Top 50 2006

Here is a list of my personal “Top 50” for the year 2006. No real guidelines this time – I’ve just listed 50 random things, in no particular order, that made life more enjoyable for me in 2006. I’ve added comments on some of these, but not all of them. Below you’ll find CD’s, concerts, random life events, sandwiches…whatever. In their own way, each of these things rocked my world. It’s all good:

1. Feeling our future son kick around (now that’s what I call a “mosh pit!”)
2. Zolar X – live at the 3 Kings Tavern in Denver and at El Corazon in Seattle (I love these space aliens – they put on an amazing live show)
3. New York Dolls – live at El Corazon (truly inspiring)
4. Be Your Own Pet – s/t CD (ripping bratty punk – great stuff)
5. Sonic Youth – Rather Ripped CD (my favorite thing they’ve done since Goo)
6. Emails from my childhood best friend OBRAD (back in touch after 26 years!)
7. Yo La Tengo – I’m Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass CD
8. Head – No Hugging No Learning LP (I’m actually still waiting on my vinyl, but a friend emailed me this as a “you send it” file – awesome stuff, I miss getting to see these guys play)
9. This Filthy World – John Waters Live DVD (his one man show – hilarious stuff)
10. Len Price 3 – Chinese Burn CD (this actually came out in 2005, but I didn’t track down a copy until this year – think a power pop version of Thee Headcoats)
11. Mission of Burma – The Obliterati CD
12. Mudhoney – two nights live at the Larimer Lounge
13. Art Brut – live at the Hi-Dive
14. The Office – TV show (this keeps getting better and funnier)
15. Sonic Youth – live at the Gothic Theater (best show I’ve seen them do in years)
16. Little Miss Sunshine DVD (“she’s a superfreak, superfreak…”)
17. Art Brut – Bang Bang Rock & Roll CD (“my little brother just discovered rock n’ roll…”)
18. Pizza and beer at the Big Time in Seattle (I’ve never found anything to match it in D-town)
19. Buzzcocks – Flat-Pack Philosophy CD
20. ADULT. – live at the Larimer Lounge (cool duo – what Suicide would sound like fronted by Siouxsie)
21. Cheeseburgers at Herb’s Tavern in Friday Harbor
22. Mystery Science Theater 3000 Volume 10 DVD Box set (more episodes of the best TV show ever – huzzah!)
23. The Daily Show – TV show (I never miss it)
24. Finding good beer on sale at Applejack Liquors (amazing how this can make your day!)
25. The Record Show I attended in October (not because I found anything that was all that great, it was just fun to spend several hours pawing through old vinyl)
26. Parties at Terri’s pad (aka “doin’ the Lido Shuffle”)
27. The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder: Punk & New Wave DVD (See: The Plasmatics blow up a car! Iggy missing a tooth! Paul Weller acting surly! John Lydon and Keith Levine acting even surlier! Elvis Costello looking really young! Patti Smith sounding like a hippie! The Ramones being the Ramones! Kim Fowley wearing ridiculous makeup! Tom Snyder smoking at least 8000 cigarettes!)
28. The Colbert Report – TV show (you can never have too much truthiness)
29. Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings the Flood CD (oh, that voice…)
30. The Beatles – Love CD (I wish they’d taken this a bit further, but still an interesting listen for Beatles fans)
31. The Who – Endless Wire CD (better than you’d expect, especially the second half)
32. Belle and Sebastian – The Life Pursuit CD
33. Mr. Falconyeti’s stories about working at Mr. Tomato’s in Boulder (Tomatogate!)
34. The Marked Men – Fix My Brain LP
35. The Black Angels – Passover LP
36. Destroyer – Destroyer’s Rubies CD
37. X – live at the Ogden Theater (Billy Zoom!)
38. Trouble Man DVD (great blaxploitation from 1972, finally available without resorting to crap copies on Ebay)
39. The Raconteurs – live at the Fillmore
40. The Fall – live at the Boulder Theatre (chaotic and fun – long live Mark E. Smith!)
41. The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldiers CD (wow, something Brendan Benson was involved with actually moved a few units – it’s about time!)
42. Sparks – Hello Young Lovers CD
43. The Fiery Furnaces – live at the Bluebird
44. Visiting Soulsville in Memphis (worth the admission price just to see Isaac Hayes’ pimped out Cadillac)
45. Sloan – Never Hear the End of It CD (actually, another “you send it” file from Scott, I don’t think this is available outside of Canadia yet)
46. My Name is Earl – TV show
47. The Buzzcocks – live at the Bluebird
48. New York Dolls – One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This CD (won’t make anyone forget their two original albums, but this definitely has its moments)
49. Beyond the Valley of the Dolls DVD (The Carrie Nations!)
50. The Who – Sell Out LP (heavy vinyl, original mono mix, reproduction “psychedelic” insert, and amazing sound – thx JT!)

A few random observations:

2006 was the year that the li’l woman bought me a cell phone and an iPod. A few people I know have read these occurrences as “signs of the apocalypse.”

I only saw two movies in the theater in 2006, and they were both at the bargain theater! However, I’ve had a Netflix subscription all year, so I’m seeing more movies than ever before. They just happen to be weird old cult films and documentaries, mostly.

I think I’m the last person in the world who still uses a VCR to copy TV shows when I’m out. Everyone else either has a DVR or a Tivo. It’ll probably be awhile before I “upgrade,” seeing as I hardly watch television anymore.

We’ll see what I can find to write about in 2007 – I vow that this won’t become some sort of overly precious “baby blog.”

Show List – 2006

First off, I hope anyone reading this enjoyed their holidays. Ours were, for the most part, nonexistent. I had to work Christmas Eve night, and then get up and go in on Christmas morning. We managed to have dinner that night with my family, but it felt a bit rushed. Between the two blizzards we endured, and the awful colds that had us bedridden at times, we weren’t feeling all that festive this year. Throw in missing the Squirrels XXXmas show (this would’ve been 15 in a row for me), and my wife’s family having to cancel their visit… Thank goodness for my annual double feature (The Van and Massacre at Central High – which was postponed a day due to the second blizzard) and catching A Christmas Story on Christmas Eve, otherwise our holidays would’ve been a total wash. Hopefully, next year will be better.

Also, we’re at the point of the year where shows in Denver are few and far between. I thought I’d take this opportunity to put up a list of all of the shows I managed to catch in 2006, a total of 60. I guarantee you that this number will be greatly reduced for 2007, seeing as we’ll be parents next month.

1. 1/7/06 Dressy Bessy/Little Fyodor/Blacksmiths @ Bluebird Theater
2. 1/27/06 Orangutones/Calf Branders @ 3 Kings Tavern
3. 1/29/06 Suzi Homewrecker @ Larimer Lounge (free)
4. 2/20/06 Zolar X/Squirrels/Sacred Truths/Space Creatures from the Year 3000 @ El Corazon (Seattle)
5. 3/9/06 Stereolab/Hot Chip @Gothic Theater
6. 3/11/06 Exene Cervenka & the Original Sinners/7 Shot Screamers @ Hi-Dive
7. 3/16/06 Black Water (Doobie Brothers tribute act, lol) @ Walnut Room
8. 3/22/06 Blowfly/Despot @ Hi-Dive
9. 3/24/06 “Japan Night” @ Bluebird Theater (TsuShiMaMiRe, Ellegarden, Pe’z, Stance Punks, The Emeralds, Rodeo Carbureter)
10. 3/29/06 Gito Gito Hustler/Spanks /Fuckin’ Orange @ 15th Street Tavern
11. 3/30/06 Soledad Brothers/Heartless Bastards @ Larimer Lounge
12. 4/1/06 Orangutones with “Burlesque as it Was” @ Oriental Theater
13. 4/5/06 The Cops @ Larimer Lounge (free)
14. 4/6/06 Chrome/New Ancient Astronauts @ Bluebird Theater
15. 4/10/06 Spoon @ Gothic Theater (free)
16. 4/14/06 Dinosaur Jr./Priestess/Monofog @ Fox Theater
17. 4/15/06 Boss Martians @ Benders Tavern
18. 4/21/06 The Eames Era/Breezy Porticos/Phillip Roebuck @ Benders Tavern
19. 4/25/06 The M’s/Deathray Davies @ Hi-Dive
20. 4/28/06 The Sounds/Morningwood @ Ogden Theater (free)
21. 5/5/06 Art Brut/Bird Monster/Constellation @ Hi-Dive
22. 5/17/06 Dead Moon @ Larimer Lounge
23. 5/26/06 The Fall/Dario Rosa @ Boulder Theater
24. 6/16/06 Epoxies @ Hi-Dive
25. 6/16/06 Black Angels/Hopewell @ Larimer Lounge
26. 6/20/06 Fiery Furnaces/Phantom Buffalo @ Bluebird Theater
27. 6/27/06 Sonic Youth/Awesome Color @ Gothic Theater
28. 6/30/06 The Bellrays @ Larimer Lounge
29. 7/6/06 Ray Davies @ Paramount Theater
30. 7/14/06 Electric Eel Shock @ Bluebird Theater (free)
31. 7/14/06 Thank God for Astronauts @ Larimer Lounge (free)
32. 7/15/06 Briefs/Mansfields/Cheapskates @ Bluebird Theater (free)
33. 7/16/06 The Raconteurs/Kelley Stoltz @ Fillmore Auditorium
34. 7/18/06 The Buzzcocks/Adored @ Bluebird Theater
35. 7/19/06 Immaculate Machine/Breezy Porticos/Cowboy Curse @ Hi-Dive (free)
36. 7/28/06 Orangutones/Long John Thomas & the Duffs/Get 3 Coffins Ready @ 3 Kings Tavern
37. 8/2/06 Futureheads/Tapes n’ Tapes @ Bluebird Theater
38. 8/5/06 Harry and the Potters @ Central Library (free)
39. 8/5/06 X/Rollins Band/Reno Divorce @ Ogden Theater (free)
40. 8/17/06 Gary Numan/New Skin @ Fox Theater
41. 8/26/06 Devo/Psychedelic Furs/When in Rome @ Citylights Pavilion
42. 9/3/06 Orangutones/Dario Rosa/The Knew @ 3 Kings Tavern
43. 9/7/06 Queers/Hard-On’s @ Bluebird Theater
44. 9/10/06 Zolar X (and a few songs by Thor) @ 3 Kings Tavern
45. 9/15/06 Mudhoney/The Geds @ Larimer Lounge
46. 9/16/06 Mudhoney @ Larimer Lounge
47. 9/19/06 Thank God For Astronauts/Everything Absent or Distorted @ Larimer Lounge
48. 9/22/06 Mark Mallman/Thank God For Astronauts/Lord Zorplin @ Hi-Dive
49. 9/27/06 Deadboy and the Elephantmen/The Knew @ Larimer Lounge
50. 10/6/06 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah/Architecture in Helsinki @ Gothic Theater
51. 10/10/06 Art Brut/We Are Scientists @ Bluebird Theater
52. 10/12/06 SSM @ Benders Tavern
53. 10/13/06 ADULT./Vicki @ Larimer Lounge
54. 10/16/06 Willowz/Fresh Kills @ Larimer Lounge
55. 10/25/06 Detroit Cobras/King Kahn & the BBQ Show/Taylor Hollingsworth and the Spider Eaters @ Bluebird Theater
56. 10/26/06 Black Angels/The Tyde @ Larimer Lounge
57. 11/11/06 New York Dolls/Supersuckers/Chesterfield Kings/Charms/Greatest Hits @ El Corazon (Seattle)
58. 11/30/06 Breezy Porticos/Kissing Party @ Hi-Dive (free)
59. 12/2/06 Lemonheads/Vietnam @ Bluebird Theater
60. 12/8/06 The Blasters @ Bluebird Theater

I’m going to try and put up some sort of “best of” for 2006 soon, hopefully before 2007 is too far underway.

RIP - James Brown