Best concert in a club

In two consecutive Denver appearances, Gil Scott-Heron proved that he is only slightly less hilarious as a comedian than he is inspiring, enduring, and right freakin' on as a musician, poet and social observer. He opened both February performances at the overly stuffed Lion's Lair (which brought new meaning to the word "intimate" that night) with an elongated monologue that could've been cribbed straight from a late-night HBO special. Yet it wasn't Scott-Heron's humor that sold out the club (twice, with lines of ticketless hopefuls extending down the block). After he took his seat behind his trademark electric piano, it was clear that his take on topics like civil rights, politics and poverty hadn't lost its poignancy or punch -- and his music hadn't lost its groove. It was an inspiring night of sounds that was as powerful as it was funky. He always said the revolution would be live.