Best Of 2005: Live Shows
20 Favorite Live Shows Of 2005

1. STEVIE WONDER at The Apollo Theater, August 11
2. ABC at The Canal Room, September 9
3. ROBYN HITCHCOCK at Maxwell�s, March 26
4. HAMELL ON TRIAL at Fez, January 15
5. LES PAUL & HIS TRIO at Iridium, February 21 (late show)
6. BOB DYLAN & HIS BAND and WILLIE NELSON at Yogi Berra Stadium, Montclair, June 24
7. THE WRENS at Maxwell�s, March 12 (early show)
8. THE RASPBERRIES at B.B. King�s, July 24
9. DAVE�S TRUE STORY and TRIS MCCALL at Brennan Courthouse, Jersey City, June 17
10. STEVE WINWOOD at Bowery Ballroom, September 20

11. GROUP SOUNDS and THE HEAD SET at Pianos, August 17
12. DUNGEN at Maxwell�s, July 14
13. FRANZ FERDINAND at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, October 17
14. MOTEL CREEPS and THE PILLCRUSHERS at Luna Lounge, February 18
15. DAN BERN at Maxwell�s, June 2
16. KINGS OF LEON at Webster Hall, February 23
17. PAT DINIZIO at The Goldhawk, April 15
18. THE dB�S at Maxwell�s, September 19
19. JEN URBAN & THE BOX and LD & THE NEW CRITICISM at The Frying Pan, May 15
20. PITTY SING at Rothko, January 25

Even if it's a benefit show with guest artists and political speakers, there's no beating a full-voiced, good-repertoire-choosing Stevie Wonder at The Apollo. There just isn't. If you're ABC, you might sound great and play "Poison Arrow" twice�because why wouldn't you?�and if you're Robyn Hitchcock you might do a few Dylan covers and a disco medley. You might be older than God and still play guitar like a virtuoso if you're Les Paul, or you might reinvent yourself on stage every night like Bob Dylan or The Wrens. Your songs might be quietly brilliant like Dave's True Story and Tris McCall, you might be bringing back a retro sound you helped create like The Raspberries or Steve Winwood, or one you're too young to remember like Dungen. You might craft a perfect-sounding rock club set like Group Sounds, The Head Set, Motel Creeps, or The Pillcrushers, fill a mega-theater like Franz and the Kings, or make every audience member a friend like Dan Bern, Pat DiNizio, The dB's, Jen Urban & The Box, LD & The New Criticism, or Pitty Sing. You might do any number of wonderful things, things that are wonderful on their own merits and worthy of much praise. But unless you brought "If You Really Love Me" and "Sir Duke" into the world and can still sing and play them and sound like you did the day that you wrote them, you did not do the best show of 2005. Your best hope for 2006 is that Stevie doesn't tour.

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