The Top Fifty Performances of 2023

Original image of Yujia Shen at the Diastole Scholars Center by There Stands the Glass.

The accompanying image of Yujia Shen at Diastole Scholars’ Center encapsulates my year. Classical violin (and piano) provided default ambience throughout 2023. By arriving early and through financial outlays, I claimed spots up front at dozens of concerts. The books in the room are also meaningful. My evenings were devoted to reading when I wasn’t attending performances.

1. Hilary Hahn at the Folly Theater
My review.

2. The Smile and Robert Stillman at the Midland Theatre
My review.

3. Kassa Overall and Omari Jazz at Mississippi Studios (Portland)
My Instagram clip.

4. Samara Joy at the Folly Theater
My review.

5. The Metropolitan Opera’s Tannhäuser at Lincoln Center (New York City)
My review.

6. András Schiff at Helzberg Hall
My review.

7. Mike Dillon and Brian Haas at the Brick
My review.

8. Yujia Shen at Diastole Scholars’ Center
My review.

9. Jake Blount at the Folk Alliance International Conference
My review.

10. RP Boo, DJ Alphabeta and Whorxata at the Encore Room
My review.

11. Pretty Yende at the Folly Theater
My review.

12. Adam Larson, Matt Clohesy and Jimmy Macbride at Westport Coffee House
My Instagram clip.

13. Tim Bernardes at Mississippi Studios (Portland)
My review.

14. UMKC Opera’s Proving Up at Spencer Theatre
My review.

15. Bill Frisell, Greg Tardy, Gerald Clayton and Johnathan Blake at the 1900 Building
My review.

16. Boston Camerata’s Dido & Aeneas at Community Christian Church
My Instagram photo.

17. Hermon Mehari Quartet at the Folly Theater
My review.

18. Off!, Upchuck and Weaponize Chomsky at the recordBar
My Instagram clip.

19. Thomas Rosenkranz at White Recital Hall
My review.

20. Juan Diego Flórez at the Folly Theater
My review.

21. Devin Gray, Maria Elena Silva and the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society at Firehouse Gallery 
My review.

22. DJ Lucas, Papo2oo4 and Subjxct 5, Lil Heavn, Paris Williams and N1n4 Freakqncy at Farewell
My review.

23. Thee Sinseers, the Altons and Alanna Royale at Lemonade Park
My review.

24. Willi Carlisle and Betse & Clarke at Knuckleheads
My Instagram snapshot.

25. CRAG Quartet, Joshua Gerowitz and the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society at the Bunker
My review.

26. Artemis at the Gem Theater
My review.

27. Queens of the Stone Age, Viagra Boys and Jehnny Beth at Starlight Theatre
My review.

28. Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s Listening Forest at Crystal Bridges (Bentonville)
My Instagram clip.

29. Miguel Zenón Quartet at the Folly Theater
My review.

30. Bob Weir at Louisville Palace (Louisville)
My review.

31. Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Michael Hurley at the Aladdin Theater (Portland)
My review.

32. Christian McBride, Benny Green and Gregory Hutchinson at the Village Vanguard (New York City)
My review.

33. Rod Fleeman Trio at Green Lady Lounge
My Instagram clip.

34. Nickel Creek and Gaby Moreno at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
My review.

35. Alien Nosejob, Citric Dummies and CKrit at Howdy
My review.

36. Danielle Nicole and Katy Guillen and the Drive at the Uptown Theater
My Instagram snapshot.

37. Pat Metheny’s SideEye at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
My review.

38. Janet Jackson and Ludacris at the T-Mobile Center
My Instagram snapshot.

39. Big Freedia at Boulevardia
My Instagram clip.

40. Jean-Yves Thibaudet at the Folly Theater
My Instagram snapshot.

41. Parker Quartet at Polsky Theatre
My review.

42. Eugene Friesen and Henrique Eisenmann at the 1900 Building
My review.

43. Chalis O’Neal at the Blue Room
My Instagram clip.

44. Booker T. Jones at the Folly Theater
My Instagram clip.

45. Rob Magill and Marshall Trammell, the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society and Alber at Farewell
My review.

46. The Salvation Choir at Theis Park
My Instagram clip.

47. Hot Chip and Cadence Weapon at Wonder Ballroom (Portland)
My Instagram clip.

48. Randy Porter, Tom Wakeling and Todd Strait at the 1905 (Portland)
My review.

49. John Mellencamp at the Midland Theatre
My Instagram clip.

50 Kentucky Opera’s Cinderella at W.L. Lyons Brown Theatre (Louisville)
My Instagram snapshot.

There Stands the Glass’ top albums and songs of 2023 are listed here.

Last year’s concert rankings are here.

August 2023 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer for a recent production of Il Signor Bruschino at Rossini at Wildbad by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums of August

1. Karol G- Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season)

Pop perfection.

2. Jaimie Branch- Fly Or Die Fly Or Die Fly Or Die (world war)

This ain’t no picnic.

3. Jonathan Blake- Passage

My review.

4. Bonnie “Prince” Billy- Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You

Spill the beans.

5. Grupo Frontera- El Comienzo

A celebratory debut.

6. Arnold Dreyblatt- Resolve

Classical grit.

7. Evan Parker- Etching the Ether

My review.

8. Miguel Zenón y Luis Perdomo- El Arte del Bolero, Vol. 2

Transcendent duo.

9. Bobby Rush- All My Love for You

He’s the one.

10. Ratboys- The Window

Heartland rock.

Top Ten Songs of August

1. L’Rain- “Pet Rock”

Heavy.

2. Turnstile and Badbadnotgood- “Underwater Boi”

Aqualung.

3. Noname with $ilkmoney, Billy Woods and Stout- “gospel?”

Fight song.

4. Kirk Franklin- “Try Love”

The gospel truth.

5. Armand Hammer with Elucid, Billy Woods and Pink Siifu- “Trauma Mic”

Crisis of faith.

6. Earl Sweatshirt, The Alchemist and Mike- “Sentry”

Drowsy.

7. Snoh Aalegra- “Wait a Little Longer”

Patience.

8. Doja Cat- "Paint the Town Red"

Walk on by.

9. Miguel and Lil Yachty- “Number 9”

Pet sounds.

10. EST Gee with Yo Gotti- “A Moment with Gotti”

Time stands still.

Top Ten Performances of August

1. Kassa Overall and Omari Jazz at Mississippi Studios

My Instagram clip.

2. Parker Quartet at Polsky Theatre

My review.

3. Randy Porter, Tom Wakeling and Todd Strait at the 1905

My review.

4. Truth Cult, Young Mvchetes and Burning Bush at Howdy

My review.

5. The Clientele and Papercuts at Mississippi Studios

My review.

6. Culture Club, Howard Jones and Berlin at Starlight Theatre

My review.

7. The Phil Collins Experience at Barkley Square

My review.

8. Jass at Second Presbyterian Church

My Instagram clip.

9. Claes Almroth Trio at Starday Tavern

My Instagram snapshot.

10. Rich Hill Trio and True Lions at Volker Park

My Instagram snapshot.

The previous monthly survey is here.

May 2023 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer of Glyndbourne’s production of Don Giovanni by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums of May

1. Rudy Royston’s Flatbed Buggy- Day

Bumpy ride.

2. Billy Woods and Kenny Segal- Maps

The right direction.

3. Shirley Collins- Archangel Hill

Time out of mind.

4. Joe Lovano, Marilyn Crispell and Carmen Castaldi- Our Daily Bread

Holy communion.

5. Roomful of Teeth- Rough Magic

My review.

6. Atmosphere- So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously

Atmosphere finally made a good record.

7. Kassa Overall- Animals

Pigs on the wing.

8. Béla Fleck- As We Speak

With Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer and Rakesh Chaurasia.

9. Slowspin- Talisman

Hounds of love.

10. Rod Fleeman- Saturday Afternoon Live at Green Lady Lounge, Vol. 2

My review.

Top Ten Songs of May

1. Megan Maroney- “Kansas Anymore”

Getting out of Dodge.

2. Kevin Morby- “Going to Prom”

Time the revelator.

3. That Mexican OT featuring Paul Wall and Drodi- "Johnny Dang"

Ice.

4. Paris Texas- "Bullet Man"

Who shot ya?

5. SleazyWorld Go with Polo G- “Off the Court”

Trust the process.

6. Peso Pluma- "Bye"

I say hello.

7. Speakers Corner Quartet featuring Kae Tempest- "Geronimo Blues"

Stump speech.

8. Sparks- "Gee, That Was Fun"

Au revoir.

9. $uicideboy$- “Realism vs Idealism”

No limit.

10. Lil’ Keke- "Motion"

OG.

Top Ten Performances of May

1. Tim Bernardes at Mississippi Studios

My review.

2. Yujia Shen at Diastole Scholars Center

My review.

3. Off!, Upchuck and Weaponize Chomsky at recordBar

My Instagram clips are here, here and here.

4. Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Michael Hurley at Aladdin Theater

My review.

5. Hot Chip and Cadence Weapon at Wonder Ballroom

My Instagram clips are here and here.

6. Janet Jackson and Ludacris at T-Mobile Center

My Instagram image.

7. Stone & Sue at the Portland Farmers Market

My Instagram clip.

8. Rod Fleeman Trio at Green Lady Lounge

My Instagram clip.

9. Drew Williams Quartet at Westport Coffee House

My review.

10. Luke Tarter at Portland International Airport

Elton John melodies unnerved me amid flight delays.

The previous monthly survey is here.

Concert Review: Michael Hurley and Bonnie “Prince” Billy at the Aladdin Theater

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

I was momentarily startled when I spotted Will Oldham, aka Bonnie "Prince" Billy, at the 2018 edition of the Cropped Out festival.  The singer-songwriter wasn’t on the bill of the sorely missed Louisville festival, but he took in a magical set by Michael Hurley on the bank of the Ohio River.

Five years later, I was once again in the presence of both men at Portland’s Aladdin Theater on Monday, May 15.  I seemed to enjoy Hurley’s opening set more than any of the other 500 people in the audience.

My loud guffaws during the wildly tasteless "Ms. Petty Blues" elicited stares.  A subtle environmental protest song caused tears to well in my eyes.  Allusions to back doors and fresh pies were frequent.

Hurley’s wry humor invoked Furry Lewis while his devil-may-care nature caused him to resemble Mississippi John Hurt.  In spite of the slightly intrusive and entirely unnecessary accompaniment of a second musician, Hurley, 81, is a dynamic force in peak form.  I was bowled over.

Oldham made a gracious concession during his headlining performance: “The elephant in the room is Michael Hurley.”  It takes nothing away from Oldham to acknowledge that Hurley owned the evening.

Album Review: Bill Callahan and Bonnie “Prince” Billy- Blind Date Party

Freak-folk landed between opera and trap-latino in the personalized annual “top genres” notification Spotify sent me four weeks ago.  I certainly listened to gobs of Richard Wagner and Bad Bunny, but I don’t recall spending much time singing along with folk outsiders like Bill Callahan and Bonnie “Prince” Billy during the first 11 months of 2021.  

Things have changed.  Released December 10, Blind Date Party, a 90-minute compilation of covers overseen by the two Bills, is in heavy rotation at There Stands the Glass headquarters.  Abetted by an impressive slate of like-minded peers, the freak-folk luminaries reinterpret compositions by artists ranging from Billie Eilish (a loopy dressing-down of “Wish You Were Gay”) to Jerry Jeff Walker (an elegiac version of “I Love You”).

I miss my father, but I’m relieved he’s not around to hear the hilarious desecration of “O.D.’d in Denver,” one of his favorite Bocephus bangers. Alastair Roberts’ contributions make an interpretation of Dave Rich’s gospel song "I've Made Up My Mind" my favorite track. The bots at Spotify got it right after all.