Almost all musicians that have been around 10-15+ years usually have a core list of live shows that fans always seem to drool over. For the Grateful Dead, it's probably Cornell University '77 and Old Renaissance Faire '72. For The Doors, it's probably their January 17 late show at the Felt Forum in '70 and the bulk of their '68 shows. For Bob Dylan, his '66 tour was a highlight (although I'd argue that the mid-70's Rolling Thunder Revue is just as good.)

So, which JA shows do you guys consistently find yourselves returning to time and time again? For me, the Benefit for John Kerry '04 acoustic show is phenomenal. Everything about those songs are great. Not to mention the February 14, 2010 show in Carrboro, NC. I may be biased as I was at that show, but there was some great energy there that evening and the songs really reflect that. I think it is unfortunate that Jo's live download shop doesn't have any shows from '02. I've heard a few of them years ago and remember being really impressed.

This, of course, is a ridiculously hard question when it comes to Joe since there are so many recordings to choose from. I've heard several dozens of recordings and still have heard only so little. But there's some faves in my collection for sure - on the top of my head:

-2002-11-30, St. Jean de Vedas. Even though it's got some audio hiccups in the beginning, this show is nothing short of perfect.

-2005-07-27, Liverpool. I mostly listen to this brilliant gig because of 'Wasted' and 'I Am' but all songs are very strong. 2004-12-08 Seattle and 2004-12-16 New York are probably equally great.

-2006-10-20, Phoenix. Early Lonely Astronauts show which seems to highlight everything I love about that band. Extremely feelgood, funny banter inbetween songs, and a fantastic energetic performance throughout - for 22 songs! Includes a killer version of 'Cocaine Feet'.

-2010-07-05, Montreal. One of the 10 Montreal shows where he played loads of rarities, especially in the last five shows. This one wins because of the wonderful version of 'Porcupine', a big fave of mine which (I think) was never played before in a 'normal' version. Also, 'Creation or a Stain'.

-2011-05-08, Rotterdam. Of the shows which I've attended myself, this one sticks out most. The performance is great and the humour is excellent - he was in such a silly, funny mood that day! He had started doing half of the set acoustic the day before, the acoustic set in Rotterdam was especially beautiful. Also, in the acoustic set, he played not one but two requests of mine: 'History' and 'Toxic Angel' (he continued playing the latter for the rest of the tour, which indicates that he also thought it was a good idea!).