2010 in review: concert roundup
in trying to make the most of my life, i’ve made it my business to travel as far as i must, and spend whatever i can, to see my favorite music realized in concert. these shows, for me, represent the best and most sentimental of my year’s experiences. my life is made immeasurably better by music. theres nothing i could say which is more from the heart from that.
my schedule this year included over 75 spectacular live acts, and several more i didn’t intend to see but caught anyway. of them, i present my top 20 concerts of 2010.
20. shonen knife
this is the cutest band i have ever seen (more so demeanor than looks, but that too). it’s like the powerpuff girls doing a kick ass punk show. i am a sucker for the bad english stage banter - introducing songs about “tasty snacks - banana chips” and my favorite, “big fight - cobra versus mongoose”. i had a blast at this.
19. devo
i saw them back in 2004, and though i loved it then, i wasn’t really familiar with the material yet. it made me a fan, and the last six years generally prepared me for this show. despite half the material being new, unreleased songs, they were irresistable (as is that album … a real gem from this year). this was a very late festival set, and everyone there was exhausted, but devo still had us jogging in place and cheering. they put on a hell of a show, especially with their current video setup.
18. anvil
these guys are most famous for a documentary about how bad and not-famous they are. it’s a really moving film, and i admittedly bought my ticket as a pity purchase. but they really surprised me. first of all, they are actually astounding musicians. really great chops. second, they put on a wild show - i stage dived multiple times, and am definitely not the build for that anymore. finally, they are truly great to their fans - from letting us watch from inches away, to hanging out severeal hours after the show to meet every single person that attended.
17. fever ray
one of my favorite records from last year. seeing it realized live was a real treat, not as much for the musical content but for the absolutely creepy pagan theatrics and atmosphere which the album only hinted at. were i not mentally prepared for it, the fever ray live show might have been a traumatizing experience. karin and her band are of a convincingly alien culture. monsters with a monsterous sound. very unique production all in all, and having seen this on my list makes a lot of people jealous.
16. tool
though i saw them in 2006 and was impressed, i was at the back of an arena in los angeles. now, in a san francisco club, i was able to get right up front and watch danny carey effortlessly work through the best drum parts ever written. the band as a whole is great, but danny carey in particular is a fucking god to me. the set was improved this time around as well, with some rare favorites like “third eye” and “intolerance”.
15. the magnetic fields
i may be in the minority for enjoying their new album, but the magnetic fields songbook as a whole is awe-inspiring. the setlist was very well balanced with old material and seeing them work through it was heart-warming. they perform their songs (even from “distortion”) in very minimal, stripped down arrangements; partly for the beauty of being subtle, and partly because of a hearing problem stephin merritt has that causes one of his ears to ring / feed back if the sound is too loud. for this reason, he was often covering one side during the raucous applause. endearing evening.
14. al green
“you’re seeing al green?” “yeah.” “the REVEREND al green?”
a living legend. his voice was perfect, and he was in great spirits (though perhaps too great? at one point saying, “i’m so excited i can’t get it up!”). between verses, he would distribute hundreds of roses to his adoring fans, running all over the stage, having even more fun than we were. the highlight was a medley of classic soul tunes, including him howling through a series of sam cooke covers. that is something i’ll never forget.
13. elton john
this was on my bucket list. your song, funeral for a friend, tiny dancer, rocket man, et cetera. he nailed it. it was a pleasure to see him and his band work through the classics, and an even greater pleasure to leave before billy joel’s set started. i don’t know why elton was the opening act, but at least i didn’t have to sit through that bullshit. i think the only reason they tour together is because they are both little dwarf men and can trade outfits.
i fucking hate billy joel.
12. the budos band
touring in support of what i called my album of the year, the budos band plays a dark, unique brand of african-influenced funk music. really cool to see their massive sounding percussion be split up among the several members playing it more simply (individuals delegated just to shakers, congas, etc). they only tour our way very rarely because of their dayjobs as grade school teachers in staten island. raunchy.
11. dax riggs
i’ve been a fan for years, but this was the first time i was able to catch him on tour. dax has one of the coolest voices i have ever heard, and his new record (another favorite of this year’s releases) is the type of sludgey, minor key delta blues i have spent the last few years obsessing over. the songs are much improved live, which i did not think was possible. bonus points here for him joining me at the bar to make fun of the opening band.
10. mayer hawthorne
he and the county were fantastic in portland, phenomenal in san francisco, but absolutely over the top at coachella. full horn section, brass reflecting the beaming sun, everyone in an upbeat mood for the upbeat set. it’s generally great summer music, so being there in that setting was perfect. i fucking love those songs. a classy riot to see live. best new artist for sure.
09. sleep
this is the single heaviest band i have ever seen. absolute “god tone”, like the earth exploding at its core. after basically pioneering stoner metal on the model of black sabbath’s third album, sleep broke up in the mid-90s and did not reunite until this year. now, it’s not for everyone - not even all metalheads - but if you are a fan of the sludgey stuff in the slightest, you know this was the mecca. their album “holy mountain” (hich they played in its entirety) is like the “sgt peppers” of this style of music. and they fucking nailed it. i’ve never felt so much like i was being crushed by the intensity of a band’s sound. my neck still hurts and my ears are still ringing.
08. baroness
sensational at coachella, but marred with technical difficulties. their headlining set at dante’s in portland is what really floored me. i think baroness is the freshest and most creative thing to happen to heavy music in my lifetime. the “blue album” is a masterpiece. the live show trumps it by adding extended improvisational jams between songs. they don’t stop for a second, and they are great on their toes. baroness have re-established the importance of lush harmony in metal songwriting, without compromising the heaviness of their sound.
07. chromeo
on top of being flashy musicians with an absolute mastery of funk music and keytar soloing, this ranks so high because it was the single best dance party i could ever imagine happening. sunset in san francisco, gigantic bowl-shaped field, washed in red and orange colors, with everyone completely into it, all the way to the back. the crowd kept expanding as others were lured in, setting down all their things, just grooving barefoot. it was like a siren song. they had the crowd in the palm of their hand and we were happy to be there.
06. pavement
an interesting aspect of my childhood was having sisters with very particular tastes in music, which they had cultivated over the decade or so that they were around before i showed up. and like much other music i grew up around, i was much too young and oblivious then to understand why i liked pavement (if i actually did at all). i was exposed to their stuff way too early. giving the material a second chance as an adult has been a nostalgic ordeal. i knew the songs, but did not know how much i loved them. having the chance to see the band reunited, playing through selections from “slanted and enchanted”, easily makes this a top concert for me this year.
05. the melvins
for years i couldn’t understand the hype around this band. they’re even my style of music, but the albums never appealed to me. to some degree, they still dont. but i went to this show on the faith of my friends who have attended every chance they get. as soon as they started, i was floored with regret for missing a lifetime of melvins concerts. their appeal as a live act is immediate and irresistable. i don’t know if it was the two polyrhythmic drummers, the bass player’s banshee voice, the unpredictable nature of the songwriting, or whatever is on king buzzo’s head, but this is one of the best live acts i have ever seen. ever. everyone around me couldn’t help themselves exclaiming “wow”, “goddamn”, and “holy shit” with their applause after each song. their words were understatements.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Axysx0FbJAc
04. gorillaz
though very popular, gorillaz as a live entity has been an illusory thing. after their first record, the occasional one-off show was done completely behind a video screen, band out of sight. their second album had them partially in view, performing as sillhouettes before colored backdrops, like an ipod commercial. in promoting this third album, which i do think is their best, the band moved completely into the spotlight. as the headlining performer at coachella, damon albarn was all over the place, engaging the crowd, getting everyone as into it as he was. the massive band was impressive, including the clash’s bassist and guitarist … which, predictably, gave the songs a great funkier and punkier sound; an improvement over the all-electronic record. coupled with great animated backdrops and an air of celebration, this was one of the most euphoric experiences of my year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaVuV-6Up5g
03. faith no more
reunited, and it feels so good! mike patton is the single best vocalist alive. i know i use a lot of hyperbole, but i really mean this. and twice this year, i got to see him performing his best material with his best band. faith no more have aged like fine wine. and i do mean aged - three balding heads and a mike bordin with grey dreads. but they sounded unbelievable, and more relevant than they did in 97. really, i don’t think i can put to words how fucking happy i am i got to experience this at all, let alone with them sounding tighter than they ever did before. you know, i used to fantasize about faith no more and soundgarden reuniting, so i could have a chance to seem them - they became my favorites only after breaking up. and now that dream is half realized, with the soundgarden show sure to happen this year. a small victory.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOMEaWH4hDg
02. gil scott-heron
a few years ago, i was making an active effort to listen to less metal. in exploring other genres, i found gil’s “pieces of a man” album: a sort of funk/jazz/soul/poetry crossover which innovated every genre of music it touched upon. that record was in constant rotation for me throughout 2006. i became a devout fan, reading his poetry and collecting live bootlegs - but as i became more familiar with his legacy, i came to know how sharply his career and life declined. the music became uninspired, and with the loss of his soulful voice went his teeth. at the peak of my interest, gil was suffering from HIV, 60 years old, and in prison again for cocaine possession. this year has brought a lot of surprises for me, but nothing blew me away quite like his release of a popular new record and a glorious, humbled comeback performance to a packed crowd at coachella.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz7zj9Q3EBk
01. wild beasts
i first heard about this band in july. i saw them a month later. how did that become my #1 of the entire year - especially with competition like this?
in those weeks before the show, their “two dancers” was the only record i listened to. my friends did, as well, which only made my addiction more severe. we connected with it in a way that totally caught us off guard. their sound is deceptively complex, and the composition of the album as a whole is symphonic and masterful; though it maintains individual pop appeal track to track. but like many others in this list, the band is even better live. (what a fantastic trend to be happening, after years and years of being disappointed with bands who couldn’t live up to their ambitious studio works.)
beneath the surface, wild beasts are a very unusual band. with the amount of looping and bitonality involved in their music, the odds were really against them nailing it the way they did. each melody poured out of them in a way that seemed to me, an impossible dream. their songs invoke love and lust, pain and pleasure, excitement and disillusion, understanding and misunderstanding … often simultaneously. listening through the record front to back is like subjecting your ears to the entirety of the human experience. they are ambitious but effortless, and dwarf the other amazing acts i was able to see and hear in 2010.
we’ve still got the taste dancing on our tongues.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8fWMyZ9Css
HONORABLE MENTION:
devin townsend - epic show from my idol. one of the best voices to ever exist. but he relied so heavily on pre-recorded backing tracks i had to take it off this list as a “live” show. you’re hevy fucking devy, leave the macbook on the bus.
danzig - i had a really great time at this show and remember really getting into the music, but i was so goddamn drunk it’s all a sweaty blur now. oops!
weezer - for being the worst show i’ve ever paid for. read my full review here.
THE FULL LIST:
01.04 - holdsworth bozzio levin mastelotto
02.10 - elton john
02.11 - anvil
02.22 - the magnetic fields
02.25 - four tet
04.16 - coachella: kate miller-heidke, jets overhead, baroness, yo gabba gabba, avett brothers, yeasayer, sssc, dillinger escape plan, she and him, gil scott heron, them crooked vultures, echo and the bunnymen, imogen heap, fever ray
04.17 - coachella: john waters, porcupine tree, portugal the man, old crow medicine show, beach house, band of skulls, edward sharpe and the magnetic zeros, coheed and cambria, faith no more, muse, les claypool, dead weather, devo
04.18 - coachella: king khan and the shrines, owen pallet, mayer hawthorne, sunny day real estate, yo la tengo, charlotte gainsbourg, pavement, gorillaz
07.11 - pinback
07.12 - tool
08.14 - outside lands: electric six, gogol bordello, bassnectar, wild beasts
08.15 - outside lands: al green, chromeo, mayer hawthorne, the budos band
09.03 - the budos band
09.04 - megadeth / slayer / testament
09.09 - musicfest northwest: baroness / red fang
09.10 - musicfest northwest: shonen knife / man man
09.11 - musicfest northwest: sleep / scott kelly of neurosis / yob
09.14 - dax riggs
09.24 - the melvins
10.10 - devin townsend
10.15 - superchunk
11.01 - gary numan
11.02 - tim and eric
11.09 - mayer hawthorne
11.16 - danzig / toxic holocaust
11.26 - weezer [blue album]
11.30 - faith no more
12.23 - cash’d out
