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Top 10 gigs of 2007
19 Dec 2007, 01:19
1. The Mountain Goats - London Union Chapel, 8 December
Seeing as The Mountain Goats rarely play in the UK, and were the big, glowing number one on my bands-to-see-before-I-die list, I hyped this show up to ridiculous levels. But this is the heroic The Mountain Goats we’re talking about, and it completely fulfilled expectations. Truly, Darnielle is one of the most passionate performers I’ve ever seen: highlights included a beautiful ‘Maybe Sprout Wings’ delivered partly in the middle of the stage with no microphone, using only the church’s acoustics to carry it through the silent room, and an incredibly emotional ‘You Or Your Memory’, in which he slaps himself in the face during verses. The finale, ‘The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton’, features an amusingly shy Eddie Argos knowingly shouting “Hail Satan!” in a church. I can’t imagine The Mountain Goats ever playing a bad show, but this felt like a particularly unforgettable event.
2. Arcade Fire - Latitude Festival, 15 July
Arcade Fire are a band who somehow manage to make every performance full of energy, and the headline slot of the last night of this pretty, intimate festival next to a lake in Suffolk was a particularly perfect location for them. Towards the front, the audience lapped up every song and screamed back the lyrics. They live the other side of the Atlantic but the atmosphere was like a glorious homecoming show. (photos / Latitude review)
3. Feist - Brighton Komedia, 16 April
One of those wonderful gigs where you expect a pleasant performance and end up utterly captivated by the band. Playing just before the release of ‘The Reminder’, Feist's voice was powerful and her between-song banter adorable. When she finished, my two friends and I said nothing for a couple of seconds then shared a group hug. The fact that’s she’s now starring in iPod ads and breaking the Top 10 shows these songs have had the same effect on everyone else too. (review)
4. of Montreal - Brighton Audio, 3 August
I saw of Montreal twice this year, once at a big, annoyingly hip London club night and once in a tiny basement in Brighton. The sound was great, the performance tight, but most importantly it was the latter where I was able to get the best glimpse into the demented world of Kevin Barnes, which on this occasion involved screaming ninjas and businessmen. (photos / review)
5. Broken Social Scene - Bristol Thekla, 18 October
My favourite band comes to my favourite venue, so obviously awesomeness ensued. It was a stripped-back lineup so didn’t have the strings, brass section or girls which characterise regular Broken Social Scene shows. But it was great to see them concentrating on playing and singing beautifully, and they still found time to include some of the classics, banter and bicker and end the night with a singalong. (photos)
6. The Decemberists - London Shepherd's Bush Empire, 8 December
The Decemberists remain one of my favourite live bands and I was lucky to catch them in February, having cancelled their tour from Bristol onwards, which truly broke my heart. The new material from The Crane Wife gave their show even more melodrama and pomp: its two ten-minute-plus epics become perfect proggy centrepieces, and the joyous ‘Sons And Daughters’ is a perfect set-closer.
7. Adem, Vashti Bunyan, Vetiver, Juana Molina - Bristol St George's, 18 January
I came out of my first gig of the year knowing it would be one of the best. Adem, Vashti Bunyan, Vetiver and Juana Molina didn’t play separate sets, they rotated songs, hanging around the stage helping each other out. There was something really warming about seeing 10 people on stage, adding xylophones, bells and backing vocals to already beautiful folk songs.
8. Future Of The Left - Bristol Academy2, 11 December
Future Of The Left are a band featuring ex-members of mclusky and Jarcrew, taking the strengths of both bands – mclusky’s impenetrable lyrics and glorious obnoxiousness, Jarcrew’s complex, original arrangements, and building on them further. For a new band, they have an awesome arsenal of tunes, a great stage presence which includes hilarious stage banter and true passion in the shouting. They even managed to put on a brilliant show in the world’s most poorly-designed, soulless venue, the Bristol Academy2.
9. Los Campesinos! - Bristol Thekla, 10 October
Los Campesinos! have always been a really fun live band, but over the year they evolved into an incredibly tight, musically confident one too. They had enough punch in their songs to avoid being overly twee, despite the twin-xylophone arrangement of some of the songs. Plus Gareth is a great frontman, bounding around the stage and successfully teaching us his hand-choreography. Plus it was on my birthday. (photos)
10. Wilco - Latitude Festival, 13 July
The surprise victory of Latitude Festival. I didn’t expect the material from Wilco’s extremely laid-back new album Sky Blue Sky to translate into captivating main-stage-filling songs, but thanks to Nels Cline’s guitar solos, they sounded like anthems. Having heard mixed reports of their live show in the UK, it was awesome to see the band so confident and the songs so huge-sounding. (photos / Latitude review)
Seeing as The Mountain Goats rarely play in the UK, and were the big, glowing number one on my bands-to-see-before-I-die list, I hyped this show up to ridiculous levels. But this is the heroic The Mountain Goats we’re talking about, and it completely fulfilled expectations. Truly, Darnielle is one of the most passionate performers I’ve ever seen: highlights included a beautiful ‘Maybe Sprout Wings’ delivered partly in the middle of the stage with no microphone, using only the church’s acoustics to carry it through the silent room, and an incredibly emotional ‘You Or Your Memory’, in which he slaps himself in the face during verses. The finale, ‘The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton’, features an amusingly shy Eddie Argos knowingly shouting “Hail Satan!” in a church. I can’t imagine The Mountain Goats ever playing a bad show, but this felt like a particularly unforgettable event.
2. Arcade Fire - Latitude Festival, 15 July
Arcade Fire are a band who somehow manage to make every performance full of energy, and the headline slot of the last night of this pretty, intimate festival next to a lake in Suffolk was a particularly perfect location for them. Towards the front, the audience lapped up every song and screamed back the lyrics. They live the other side of the Atlantic but the atmosphere was like a glorious homecoming show. (photos / Latitude review)
3. Feist - Brighton Komedia, 16 April
One of those wonderful gigs where you expect a pleasant performance and end up utterly captivated by the band. Playing just before the release of ‘The Reminder’, Feist's voice was powerful and her between-song banter adorable. When she finished, my two friends and I said nothing for a couple of seconds then shared a group hug. The fact that’s she’s now starring in iPod ads and breaking the Top 10 shows these songs have had the same effect on everyone else too. (review)
4. of Montreal - Brighton Audio, 3 August
I saw of Montreal twice this year, once at a big, annoyingly hip London club night and once in a tiny basement in Brighton. The sound was great, the performance tight, but most importantly it was the latter where I was able to get the best glimpse into the demented world of Kevin Barnes, which on this occasion involved screaming ninjas and businessmen. (photos / review)
5. Broken Social Scene - Bristol Thekla, 18 October
My favourite band comes to my favourite venue, so obviously awesomeness ensued. It was a stripped-back lineup so didn’t have the strings, brass section or girls which characterise regular Broken Social Scene shows. But it was great to see them concentrating on playing and singing beautifully, and they still found time to include some of the classics, banter and bicker and end the night with a singalong. (photos)
6. The Decemberists - London Shepherd's Bush Empire, 8 December
The Decemberists remain one of my favourite live bands and I was lucky to catch them in February, having cancelled their tour from Bristol onwards, which truly broke my heart. The new material from The Crane Wife gave their show even more melodrama and pomp: its two ten-minute-plus epics become perfect proggy centrepieces, and the joyous ‘Sons And Daughters’ is a perfect set-closer.
7. Adem, Vashti Bunyan, Vetiver, Juana Molina - Bristol St George's, 18 January
I came out of my first gig of the year knowing it would be one of the best. Adem, Vashti Bunyan, Vetiver and Juana Molina didn’t play separate sets, they rotated songs, hanging around the stage helping each other out. There was something really warming about seeing 10 people on stage, adding xylophones, bells and backing vocals to already beautiful folk songs.
8. Future Of The Left - Bristol Academy2, 11 December
Future Of The Left are a band featuring ex-members of mclusky and Jarcrew, taking the strengths of both bands – mclusky’s impenetrable lyrics and glorious obnoxiousness, Jarcrew’s complex, original arrangements, and building on them further. For a new band, they have an awesome arsenal of tunes, a great stage presence which includes hilarious stage banter and true passion in the shouting. They even managed to put on a brilliant show in the world’s most poorly-designed, soulless venue, the Bristol Academy2.
9. Los Campesinos! - Bristol Thekla, 10 October
Los Campesinos! have always been a really fun live band, but over the year they evolved into an incredibly tight, musically confident one too. They had enough punch in their songs to avoid being overly twee, despite the twin-xylophone arrangement of some of the songs. Plus Gareth is a great frontman, bounding around the stage and successfully teaching us his hand-choreography. Plus it was on my birthday. (photos)
10. Wilco - Latitude Festival, 13 July
The surprise victory of Latitude Festival. I didn’t expect the material from Wilco’s extremely laid-back new album Sky Blue Sky to translate into captivating main-stage-filling songs, but thanks to Nels Cline’s guitar solos, they sounded like anthems. Having heard mixed reports of their live show in the UK, it was awesome to see the band so confident and the songs so huge-sounding. (photos / Latitude review)
