As anyone that follows me on Twitter or Facebook can attest, I go out a lot. And by "a lot," I mean "I probably see 3-5 shows per week—every week." If I had to venture a guess, I've probably seen at least 200 shows this year, especially if you factor in South By Southwest. Now that bands are taking a break from the road and there aren't as many shows to go see, I'm ready to talk about the 10 best I saw this year. To be totally honest, this is pretty much off the top of my head, with a little help from someone who was at nearly every show I was. I need to keep better track of the shows I see. Most of the time I just dump the ticket stub in my stub drawer. —Brad Barrish, Buzznet head of artist and label relations, whatevernevermind

10. Ratatat at The Henry Fonda Theatre on 09/09/08
I think I've finally figured out how to get an L.A. audience to take their hands out of the pockets and move a little. Play music that makes people want to move. The most memorable shows are the ones where I look around and think, "Now, this is how it's supposed to be!" There wasn't a dry shirt in the house after this show. Ratatat is unique in that their songs don't have lyrics and it's a guitarist, a bassist and a keyboardist on stage. I definitely moved more at this show than any other. Ratatat never put on a boring show.



9. Bridge School Benefit at Shoreline Amphitheatre on 10/25/08
I've been going to The Bridge School Benefit for six years now and it's always one of the highlights of my year. Aside from being an important charity, there's something very different about this show. Maybe it has something to do with being at Shoreline, but more than anything it's the kids and families that The Bridge School helps. Of course seeing Neil Young is always amazing too. Every year Neil and Peggy Young put on a special show where incredible artists and bands play acoustic. I've seen everyone from Brian Wilson to The Foo Fighters to Tenacious D to James Taylor to Jerry Lee Lewis. This year's lineup wasn't as interesting as I would have liked, but Band Of Horses, Cat Power and Wilco all played impressive sets. Even with a less-than-stellar lineup, Bridge is always one of the best all-around experiences.



8. The Cure at The Troubadour on 12/13/08
For nearly three hours, I watched The Cure play music from their entire career. It was definitely one of the best shows I'd ever seen. I have to confess to not being the biggest Cure fan in the world, but i couldn't help but enjoy it. Why fight it, right? I think any one of the lucky few that got to see this would agree that the last third of the show was probably the best. The encores were the highlight for me. Seeing the band play "Why Can't I Be You," "Boys Don't Cry," "10:15 Saturday Night" and closing out with "Killing An Arab" was amazing. Perhaps the second best thing was watching Robert Smith interact and converse with the likes of Davey Havoc, Jared Leto and others after the show. I even heard someone from MySpace called it the best Secret Show they ever did.



7. Kid Cudi at Cinespace on 09/30/08
Hip-hop usually can't keep my attention in a live setting. Perhaps I just go to the wrong shows. I wasn't really expecting a lot from Kid Cudi, but I stayed around until nearly 1am to see him play. As far a hype goes, there's tons of it around this kid and his mixtape is at the top of the heap as far as I'm concerned. He mixes rock rhythms and wicked synths with smart rhymes and incredible MC skills that bring some much-needed freshness to hip-hop music. He was a little sick for this show, but that didn't stop him and the crowd from going completely nuts. If you didn't hear about him this year, you will definitely hear about him next year.



6. Deerhunter at The El Rey Theatre on 11/25/08
I'm not a Bradford Cox fanatic, but you wouldn't know it by looking at my top albums and shows of the year. His bands appear 3 times. When Deerhunter played The El Rey, I loaded up the culmination of all my appreciation and brought it to the show. I parked myself right behind the soundboard and watched and listened to one of the most talented artists in indie rock play an intense set. Noisy guitar rock has always been my comfort music and this was a show at which I felt completely at home.



5. The Walkmen at The Troubadour on 08/22/08
It had been four years since The Walkmen put out a good record. I didn't see them at all when they were touring on A Hundred Miles Off. Boy, was that a fitting title. But, I digress. They made it all up to me and then some with their latest album, You & Me (one of the best albums of 2008). The first shows they played were small clubs and this Troubadour show was one of those shows where I heard myself say "wow" outloud a few times. I can't put my finger on why I am so fond of this band. Maybe it's the raw emotion that Hamilton [Leithauser, vocals/guitar] puts into his performance or the loud, crunching guitars. All I know is that The Walkmen would do well to stick with the formula they used on this album.



4. Portishead at The Mayan Theatre on 04/24/08
There are many perks to what I do for a living, and being invited to see Portishead do a rehearsal show before their Coachella appearance is one such perk. The last time I saw Portishead play was at The Roseland Ballroom in the '90s, after the release of Dummy. They had just released Third, which is one of the best albums released this year, and the Coachella show was to be the first and only show in the US. There was no stage production and the band was totally dressed down, but there was nothing but brilliance coming out of the speakers. Laid back or not, Portishead put on a really special show for their die-hard fans. I remember leaning over to someone four songs into the show and saying, "we're witnessing something really special and this will be one for the books."



3. Blitzen Trapper and Fleet Foxes at The Troubadour on 03/01/08
I knew this was going to be a special show before I actually got to the venue. While I intended on only seeing Blitzen Trapper, I had heard some rumblings about Fleet Foxes and was excited to see them as well. To say they blew me away would be an understatement. Keep in mind, this was months before they would become indie press darlings and be in the top 5 of everyone's top albums of the year. They were just starting out and only had an EP, which I purchased after they played. I missed some of their other LA appearances throughout the year, but this one has stood out for more than a few reasons.



2. Travis at The Troubadour on 11/11/08
In 2000, I got my hands on The Man Who and proceeded to see Travis play every show that they played in LA over the next few years, including their first US show ever, at The Troubadour. Many years later, they decided to play The Troubadour again and I was there once again. I like their newer material alright, but seeing them play songs from Good Feeling, The Man Who and The Invisible Band was incredible. I even jumped around in sync with the rest of the audience to "Why Does It Always Rain On Me." Andy [Bell, guitarist] climbed the rafters and Fran [Healy, lead vocals, guitar] played with shingles. There wasn't a person at that show that wasn't having fun.



1. Radiohead at The Hollywood Bowl on 08/24/08
There is only one other live band that can come close, but not with the same consistency. If for some odd reason you have never seen Radiohead play live, you need to add it to your things-I-should-do-before-I-die list. Even if you don't like their music, in which case you're no friend of mine, you will walk away with a new appreciation for the band. They never phone it in. They play their hearts out like no one on Earth and the stage production is always just as unique as their music. When someone asks me what the best live show is, I always answer with Radiohead. It's just a matter of which one I pick. This year, it was their Hollywood Bowl show.