Top 10 Concerts of 1998
by Seth Rogovoy

(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Jan 01, 1999) -- Considering what a mediocre year it was in terms of the overall prospects for live music in the Berkshires (as outlined in a recent column), concertgoers were able to enjoy some pretty memorable shows right here in the county. A few side-trips to neighboring regions filled out a concertgoing menu that made 1998 one of the best years for live music in memory.

Ranking concerts in order of greatness is a dubious proposition. Different performances are memorable for different reasons. Thus, the order of what follows should be considered somewhat arbitrary. All these shows boasted the sort of in-the-moment flights of transcendence that turn the seemingly ordinary into the extraordinary.

And so, the top 10 concerts of 1998:

1. Bob Dylan, Symphony Hall, Springfield, Feb. 2: In the wake of his career comeback album, "Time Out of Mind," Bob Dylan seemed revitalized. Just weeks before sweeping the Grammy Awards, and in spite of a scare a week earlier that caused an ill Dylan to reschedule this show, he gave a gripping performance, whose tone was set early on by the dark, slow rock ballad, "Senor," and which never let up through the closer, "Love Sick." Dylan's not getting older, he's simply getting better, and his current shows are nearly as electrifying as the one heard on "Live 1966."

2. The Pretenders, Saratoga (N.Y.) Performing Arts Center, June 21: The '90s may well be remembered as the decade of the angry-chick rocker. But with the exception perhaps of Ani DiFranco, all your Courtney Loves, Alanis Morissettes, Liz Phairs and Tori Amoses don't add up to a single Chrissie Hynde, who pretty much broke the mold of the girl-rocker back in the early-'80s. In her show at SPAC, she was the essence of rock 'n' roll dignity as her band plowed through an hour's worth of catalog hits that would be the envy of any group in rock history.

3. The Nields, The Studio, Pittsfield, May 1/Goodrich Hall, Williams College, Sept. 12: The Nields had the dubious distinction of playing the final gig at The Studio in Pittsfield and the very first at Williams College's new concert space in Goodrich Hall. (Come to think of it, they were also the first band to ever perform at the Night Shift Café in North Adams.) With a batch of incredible new songs from the album "Play," the Nields continue to hone one of the most dynamically gripping and dramatic stage shows in rock, while never losing sight of its lighthearted side. This is one smart, fun, sexy band.

4. The Del McCoury Band, Noppet Hill Bluegrass Festival, Lanesboro, July 25: Del McCoury's voice gives it all away, bursting distinctions of genre by making them meaningless. Almost impossibly human, the man is a soul singer pure and simple, up there with Roy Orbison, Al Green, Ray Charles and Hank Williams in the pantheon of the all-time greatest. And his band of family members is the very essence of sophisticated, intuitive musical interplay.

5. Bonnie Raitt, Tanglewood, Lenox, Aug. 24: Maybe it was the presence of old-time chum Jackson Browne (who did little on his own to light a fire) or relief over being freed from the shackles of LilithFair, but whatever it was, Bonnie Raitt was electric this time out at Tanglewood, figuratively and literally, cranking up the bluesy distortion the likes of which probably haven't been heard since The Who played Tanglewood back in the early-'70s. Raitt achieved that rare, brilliant transformative experience of making the Shed feel like the Lion's Den (the one in Stockbridge, not the one in the Bible).

6. Milagro Saints, Dream Away Lodge, Becket, Aug. 21: Maybe it was the Dream Away's illustrious, decadent history. Maybe it was the aura of Bob Dylan that pervades the place. Maybe it was the great dinner everyone feasted on before the music commenced. Whatever it was, Milagro's leader Stephen Ineson barrelled through his band's repertoire with so much soul and conviction you'd think someone was holding a gun to his head. This man was channelling that much intensity on this rare night of folk-rock bliss.

7. Lester Bowie, Jacob's Pillow, Becket, July 26: Along with Dianne McIntyre's dance troupe, trumpeter/composer Bowie and his Brass Fantasy ensemble staged a rollicking blend of composed and improvised music. On its own, and in tandem with the dancers, Bowie's troupe played a glistening, dynamic, state-of-the-art blend of avant-jazz, pop and brass-band music full of suggestive intelligence and wit.

8. Hasidic New Wave, Iron Horse, Northampton, Dec. 14: Trumpeter Frank London and saxophonist Greg Wall applied the sort of dual, front-line melodic approach of Ornette Coleman's groups to a repertoire of deconstructed and rearranged Jewish prayer melodies, making for a miraculous avant-jazz-funk fusion wholly appropriate on this second night of Hanukkah.

9. Joe Lovano, Tanglewood Jazz Festival, Sept. 4: Lovano and his ensemble, including pianist Kenny Werner and drummer Idris Muhammad, were unstoppable this time out at Tanglewood, weaving intricate, in-the-moment improvisations out of the raw material of Lovano's compositions. This was modern jazz at its most dynamic.

10. Brave Old World, Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, March 15: Both on their groundbreaking album, "Blood Oranges," and in concert, these superstars of the klezmer revival have found a way to combine the earthy pleasures of Yiddish-based dance music with the dignity and respect of concert music. The resulting blend is a shimmering fusion of ancient and modern.

Also worthy of note were performances by Elton John (Pepsi Arena, Sept. 15), Ani DiFranco (Palace Theatre, Albany, April 10), Cliff Eberhardt (Old Stone Church, Williamstown, Feb. 8) and Celtic ensemble Anam (Feb 21, Clark Art Institute). And Cassandra Wilson (Tanglewood Jazz Festival, Sept. 6), Ray Charles (Tanglewood, July 4), and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (National Music Center, July 5).

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[This column originally ran in the Berkshire Eagle on Jan. 1, 1999. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1999. All rights reserved.]