Cream Of The Crop: 10 Magical Musical Moments Of 2016

Words by: Chad Berndtson, Andy Kahn & Scott Bernstein

One of the reasons many live music fans attend concerts is the hope of being present for something magical happening on stage. Many times it’s impossible to figure out exactly when these magical moments will occur, but that’s half the fun and what keeps us coming back for more. This past year was filled with exceptional performances and our editorial team picked 10 magical musical moments from 2016 that stood out as the cream of the crop.

To say it was hard to settle on 10 moments is an understatement. Our list includes a bust-out of a beloved song, a visit by a legendary band to Cuba, a tribute to David Bowie, a memorable festival set and more. While a number of musical icons died in 2016, those remaining helped deliver plenty of performances we’ll never forget. Note that we’ve broken off reunions and collaborations into different lists. With that that in mind, here’s a look at 10 Magical Musical Moments of 2016 in chronological order:

1. Radiohead Busts Out “Creep” In Paris (May 23)

While “Creep” was the song that originally put Radiohead on the map, the band has always had a tenuous relationship with its first hit. At one point a request for the tune was met by a response of “fuck off, we’re tired of it” as the band considered it “crap.” Radiohead hadn’t played “Creep” in seven years as they began their World Tour in May. Three shows into the run Thom Yorke & Co. performed at Le Zenith in Paris. When the group returned to the stage to start a second encore Yorke reportedly noted, “This is for the funny guy shouting ‘Creep’ in the back” and added “only to shock you” before Radiohead launched into “Creep.” The British rockers went on to play “Creep” a total of ten times in 2016 to the delight of audiences who would singalong at loud volumes.

[Video shared by Johnny Airbag]

2. The Rolling Stones Play Cuba (May 25)

The word “historic” is thrown around a bit promiscuously, but when you’re the first international rock band to play Cuba, yeah, “historic” pretty much covers it. And that band would be The Rolling Stones, who set up shop at broken-down sports complex near Havana and drew hundreds of thousands of fans for a free concert that roared through 18 Stones classics and ended, as most have in recent years, with “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” There aren’t many peaks Mick, Keith & Co. haven’t climbed, but headlining in Cuba had to have been pretty damn special.

3. Phish Debuts A Capella “Space Oddity” At Wrigley Field (June 24)

Expectations among fans were high as to if, and how, Phish might pay tribute to David Bowie following his death in January. It took their second show of Summer Tour to find out as they debuted an acapella arrangement of “Space Oddity” to begin the encore while also making their debut at Wrigley Field. The responsive, thunderous, inunison claps from those at the Friendly Confines was a goosebumps inducing moment shared between the band and their passionate fans. Phish didn’t save the experience for just those in Chicago that night, singing their instrument-less cover a few additional times during the summer and capping their Halloween show in which Bowie’s The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars was also donned as the quartet’s musical costume with another encore presentation of “Space Oddity.”

[Video of Phish performing “Space Oddity” at Lockn’ captured by LazyLightning55]

4. David Gilmour Dusts Off “The Great Gig In The Sky” As Part Of Return To Pompeii (July 7)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg5piavC3dc

The setting of David Gilmour’s concert on July 7 was almost as memorable as what was played by his band featuring keyboardist Chuck Leavell that night. A gig at the same ancient Roman amphitheater in Pompeii, Italy where the iconic concert film Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii was taped in 1971 marked a triumphant return for the former Pink Floyd guitarist. Gilmour took the opportunity at the historic venue to bust out a rendition of the Dark Side Of The Moon classic “The Great Gig In The Sky.” Rarely played by Gilmour since Floyd’s break up, “Great Gig” had last been perform by the musician a decade prior during his tour in 2006 and has shown up in a number of subsequent setlists throughout 2016.

5. Peter Gabriel Sings A Genesis Song For The First Time Since 1982 (July 24)

Peter Gabriel and Sting teamed up for the co-headlining Rock Paper Scissors Tour earlier this year. While Gabriel had famously ignored his tenure in Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame act Genesis during live shows since 1982, Sting did convince Peter to sing a Genesis song at the tour-closing concert at Rexall Place in Edmonton on July 24. Throughout the tour Sting would introduce his hit “Message In A Bottle” with an arrangement of the intro to the Genesis song “Dancing With the Moonlit Knight,” whose lyrics provided the title to their acclaimed 1973 Selling England By The Pound LP. Gabriel sang the first two stanzas of lyrics to the Genesis song for the first time live in 34 years at the tour’s finale.

[Video captured by OVI-Wan Kenobi]

6. Warren Haynes Plays Tiger Guitar On Jerry Garcia’s Birthday (August 1)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBZgrElq8do

From his time with Phil Lesh & Friends and The Dead to the last few years’ worth of Symphonic Jerry Garcia celebrations with classical orchestras, Warren Haynes has become one of the industry’s foremost Garcia interpreters. His Symphonic show at Red Rocks on Jerry’s birthday, August 1, had some “extra mustard” in the form of Haynes’ use of Garcia’s famed Tiger guitar. It was the first time since the final Grateful Dead show in August 1995 that Tiger had been played in a public concert, and Haynes was apparently taken enough with the experience that Tiger made another appearance, one week later, in New York’s Central Park.

[Video of “Ripple” captured by Rod Giffen]

7. The Tragically Hip Complete What May Be Final Tour (August 20)

In May 2016, The Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie revealed a diagnosis of terminal brain cancer. In true rock ‘n’ roll fashion, The Hip took to the road to play a series of hard-charging, emotionally draining concerts that culminated in a three-hour-plus, capital-E Event in the band’s hometown of Kingston, Ontario, in August, that included “O Canada” from the audience and three encores. It’s hard to overstate the significance of The Hip in Canadian rock circles — and the emotional weight of such a bittersweet event.

[Video of “New Orleans Is Sinking” shared by CBC Music]

8. My Morning Jacket Impress At Lockn’ Festival (August 27)

Coming into this year’s Lockn’ Festival the attention was squarely focused on Phish, who were making a rare appearance at a festival they didn’t host. My Morning Jacket would not be outdone and stole the show with a fantastic Saturday night set. Though 2016 was a slow year for MMJ, they made every song count at Lockn’ as they filled the setlist with original gems and a heaping helping of covers. Jim James & Co. expertly paced their 140-minute, 18-song performance, which won them plenty of new fans. Included within were debut covers of David Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel” and Burt Bacharach’s “What The World Needs Now Is Love” that left festivalgoers filled with glee. MMJ came, saw and conquered on a steamy night in Arrington, Virginia those in attendance will be hard to pressed to forget.

[Video of “What The World Needs Now Is Love” captured by EasyMorningRebel 665]

9. Bruce Springsteen Breaks Record For Longest U.S. Shows Multiple Times (Late Summer)

There goes 67-year-old Bruce Springsteen and his pummeling E Street Band, playing those marathon shows of legend, this year with extra “marathon.” Springsteen on September 8 played what now stands as his longest-ever U.S. show: four hours and four minutes, 34 songs at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, breaking the four-hours-even record the band had set not two weeks earlier in New Jersey. (Of course, the big daddy is still a 2012 show in Finland that ran 4:06, but really, we’ll take it.) Rock on, Boss.

10. Roger Waters Performs Pink Floyd Rarities In Mexico City (September 28)

Just shy of one year away from the live stage, Pink Floyd founding bassist Roger Waters got back to performing with a run of shows in Mexico City. No longer focused on material from The Wall, the warmups for the inaugural Desert Trip festival began with a 26-song appearance at Foro Sol featuring selections culled from throughout his legendary career. Following the opening Dark Side Of The Moon cuts “Speak To Me” and “Breathe” and a take on A Saucerful Of Secrets’ “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun,” Waters played the Meddle track “One Of These Days” solo for the first time. After another DSOTM-centric sequence, the Meddle rarity “Fearless” was performed by Waters for just the second time in public, as it was reportedly played by Pink Floyd just once in 1971 and not by any other member of the band before the Mexico City bust out.

[Video of “Fearless” captured by JOELDETH]