2007: The Best Concerts

2007 was a great year for concerts in New England. There were shows big and small from up-and-coming artists to reunited bands. Here\’s our recap of the 20 most memorable shows that Boston Music Spotlight covered:

1.& The Nightwatchman (Tom Morello) at T.T. the Bear\’s Place: The best show of the year happened to fall on the hottest night of the year, in tiny, sweaty, cramped T.T.’s, and it was that much better because of it. Never has folk music felt so dangerous, at least in the 21st century. One Tom Morello with a guitar rocked more than Rage Against the Machine has in a long time. Full review here.

2.& Kaiser Chiefs at the Avalon Ballroom: Frontman Ricky Wilson\’s boisterous antics and on-point vocals, combined with the band’s energetic instrumentals, resulted in an amazing 70-minute set. It was their only area appearance in 2007 but Wilson, who crowd surfed over to the bar at one point, and his bandmates certainly left Boston thirsting for their return. Full review here.

3.& Mighty Mighty BossTones at the Middle East Downstairs: It was the reunion that boasted the most buzz on the local scene and the ska-core heroes roared back with fevering energy at their "10th Hometown Throwdown". Frontman Dicky Barrett had the crowd in such a frantic and sweaty frenzy that the heat caused pipes overhead to drip. Full review here.

4.& Linkin Park and My Chemical Romance at the Tweeter Center: Linkin Park brought their Projekt Revolution tour to the Tweeter Center this summer. Before a near sellout crowd, they teamed up with emo megastars My Chemical Romance to deliver a perfect 1-2 punch. Had they been fighting each other, it would have been like De La Hoya versus Mayweather. Full review here.
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5.& Fiona Apple and Nickel Creek at the Bank Of America Pavilion: This was the surprise of the year. Bluegrass standouts Nickel Creek took Apple along for their farewell tour, and the result was a best of both worlds show that blended Creek’s musicianship with Apple’s megawatt star power.& Who could have guessed? Full review here.

6.& Bloc Party at the Orpheum Theatre: We swear the balcony of the Orpheum almost came crashing down this night. Bloc Party was a runaway train propelled by the shirtless drumming of little Matt Tong. It didn’t hurt that Albert Hammond Jr. of The Strokes was opening with his strong solo tunes. But even a Stroke was no match for Kele and co. Full review here.

7.& The Police at Fenway Park: It was the most anticipated show in Boston all year and it did not disappoint. By the time their first tour in 23 years arrived at Fenway, the band was tight and firing on all cylinders. Sting’s vocals were in fine form, Stewart Copeland was simply amazing on percussion, and Andy Summers ripped through incredible solos.& Full review here.
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8.& Arcade Fire at the Orpheum Theatre: U2, Bruce Springsteen, The Clash – That’s the company these Canadians are being compared too. Touring in support of their brand new released Neon Bible, Win Butler and company proved they are one of today’s best rock bands with this memorable show. Full review here.

9.& Toby Keith at the Tweeter Center: Kenny Chesney may have sold out Gillette, but Toby Keith had the area’s best country concert. Keith hit the Tweeter Center and rallied up the venue’s loudest crowd of the summer, while Miranda Lambert also made a stamp with her opening set. Full review here.

10.& Bruce Springsteen at the TD Banknorth Garden: Touring in support of the recently released Magic, Bruce Springsteen and E-Street Band closed out a two-night stand in Boston with a set that was heavy on new material but thrilling nonetheless. Full review here.

11.& Van Halen at the DCU Center: Out of all the major reunion tours of 2007, Van Halen\’s was surrounded with the most question marks. When they arrived in New England with David Lee Roth back at the helm, the band put any doubts away with one impressive show that had the crowd singing along all night. Full review here.

12.& Tapes \’n Tapes at the Paradise Rock Club: Josh Grier owns the world’s best distortion pedal, and he used it to blow up the Paradise during songs like “10 Gallon Ascots” and “Manitoba”. But it was the insanely good new stuff that pushed this show over the edge. Hearing glimpses of the band’s sophomore offering, which they just finished recording, was like seeing the “Cloverleaf” trailers. Full review here.

13.& Bang Camaro at The Roxy: We saw these guys several times throughout the year and all were a good time. But the show at the Roxy was the best. Bang Camaro celebrated a triumphant year by doing what they do best: rocking out and having fun. Full review here.

14.& Aerosmith at the Tweeter Center: For many classic rock bands, as their age increases, the quality of the music and live performance decreases. When Aerosmith returned for this homecoming gig, they proved that theory does not yet apply to the original Bad Boys. Hearing “Dream On” played live will consistently send chills up your spine. Full review here.

15.& Bryan Adams at the Bank Of America Pavilion: Performing with the energy and enthusiasm of a teenager, Bryan Adams proved to the near sell out crowd at the Bank of America Pavilion that he will be ‘18 ‘Til He Dies’. Along the way he delivered his best rendition of “Summer of ‘69” in ages. Full review here.
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16.& Fall Out Boy at the Tweeter Center: The emo kings resurrected all that is great about arena rock. There were pyrotechnics, costume changes, a huge stage set, and thousands of screaming girls. The surprise star of the Pete Wentz show? Lead singer Patrick Stump. Full review here.

17.& The National at the Middle East Downstairs: The band unleashed their stellar Boxer on the crowd, but did so with a fury not found on the record. The live takes were noisier, dirtier, and faster revving up the emotion to the point that “Abel” and “Mr. November” from Alligator flew off the hinges. It was a wondrous sight to behold. Full review here.
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18.& Velvet Revolver at the Tweeter Center: Scott Weiland introduced his superband by saying, “We’re Velvet Revolver, and we play mother fucking rock n’ roll.” He and his bandmates lived up to that statement by blazing through a setlist that fused their own tunes with material from their previous groups, Stone Temple Pilots and Guns N’ Roses. Needless to say, it was a great summertime treat. Full review here.

19.& Genesis at the TD Banknorth Garden: While The Police and Van Halen stole most of the headlines in ‘07, Genesis quietly got back together for their first tour in two decades with Phil Collins at the helm. For almost 3-hours show, the classic progressive and pop rockers delivered hits and lost gems from every bit of their career, including the Peter Gabriel-led era. Full review here.

20.& “Hot Stove, Cool Music” at the Paradise Rock Club and at Fenway Park: We just love Hot Stove, Cool Music so much that we can’t pick which show was better. In this town, our passion for music is exceeded only by fanaticism over our beloved Red Sox. These shows combined both facets. The winter show was Peter Gammons triumphant return while John Legend gave the summer show some star power. Full winter review here and summer review& here.

And because we have to pick at least one bad review to go with all the good above, we award the worst concert of 2007 to:&
Rock Star Supernova\’s at the DCU Center: Egos kill and reality bites. That’s the only way to sum up this pathetic performance played before a mere 1/3 capacity crowd. Full review here.