Six Greatest Live Shows I Saw In 2008

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4. Of Montreal - Atlanta, Ga. - The Tabernacle - 11/8
By sheer chance my boyfriend and I wound up with what may have been the best seats in the house-- first balcony, stage right, just above the front row and the edge of the stage. In addition to the madness transpiring before the crowd-- dancing Buddhas, demons in sparkly silver John McCain masks, a poker game-turned-shootout at an Old West saloon, Kevin Barnes as a slutty pope, etc.-- we could see over and behind the giant dual drum risers and movable stage pieces to the dancers and band members changing costumes between numbers. The music was a blur of psycho-disco madness, the night concluding with a Franz Ferdinand cover before the crowd spilled back out into the chilly November night, wondering if things could have gotten any weirder. Doubt it.

3. Roky Erickson - Austin, Texas - Austin City Limits festival - 9/27
I'm still bemused by how meager the turnout was for this performance. Roky Erickson is a hometown Austin guy, but he still doesn't play live all that much. Not complaining, though: The tiny crowd gave me the opportunity to squirm right up to the barricade, standing just a few dozen feet away as one of music's most baffling legends played through a set of my favorites, “Don't Shake Me Lucifer,” “Cold Night for Alligators” and “Mine Mine Mind” all sounding grittier and bluesier than Erickson's early work with pioneering psychedelic outfit the 13th Floor Elevators. After seeing You're Gonna Miss Me, the documentary about his embattled life and music, for the first time a few months before, it was an experience I never expected to have-- and one I'm all the more grateful that I actually did.