This past year I was thrilled to finally see Cherie Currie, heard Shemekia Copeland grant a request, felt like I was in a dream watching mystical Rodriguez, let Michelle Malone borrow my camera in mid-show and dodged crowd surfers from the front row at Riot Fest. In all, I saw 52 full sets over 26 outings. Most were good and some were great. The top show stood out from the rest. Here are the top concerts I saw in 2013:
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1. Public Enemy, September 14 at Riot Fest - Provocative poet Chuck D and energetic sidekick Flavor Fav lead a thrilling set of physical and musical explosiveness, combining fury and fun into a performance worthy of a hip-hop time capsule.
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2. Patti Smith, May 16 at Vic Theatre - Punk's godmother reaches transendence while issuing a rallying cry for kindred spirits Pussy Riot and dedicating the ripping of strings from her guitar to the crowd with love.
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3. Shemekia Copeland, March 8 at SPACE - The new "Queen of the Blues" not only keeps the genre alive, but sings soul, gospel, funk and rock, too, in a captivating, two hours-plus show that includes a lovely, delicate cover of Bob Dylan's "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight."
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4. Cherie Currie, August 10 at Northalsted Market Days - Playing in Chicago for the first time since fronting The Runaways in 1977, the singer blows away the cobwebs with cocksure vocals and pure rock-and-roll presence in a show, much like her old band, short on length but long on impact.
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5. The Rolling Stones, May 31 at United Center - The venerable rockers receive a lift from the return of Mick Taylor and give the city what will likely go down as a goodbye kiss with a performance that goes down as one of the best on their 50th anniversary tour.
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6. Cathy Richardson Band, July 5 at FitzGerald's American Music Festival - The local hero shows she can do anything on a stage. Sure she can sing, but in this show she turns into a guitar hero, manipulating her instrument like a mad scientist.
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7. Michelle Malone, July 4 at FitzGerald's American Music Festival - The southern guitar rocker displays a powder-keg package of singing, playing and songwriting in a physical and sexually-laced performance.
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8. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, January 18 at Riviera Theatre - The blonde bombshell not only sings, plays and dances in dazzling fashion, but delivers a knockout encore that alternatively quiets the crowd and blows the roof off the place.
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9. Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby, May 10 at Schubas - Mixing the punk musings of the former with the pop songcraft of the latter, husband and wife show why they've been compared to Johnny and June Carter Cash.
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10. X, September 14 at Riot Fest - Exene Cervenka, John Doe, Billy Zoom and D.J. Bonebrake prove rockabilly punk never goes out of style, especially when played with committed passion.
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Honorable mention (in order): The Handcuffs, June 14 at Beat Kitchen; Sonny Landreth, July 4 at FitzGerald's American Music Festival; Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, September 13 at Riot Fest; The Wanton Looks, January 19 at 27 Live; Otis Clay, June 8 at Chicago Blues Festival; The Replacements, September 15 at Riot Fest; Those Darlins, October 26 at Schubas; White Mystery, September 15 at Riot Fest; Todd Snider, March 16 at SPACE; and Dave Alvin and the Guilty Ones, July 4 at FitzGerald's American Music Festival.
