Let’s ease into Listless ‘07 with a “Top Ten Shows I Saw This Year” musing. I saw 267 shows in 2006, so this year I decided to be more picky and subject my eardrums to less of what I thought should see and more of what I actually wanted to see. Here we go:

10. White Rabbits at some loft in Lakeview/Chicago, March 2007 - My pal Sarah C. swore that her friends from high school were in this supercool band that was playing a loft party the week before SXSW, and I somehow let her drag me out to see it. Glad I went - the setting was incredible and the Rabbits’ 2-drummer attack was a force in that space.

9. The Swell Season at The Vic/Chicago, 11/25/07 - covered this one for SPIN.com and wouldn’t have gone otherwise, but I was absolutely enchanted by the whimsical power of Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. Once sprung to life, and it was good.

8. Bishop Allen at the Mohawk/Austin, 11/15/07 - The best set I saw at SXSW ‘07. Are Bishop Allen breaking new ground in melodic indie pop? Probably not. Are they polished, prepared, and dedicated to giving a great performance every time? Yeeeeeah.

7. Daft Punk at Lollapalooza/Chicago, 08/03/07 - Holy hot sweaty wet and on fire French dance party…need I say more?

6. Ryan Adams at the House of Blues/Chicago, 01/17/07 - The first time I’ve ever seen Ry Ry play like a professional. Almost 4 hours of calculated song choices, tight as hell jams, and good-natured crowd interaction.

5. Andrew Bird at the Hideout Block Party/Chicago, 09/08/07 - Gorgeous night, gorgeous crowd, gorgeous exploration of the upper echelons of chamber pop. I will never tire of hearing anything off of The Mysterious Production of Eggs live.

4. Jim Bianco at The Living Room/New York, 10/17/07 - What can I say about this guy that I haven’t said before? Even though this set was a paltry 7 songs, Bianco made ‘em count, captivated a room full of lazy drinkers and left with an army of new devotees to his creepy, riverboat goth-folk.

3. Spoon at Schubas/Chicago, 07/13/07 - This one was a real bear to get into, but seeing one of my favorite bands of all time in the sweaty intimacy of Schubas was worth all of the groveling to get in. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga material mixed seamlessly with the back catalog, and Britt and sons played til nearly 2am.

2. Wilco at Millenium Park/Chicago, 09/12/07 - Covered this one for SPIN.com too, which only means that I got far better seats than I normally would have for the finest Wilco performance I’ve ever seen (and I have seen a plenty). This was a band showing its hometown audience (11,000 strong) unconditional love, and it was a gorgeous thing to see.

1. Jon Brion at The Hideout/Chicago, 03/11/07 - Not only was this the best show I saw in 2007, it is likely the best show I have ever seen. ‘Genius’ can be a hard thing to qualify when it comes to the arts, but not a soul who witnessed Brion’s deft ability to entertain while slamming you over the head with talent would deny that he’s the real deal.

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