Last year I took my son to his first concert, to see the Drive-By Truckers. He’s pretty easy-going when it comes to genre, and enjoyed the band when I would play them around the house. I wish the show was a better experience for him, though – the band was loud to the point of clipping, with little to no stage presence, just ripping through song after song like they just wanted to get it over with. I don’t think they said one word besides “Goodnight.” There was one shining, bright spot though: the opening band. It was our first ever exposure to American Aquarium, and they played like their lives depended on it. It was, in a word, glorious, the kind of show you dream of when you see a band. We all bought t-shirts, I got to introduce myself and my son to leader BJ Barham, and we became there and then fans for life. The TL;DR: there was no way The Fear Of Standing Still wasn’t going to make this list.

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