2009 in review: Live Music

Okay, this is the last of the review posts.  The looking back has dragged on long enough, and really ... year-end summations are about the most self-involved posts you can make in a medium that's inherently self-involved.  But 2009 was a very good year for music and me, so here are the stats:


Total shows (counting each day of multi-day events): 63 (up eleven from 2008!) Performers seen for first time (headlining, in this particular incarnation): 8 (Viper and his Famous Orchestra, 7 Worlds Collide, Neil Finn "solo", Pronto, Liam Finn + Eliza-Jane, The Long Beds, The Avett Brothers, Dave Rawlings Machine)


Performers seen for the first time (support or other variety setting): 20 (Tortoise, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Freakwater, Joe Pug, A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Akron/Family, Jonathan Wilson, Murry Hammond, Heartless Bastards, Dungen, Snow Patrol, Patty Loveless, The Daredevil Christopher Wright, Nicole Atkins, Jesca Hoop, The Latebirds, Punch Brothers, Josh Harty, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Mountain Goats)  


I avoided festivals for the entirety of 2009!  Which hurt me a bit in the "performers seen for the first time" category.

Seen most often: Wilco, Liam Finn, Andrew Bird, Neil Finn


A note on 2009 Wilco shows:
I didn't want them dominating the list below, because I saw so much good stuff last year.  But in all honesty, 2009 was nuts.  Saw many great shows, period.  Jody Stephens coming out for a cover of Big Star's "In the Street," the first live Feist guest appearance for "You and I," I "played" Jeff's guitar, saw Conan, early listen to Wilco (the album) at Hotel SnS, observed part of an album art photo shoot in Milwaukee,  "Happy Birthday" sung from the stage in Holland, a song dedication.  I might as well retire!  But I won't.  As lucky as I was in 2009, if I just see some plain old regular shows in 2010, that's more than good enough. 


(Other) favorite concert moments of 2009, in no order:

• "Don't Be Scared" live for the first time at the Big Shoulders Ball on the eve of the inauguration, 1/19
• LeRoy Bach performing "Special Day" and "Dad Says" at Hotel SnS, 7/10
• Jayhawks with Marc, Gary, and Karen together again for the first time in fourteen years, 5/29
• The Decemberists' multi-drum attack on "The Rake's Song," 8/5
• Singing along with Justin Vernon and the rest of the Riverside for "Wolves," 10/11
• KT Tunstall, Jon Brion, and Elroy Finn's bottle solo at the 7WC2 show, 8/16
• Neil Finn performing my two favorite solo songs back to back, 8/18
• Liam Finn bringing out Glenn Kotche for "Red Wine Bottle" and "Cinnamon Girl," 10/10
• Chris Thile and the rest of the Punch Brothers covering Radiohead and The Cardigans in the Little Room, 11/20
• U2 at Solider Field, "Ultra-f*cking-violet," 9/12
• Scott Avett playing a kick drum about two feet from my face, 10/21
• John Darnielle's improvised song, 12/16

Rock 'n' roll.

2009 in review: Books

Last entry I reviewed my 2009 in travel. This time (for the fourth year), books. Here's a list of the books I read in 2009, followed by some stats:

1. The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J.K. Rowling

2. Once Removed - Neil Finn & Mark Smith

3. The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner
4. Charlotte's Web - E.B. White
5. Stuart Little - E.B. White

6. Sad American Mythology - Ryan Adams

7. The Little Book - Selden Edwards

8. Feathers - Jacqueline Woodson

9. Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins - Emma Donoghue

10. Stalking Irish Madness - Patrick Tracey

11. Scattershot - David Lovelace

12. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane - Kate DiCamillo

13. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver

14. Voluntary Madness - Norah Vincent

15. The Trumpet of the Swan - E.B. White

16. R.E.M.: Hello - David Belisle & Michael Stipe

17. The World in Six Songs - Daniel J. Levitin

18. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

19. Long Way Down - Ewan McGregor & Charley Boorman

20. Three Willows - Ann Brashares

21. When Will There Be Good News? - Kate Atkinson

22. King Dork - Frank Portman

23. Coop - Michael Perry

24. A Day on Skates: The Story of a Dutch Picnic - Hilda Van Stockum

25. That Lass o' Lowrie's - Frances Hodgson Burnett

26. The View From Mount Joy - Lorna Landvik

27. The Americans - Robert Frank

28. Amsterdam - Ian McEwan

29. The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd

30. Interpreter of Maladies - Jhumpa Lahiri

31. Twilight - Stephenie Meyer

32. New Moon - Stephenie Meyer

33. Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer

34. Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer

35. In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom - Qanta A. Ahmed, MD

36. Hands of My Father - Myron Uhlberg

37. Snark - David Denby

38. The Girl Who Could Fly - Victoria Forester

39. And Both Were Young - Madeleine L'Engle

40. An Acceptable Time - Madeleine L'Engle

41. Travels With Charley - John Steinbeck

42. Do Polar Bears Get Lonely? - NewScientist

43. The Small Rain - Madeleine L'Engle

44. A Severed Wasp - Madeleine L'Engle

45. Hiding in the Spotlight - Greg Dawson

46. The Crow Road - Iain Banks

47. Under Milk Wood - Dylan Thomas

48. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling

49. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling

50. The Hour I First Believed - Wally Lamb

51. The Host - Stephenie Meyer

52. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

53. A Corner of the Universe - Ann M. Martin

54. Angels & Insects - A.S. Byatt

55. The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet - Neil DeGrasse Tyson

56. An Echo in the Bone - Diana Gabaldon

57. Agnes Cecelia - Maria Gripe

58. A Little Princess - Frances Hodgson Burnett

59. Outlander - Diana Gabaldon

60. Dragonfly in Amber - Diana Gabaldon

61. Voyager - Diana Gabaldon

62. Drums of Autumn - Diana Gabaldon

63. Fiery Cross - Diana Gabaldon

64. A Breath of Snow and Ashes - Diana Gabaldon

65. A Widow for One Year - John Irving

66. Nothing But Ghosts - Beth Kephart

67. Everything Beautiful in the World - Lisa Levchuk

68. The Mistress's Daughter - A.M. Homes

69. The Areas of My Expertise - John Hodgman

70. The Birthing House - Christopher Ransom

71. Twilight Children - Torey Hayden

72. Joys of Love - Madeleine L'Engle

73. American on Purpose - Craig Ferguson

74. Julie and Julia - Julie Powell

75. Moon Palace - Paul Auster

76. A Gate at the Stairs - Lorrie Moore

Total books read: 76. 

I read one fewer book in 2009 than I did in 2008.

By male authors: 30 (40%) 

By female authors: 45 (59%) 

By both: 1 (0.1%)

Previously read: 15 (20% - up from 2008's 4%)
Marketed for children/teens: 20 (26% - yow!)
Fiction: 55 (72%) Nonfiction: 21 (28%)
In 2009, unlike 2008, fiction ruled.  


Looking at these statistics, it's clear: for much of 2009 I was in the mood for light, simple, familiar, made-up stories.  Interesting.  (Of course, I didn't count all the New Yorkers I read.)  Maybe the busier I am with other things, the less I want to think deeply about what I'm reading.  Or, my patience is growing shorter as I get older?  I'm going to try to challenge myself a little more in 2010.  

You should definitely read: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, and Coop by Michael Perry.  I was a bit late getting to The Poisonwood Bible, and I'm sorry I waited so long to read this enthralling book.  It is fiction, but not light or simple.  Coop is an excellent memoir; the latest in a line of excellent memoirs by Michael Perry.   He's one of the folks who make me glad to be a Wisconsinite, even if my hometown an hour's drive from Chicago bears little resemblance to his. 

Don't bother reading: The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer.  I mean, unless you have a sneaking suspicion you might enjoy it.  Then go ahead, but be warned that they're like crack.  If crack included some awesomely horrible dialogue.  Also, prepare to spend a good week or two afterward supremely frustrated because Meyer has no current plans to finish her draft of Midnight Sun, which is Twilight from Edward's perspective.  Arg!  

2009 in review: Travel

Happy new year! This is the first in a series of posts looking back at stuff I did a lot in 2009. Reading, traveling ... and seeing music. So, here we go, with travel:

States (and districts of Columbia) visited (not counting layovers):  10
Indiana, Maryland, Washington D.C., Illinois, California, Nevada, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Tennessee

New States:  0
Wow, bad showing on the new states front this year.  I didn't cross a single one off the list.  Which means...  

States left before I reach 50:  (still) 7
Louisiana, Maine, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Rhode Island.  I was hoping to check Montana off in early 2010, but I don't think that's going to work out.  I still have hopes of hitting Maine sometime this year, though.  Maybe a business trip to North Dakota.  What else?  I'll have to wait and see.  Overall, though, I don't feel too badly about my failures in the new state field.  Because...

Countries visited: 5
England, Spain, Portugal, Italy, The Netherlands.  And all of them were new!  As always, my goal for 2010 is at least one more.  Maybe another new continent?

A note about travel this decade:

If you consider the decade to be "years in which the first numeral was 2 and the third numeral was 0," which most people seem to be doing, this was a huge travel decade for me.  Understandable, for me it spanned ages 20-30.  But before the year 2000, I had never been to a country outside the U.S.  Not even Canada.  Now I've visited sixteen countries on four continents: not too shabby.  Before 2000, I'd been to thirteen states.  Plenty of progress there, too, reaching forty-three.  

I don't like ranking best vacation spots or best trips; I see no need for those kinds of comparisons.  I've kept a blog since 2005, which means many of my experiences are already documented.  However, one earlier trip really deserves a mention: Moscow and Siberia, August 2001.  I will write about that sometime.