- Neil Young - The Greek Theatre 9/12 & 14 From keeping tabs on the internet concert reports I knew it had been a pretty static setlist for most of the tour. I knew "World On A String" was supposed to follow "Harvest Moon" so, on the first night, when Neil unexpectedly struck the opening chords of "All Along The Watchtower" I got so excited the top of my head actually went numb ... possibly the single greatest musical moment of 2000 for me.

- Supergrass - The Roxy 5/22/00 The completely over the top performance (I finally got to see Supergrass lose their composure!), the impeccable sound, the career-wide set list, the artful lighting ... it was as close to a perfect rock show as I have ever seen. There's a lot going on in their songs, it's pretty complex stuff some of the time but, bottomline, these guys play rock ‘n' roll music ‘cos it's fun and that's downright contagious.

- Bob Dylan - Bakersfield Centennial Garden - Bakersfield, CA 3/12 To see him perform "Things Have Changed" was monumental, the harmonica break on "Tangled Up In Blue" was pure feel, the guitar solo he did on "Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again" was so rock ‘n' roll it cracked me up. Witnessing my normally reserved pal Cameron periodically leaping out of his seat and whooping was inspiring. Seeing Bob Dylan experience another heyday onstage in these last few years is a privilege I don't take lightly.

- Rufus Wainwright - Largo 11/22 & 29 I was sort of giddy at the sheer spectacle of two things: his melodies and his voice. Then you toss in the piano playing, a dazzling batch of new songs all happening in a place not much bigger than the average living room, and I was borderline hysterical. When he took one hand off the piano and put it to his heart reaching for a vocal note on the phrase "not my fault Danny boy" I found myself on my tip-toes rooting for him to make it (which he did!). And very significantly, Rufus finally has a great band. I kid you not, these shows made me think of McCartney, Brian Wilson and Harry Nilsson ... pure genius, natural musicality.

- Marah - Theatre Of The Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA - record release party 3/24/00 I just HAD to see them in their beloved Philadelphia and it was more than worth the trip. They got a hometown heroes welcome and rewarded the lot of us with one of the most spine-tingling rock ‘n' roll shows I have ever witnessed by anyone anywhere. The finale was a real spectacle: a sensational surprise rendition of The Replacements' "Can't Hardly Wait" into Little Richard's "Keep A-Knockin" into Oasis' "Acquiesce".

- The Jayhawks - The Baked Potato (acoustic show) 4/5* The Troubadour 6/12 Best live harmony singing I'd heard since The Cowsills dynamite Troubadour show last year. Primary singers Gary Louris and Tim O'Reagan along with new member Jen Gunderman are one 1st class vocal act. Bassist Marc Perlman is as good as they come. Auxiliary member Kraig Johnson does much to fill out the sound (and FUCK, he looks cool!).

- Iris DeMent - Royce Hall UCLA 5/4 On record or onstage, Iris DeMent is ALWAYS one of the highlights of any year for me. Though she's been plagued with an often talked about writer's block (her last album was released in ‘96), she did one fabulous new song alongside many of her now classics -- from "Let The Mystery Be" to the-almost-too gut-wrenching-to-experience-in-public "Easy's Getting Harder Everyday." Iris DeMent's singing is one of my favorite things in life.

- Travis - El Rey Theatre 4/10 My wife Jennifer and I were mesmerized by this performance and a little deafer afterwards -- not only ‘cos the band played loud but also ‘cos of the people in the audience screaming! Even singer Fran Healy seemed genuinely taken aback by it, saying when they first walked onstage, "Are you sure you're here for the right band?" And we couldn't figure out how everyone already knew all the words to "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?" when the album had just been released. They certainly rocked way more than we expected too! Jim Walsh from The St. Paul Pioneer Press said it best when, describing Fran's voice in concert, he wrote, "It was almost as if God was showing off."

- The Waxwings - The 400 Bar Minneapolis 6/10*Spaceland 6/17 & 9/23 Though they sometimes seem to have a penchant for playing too loud and obscuring their incredible harmonies I loved how exacting and determined their sets were.

- Tegan & Sara - Luna Park 7/10 19 year old twin sisters from Calgary, Alberta who I knew almost nothing about before they walked onstage. They captivated me instantly with their intensely smart, folky-poppy-rappy, acoustic music and sisterly banter. I thought about this show for weeks.

- Brian Wilson - Hollywood Bowl 9/24 Doing all of the Pet Sounds album and assorted other songs with his accomplished band and a symphony orchestra was literally like some kinda dream come true. The Van Dyke Parks conducted introductory overture was a thrill I'll never forget.

- Wilco - The Fillmore - San Francisco 7/29 & 30 In the first part of both sets, during the 7 or 8 Woody Guthrie songs in a row, they played with such authority and Jeff sang with what looked to me like a combination of pride, reverence and ease that it really moved me. Kinda made the big, sloppy rock finales of the sets seem a little forced. But I so respect this band and their "we'll try just about anything" attitude that I'm not really complaining.

- Perla Batalla - The Getty Museum Auditorium 2/19*Pecan Street Alehouse - Austin, TX 3/18*Bryant Lake Bowl - Minneapolis 6/7*Largo 10/18 Perla sings like an angel right here on earth and all of these shows had heart-stoppingly beautiful moments. Observing Leonard Cohen listening and watching attentively at the Largo performance was oddly heavy.

- Slim Dunlap Band - The Turf Club Minneapolis 8/26 No new songs to speak of but Slim and his fun loving band of many years really made me miss living in Minneapolis in a way I'd never felt before.

- McCartney Tribute - "The Solo Years" various artists from the L.A. Poptopia scene, The Wondermints and others. - The Morgan Wixson Theatre - 4/12 - I'm not sure what I was expecting this evening but it turned out to be heartwarming. Seeing Morris Tepper (from Captain Beefheart's latter day Magic Band) sing "Rock Show," copying every ooh and ahh and yelp that McCartney did on the original recording was a scream! Though, I must say, the later part of McCartney's output was criminally unrepresented.

- Tim Easton I generally avoid including artists I'm involved with directly (Tim records for New West Records where I work) but Tim Easton was such a huge part of my live experience I had to mention him. I probably saw him 25 times over the course of the year. He's a skillful, seasoned, charismatic, fun, folk/blues/rock performer. And his songs are so good I love seeing him even on his off nights.

In a category all by itself