Top 10 concerts of 2012

[jgafs]

No order...

Beach House - El Rey
Grizzly Bear - Greek
Youth Lagoon - Echo
The Faint - Fonda
The XX - Hollywood Forever
Beck - El Rey
Purity Ring - FYF
Modeselektor - W1 Coachella
Devo - Hollywood Park
Sleigh Bells - Mayan

Maybe Death Grips jumps in after Thursday...

[SoulDischarge]

This thread makes me weep. Although, to be honest, everything makes me weep these days. God, the syntax of that sentence is fucking heartbreaking. Pardon me . . .

[cutterbutter]

Sufjan won't make anyone's lust unless you truly love Christmas carols.

I sure as hell didn't expect what we got, maybe you didn't either? It was definitely the most unique show I saw this year.

[TallGuyCM]

Cutter, I vote each of the 3 MMJ shows count as a separate show.

[cutterbutter]

Meh, now I have to try Might actually look pretty similar to yours.

[SepaGroove]

#1. Modeselektor - Coachella 2012 (w2)

#2. John Digweed - EDC Las Vegas 2012

#3. Hot Chip, Passion Pit - The Hollywood Bowl

#4. Eric Prydz - The Palladium

#5. Flying Lotus, Animal Collective, Huun Huur Tu - The Hollywood Bowl

#6. The Glitch Mob - LiB 2012

#7. Radiohead - Coachella 2012 (w2)

#8. The Rapture - Coachella 2012 (w2)

#9. Lee Burridge - LiB 2012

#10. Bassnectar - The Palladium

Hon. Mention: Tame Impala - The Fonda

[bmack86]

Wasn't Huun Huur Tu at the Animal Collective show, not Hot Chip? I think they had Omar Souleyman.

[cutterbutter]

And are you guys referring to the Ty Segall show at the Smell? I found out today that, should that actually occur, I will definitely be able to make it. STOKED.

I was talking about the El Rey show since I'll be out of town for the holidays when the Smell show is, but either way a lot of people on here are checking a gig out of his before the years end. Wooh!

[TallGuyCM]

And are you guys referring to the Ty Segall show at the Smell? I found out today that, should that actually occur, I will definitely be able to make it. STOKED.

I've been checking The Smell's site often, and a listing for that day finally went up but it has White Fence as the headliner and no sign of Ty Segall.

[SepaGroove]

Wasn't Huun Huur Tu at the Animal Collective show, not Hot Chip? I think they had Omar Souleyman.

Yes, you're right. I was distracted at work when I did this. Thanks for pointing it out.

And for the record I thought Huun Huur Tu was incredible.

[seyrnon]

1: Pulp @ Radio City Music Hall
2: Refused @ Coachella (Weekend 2)
3: Philip Glass W/ Tyondai Braxton @ ATP NY
4: Pulp @ Coachella (Weekend 2)
5: Titus Andronicus @ Webster Hall
6: Morrissey @ Terminal 5
7: Afghan Whigs @ ATP NY
8: Jeff Mangum @ Coachella (Weekend 2)
9: Radiohead @ Prudential Center
10: New Order @ Roseland Ballroom

Honorable Mentions: David Byrne w/ St. Vincent @ Williamsburg Waterfront. The Walkmen @ Terminal 5. Spiritualized @ Terminal 5. Radiohead Coachella (weekend 2). Dirty Three @ ATP NY

can't think of any others right now but I'm sure there are some

[frankl]

I'm counting festivals as "concerts" so I can mention everything I liked this year:

Niki & The Dove, Lights, Seapony, Ty Segall, Skrillex - Bumbershoot, Seattle
Feist, M83, Keep Shelly in Athens, Fanfarlo, Radiohead - Coachella weekend 2
Colin Vallon Trio, Mathias Eick, Kid Koala - Vancouver Jazz Festival
Kimbra, FaltyDL, Emptyset, Byetone - Decibel Festival
John Maus, Grimes, Major Lazer - Capitol Hill Block Party

Delilah, Bat for Lashes, Hot Chip, Lianne La Havas, Robert Glasper, Haim, Beth Orton, etc. - iTunes festival, London
(ok actually watched these on my iPod, but so many good shows there)

Animal Collective, Micachu & The Shapes - Paramount Theatre (Seattle)
Sharon Van Etten, The War on Drugs - Neptune Theatre
Lotus Plaza - the Echo, White Rabbits - the Crocodile

wish I'd seen: Ultraista - Echoplex, Nik Bartsch's Ronin - Earshot Jazz

[TomAz]

I don't get out much, so I consider sets at fests separate concerts.

1a, Titus Andronicus, FFF
1b, Titus Andronicus, Webster Hall

2. Buzzcocks, Coachella

3. Radiohead, Jobing.com

4. Bob Mould, FFF

5. Black Lips, Coachella

6. Beirut, Coachella

7. Public Image, FFF

8. First Aid Kit, Coachella

9. A bunch of othernoteable Coachella stuff: Gary Clark Jr, Madness, Seun Kuti, Refused, Godspeed, Jimmy Cliff

10. A bunch of other noteable FFF stuff: Fucked Up, Why?, Yellow Ostrich, Giant Sand, X

[Ray del Mundo]

I was at this same show and I agree with you. Excellent set.

Wasn't that venue weird/interesting? It was like and old church.

That place is tiny!! Like less than half the size of the Independent in SF. And it is really weird too. I cannot believe Atlas Sound played there. That must have been fantastic.

[xanman86]

Considering making mine a top 50...

[tigermilkboy]

Having got Pulp on Saturday out of the way, I think I can safely say Pulp, Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield and Blur, Winter Gardens, Margate are in a tie.

[Fourthisto]

Here's my two cents...


1) the Walkmen - 9/29 @ Midpoint Music Festival, Cincinnati OH = Front row and center, they played most of Heaven (my favorite album of the year) and some old favorites. I still get goosebumps thinking about it.

2) Pulp - 4/20 @ Coachella Weekend 2, Indio CA = A superior setlist than weekend one pushes this to the front of the pack, even though WE1 had more anticipation. My mind's still blown after seeing them twice after being a fan for 17 years and never catching them live. Coachella spoils me again.

3) Brian Jonestown Massacre - 4/29 @ Austin Psych Fest, Austin TX = Two and a quarter (maybe even a half, I lost track of time in a deep blue haze) hours of BJM classics, with Anton rants in-between each song. Utterly fantastic entertainment. This is how it's done.

4) Radiohead - 2/27 @ American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL = The first show of the US tour provided so many surprises and a stage setup that ignited our brains. Saw them five more times this year and this one is still #1.

5) the Dandy Warhols - 6/9 @ the Grog Shop, Cleveland OH = Great crowd singalongs and classic Dandys tunes - Godless, Horse Pills, Ride, Get Off, TV Theme Song... so damn good, so damn fun.

6) the Raveonettes - 6/23 @ Subterranean, Chicago IL = Capped off a loud night with Dinosaur Jr playing a $5 festival show outdoors right before running inside so the Raveonettes could bring down the house, with all of us inside. Couldn't have been happier with their set.

7) Lower Dens - 9/28 @ the Emery Theater, Cincinnati OH = A perfect venue for this band, each note reverberating into the bones like an audio massage.

8) Tamaryn - 11/10 @ the Knitting Factory, Brooklyn NY = The new tunes wrapped me up in a happy gaze, went sans earplugs and still have no regrets about that........ WHAT?

9) Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra - 2/16 @ MOTR, Cincinnati OH = Otherworldly and calming, even better than all three GYBE shows I saw this year.

10) Vampire Weekend - 7/15 @ Pitchfork, Chicago IL = I'm not even that big of a fan, and they really wowed and won me over with their California English.

[Spooks]

Friday, I saw one of the best shows of the year at the worst venue in NYC: The Faint. Holy fuck that was awesome.

Oh and Yeah yeah yeahs played a brand new song on Saturday. More on those shows later

[Gribbz]

That Black Lips set was so awesome, Tom. They more or less killed an entire bottle of Jameson during their soundcheck.

[stuporfly]

Having got Pulp on Saturday out of the way, I think I can safely say Pulp, Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield and Blur, Winter Gardens, Margate are in a tie.

Pulp @ Radio City Music Hall will be near the top of my list, but that Blur show in Margate is an almost certain lock for the #1 spot. What a brilliant night.

[xanman86]

Friday, I saw one of the best shows of the year at the worst venue in NYC: The Faint. Holy fuck that was awesome.

Oh and Yeah yeah yeahs played a brand new song on Saturday. More on those shows later

nice! u ask either about Coachella?

[andyforpeace]

This year has been pretty mind blowing to say the lease...

1-3. Radiohead (Houston/San Jose/Coachella) hard to say which was my favorite. Houston was amazing based on it being the first of the three shows and being super close. In San Jose I had horrible seats but the performance/setlist was perfect and was with some great company. At coachella I had a great group of people and a great view of the performance. All will forever be memorable in their own ways.

4. Animal Collective @ the Hollywood bowl. Literally, this performance felt like they took me onto their spacecraft and took me on one hell of a ride. Last time at coachella, I was dragged away by my friends to see empire of the sun and was left with much left to desire. Also flylo was a great warm up!

5. Neil Young and Crazy Horse @ Outside Lands. Living in the bay area, you get kinda spoiled with the amount of Neil we get, but this was by far the best performance that I've seen from him. Loved every moment of it. One of my favorite headliners to play osl.

6. Sigur Ros @ Outside Lands. After a day of mayhem around golden gate park, this was perfect. I was really happy the crowd at the twin peaks stage died down a bit and was able to get a really nice spot and to be comfortable. The performance blew me away. It felt as if they were controlling the swirling fog around the stage. Really capped off my day.

7. James Blake @ $ymbiosis. As he described it himself, the setting for this performance was cosmic. Playing as the sunset after tipper's eclipse set was going to be hard to top but he and his band went above and beyond. I was completely stunned. I literally came to tears during lindesfarne. His covers of anti-war dub and shine on you crazy diamond put it over the top. At that point I was completely satisfied. A truly soulful experience.

8. Tipper @ $ymbiosis (Saturday night/eclipse set). Both of his sets that weekend were completely different and fitting for the settings. Saturday night he brought the house down. Tons of energy and I danced my ass off. His eclipse set was a lot more spiritual. He was the only performer during the eclipse and had a firm grasp on the crowd and vibe. I wish I could have stayed for the last 30 min but went to see James Blake.

9. Squarepusher @ The Creators Project SF. Definitely the highlight of the event. He completely melted my face with his new material and visuals. Probably one of the best dance workouts of the year.

10. Kid koala @ The Independent. Probably the most random fun at a concert I've ever had. Dancing girls, puppets and robots. What else could you ask for? Kid koala rocked his koala costume and lead a conga line while playing with a beat machine. A really really fun night.

Honorable mentions go to Jack White @ Outside Lands, Ultraísta @ The Independent, EL-P & Killer Mike @ The Regency Ballroom, Flying Lotus @ Coachella, SBTRKT @ 1015 Folsom, Tycho @ The Independent and Matthew Dear @ Treasure Island Music Festival.

[stuporfly]

Blur @ Margate Winter Gardens, August 1
First official show of their brief run up to the massive Hyde Park celebration less than two weeks later. The seaside music hall, which once played host to the Beatles, was so hot, the walls were sweating. Blur is one of my favorite groups, and they certainly didn't disappoint on the night, from the opening of "Girls and Boys" (which made the room go absolutely crazy) to the sweeping glorious finale of "The Universal," this wasn't just my top gig of the year, but one of my all-time favorites.

Pulp @ Radio City Music Hall, April 11
The venerable NYC landmark is perfectly suited for Jarvis Cocker, who worked the room like he owned the joint. Also: LASERS!

Charles Bradley @ Mountain Jam, June 2
I find it impossible to walk away from a Charles Bradley show and not be in a terrific mood. On an unseasonably chilly, often rain-soaked weekend, Bradley and the Extraordinaires brought enough sunshine to keep me warm through the rest of the festival.

The Pooh Sticks @ NYC Popfest, May 19
They hadn't played the U.S. in a million years before their one-off appearance at Public Assembly in Brooklyn for NYC Popfest, but it was well worth the wait. Huw Williams was predictably wry, and the band full of pure energy. Of the other groups on the bill that night, Pushy Parents were the best (and sexiest).

Bobby Womack @ Apple Store Soho, September 18
Though recorded for the Events at the Apple Store vidcast series, this still has yet to surface. Which means it was an even more intimate performance than I realized at the time. Admittedly, some of the excitement for me was chatting with Damon Albarn and meeting Mr. Womack, but the performance was dynamic, the Q&A illuminating and the evening as perfect as one can get in NYC for free. Mr. Womack still slays.

The Roots @ Mountain Jam, June 1
The Roots are always great live, but this was an energetic show even by their own lofty standards. They opened with a a go-go-style take on "Paul Revere" in tribute to Adam Yauch and Chuck Brown, and it just kept rolling from there.

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings @ Bonnaroo, June 8
They somehow managed be even hotter than the mid-afternoon sun in which they performed. One of the only memories I have of Bonnaroo that doesn't make me want to take a Silkwood shower to wash the stink off.

The Make-Up @ ATP, September 23
ATP was kind of a drag for me, the hastily assembled location on the East River a pale substitute for Asbury Park. I only went on the Sunday and saw some pretty solid performances by Lee Ranaldo, Autolux and GY!BE. But the highlight for me was the Make-Up, a group I hadn't heard of until seeing Weird War several years ago and working my way back. As has often been said, the Make-Up's music is best heard live, and this lived up to that maxim in a very exciting way.

Kraftwerk @ MoMA, April 10
I was lucky enough to cover the first night of Kraftwerk's retrospective series in NYC, meaning Autobahn was the showcase album. Additionally, the group performed other classics from across the span of their history (at least as far back as Autobahn, anyway), and accompanied by sometimes-thrilling 3D imagery it was a pretty special night.

Big Boi @ SOB's, December 10
Though the attendance at this industry/radio contest show was a small fraction of the crowd he usually plays, Big Boi was in great spirits during his performance. The night before the release of his new album, playing with a live band and with a little help from his friends (Phantogram and A$AP Rocky), Big Boi seemed like he was right where he wanted to be.

Mountain Goats @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, October 15
Wonderful performance, but for me it was so meaningful because of what it meant to John and Tiffany and the celebration of their wedding. I was honored to be a small part of that.

11! Fuck YEAH!

[getbetter]

I'm so jealous of you seeing The Make Up.

[mahhhc]

01 Dinosaur Jr (w/ Johnny Marr, Frank Black, Kim Gordon, Lee Ranaldo, Kevin Drew, more) - 12/1 - Terminal 5
02 Grizzly Bear - 9/24 - Terminal 5
03 Jeff Mangum - 1/21 - B.A.M.
04 Refused - 4/20 - Coachella (Weekend 2)
05 METZ - 10/18 - Knitting Factory
06 Pulp - 4/20 - Coachella (Weekend 2)
07 Explosions in the Sky - 4/20 - Coachella (Weekend 2)
08 The Weeknd - 10/26 - Terminal 5
09 Swervedriver - 3/31 - Bowery Ballroom
10 Fiona Apple - 10/16 - Terminal 5

[ameeps]

1. Radiohead - 4/12 Santa Barbara Bowl - Santa Barbara
2. Sigur Rós - 8/11 Outside Lands - San Francisco
3. The Tallest Man On Earth - 6/12 The Wiltern - LA
4. John Darnielle (The Mountain Goats) - 7/1 McCabe's Guitar Shop - LA
5. Beck - 5/22 El Rey Theatre - LA
6. Frank Ocean - 7/17 The Wiltern - LA
7. Wilco - 1/25 The Wiltern - LA
8. James Blake - 9/1 FYF Fest - LA
9. Flying Lotus - 10/26 Club Nokia - LA
10. Bloc Party - 12/7 Hollywood Palladium - LA

[IceyHotshot]

Ameeps, your #4 was my #6. It was such a great show!

[thom cobain]

1. Radiohead 4/21 Coachella (w2)
2. Wilco 9/30 Hollywood Bowl
3. Animal Collective / Flying Lotus 9/23 Hollywood Bowl
4. Roger Waters 5/19 Los Angeles Coliseum
5. Pulp 4/13 Coachella (w1)
6. Rapture 4/20 Coachella (w2)
7. Flying Lotus 4/14 Coachella (w1)
8. Jack White 5/30 Wiltern
9. Black Angels 4/20 Coachella (w2)
10. Buzzcocks 4/21 Coachella (w2)

Honorable mention, Chemical Brothers Don't Think 1/26 Arclight Hollywood.

[bmack86]

Seriously, did everyone see the same Radiohead this year that I did?

I don't fucking get it.

[Gribbz]

Radiohead's show in Arizona destroyed their Coachella set in my opinion.