Bauhaus at Hammerstein Ballroom, September 11
What can I say about this show except that I'd been waiting to see them for 15 years and they did not disappoint. In fact, they exceeded my expectations. From the first glimpse of Peter Murphy on a TV screen (channeling more charisma through a 24" picture tube than most rock stars could at their own public hanging), through the costume changes, through every time Daniel Ash hit the floor and kept playing, through every dub bassline and doomed beat, Bauhaus remain the masters. The full review.

Deftones at Roseland, November 17
I thought their Vietnam-flashback-inducing performance on the Warped Tour was unbelievable, but this show blew my mind. Not just the record crowd or the way the band grabbed them by groins and goosebumps, but one incredible moment, when all the kids in the audience screamed along with a chorus, "I don't care where, just far!," and threw themselves into some kind of convulsion that rippled the entire room like a storm at sea, letting loose with all the emotions a 15-year-old can't name.

Reverend Horton Heat/The Amazing Crowns at Tramps, December 12
There was so much love in this room, you'd have thought it was a Dead show. But rockabilly seems to bring out the flask-swappin', cigarette lightin' best in us all. The Amazing Crowns took the stage and held it by the throat, thumping out tunes at breakneck speed and insisting that, despite the presence of a guest saxophonist, "we're not a fuckin' swing band." Then Reverend Horton Heat dressed up in his Elmer Gantry best and dug deep for his most depraved stuff, throat tearing and fingers bleeding through "Fifty Bucks" and that off-the-cuff, lecherous monologue that graces every "Psychobilly Freakout." Our article on the Reverend Horton Heat.

Rocket from the Crypt at Irving Plaza, Summerstage, Bowery Ballroom
Earning some kind of BB King prize for consistency, I saw this band three times and each time they displayed the consistent level of excellence for which they have become renowned. The matching outfits, the horn section, the little guitar stunts, the audience sing-alongs, and the effective wielding of what may be the year's best single ("Break It Up")—well, it all adds up to a good time. And what the hell do you go to shows for anyway? Our interview with the band.

Thee Headcoats at Tramps, August 14
Half of the LES hipster scene turned out and fixed their usual dispassionate gaze upon opening act the Make-Up, but once Billy Childish and his tweed-clad compatriots took the stage, the crowd was grinning and spazzing like Christmas morning in the "special" ward. And stayed that way for nearly two hours, as Thee Headcoats tore through punk anthems, garage workouts, a cappella worksongs, a ripping cover of the Beau Brummels' "Laugh Laugh," and the Clash impression that Rancid has always dreamed of.