Best Benefit Concert

The local music scene has heart. Too much goddamn heart. Benefit concerts are a dime a three-dozen around here. Yeah, they support good causes and all, but musical welfare is generally of little benefit to the audience. This year, a do-gooder event at Liberty Hall actually gave the crowd something -- a memorable show. The cause was worthy (it raised money for education or something like that), but the genre-skipping lineup was even better. Dreadlocked everyman Approach brought a trunk full of gymnastic hip-hop, Getaway Driver showcased its highbrow indie-rock, DJ Not a DJ turned in an artful set of loose-limbed jams, and headliners the Get Up Kids brought down the house with a bristling collection of straightforward rock. Money was raised, lives were saved and the fans walked away with a high-quality evening of diversertainment.