Sol's AVA, May 26. Leonel García and Noel Schajris, known collectively as Sin Bandera, played like there was no "Mañana," performing hit after hit from the Latin pop duo's 2005 album of the same name. Their mix of Spanish-language balladry and R&B synth-pop was a highlight in a rather lackluster season for the casino venue.
Los Lonely Boys, Casino del Sol's AVA, Aug. 12. The popular Texican rock trio managed to sell out the AVA for a second year in a row and actually had some new material this time around. It was pure "Heaven" when the band of brothers went into new songs like "Diamonds" and "Home." It almost made fans forget that they were packed into an outdoor venue during one of the hottest months of the year.
– Gerald M. Gay
Looking ahead: noteworthy concerts
George Strait, Feb. 2, US Airways Center.
"Beatlemania 2: Classical Mystery Tour" with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Feb. 10, Tucson Music Hall.
Comedian George Lopez at Phoenix's Dodge Theatre, Feb. 23-24. (He's filming his first-ever HBO special there.)
Gretchen Wilson at Country Thunder USA, April 12-15 in Florence.
CDs I keep going back to:
Strait's "It Just Comes Natural."
Darryl Worley's "Here and Now."
John Mayer "Continuum."
Dixie Chicks' "Taking the Long Way."
Craig Morgan's "Little Bit of Life."
Carrie Underwood's "Some Hearts."
– Cathalena E. Burch
