Best Concerts of 2008

As I prepare my inevitable album-of-the-year list to add to the growing stack, here's a teaser of my ten favorite concerts of the year. Out of the dozens of shows I saw, these stand high above the rest. For the sake of not giving me a nervous breakdown, I've excluded the two major festivals I saw, Bonnaroo and Farm Aid, though several of those sets certainly would have made the list (Levon Helm, Gogol Bordello, My Morning Jacket, Neil Young...). Those aside, here are the top ten.

#10
Alejandro Escovedo
Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA
July 10th
Review

#9
Radiohead
Comcast Center - Mansfield, MA
August 13th
Review

#8
Sigur Rós
Bank of America Pavilion - Boston, MA
September 19th
Review

#7
Unlimited Enthusiasm Expo
Middle East - Cambridge, MA
June 25th
Review

#6
Bruce Springsteen
XL Center - Milwaukee, WI
March 17th
Review

#5
The Hold Steady
Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA
June 26th
Review

#4
The Raveonettes
Double Door - Chicago, IL
March 18th
Review

#3
The Roots
Higher Ground - Burlington, VT
May 7th
Review

#2
Tom Waits
Orpheum Theater - Phoenix, AZ
June 17th
Review

#1
Wilco
Tanglewood - Lenox, MA
August 12th
Review