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Underground > Radio & Music >

Gig of the Year

Haus of Mystery

21:22 / 20.12.04

Well?
For me it was The Sunburned Hand of the Man gig at Cinematheque in Brighton. I'm a bit biased as my flatmate put it on, but it was utterly, mind-shreddingly great. Cinematheque is a small independant screening room, so there was about 40 people there, max. The band were set up at our feet, and there were about 8 of them with assorted instruments & freakout weaponry. Gig started slowly, fragments of noise drifting around, eerie wailing and offbeat rhythms. It began to coalesce into a solid noise before falling apart again.
Interval. Joint smoked.
Part two. This second half was where it started to get really good. A much more insistent, rhythmic sound from the outset that grew and grew, until the whole room was throbbing. Louder and louder, shifting soundscapes that nonetheless cohered. One of them looks like Peter fonda when he was a Dude, one looks like a fatter Johnny Knoxville. One is a genial native American in pigtails. It's getting weirder and more aggressive, but in a good, fucked up way. The set continues while everyone's head is furiously nodding, hands banging knees. I want to say 'Shamanistic' but probably shouldn't. Culminates in out-and-out acid rock Freakery, while two band mambers wrestle through the rhythm section. Time prohibits them continuing, but I honestly could have listened all night.
Fan-fucking-fruity-tastic.
Then all back (band included) to a mates house for much piss-uppery and shit-talkery.
I saw a good few amazing gigs this year, and even put on a couple myself, but nothing came anywhere as close in excellence than this.

You?

21:31 / 20.12.04

Either Scissor Sisters at the Royal Albert Hall or Morrissey at Royal Festival Hall. Choices, choices...

21:46 / 20.12.04

i think i would probably have to give it to Kraftwerk at the Warfield in San Francisco in April. the performance, hearing those songs live - it was just iconic.

second place would have been Acid Mothers Temple at the Casbah in San Diego.

21:47 / 20.12.04

The Polyphonic Spree at the Astoria. Was due to go with a mate who about a week before the gig developed hernia pains and was unable to go. Couldn't find anyone else who was free at such short notice so went on my own. My first gig on my own, I arrived nervous and unsure. Never seen them live before and wasn't really sure what to expect.
Anyway, I needn't have worried, the curtain came up to reveal 24 brightly robed people stood proudly and grinning and from that moment on it was just heaven. They were unbelievably good, a hundred times better live than in the studio and tighter than a tight thing.
Not only the gig of 2004 but possibly the gig of all time for me.

A week later, I was back at the Astoria watching Cardiacs who, were it not for the previous visit, would have taken the honour of gig of the year easily. They're my favouritest band of all, ever and this was the first gig in ages and they played a whole bunch of old rarities with a whole bunch of new band members and blew the roof off the place (metaphorically). 2 hours later and all I could say was Wow.

23:10 / 20.12.04

Hmmm, now, let me see... Probably saw more live music this year than I have for ages and most of it very good indeed. Franz Ferdinand playing the basement of Fopp was a highlight, as were the Fiery Furnaces, Kimya Dawson, Deerhoof, PJ Harvey, Electrelane, Le Tigre, Nina Nastasia, ESG, Tindersticks, Joanna Newsom, Violent Femmes etc etc.

But I think I might just have to go for... The Pixies. Brixton Academy. On my birthday. Do I really need to say more?

03:41 / 21.12.04

I feel dirty for being so mainstream, but I'd have to say Beastie Boys was the best show of the year. Followed by the Gwar/Bad Acid Trip show.

foot long subbacultcha

08:44 / 21.12.04

Definitely the Pixies, Brixton Academy.

09:13 / 21.12.04

Erykah Badu at Carling Apollo, Manchester in march (with support from Joss Stone, what fab surprise). She was everything and more. I would travel far to worship again. Next best was Bonny 'Prince' Billy at Shephers Bush Empire, he makes funny noises while he sings.

lord nuneaton savage

10:47 / 21.12.04

Um, funnily enough it was Sunburned Hand of the Man at the Cinematheque. That really was one of the most exciting gigs I've ever seen and the fact that they all turned out to be such super nice folks was the icing on the cake.

Also Lightning Bolt at the Enigma and Circle at the Engine rooms. It's been a fantastic year for gigs and seeing as next year starts off with Julian Cope and Comets on Fire I can see the quality being maintained.

Brigade du jour

13:39 / 21.12.04

James Brown at Hammersmith Odeon (Carling Apollo but I'm being grumpy old incorrigible git today ... oh same as yesterday then) because even though he's a bit of a codger the atmosphere was absolutely electric.

Manics at Wembley, mainly because for the next few days my neck hurt from headbanging and my calves from pogoing. Ahh, so primal ...

Future Sound Of Jazz at Royal Festival Hall on first night of London Jazz Festival, because I wasn't expecting much for my two quid and they were awesome.

Scissor Sisters at Royal Albert Hall because ... ah I don't need to explain it!

Regrettable Juvenilia

17:33 / 21.12.04

Definitely LCD Soundsystem on the last night of All Tomorrow's Parties: we were tired, our bodies were broken, we had to wait an age for them to start... And it was like nothing else I've ever heard. I was making the screw-face for almost the entire duration of some songs. Just the most amazingly energising and euphoric sounds you could imagine, a sense of drowning in amazing percussion and MUSIC, and a fat guy in a t-shirt doing all the singing. (Obviously it would have been even better if Joss Stone had been involved: she's so soulful!)

Runners-up: Twilight Singers in Islington (Greg Dulli = teh man); Le Tigre, Dizzee and Har Mar also at ATP.

18:58 / 21.12.04

Pixes at V-Festival or Pogues at Manchester MEN last Saturday...

... choices, choices, hmmmmmm

A

11:08 / 22.12.04

Cobra Killer last week or Sekiden a couple of months ago.

Haus of Mystery

12:51 / 22.12.04

Why?

17:12 / 23.12.04

sjhrbr: Two of mine are very similar - Pixies at T in the Park/ Pogues at MEN last Saturday too! Very bizarre. Didn't expect to see either band as both had split and as far as the Pogues went, and I'm sorry to say it, didn't think Shane would make it back to the land of the (semi) living.

Honourable mentions also go to Lambchop in Liverpool earlier this month, playing along to FW Murnau's Sunrise - not a typical gig, but amazing all the same.

But (and it's not just cos I'm in that post-coital gig glow you sometimes get) I'd say the Pogues was teh best gig this year; pretty much everything you could ask for from a Pogues gig just before Christmas, except Kirsty MacColl still alive and doing Fairytale of New York. A very sad part of the night - but then hearing her dad's Dirty Old Town being sung as near as dammit to Salford, the dirty old town in question, by an entire arena of people, was quite some experience.

I lost my voice, almost, from singing so much that night; Steams of Whisky, A Man You Don't Meet Every Day, Bottle of Smoke, Fiesta; al present and correct.

And then, when we left, a (very canny) saxophonist was playing Pogues hits again as we danced through the night, all the way back up to Piccadily for a taxi.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

20:27 / 24.12.04

It's a toss-up between Throbbing Gristle at the Mean Fiddler and the unexpected Nick Cave support slot for Primal Scream & Spiritualized at the Academy.

Why?

TG... man, TG were TG. But newer. It was like watching Psychic TV, Coil, AND Chris and Cosey all at the same time. And indeed, it WAS. I had my doubts before they started, but as soon as that bass rumble kicked in, I knew all was right with the world.

Cave, I wasn't expecting. And fuck, he was better that night than he was on his own tour. Just him, a grand piano and three Bad Seeds. He made "West Country Girl" sound like "From Her To Eternity". I nearly cried.

Tryphena Absent

23:56 / 24.12.04

Carla Bozulich at ATP in April. I just pointed at her name and decided I was going to see her at 12pm in the afternoon. My most pleasant surprise of the year.

Locust No longer

21:59 / 25.12.04

Ghost at the Triple Rock in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Six Organs Of Admittance opened and were good in their Fahey/Basho worship kind of way but Ghost was simply fantastic. It was everything I love about good rock and roll, improv, folk and psych. Batoh is an amazing show man and I was dancing the whole time (which is pretty amazing on its own). There were points where the song dropped out and you crowd would collectively suck in breath then unload as the chord was strummed and the rock blasted back. Awesome.

Jack The Bodiless

01:15 / 27.12.04

Either:

The Pixies at Brixton in June - awesome. Just awesome. (thanks again, dude! you know who you are!)

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds in November. Still utterly incendiary, even after all these years.

Marillion at the Forum, September. Fucking incredible, guys. Blew me away for the 13th time in a row. Play 'The Only Unforgiveable Thing' and 'Genie' next time, you capricious bastards.

The Pogues, Brixton. There is no party band like them. Shane MacGowan is my ODB. I cried thrice, and headbutted a wall (HARD) in time to Sally MacLennane. Sweet.

Goldfrapp at Glastonbury. Like a big electronic clitoral orgasm. Not that I'd know except by proxy, naturally.

08:57 / 27.12.04

The Boredoms, Black Dice and Lightning Bolt at the Scala, Kings Cross. In retrospect it's probably best that Black Dice gave us a bit of a breather between two indefinable, inscribable walls of noise. Drums and bass and not a lot else.

Ultralyd, Lennons, Southampton. One of those gigs you often hear about but never think you’ll actually see yourself. Four guys, it’s neither jazz nor improve, playing off each other for an hour and a half, terrifying intensity, attention to detail, tone and feel.

16:21 / 27.12.04

Dunno if I can pick a single one. I haven't been able to get to that many gigs this year, but the ones I have stepped out for have almost all been superb.

Obviously All Tomorrows Parties towers above the rest - dunno if I could pick a single highlight, it was mostly like one big highlight, but nice surprises like LCD Soundsystem, Fursaxa, OOIOO and Double Leopards stick in the mind clearer than the many obviously great bands who's work I was already familiar with.

Sonic Youth put in a superb performance at Brixton Academy - really on top form, classic rock order battling noise chaos just like they used to do in the old days, only cranked up to stadium levels.

Fucking unbeatable dance-all-night sweaty garage rock action of the best possible kind was also amply provided by the Buff Medways in Leicester and the Dirtbombs in Cardiff.

And the wonderful Herman Dune also succeeded in blowing my mind and melting my heart for about the fourth year running in the upstairs room of a Cardiff pub.

Haus of Mystery

10:12 / 28.12.04

Although I stand by my initial pick, I would like to give an honorable mention to Jeffrey Lewis at the Komedia. It was absolutely amazing, and it was the first proper 'date' me and my girlfriend went on. He's such a funny endearing character, and if you like his recorded work then seeing him live is a must. I wasn't that familiar with him before I saw him live, and was converted on the night, which to me, is a sign of a top notch gig.

10:22 / 28.12.04

Can't believe that in my previous post I neglected to mention standing directly in front of Kawabata Makoto for two whole hours of total Acid Mothers Temple frenzy at the Ochre 10 thingy in Gloucester.

If I sit in silence and listen hard enough I can still hear bits of it rattling around somewhere in my head.

11:08 / 28.12.04

I love you, Rizla. That's a brilliant way of talking about music.

foot long subbacultcha

08:55 / 29.12.04

The Pixies at Brixton in June - awesome. Just awesome. (thanks again, dude! you know who you are!)

You're welcome, Jack.

17:03 / 29.12.04

Echo and the Bunnymen
Carling Academy, Liverpool

I was possibly the youngest person there out of a thousand people with all the others being either really old, milf or both. Me and my mate got at least three people to believe I was Macca's nephew. Oh, and I avoided moshing for fear of disintergrating someone with a youthful shove.

That is all.

17:08 / 29.12.04

Oh shit, how could I forget All Tomorrow's Party 2004? Shitting hell my memory is crap.

Basically, it was great. Sun, sea. There would've been surf but it was waaay too Britishly chilly for that.

Highlights: Com.A, Danger Mouse, Bizmarkie, Tigerbeat, Kid 606. Technodelic headfuck the whole weekend. Got to meet Claro and turn down some white lines.

Oh: Dub Cartel and DJ Stingray.

And driving fairground cars meant for children.

23:52 / 29.12.04

Pixies and Nick Cave for me...

Having missed out on Subbacultchas Pixies Brixton ticket to Jack (bah) i spent a bit of time that night hanging about with the touts trying to get a ticket for less than £80 with no luck but went on for a good booze up anyway.

Slightly annoyed the next day when i rang my girlfriend and said something like, 'i nearly got to go and see the Pixies who are like my bestest band ever but that fell through but then i tried to get a ticket but i couldn't and Pixies are my best band but then i met some friends and got drunk but i'm really gutted i missed the Pixies etc etc...so what did you get up to last night? And she said, 'Um...My friend came down from Leeds and he had a spare Pixies ticket and um...i got you a T Shirt...'

Bah...Still..she was lovely and got us tickets to see them at V and they were great.

And Nick Cave at Brixton was fab. A great top form new album and they rocked. Best Cave gig i've been to.

Bunny Breckinridge

19:54 / 02.01.05

Actually, probably a bunch that have already been mentioned. Sonic Youth in Brixton was fantastic. The massive 20 minute noise fest that Expressway melted into at the end was great. Jim on Accordian and the Afri Rampo girls joining in. (I missed their set though) Decaer Pinga provided nice, noisy, audience baiting support.

Also the Bore/Bolt/Dice at the Scala. Boredoms were amazing and it was a stellar line up.

Sunburned Hand of the Man at the Spitz were amazing. Only played for about an hour but were incredible. I am probably biased because I am obsessed with them at the moment.

And one more...Almost forgot. Yo La Tengo + Gorkys Zygotic Mynci in Leicester. Both were fantastic and the YLT doing Nuclear War w/Gorkys joining in was Heavenly. And YLT officially have the best between song banter ever.

21:18 / 02.01.05

I went to two gigs this year.

Spiritualised were great, and The Shins were... brave, let's put it that way, to pick that name for their band.

16:24 / 03.01.05

Guided By Voices Dec. 30th at the Metro was probably the best show I've seen since Immortal opened up for Manowar, yeah, GBV's that fucking good live, or were, rather. This was their last show ever before their last show ever, which really meant that it was their last real show ever. They played for 3 1/2 hours or so and did a good amount of "hits" -- including "Echos Myron" which may be the best song that really should have been on the Beatles' white album, and "Gold Star For Robot Boy" which may be the best song. Robert Pollard also cut his hair short and stopped dying it, so it's grey now, which makes him look like one of my buddy's dad, which makes it even more cool.

Sean the frumious Bandersnatch

18:54 / 09.01.05

Mini Kiss.

14:03 / 18.01.05

Ooh, hopping in late:

Jonathan Richman (CHARMING!): Islington Bar Academy, London

The Unicorns (BEWITCHING!): ColdRice, Birmingham

The Thermals (PUNCHY!): Barfly Camden, London

Copter (INVENTIVE!): Artrocker Club, London

uncle retrospective

22:53 / 18.01.05

I saw some great gigs in ’04. Saw SFA twice and they were incredible both times, that live version of the man don’t give a fuck with its 10 minute techno workout is a thing to see.
Libach were amazing, I knew it was going to be weird but even I wasn’t ready for greatness I saw. I saw what may be Coil’s last ever gig and it broke my head but the winner was the Chemical Brothers at Glastonbury. Fuck! I was never a fan but Jesus they were so good. The perfect end to a fantastic day. Pity it had to go and rain all of Saturday.
Oh, honourable mention to Sophia. I have waited 12 years to see Robin Proper Shepherd live and I picked the best time. He got over most of the alt country he'd be wallowing in and rediscovered distortion. Desert song no2 and the River song blew my head off.
It was a great year musically.