I was convinced I didn’t see many shows this year, but looking back I was dead wrong! So after a few pandemic years off, I’m resurrecting my list. Before I begin with artists like Wu-Tang Clan, I want to give a special “Shout” out to Tears For Fears and Garbage for making me feel young again; to Sparks for bringing the weird; and to the dreamy Brett Anderson and Suede for returning to the U.S. for the first time in more than 20 years!

THE WAR ON DRUGS at Sound Summit, Mt. Tamalpais – Oct. 22

I’ve always been intrigued by this mini festival up on Mt. Tam. It’s held at a natural stone amphitheater with stunning views of San Francisco. And The War On Drugs was destined to play here. The acoustics were as great as imagined and the sound soared into the brisk air as the sun set. Singer Adam Granduciel had quite the set planned but due to delays, the performance got cut short. Thankfully, the band covered the hits and didn’t delay the encore. The show focused mostly on 2021’s I Don’t Live Here Anymore. But what really got the crowd singing and dancing were hits “Under The Pressure” and “Red Eyes,” off Lost in the Dream.

Marin didn’t disappoint with some Grateful Dead love. It was pretty awesome when Granduciel was handed Jerry Garcia’s ’50s Alligator Stratocaster, with which he played “Harmonia’s Dream.”

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GIRL TALK at the Fillmore – Nov. 18

Gregg Gillis brought his laptop and TP to the Fillmore. If you’ve never experienced Girl Talk, you must rectify that. With just a laptop, Girl Talk creates his songs on the fly with crazy loops and infectious beats. He fed off the crowd’s energy and got a dance party started. The mashups were sick. The mixes cut deep, sampling everyone from General Public, to Belinda Carlisle, Ace of Base and Blur. Then there was the toilet paper gun, massive balloons, confetti galore and attendees even getting on stage to dance.

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM at the Fox and the Warfield – Aug. 18 and 21

I don’t miss Brooklyn’s LCD Soundsystem when they come to town. The band was here for a weeklong residency in San Francisco and Oakland, so I went to a show at each city. The Warfield was all hands in the air and moving bodies. The bands’s electro/punk/dance sound never gets old. Their beats and rhythms are infectious. It’s impossible to not dance and sing along with hits like “Dance Yrself Clean” and “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House.” Seven-minute prog jams, are my heaven.

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WU-TANG CLAN and NAS at Oakland Arena – Oct. 1

I was not about to miss the New York State of Mind tour when it came to Oakland. From the crazy light show to the visuals, it didn’t let up. The show started with DJ Scratch amping up the crowd. Nas was electrifying. He makes poetry with his beats. The lyrics hit hard and hearing it in person was ridiculous. He was sharp, on target and delivered a punch.

Then Wu-Tang Clan came out. From the mad production skills of RZA (in black sunglasses) to hooks master Method Man, Wu-Tang Clan never let up. Hearing the piano riff from”C.R.E.A.M.” was head-spinning. They also played “Protect Ya Neck,” the debut single from seminal record Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers. Busta Rhymes made an appearance, spitting bars at light speed. Each Wu-Tang member—Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, GZA, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa and Cappadonna—had his moment to shine.

BIKINI KILL at Mosswood Meltdown – July 3

Kathleen Hanna is everything I imagined that she would be. She’s still full of fire. The summer was filled with COVID surges. The Supreme Court had just went full-mental and reversed Roe v. Wade. And Hanna had choice words urging people to vote. She played her heart out, yelling, raging and being every bit the riot-grrrl. Bikini Kill then blistered through “Feel Blind,” which Hanna wrote when she was 17. The band still sounds tight and seriously shreds. The large crowd was one big mosh pit on “Rebel Girl.”

“We’re Bikini Kill, and we want revolution, girl-style, NOW!” Hanna yelled.

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THE AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT and the SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY at Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall – July 16

After seeing The Airborne Toxic Event countless times, I was beyond excited to see it with the San Francisco Symphony. That was in 2020. Then COVID hit and we were lucky that this show was rescheduled this year. TATE has always had a violinist. Its music is made for symphonic arrangements and is even more alive with the addition of brass, woodwinds, percussion and a string section.

I can’t describe the emotion I felt watching this performance. The band treated us to two complete sets and an encore. The thorough setlist focused on the complete catalog, including earlier material. Mikel Jollett and company had practiced for quite a while to make this night special. It wasn’t flawless—the band had to restart one song, bringing the symphony to a pause—but it felt very real. Under the direction of conductor Bruce Anthony Kiesling, their music became even grander.

THE HOUSE OF LOVE at The Chapel – Oct. 25

High school changed me, musically. It was around 1988 or 1989 when I first discovered the sound of U.K. guitar-heavy/shoegaze bands like The House of Love. The band initially broke up in 1993, so I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see it. Fast-forward to 2022 and I got my first shot. Sure, the members have changed, but Guy Chadwick is ever-present. He looks mostly the same (maybe his hair isn’t the mop-top it was in the ’90s), and his vocal chops were still are on point. Fans, now older, danced, sang along and screamed as if they were still in high school. And fear not, those guitars still have that psychedelic swirling sound.

Lead guitarist Keith Osborne recreated the dreamy atmospheric playing on songs like “I Don’t Know Why I Love You” and “Christine.” His son Harry (bass) brought lots of energy. The new material is great, but most of us were excited to hear earlier material. Thankfully, they didn’t wait long before playing “Beatles and the Stones” and “Shine On.”

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Trace Mountains at Bottom of the Hill – Dec. 9

Brooklyn’s Trace Mountains was a band that I longed to see. Dave Benton, formerly the lead singer of lo-fi band LVL UP, got me through the pandemic with his distinctly indie pastoral sound. I listened to “Lost in the Country” on repeat. It was cathartic.

His band, comprised of former members of LVL UP,  filled in on these sweeping beautiful songs and complemented Benton nicely. I must have known there was pedal steel in his music, but hearing it live added to this great rustic sound. A saxophonist on “Lost in the Country” was the addition I didn’t know the song needed. Benton’s vocals were soothing and felt like a warm blanket on a cold San Francisco night.

Follow writer Rachel Goodman at Twitter.com/xneverwherex and Instagram.com/xneverwherex.