Well, 2008 is coming to a close and you know what that means. Lots and lots of year-in-review blog posts. I’m working on a few year-end lists, which will come later on this month, but I will tell you with authority that this year was one of the most amazing and exciting years for live music that Seattle has ever experienced. It has been a true blessing to be able to attend so many fantastic concerts and to be able to write about most of them.

So many great concerts happened this year it’s tough to condense them all into one glancing year-end overview. But to briefly summarize some of the highlights: Sasquatch! was amazing, Sub Pop turned 20 complete with a Green River reunion, Tom Morello and Mike McCready had a guitar duet at the Showbox, Metallica rocked the KeyArena, Kurt Cobain was honored in Aberdeen with a stellar show, Bumbershoot gained back its gusto, I promoted and organized two club concerts and Jack White came to town … twice!

Since words will likely never do justice to the awesomeness that was the year in live music, I put together a slideshow of pictures from some of the year’s best live sets. These 88 pictures (about 12 of which were taken by my friend Steven Friederich) capture some of what happened in the clubs, amphitheaters, arenas and outdoor stages in the Evergreen State during 2008.