Thankful for Good Music

After commenting last week that the Kottke concert wasn't in my top 10, I wondered which ones would be there. On further reflection I decided it might be difficult to come up with the 10 best concert experiences and it would be better to list the 10 music acts I've appreciated the most:
1. David Wilcox (not the Canadian blues guy) - best overall performer, his concerts are 'magical'. He feels the music so deeply and invites us in, to experience it with him
2. U2 - seen twice in Toronto, it's a powerful and moving experience
3. Bob Bennett - wonderful memories of listening to him play around southern Ontario as I drove him around on a mini-tour I helped promote
4. Steve Bell - one of the most engaging performers/storytellers, seen him I'm sure a dozen times over the years. Never disappoints. Seen him twice with a full orchestra, which is awesome
5. Bruce Cockburn - lots of concerts, prefer solo acoustic ones, he's a master songwriter and player, not a great stage presence though
6. Pierce Pettis - love his voice, a great guitar player, his songs are wonderful, engaging manner - ie. he's the complete package. Brought him to Kitchener in 2009, so disappointed I could only get 25 people to come see him. Helped me realize promotion is not for me
7. Jars of Clay - seen at least 3 times, the first back after their initial release when they were a very unpolished bunch of college kids (I wasn't too impressed with their stage presence, or lack thereof) but they have come a long way and are a great act

8. Tommy Emmanuel - maybe the best (acoustic) guitarist I've ever seen and a nice stage presence.

9. Brian Doerksen - best worship leader ever and his electric guitarist Brian Thiessen plays wonderful fills

10. The Choir - my favourite by far was the intimate (like 2 metres from the guys) acoustic house concert last fall in Windsor
Honorable Mentions (because there are obviously way more than 10 great performers I've seen)
Brooks Williams, Michael Card, Carolyn Arends, The Lost Dogs, Phil Keaggy, Fernando Ortega, Jason Gray, Square Pegs Alliance, Bill Mallonee, Larry Norman, Daniel Amos, The 77s, Steve Taylor, Buddy Miller, Alison Krauss/Robert Plant, Martyn Joseph, Pat Terry, Andrew Peterson, Andrew Smith, Pierre Bensusan, Jay Calder, Caedmon's Call, Derek Webb, Mike Roe, Glen Soderholm, John Gorka, Mavis Staples, Jacob Moon, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Bob Dylan (big disappointment), Paul Baloche, Phil Wickham, Don Ross, Sufjan Stevens, Steven Delopolous, Sara Groves, Mark Heard, John Austin, Downhere, Starfield, Lost & Found, Adam Again, Sam Phillips (and Leslie Phillips if that means anything to anybody), Nathan Rogers, Doyle Dykes, Steve Howe, Kerry Livgren (A.D.)
Other Concerts I've attended:
CCM Oldies: Paul Clark, Kelly Willard, Barry McGuire, John Michael Talbot, Randy Stonehill, Chuck Girard, Tom Howard, Isaac Air Freight, Resurrection Band, Daniel Band, D.C. Talk

Real Oldies: Genesis, Yes, Styx, Sparks, Patti Smith, City Boy, Queen, Rush, Supertramp, Budgie (my favourite rock band as a teenager)

Wow! When you see it in black and white like that you realize that's a lot of music and a lot of concerts. I count 78 in total and it's not even an exhaustive list!! Plus many of those artists have been seen more than once. I guess you can cover a fair bit of ground by the time you get to be my age. If it wasn't obvious before that I'm a music fan, it sure is obvious now. Looking at that list I realize I've had a deep appreciation for almost every one of these artists. My life is richer for making contact with their music. And I'm glad that Beth has gotten to know and appreciate so much of it as well. What can I say, she's got good taste;)