The live show is a slippery thing. There are lots of variables at play, most having little to do with the performance itself. Does the venue have enough bathrooms? Is it going to rain? What day of the week is it on? Did I have a shitty day at work before hand? Did tickets cost waaay too much? All of this can alter one's opinion of a live show before the band even tunes up and with reason. However, when the stars align, there is no place RtBE would rather be than in the moment of magic occurring spontaneously from the stage.
Live Music Has No Equal!
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| Taken By The Fantastic Megan Donohue |
While obviously we can't see every show that is out there, we try to get out often to catch live music. Sure there are a few left in the calendar year, but for now, here is a listing of the best concerts we were fortunate enough to have caught in 2024.
There are links to show reviews in the titles, also because who doesn't love arbitrary rankings, one show at the bottom took the top prize as RtBE's 2024 Favorite Live Show.
It is a funny thing, while 2024 was an amazing year for album releases, in retrospect 2023's live shows beat this year when it comes to the concerts we caught. That is just how it shakes out sometimes. That said, there were a bunch of good ones, here are our favorites from the year that just was.
The year started off with one of the best concerts we saw in 2024 as the maestro Donald Harrison brought fans through his long career with a host of guests and amazing players. Sitting literally in the front row at Town Hall was pretty cool as well to catch all these musicians up close and personal.
New Orleans is a second home to RtBE and it is always great to get down there and see music. Even cooler when those artists come north and hit NYC. This was a great night of deep R&B from Cleary, Williams and Hall who brought the funky goods to the small packed club on Bleecker St.
The funky weirdness that is MonoNeon was on full display this March night in the village as guest Eric Gales threw down on guitar with the Quilted one leading the charge on bass. Solid show all around.
Jazzfest is it's own beast. We never include it in the year end wrap up because it would probably dominate this list, but NY&CH's set was special this year, even more so than the headlining Rolling Stones. The Horse made no 'festival set' changes. Just went out and did that sweet sweet slow burning, shambolic rock and roll they are known for. As a stand alone set, this just might have been our favorite music of the year that we caught live.
The band's album release party for their excellent sophomore offering, Now That Is What I Call Fantastic Cat, was a hoot out at the gorgeous small venue Brooklyn Made. Here is a clip from them just a few hours later as they played CBS This Morning the next day.
The more we get a chance to see Los Lobos, the more we love them. They just do everything well, rock and roll, Americana, Cumbia, Mexican folk, they just get it. This beautiful free summer show in lower Manhattan was a hidden gem and fantastic.
Like Los Lobos the more we catch JRAD the more we want to. This is a Grateful Dead cover band, but it is also much more, a rollicking fun ride every time we have seen them. This night gets a bit more love than the other two times we saw them in 2024 as it was at a gorgeous venue, on a beautiful night with an amazing setlist and top playing from the band.
The last two years we have caught some super special, small shows in NOLA. Last year was Charlie Gabriel's 90th birthday at Kermit's Mother In-Law Lounge, and this one was just as good.
The last few years The Hold Steady's Massive Nights have been fun, but not very musically memorable. This year the band seemed all-in and kicked major ass on Friday night. Tight, fluid, energetic, busted out a few tunes, it was a great set from the indie rock veterans and the best RtBE has heard them since London back in 2019.
Favorite Live Show of 2024
Back in 2014 and 2015 the great Jack White topped our favorite live show list in back to back years and now an even bigger artist has done that again. Just like last year The Boss tops our list, as he is someone from our Masters Series who is still delivering.
Truth be told RtBE are not mega-fans of Bruce, but it is hard to ask for much more in a live show. Musical power? Check. Timely emotional lyrics? Check. A sense of adventure? Check. Simply having a good damn time? Check. I could go on and on.
It was a great trip to DC on a gorgeous late summer weekend with my good friend (and actual Bruce mega-fan) Tom and we got to meet the RtBE site editor in person, spending the day catching up, before a night of pure rock and roll. This quote from my review says it all:
“Reason To Believe,” “Atlantic City,” “Youngstown,” and “Long Walk Home” were perfect examples of Bruce’s uncanny ability to combine pain and uncertainty in lyrical form interwoven with tried-and-true rock bombast. “Reason To Believe” injected a ZZ Top Texas blues swagger with Steven Van Zandt riffing away, the pulsing intensity of Max Weinberg built to a frenzy for “Atlantic City,” the swirling drama of the explosive “Youngstown” was over the top. The prayer for our country, “Long Walk Home,” featured two sax solos by Jake Clemons. While bigger hits followed, this middle section really highlighted Springsteen’s talents and how his songs still speak to this country’s soul.
All of that AND he still had over an hour plus of grade A hits like "Thunder Road", "Born To Run", "Rosalita", "Badlands", "Dancing In The Dark" and I could keep going.
The 2023 Springsteen shows RtBE caught were top notch, but the band, and Bruce himself, sounded even better in 2024. Who knows how they will sound in 2025...maybe they will make it three in a row as our favorite night of live music....
What was your favorite live show of the year? Let us know in the comments below.
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