Besnard Lakes: Last spring this Montreal outfit roared at Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. In more intimate confines, the quartet’s epic mood-shifting music should raise the roof, 8 p.m. Thursday at Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln Av, $15; lincolnhallchicago.com.

greg@gregkot.com

As 2010 winds down, we’ve still got a bunch of potentially terrific shows to look forward to, including Ludacris at the Allstate Arena (Sunday), Elvis Costello at the Chicago Theatre (Monday) and the Hold Steady at Lincoln Hall (Dec. 30), plus a gaggle of New Year’s Eve shows that we’ll preview in future columns.

But it’s also time to take stock and look back on a year of heavy-duty concert-going. Out of more than 100 shows I attended, here are my favorites from 2010:

1. Gorillaz, Oct. 16 at UIC Pavilion: The cartoon band invented by Blur’s Damon Albarn and Jamie “Tank Girl” Hewlett more than a decade ago has morphed into a real band, with more than 30 musicians and singers, including a core group built on former Clash members Mick Jones and Paul Simonon. Albarn orchestrates it all, blending hip-hop, dub reggae, Eastern music, punk, soul and myriad other genres into a soundtrack for a dying planet that doesn’t sound like a eulogy at all. Instead, it becomes one the year’s biggest dance parties. 

Photos: Top albums | Top Box Sets

Here are my favorite albums of 2010:

1. Janelle Monae, “The ArchAndroid” (Bad Boy): The Atlanta singer’s boundary-busting debut album has ambition to burn. It’s a self-empowerment manifesto couched inside a futuristic “emotion-picture” about an android’s battle to overcome oppression – got all that? The music is equally adventurous, touching on everything from lounge jazz to hard funk. A star is born.

2. The Besnard Lakes, “The Besnard Lakes are the Roaring Night” (Jagjaguwar):  The Montreal band perfects its marriage of Brian Wilson-like melodic splendor and My Bloody Valentine-worthy guitar roar. While the lyrics are a bonfire of earthly espionage and anxiety, the music shoots for the heavens.

The Besnard Lakes at 2010 SXSW fest in Austin, Texas. (Photo for the Tribune by Jack Plunkett)

Olga Goreas stepped on the Pritzker Pavilion stage Monday in Millennium Park with her band, the Besnard Lakes, and surveyed the scenery: city skyline to the west, Lake Michigan to the east, and about 5,000 people fanned out in front of her.

Sharon Jones performs at SXSW. (Jay Janner, AP) View more 2010 SXSW pictures.

AUSTIN, Texas -- South by Southwest isn't just about introducing the new (unsigned bands looking for that first big break) or showcasing the established (top acts with new projects to sell). Sometimes it's about perseverence.

Case in point is soul singer Sharon Jones. At 53, she's been working the soul circuit with little recognition for decades. But her excellent band, the Dap Kings, was used by Amy Winehouse to record the U.K. singer's breakthrough album, and now Jones is finally getting some long overdue props. In a canary yellow dress and high heels, Jones was a whirlwind force in her showcase set, singing with fervor while shimmying as if electricity were shooting through her frame. I didn't see a better live performance all week.

The Besnard Lakes perform at SXSW. (Photo for the Tribune by Jack Plunkett)

They didn't have to wait as long as Jones, but Montreal's Besnard Lakes also are starting to catch a well-deserved buzz. I first saw the band two years ago at South by Southwest, when they were confined to a corner stage in a noisy bar. All the elements of their sound were in place then -- soaring, falsetto vocals; ebb-and-surge arrangements; crashing guitars; towering choruses. Now with the release  of the group's third album, "The Besnard Lakes are the Roaring Night," the band is a secret no more. The audience for their South by Southwest showcase at Stubbs was 10 times the size of the one that saw them in 2008, and husband-and-wife team Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas did not disappoint. They're poised for a breakthrough year.