2010 was another banner year for live music. I’m no Eugene, but I feel like I got out to see a lot of great shows. (FYI, Eugene is a fan/friend who goes out to see literally hundreds of shows a year. I think he’s up around 500 this year!) Below are the 75 shows that I wrote down/remember (although there are surely others that I’ve forgotten about!) and one that I still hope to see. There are so many more that I wish I could have seen, but I did my part and managed to get some sleep and managed to do a few other things along the way. I’d say I’m doing my part.

We’ll whittle this down to 10 or so that stand out, but for now, here’s the full list.

January 17 – Blue Rodeo & Cuff the Duke – MTS Centre
January 23 – Joe Pug – Folk Fest in-store
January 30 – Geoff Berner & Rae Spoon – West End
February 9 – Rural Alberta Advantage, Wooden Sky, Great Bloomers – West End
February 11 – Haiti fundraiser w/John K Samson, Ridley Bent, Nicky & Ruth (Wailin Jennys), and Daniel ROA – West End
February 15 – CR Avery – West End
February 21 – David Francey – Active Living Centre, Carman
March 5 – Keri Latimer – Folk Exchange
March 12 – Ridley Bent – Times Change(d)
March 20 – Kev Corbett – Sam’s Place
April 3 – Bonfire Ball: Jason Collett, Bahamas, Zeus – West End
April 6 – Matthew Barber – McNally Robinson in-store
April 6 – Old Man Luedecke w/Del Barber – Folk Exchange
April 6 – Matthew Barber – Lo Pub
April 7 – Del Barber & Carly Dow – Melodies on Mercredi
April 10 – Greg Macpherson CD release – West End
April 16 – Matthew Ryan – Sauce & Spirits Sound Bar (Minneapolis)
April 17 – Matthew Ryan – Project Lodge (Madison Wisconsin)
April 22 – BOP Ensemble – West End
April 29 – Madison Violet w/The John Henrys – Times Change(d)
May 1 – The Other Brothers – Sunset Saloon
May 8 – Brock Zeman – Sunset Saloon
May 19 – David Gray w/Royal Wood – Concert Hall
May 22 – T. Nile – Folk Exchange
June 3 – JP Hoe live recording – West End
June 10 – New Pornographers – Garrick
June 16 – Del Barber – Into the Music instore
June 16 – The Bottle & The Truth (Ridley Bent, Dustin Bentall, Cameron Latimer) – Times Change(d)
June 18 – Del Barber CD Release – West End
June 19 – The Jayhawks – First Ave. (Minneapolis)
June 19 – Holly Golightly – Seventh St. Entry (Minneapolis)
June 26 – Buck 65 – Pyramid
June 29 – Star Wars Live – MTS Centre
June 30 – Great Lake Swimmers w/The Details – West End Cultural Centre
July 7-11 – Winnipeg Folk Festival – Birds Hill Park
July 22 – NQ Arbuckle – Times Change(d)
July 27 – Neil Young – Concert Hall
Aug. 4-8 – Edmonton Folk Festival – Gallagher Park
August 9 – Leeroy Stagger – The StuDome
August 12 – Christina Martin – Sunset Saloon
August 13-15 – Trout Forest Music Festival – Ear Falls, Ont.
August 25 – River Barge Festival (Crooked Bros., D. Rangers, Kelly Hughes, Jeff Robson, etc.)
August 28 – River Barge Festival (Luke Doucet & The White Falcon)
September 3 – Nathan – Old Market Square (lunch hour concert)
September 3 – Matt Epp – Old Market Square
September 6 – Gaslight Anthem – Walker Theatre
September 8 – Aerosmith w/Joan Jett – MTS Centre
September 11 – Danny Michel – West End Cultural Centre
September 17 – John Wort Hannam w/Danny Schmidt – Café Vogelsang house concert
September 18 – John Wort Hannam w/Danny Schmidt – Glesby Centre (Portage la Prairie)
September 21 – Sweet Thing (opening for Justin Nozuka) – West End
September 24 – Jesse DeNatale w/Scott Nolan – West End
September 25 – Night for Day: Darren Day’s Going Away (Darren Day, Chris Neufeld, Mike Petkau) – Yellow Dog Tavern
September 29 – Cuff the Duke w/Christina Martin – Lo Pub
October 2 – John Wort Hannam – Sunset Saloon
October 6 – Wooden Sky w/Yukon Blonde – West End
October 10 – Del Barber (opening for Jayme Stone) – West End
October 13 – Dave Bidini – West End
October 16 – Royal Wood w/Hannah Georgas – West End
October 28 – Josh Ritter w/Basia Bulat – West End
October 29 – Andy Maize & Michael Johnston – house concert
November 4 – Del Barber – Times Change(d)
November 6 – Two Hours Traffic – The Albert
November 12 – Neilfest (New Meanies, Woodshed Havoc, Scott Nolan) – Times Change(d)
November 13 – Hatcher-Briggs CD Release – Pyramid
November 25 – The Last Muck Pluck: D. Rangers Finale (w/David Essig, Shuyler Jansen, Romi Mayes) – West End
November 27 – Del Barber – Café Vogelsang house concert
November 28 – Mike Plume – StuDome
December 3 – The Watchmen – Pyramid
December 4 – The Lowest of the Low – Sonic Boom instore (Toronto)
December 4 – The Lowest of the Low w/Jim Bryson & John K Samson – Lee’s Palace (Toronto)
December 15 – The Weakerthans (Fallow) – The Albert
December 16 – The Weakerthans (Left & Leaving) – The West End
December 18 – The Weakerthans (Reunion Tour + Other 3) – Walker Theatre

Upcoming?
December 31 – Del Barber (Springsteen tribute) – Park Theatre

You?

We’re not usually in the business of trying to sell you anything but music & concert tickets, but sometimes we get some info that’s too good to keep to ourselves.

Loyal listener & all around good pal of the show, Ron, likes to fill in for St. Nick on some occasions when he can’t make the trek himself. Ron has been officially trained and certified as one of Santa’s helpers, so he is qualified to attend your Christmas party or event. In the true spirit of Christmas, Ron donates every dollar that he earns from his visits to a very worthwhile charity – this year, it’s Siloam Mission. Ron donates his time, effort, gas money, etc. and charges you at or below the going rate. And he’s good. He’s even got the belly for the part.

Ron’s good people – we will personally vouch for that, and does a great job. If you need Santa this year, give ol’ Ron a call or let us know and we’ll put you in touch

(click the photo below for a closer look – again, email us @ tellthebandtogohome@gmail.com if you have any questions!)

We here at Tell the Band to Go Home are do-gooders at heart, but there’s one cause that is especially near and dear to our hearts, and that’s the MS Society, which helps the thousands of Manitobans struggling with Multiple Sclerosis, and their families & friends.

Every year, your intrepid host Jeff rides in the MS Society’s Biking to the Viking fundraiser, which has our out-of-shape host huffing and puffing all the way from Stonewall to Gimli (and back again!)

THANK YOU to our faithful listeners who have helped raise THOUSANDS of dollars over the past few years. It all goes to a great cause, and it all makes a big difference.

You, too, can make a difference by making a donation to Jeff’s ride. Any amount helps, so don’t be shy if you can’t pony up the big bucks. Every bit counts, and every dollar is GREATLY appreciated. You can have a tax receipt, a ton of good Karma, and the knowledge that you’ve done your good deed.

Visit: http://msofs.mssociety.ca/2010Bike/Sponsor.aspx?&PID=1173813&L=2 to make your donation.

THANK YOU!!!