Best show of 2008? Working For A Nuclear Free City

Huh? Yeah, I know it's an upset, but I decided to do something a bit different this year. I went to plenty of shows in 2008 that were events; Radiohead and Kanye at Lollapalooza, Lupe Fiasco , My Bloody Valentine... They were amazing, but they didn't surprise me. Trundling down to Schubas on a chilly March weeknight, sitting through a torturous opening act, then seeing an amazing live show by a band I'd only recently heard of? That was a surprise.
For some reason their show has stayed with me as pretty monumental. I still have the show poster on my bedroom wall, the design of which I sort of stole for the best show of 2008 logo! I rarely get to "discover" a new band without reading about them on a blog or in a review, and to some extent that always skews my opinion of them. Unusually, I heard Working For A Nuclear Free City for the first time on the music player at fredperry.com! I quickly jotted down the band name, then went to their myspace, where they so kindly emailed me the mp3 for Kingdom (which was unreleased at the time). One of their best songs, it later appeared on their US release Businessmen and Ghosts.
After hearing the rest of their stuff through the end of 2007 and early 2008, by the time March rolled around I was pretty excited to see them live. Despite the late start (and snowy night) the small crowd didn't want to leave when it was over. We pressured them into a fantastic encore of So, a song which has been on constant repeat for the entire year, and has no signs of being relegated.
So here's the obligatory spam of my show highlights in shaky, blurry youtube video format:
Kingdom:

Heaven Kissing Hill:

Rocket:

Working For A Nuclear Free City on Myspace.
Working For A Nuclear Free City on Facebook.

FINAL FOUR: 4. Lupe Fiasco

4. Lupe Fiasco, Congress Theatre 10/31.
2008 is the year that I really got into hip hop. I'd had a passing interest previously, mostly with UK grime, but Lupe's The Cool really dragged me in. Along with other Chicago talents, Kanye West and The Cool Kids, Lupe has been on constant repeat in my iTunes.
I'd seen Lupe at this year's Lollapalooza, but nothing compared to his command of the stage at the Congress. Filming for his live DVD, he took advantage of his rapt hometown crowd. The upcoming election merely days away, and the recent shooting deaths of Jennifer Hudson's family assured he had plenty to preach about, but in spite of the 30 minute stint on his soapbox he performed one of the greatest shows of 2008.
Here's my video of Superstar with Matt Santos:

FINAL FOUR: 3. Jarvis Cocker

3. Jarvis Cocker, Pitchfork Music Festival.
Jarvis has a knack for the dramatic. Prancing and hamming it up on stage are his trademarks. Too many live shows are marred by the lack of interaction between the crowd and the performer...this is not a problem for Jarvis. With the confidence that probably only accompanies a decades long career, he belted out his solo material with conviction and skill. Chatting with the crowd, he listed various Wikipedia facts about Chicago, and gave a hearty introduction to each song.
Jarvis' solo album is really brilliant. Pairing sneering lyrics with a bit of a brighter sound. Almost makes you forget Pulp...almost.
Here's my video of Fat Children

FINAL FOUR: 2. M83

2. M83, Empty Bottle 5/29
M83's album Saturdays = Youth was on many year end lists as one of the best. It's a dedicated homage and celebration of the 80's. Steering away from parody, the album becomes timeless in its appeal. Their show at the Empty Bottle is in my final four because it was a wholly unique experience, an indefinably great live show from an undefinable band. The strongest complement you can give any musician (as Damon Albarn expertly noted) is to struggle when classifying their music.
Here's the video I took of them performing Couleurs. None of the videos came out especially well, bass kills my camera!

FINAL FOUR: 1. Working For A Nuclear Free City.

The years already over, and I haven't finished this yet! Here's the first of what I think are the four best concerts of 2008.
1.Working For A Nuclear Free City, Schubas 3/5/08
Here's my original thoughts on the show:

Last night I saw the excellent Manchester band Working For A Nuclear Free City. They only played for a short time, but they sounded really good (Schubas has a good soundsystem?) They rocked a little harder than I thought they would based on their album.
I really think they have a unique sound, it's a mix of early nineties "baggy" or "madchester" bands, modern indie rock, and lush, dream-like, M83 style shoegaze.---Is it? They remind me a bit of James with a quieter vocal sound. They are quickly becoming one of my new favorite bands!

Well, over the year, their live show held up as one of the best. I am really taken by how their music transports you to a different place. I was very impressed! Not bad for a band I first heard on the Fred Perry website's music player.
Here's them performing Kingdom, one of their best tracks (it's on their US release Businessmen And Ghosts).

Best show of 2008 Elite 8

I've taken Monkey: Journey To The West out of consideration because it's not fair to pit a Chinese opera against all these other shows! It's in a different league. Obviously it was amazing. I would say it's one of the coolest things I've ever been to, so yeah, I'll make that one stand on its own. Here are the elite 8 for the best concert of 2008.



1. Working For A Nuclear Free City @ Schubas

2.Toumani Diabate @ Logan Square Auditorium

3. M83 @ Empty Bottle

4. Jarvis Cocker @ Pitchfork

5. Radiohead @ Lollapalooza

6. Kanye West @ Lollapalooza

7. My Bloody Valentine @ Aragon

8. Lupe Fiasco @ Congress

Best show of 2008...the contenders

Here are the contenders for Victorian Horror best show of 2008. Remember, the winner gets apartment-wide recognition, a fleeting glance by at least two people, and probably will remain oblivious to this great honor. There's a lot at stake here people! Click on the artist for my original posts on the shows, including videos and pictures for reference. For Pitchfork just click on "Pitchfork Festival".

Toumani Diabate, Logan Square Auditorium
Working For A Nuclear Free City, Schubas
British Sea Power, Empty Bottle
Foals, Subterranean
Elbow, Park West
M83, Empty Bottle
Monkey Journey To The West, Spoleto Festival
Pitchfork Festival-
Dizzee Rascal
Spiritualized
Jarvis Cocker
Lollapalooza Festival-
Radiohead
Amadou and Mariam
Lupe Fiasco
Kanye West
Modeselektor, Sonotheque
My Bloody Valentine, Aragon
Lupe Fiasco, Congress