2009 Year in review: Live, from Winnipeg!

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Keith Urban

Another year, another record-breaking 365 days for concerts in Winnipeg.

With new bands being formed every day, and artists selling fewer albums they once did, everyone is hitting the road harder than ever to make money.

Add to that more promoters booking shows everywhere from people's living rooms to the MTS Centre, and you've got a recipe for more live musical entertainment than ever, ranging from up-and-coming acts to some of the world's biggest superstars.

With so many concerts in Winnipeg, it's impossible to see everything, so consider this list a highly subjective and selective chronological look at some of the best/most memorable gigs I've seen in the city this year, along with a few highlights from other Free Press reviewers.

The Eagles, MTS Centre, March 13

Spontaneous moments were few and far between, but the reunited country-rockers delivered everything fans could want and more over the course of three-plus hours, including a mid-show acoustic set and a climatic 40-minute closer that made it seem like summer in March, according to Melissa Martin.

Kreator, Garrick Centre, April 19

The German thrash-metal veterans finally made their local debut, tearing through 25-years of riffs while delivering hilarious between-song banter about murder and mayhem (you can't take songs like Flag of Hate and Pleasure to Kill too seriously, after all).

Leonard Cohen, MTS Centre, April 30

Canada's musical poet-laureate may be 74, but he was still spry and sexy as he and his nine-piece band worked their way through his extensive, and eccentric, four-decade catalogue, Martin said.

Coldplay, MTS Centre, June 15

One of the world's biggest bands delivered a larger than life show filled with rock attitude that included lasers, orb-shaped video screens, balloons and confetti, making the night a rousing celebration of everything Chris Martin and his bandmates do best, rather than the sensitive navel-gazing performance it could have been, according to Jill Wilson.

Al Green, Centennial Concert Hall, June 30

It was a love-in sans hippies from the dapper seductive soul master with the gazillion-watt smile who spread his positive vibrations around like the roses and kisses he gave to the adoring ladies in the crowd.

Elvis Costello, Birds Hill Park, July 8

The iconic British singer-songwriter and his band the Imposters opened an expanded five-day Winnipeg Folk Festival with a near perfect set, touching on everything from his New Wave beginnings to his recent excursions into roots rock.

Taylor Swift, MTS Centre, July 11

Country's hottest new star put on a three-act show filled with confessional songs and choreographed dance-routines over cheers that would have made the Jonas Brothers jealous, according to Martin.

AC/DC, Canad Inns Stadium, Aug. 22

The first stadium show in 12 years was also the concert event of the year as the Australian rock legends pulled out all their favourite tricks -- from a giant inflatable "Rosie" to cannon blasts during the finale, For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) -- for 46,000 fans who shook the foundations during a beautiful summer night. High voltage, indeed.

Hold Steady, West End Cultural Centre, Sept. 24

Literate, straight-up rock 'n' roll from one of America's best bands, which features a hyperactive smiling frontman in Craig Finn, who, with his horn-rimmed glasses and button-up shirt, looks as likely to do your taxes as write some of the greatest music of the 2000s.

Keith Urban, MTS Centre, Sept. 26

The Australian country star proved to be the complete package during two nights at the MTS Centre, playing guitar like a rock star and making frequent trips through the crowd, driving his female fan base wild.

Gogol Bordello, Burton Cummings Theatre, Oct. 3

The nine-piece New York-based gypsy-punk misfits from seven countries smashed musical and cultural boundaries with a high-energy mix of Eastern European party music, reggae, rock, punk and surf.

Metallica, MTS Centre, Oct. 12

Thankfully, the thrash-metal pioneers' latest album Death Magnetic is a return to form for the quartet since they showcased half of it for the largest crowd in the MTS Centre's history (over 16,000) alongside enough classic material to keep the old fans happy.

Nomeansno, Royal Albert, Oct. 31

The Vancouver punk veterans returned to the city for the first time in eight years, making up for lost time with four shows (any of which could have made this list), cementing their status as one of Canada's greatest bands of all time with a mix of highly original material that draws from '80s hardcore, thrash and jazz.

Propagandhi, Koko, London, England, Nov. 30

Having had to miss the three local shows the local quartet played in Winnipeg, I had the chance to see them while on holidays and witness a packed crowd of 1,500 Brits singing, slam-dancing and raising their fists for the group's melodic political thrash-punk.

Hot Live Guys, Royal Albert, Dec 23

The final show ever by Winnipeg's beloved boogie-rawk quartet was another over-the-top, sweaty, spectacle that put an exclamation mark on the end of a 10-year run. They will be missed.

Honour roll:

Razor, The Zoo, March 28; Mastodon, Garrick Centre, April 28; Hanson Brothers, Royal Albert, April 28; Testament, Garrick Centre, May 9; Monotonix, Pyramid Cabaret, May 21; Fleetwood Mac, June 6, MTS Centre; Derek Trucks, June 23, Pantages Playhouse; Slayer/Megadeth, June 29, MTS Centre; Green Day, July 9, MTS Centre; Maximum RNR, Royal Albert, Aug. 1; Voivod, Burton Cummings Theatre, Aug. 5; Silversun Pickups, Garrick Centre, Aug. 12; Zappa Plays Zappa/Dream Theatre, Burton Cummings Theatre, Aug. 16; Adrian Belew, Oct. 6, West End Cultural Centre; Tony Bennett, Centennial Concert Hall, Oct. 13; KISS, MTS Centre, Nov. 9.

rob.williams@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 29, 2009 D1