Since I’ve spent the last 3 months consumed with fatherhood and generally haven’t gotten out much, the overwhelming majority of shows I saw in 2009 were between January and September, including all of the ones listed below. Still, I did see well over 50 shows in those 9 months, including a lot of really amazing local acts that you’ve probably never heard of even if you live around here, more than pretty much any other year of my life except for the previous one (others years I made lists: 2005, 2007 and 2008). Artists in each show are listed roughly by order of enjoyment rather than billing:

1. The Baltimore All-Rap Round Robin featuring Height With Friends/Mickey Free/AK Slaughter/Rapdragons/P.T. Burnem/etc. @ Load Of Fun
2. Sonic Youth/The Entrance Band @ The 9:30 Club
3. The Water/The NerfTones/Stugottz @ The Ottobar
4. Out Of Your Head Collective @ The Windup Space
5. Birds And Arrows/Kadman/Porcelain Doll Club @ Metro Gallery
6. Mania Music Group/Minlus & McCracken/Jade Fox/Wordsmith @ The Quarter
7. The Gaslight Anthem/Pela @ the Recher Theatre
8. Big In Japan @ The Windup Space
9. Aural States Fest: Wye Oak/Caverns/Arbouretum/Sri Aurobindo/Cannot Be Stopped/etc. @ Sonar and The Talking Head
10. Susan Alcorn @ The Carriage House
11. Mongoloidian Glow/Pariah Piranha/Embarrassing Fruits @ The Talking Head
12. Soul Cannon/Ndelible/Ad Lib @ Club Reality
13. Time For Three with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra @ The Meyerhoff
14. Si-Notes/Shy Lady Heroin/Alicia Peace/Tiffany Couture/etc. @ The Black Hole Rock Club
15. The Paused In Time release party: The Get Em Mamis/E Major/Ty Gudda/etc. @ Sonar
16. Eureka Birds @ Mobtown Studios
17. Austin Stahl/NOMO/Red Sammy @ The Ottobar
18. Ted Leo/State Radio @ Rams Head Live
19. The Baltimore String Felons/Spoke Ensemble/Matt Pless @ The Sidebar
20. George Clinton @ Rams Head Live

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 05, 2010 at 6:13 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.