Boards

erased tapes - hackney empire, london

Converge- KOKO
Rolo Tomassi- XOYO
65daysofstatic- Garage
Joyce Manor- OBL
Pulled Apart By Horses- Electric Ballroom
We Came Out Like Tigers- OBL
Blood Red Shoes- Heaven
Brontide- Hotel Street
Wild Flag- Electric Ballroom

Liars - Green Door Store, Brighton and The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth
Earth - The Haunt, Brighton
Low - Royal Festival Hall
Tuneyards - Sunday night Green Man
Beach House - The Haunt, Brighton

Ask again 28 days later ...

27/08/2012 - Damo Suzuki & The Dream Machine All Stars @ Brixton Windmill
17/06/2012 - Puscifer/Carina Round @ The Souverign Arts Centre, Reading, Pennsylvania
16/06/2012 - The Duke Spirit @ The Highline Ballroom, New York
29/09/2012 - Liverpool Psych Fest (Dead Skeletons/Hookworms/Mugstar/Plank!/Koolaid Electric Co/Piatcions/Helicon
31/01/2012 - The Early Years @ Kraak, Manchester
26/02/2012 - The Longcut @ Mama Liz's Voodoo Louge, Stamford
23/11/2012 - The Lost Rivers/93MillionMilesFromTheSun/Toba Caldera @ Hope & Anchor, Islington
06/05/2012 - Daniel Land & The Modern Panters @ The Angel Centre, Salford
09/05/2012 - A Place To Bury Strangers/The Lucid Dream @ Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
28/09/2012 - Arrows Down @ Hope & Anchor, Islington

Boredoms at atp was the best thing this year. And indeed the best thing i've ever seen since I started seeing bands.

Islet, Scritti Politti and Megafaun also brilliant there.
The Chameleons @ HMV Institute, Birmingham in April. Finally got to see them 27 years after first hearing them and was worried it would be a letdown. It was incredible. :)
Efterklang @ Warwick Arts Centre in October. Quite beautiful.
New Order @ Birmingham Ballroom in April. Who needs Hooky?
Yeasayer @ Buffalo Town Ballroom. August. Took my 10 year old son to his first gig, it's got to be a favourite.
Teeth of the Sea Birmingham and Green Man. Live revelation of the year, the drummer is a maniac.
Tall Ships @ Birmingham Rainbow in October. What an ace live band these boys have become. They've always been good, but now...
Worst: Dexys at Green Man. Guff. Sensational at Supersonic, apparently he was unbelievably bad because he necked a load of MDMA an hour before going on stage.

Kevin Drumm at Cafe Oto

Jeff Mangum- London Union Chapel
Soap & Skin- London Royal Festival Hall
Dan Deacon- London Scala
Efterklang- London Barbican
Leonard Cohen- Wembley Arena
Boredoms- ATP: Jeff Mangum
Elbow- Latitude Festival
Los Campesinos!- Latitude Festival
Of Montreal- Brighton Concorde 2
65daysofstatic- London Garage
St Vincent- Latitude Festival
Yndi Halda- Hoxton Hall
Sigur Ros- Amsterdam Paradiso
Destroyer- London Village Underground
Zun Zun Egui- Latitude Festival

fabulous stuff.

Manchester Ritz - by a country mile

backing band coming down the aisle at the end was my music moment of the year. The Walkmen and Beach House gigs both at The Village Underground were stunning. I've a few gigs left this year. I'm typing this reply at Shepherds Bush waiting for Sharon Van Etten to come on and tomorrow I have Evan Dando\Juliana Hatfield at The Royal Festival Hall. I've a few more too but Mangum, Walkmen and Beach House are my top three. Sorry for the longer reply than most.

Or so the unabating tinnitus attests.

Also: Dirty Projectors at the Berghein in Berlin. Just - wow...

cable - the venue derby
tim hecker - st giles in the fields (sitting in a church in the dark is the best setting for that kind of thing)
jeff magnum - union chapel x2
natural snow buildings- the victoria
o paon supporting earth/mount eerie- union chapel
sufjan planets thing at the barbican, wasnt expecting much from this but pleasently surprised
julia holter - cafe oto

highlights:

Watch the Throne - The o2
Refused - Forum
Radiohead - The o2
Grizzly Bear - Brixton Academy
The Walkmen - Village Underground
El-P - The Scala
At the Drive In - Brixton Academy

M83 at Latitude were incredible, i'm gonna be an indie prick and say they've not been as good since Before The Dawn Heals Us but they certainly know how to put on a show and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Menomena, Dirty Three & Shearwater, all fantastic performances. Other highlights:

GY!BE - Forum
Sunn O))) - Coalition
Julia Holter - HBC (Berlin)
The Physics House Band - Lewes Psychedelic Festival

They played a cover of The Riverboat Song by Ocean Colour Scene and one of my mates I was out with got wanked off during that very song at V Festival a good few years back.

Brand New - Roundhouse
Pianos Become the Teeth - Borderline
Guillemots - 2000 Trees
Into It. Over It - Cricketers, Kingston (2 hour 20 minute set)
Converge - Koko
Japandroids - The Green Door Store

Johann Johannsson / Dustin O'Halloran / Hauschka (Barbican)
Dirty Three / SBTRKT / John Talabot / Chromatics / Jamie XX / Scuba at Primavera
Radiohead (Nimes)
El-P (Scala) <<< BEST GIG
Japandroids (Heaven)
GY!BE (Forum
Menomena (Cargo)

I assume Los Camp's Christmas gig will be my favourite of the year though.

At Queen Elizabeth Hall or Africa Express (+after party at the Scala).

Erased Tapes at Hackney Empire was good too.

was lucky enough to see Jeff Mangum three times (once at union chapel, twice at primavera) and thatll probably be what i remember the year for. unbelievable.
thought jack white at hammersmith was great, as was el-p at stereo, cloud nothings at xoyo, shabazz palaces (also xoyo), japandroids/paws at heaven, the kwesachu launch at queen elizabeth hall, radiohead at the o2 and grandaddy at SBE.

Unsane / Big Business
Mugstar
Eyehategod / Rameses
Howling Owl night in the Crypt of St Pauls Church
Kogumaza
Iceage

and the 30 minutes or so I managed to see and very much hear of Death Grips, stood outside the door of the Fleece.

all in Bristol

New Order @ Birmingham Ballroom
The Horrors/Toy/Bo Ningen @ Birmingham Institute
Black Sabbath @ Birmingham Academy
Jay Z & Kanye West @ LG Arena
Off!/Trash Talk @ Rock City Basement
Savages/Palma Violets @ Bodega Social Nottingham
Blur @ Wolverhampton Civic
Refused @ Forum London
Peace/Jaws/Carousels/Junnk @ The Rainbow Birmingham
Savages/Victories At Sea @ The Rainbow Birmingham
Jack White @ Birmingham Academy
Buzzcocks @ Rock City Nottingham
DIIV @ Birmingham Academy

Takes this years award. Sunno))) at the Ritz was incredible too.

Refused, El-P, Swans, Converge, Touche Amore (Berlin), and Shabazz Palaces

St Vincent - Shepherds Bush Empire - London
At the Drive-In - Brixton Academy - London
Jeff Mangum - Union Chapel - London
Withered Hand/Darren Hayman - Bull and Gate - London
Erased Tapes - Hackney Empire - London
Hundred Reasons/Hell is for Heroes - HMV Forum - London
Wilco, Refused, Grandaddy, Alt-J - Pukkelpop Festival - Belgium
Widowspeak - Red Palace - Washington DC
Lost in the Trees - the Black Cat - Washington DC
Radiohead - O2 - London
GZA - O2 academy - Oxford
Venetian Snares - Corsica Studios - London
David Thomas Broughton - Jericho Tavern - Oxford
The Revival Hour - Jericho Tavern - Oxford
Errors - Jericho Tavern
Twilight Sad - Jericho Tavern

Palma Violets @ The Joiners Soton
Peace @ The Joiners, Soton
The Cure @ Reading fest

Highlights were CHROMATICS at Madame JoJo's back in June, and BO NINGEN at the Portland Arms in October. See also:

Blur/The Specials/New Order (Hyde Park)
Danny Brown (XOYO)
Death Grips (Electric Ballroom)
Pulled Apart By Horses/The Computers (Electric Ballroom)
Maximo Park (Heaven)
Spiritualized (Cambridge Junction)
Hot Chip (Brixton Academy)
Odd Future (Brixton Academy)
The Staves (Cambridge, Portland Arms)

Think these are my highlights though:

Justice (Academy Glasgow
Kings of Convenience/M83/Thee oh Sees (Optimus Primavera)
Sigur Ros (Paradiso, Amsterdam)
PAWS Album Launch (CCA, Glasgow)
Hot Chip (ABC, Glasgow)

Sleigh Bells at Manchester Academy 2
Joanna Newsom at ATP Curated by Jeff Mangum
Boredoms at ATP Curated by Jeff Mangum
Sleep at ATP I'll Be Your Mirror
Thee Oh Sees at Primavera Sound
Refused at Primavera Sound
Factory Floor at Beacons Festival
Hookworms at Beacons Festival
Cloud Nothings at Beacons Festival
Dan Deacon at Islington Mill, Salford
Pelt, Part Wild Horses Mane on Both Sides & Gate (Gamelan Set) at Tusk Festival
Tyondai Braxton & London Sinfonietta at South Bank Centre, London
Warm Digits at Supersonic Festival
The Haxan Cloak at Sound Control, Manchester
Liars at Sound Control, Manchester
Japandroids at Sound Control, Manchester
Josephine Foster at Islington Mill, Salford
Death Grips at Sound Control, Manchester
Animal Collective at WHP, Manchester
Flying Lotus at WHP, Manchester
Future of the Left at ATP Curated by Shellac
The Ex + Brass Unbound at ATP Curated by Shellac

and Stars of the Lid in London probably, but that hasn't happened yet.

Arnocorps - Camden (one of the best gigs of my life, an hour of joyous noise and moshing)
GY!BE - The Forum
Patti Smith - Troxy and EoTR (would be gig of year in any other year. Patti Smith is Jesus)
Boredoms - ATP
Jeffrey Lewis (twice at EoTR)
Wilco - Primavera
Big Star tribute - Primavera
The Cure - Primavera
The Magnetic Fields - Royal Festival Hall
Grandaddy - EoTR
Shearwater/Julie Doiron - Scala
Apples in Stereo - ATP

Future of the left @ XOYO
Beak> @ Lexington
El-P @ Scala
Swans @ Koko
Rapture / Factory Floor @ SBEmpire

Best was probably Hot Chip at Heaven though. They nailed it, great atmosphere and they slightly altered a bunch of good songs to make them great. Loving this version of Boy from school especially they've played for a couple of years now. So yup, them...

Sunn O))) - Coalition in Brighton - first gig I've been to by myself because none of my friends like Sunn O))) at all, let alone enough to shell out for tickets. They were fucking incredible anyway, and insanely physical. The bass made it kind of hard to breathe at points.

Earth/Mount Eerie/O Paon - The Haunt, Brighton - All three were great, especially O Paon who was totally enchanting, and Dylan Carlson was way more jovial than I was expecting which was a nice suprise 'cause I figured from Earth's music that he might be a little dour. Only drawback was that The Haunt is a bit of a weird shape so after securing balcony spaces me and my friend couldn't move during the whole concert for fear of losing our spaces and not being able to see anything.

Kurt Vile - The Haunt again - He was absolutely brilliant for about 2/3 of the gig and then really tailed off for the last part because he was obviously wasted and barely coherent. Funny guy though.

Gutted that I missed Dan Deacon, Why?, Purity Ring and This Town Needs Guns just by being lazy and not paying any attention to the date and stuff. Got tickets for Swans next April already though and cannot fucking wait.

Wish I'd travelled down for that.

The Downs / phat trophies / Scratchcard Lung - GSA
Boredoms - ATP
Errors - Liverpool Kazimier
FoTL - King Tut's
Sleigh Bells - Oran Mor
Frank Fairfield - ABC2
Raveonettes - Oran Mor
Chain & the Gang - CCA
Matthew Bourne / Richard Youngs - Eastern Promise, Platform

probably even more than that probably joanna newsom twice at the same festival. soundtracked me and my girlfriend getting together

I sorta perversely enjoyed witnessing the car crash that was Bloc too?

Andrew W.K at Hevy

1. Swans - Manchester, Sound Control
2. The Boredoms - Minehead, ATP
3. The Afghan Whigs - London, I'll Be Your Mirror
4. Big Star and Guests - Barcelona, Primavera
5. Low - London, Royal Festival Hall
6. Radiohead - London, O2
7. STNNNG - Camber Sands, ATP
8. Action Bronson - London, Barfly
9. Blue Balloon - London, Fox and Firkin
10. Future Of The Left - Camber Sands, ATP

David Thomas Broughton - The Lexington.
Drop Out Venus (supporting AU) - Shacklewell Arms.
Gravenhurst - The Lexington.
Thee Oh Sees - Optimus Primavera.
Shellac - Optimus Primevara.
Jaga Jazzist - Barbican.
Remember Remember - Dublin Castle.
Hey Colossus - Supernormal.
Kogumaza - Supernormal.
Hookworms - Beacons.
Blacklisters - Beacons.
Grizzly Bear - EOTR.
Divorce - Birthdays.
Triplejump Records all-dayer - Fighting Cocks.
The Ex + Brass Unbound - ATP.

Not a bad year.

At the drive in - Brixton Academy
Feist - Le Zenith, Paris
Swans - The arches, Glasgow
Grizzly Bear, Barrowlands, Glasgow
Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat. Cottiers, Glasgow

Cold Specks at Hoxton Hall

Pictish Trail / Kenny Anderson post-folk wig-out in the cinema tent at Greenman Festival.

Jeff Mangum @ Union Chapel
Shellac @ ATP
Bardo Pond @ Nambucca
Daphni All-nighter album launch @ Bussey Building
Tim Hecker @ St Giles in the Fields
Dirty Three @ Cargo
Refused @ Forum
Radiohead @ O2
Melt Yourself Down @ Queen of Hoxton
Steve Reich / Bang on a Can @ Bloc

And a few disappointments:
Sharon Van Etten @ Scala
Portico Quartet @ York Hall
Omar Rodriguez Lopez @ Garage

Dry the River at the Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth. Bloody good that was.

I also really enjoyed watching Anais Mitchell in a church in Guildford.

Chromatics/Neon Indian at Village Underground, Refused and then Hell is For Heroes at the Forum, Purity Ring at Madame JoJo's and the Erased Tapes show at Hackney Empire.

Jeff Mangum when I done sat on stage next to him at Primavera

Those 2 stand above anything else as properly special/once in a lifetime.

Loads of other good eggs though: Refused, El-P, M83, AraabMuzick, Dirty Three, Shackleton, Hookworms, Factory Floor, Japandroids, Olivia Tremor Control...

Shellac = monumental
Stnnng = absolutely great
Future Of The Left = superb

Others

Metz - Old Blue Last (what a blast I think my ears are still ringing)

Public Service Broadcasting - Bull & Gate (just a lovely show / performance / atmossphere)

TOY - Reading Festival

I've seen them three times this year - all excellent (despite awful sound at Heaven) - but the stand out show was Upstairs at The Garage in May. 11/10

I've also enjoyed
Godspeed at The Forum
Trembling Bells & Bonnie Prince Billy at Union Chapel
The Jim Jones Revue at the Concorde 2
Laura J Martin in various venues
and
The Low Anthem at Bush Hall

Refused @ The Forum / Manc Academy probably the overall highlight.

Radiohead were also amazing, as were Pearl Jam, Neurosis, Swans and Godspeed. Future of the Left and Three Trapped Tigers were also great the numerous times I saw them. Stars of the Lid on Monday should be mind blowing as well.

last night was absolutely astounding.

There was nothing left of me after that: Animals as Leaders had me transfixed and stunned and then Meshuggah laid waste...

Walkmen - Sunday green man
Animal Collective - Roundhouse

need to stop being the poorest boy on the board

"Faith No More"

C'mon guys

Then...

2) Yeasayer - Sound Control, Manchester
3) War on Drugs - Camden Electric Ballroom
4) Real Estate - Primavera Sound
5) Wild Beasts - Primavera Sound

Mike Nesmith @ Union Chapel
Zun Zun Egui @ Power lunches
Calexico @ KT Forum
Hot Chip @ Heaven
Elvis Costello @ Albert Hall
PIL @ Heaven
Randy Newman @RFH

Both Optimus Alive & on their tour in October.
Watch The Throne @ 02
Stone Roses @ Optimus Alive (LAD)
Horrors @ Wolverhampton Civic Hall - part of that Chazzstock festival, but only went for them then left.

I'm sure there has been more but I always forget gigs.

Toots and the Maytals - Beacons
Daniel Land & The Modern Painters - Manchester Roadhouse
New Order - Bestival
Stevie Wonder - Bestival
Future of the Left - Basically everywhere I saw them!
The Stone Roses - Benicassim (yes, really!)
The Magnetic Fields - Royal Northern College of Music
WU LYF - Manchester Ritz
FOE - The Great Escape
The Twilight Sad - Nottingham Social
Richard Hawley - Manchester Academy
Wilco - Primavera Sound

Probably more but my brain isn't quite kicking into position right now!

Horrors - Brixton Academy
Dogbones - Dublin Castle

Refused / Forum
Brand New / Roundhouse
At The Drive-In / Brixton

The Walkmen - The Forum
Factory Floor - Village Underground
At the Drive In - Brixton
Savages - Electrowerkz
Chvrches - Electrowerkz
The xx - Primavera
John Talabot - Primavera
Chromatics - Heaven/Primavera
WATCH THE THRONE - 02 (probably the winner)
Liars - XOYO
Purity ring - Scala

so;
Perfume Genius @ Latitude
Josh T Pearson @ Latitude
Swans @ Off Festival

Codiene at ATP Ally Pally
Lower Dens at the Lexington

best thing I've seen all year. Presidents was ace as well.

Special mention for Kerbdog also.

Dear Reader and Laura Gibson @ The Social
Oh Land @ Heaven
Team Me @ The Lexington and Brixton Windmill
Sufjan Stevens, Nicol Muhly and Bryce Dessnder @ Barbican
Soap & Skin @ Scala and especially at Royal Festival Hall
Sleep Party People @ Madame Jojo's and The Lexington
Bowerbirds and Slaraffenland @ Cargo
The Real Tuesday Weld @ Bedroom Bar and Union Chapel
Get Well Soon and David Lemaitre @ Hoxton Bar & Kitchen
Jens Lekman @ Hackney Empire
Philco Fiction @ Rough Trade East and The Old Blue Last
Dillon @ Hoxton Bar & Kitchen
Efterklang @ Barbican
Shearwater @ The Garage

Lots of great stuff. Maybe Efterklang and Soap & Skin being my favourite. and Slaraffenland were stunning also - can't wait for their next album.

Efterklang + John Grant @ Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, 27/10/12
Japandroids + PAWS @ Hare and Hounds, Birmingham, 30/10/12
Joe McPhee & Chris Corsano @ Taylor John's House, 24/07/12
Little Annie & Baby Dee + Jordan Hunt @ Islington Assembly Hall, 10/11/12
Mice Parade + Mr Silla @ Taylor John's House, Coventry, 12/10/12
Natural Snow Buildings + Ekca Liena @ Taylor John's House, Coventry, 07/03/12
Patrick Wolf + Abi Wade @ Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, 24/11/12
Placebo + ??????? ?????? @ Sportspalace, Kiev, 20/09/12
Xiu Xiu + Trumpets of Death @ The Fleece, Bristol, 12/03/12

Trippple Nippples @ The Loft/Great Escape
Future Of The Left @ The Haunt/Brighton
of Montreal @ Concorde 2/Brighton
Fucked Up @ The Haunt/Brighton
Future Islands @ The Haunt/Brighton
Xiu Xiu @ Sticky Mikes/Brighton
Princess Chelsea @ The Haunt/Great Escape
Sunn @ Coalition/Brighton
When The Saints Go Machine @ Digital/Great Escape
Melt Banana @ ATP/Camber Sands
Perfume Genius @ Green Door Store/Brighton
Liars @ Green Door Store/Brighton
Soccer 96 @ Green Door Store/Brighton

Bit odd. But I have The Ex twice this weekend; once with Brass Unbound and once with some Ethiopian dudes as part of their anniversary 33 & 1/3 tour, so that all could change.

Reading up thread nice to see a lot of love for Earth. Don't think they're as good as they were around Bees Made Honey though, but it's cool to here they Morricone-ise their back catalogue. The support was a mixed bag too; O Paon was nice but Mt Eerie is just dreadful. No idea what people see in him. Like an out of tune, whiny and nasally adolescent Grouper.

Kevin Drumm blew my eardrums if not my mind (no mean feat in Paris with crazy noise restrictions everywhere). Thomas Ankersmit in support was really really good actually, have to check out more of his stuff.

Swans were a bit up and down when I saw them, truth be told, I think they can't sustain the intensity very well across a whole set, was like that when I saw them last time. The highs were very very high indeed though. I Crawled was a wrecking ball played live.

Sir Richard Bishop in support did blow my mind but he does it every time I see him so I don't think that counts.

El-P was pretty shithot when I saw him but didn't play enough of the hits tbh, too much new stuff. Enjoyed it throughout and Deep Space 9mm followed by Vital Nerve as an encore was just ace.

Pyschic Paramount were pretty amazing actually. Melvins also, Sleep less so because I don't think anything is ever going to match how incredible they were when they first came back. I have this problem with bands, as soon as I get absolutely blown away by them they never amaze me again live no matter how good they are.

I think maybe the best of all was Aluk Todolo supporting Sunn O))) actually. French metal(ish) band who wind feedback snarl around krautish repetition. The most intense thing I've seen live this year by a long way.

yup. Cold as hell and with a super queue to get in, but ignore that and I pretty much had an emotion explosion. Second place - Swans @ Koko.

Tim Hecker - St Giles in the Fields
Group Doueh - Cafe Oto
Jeff Mangum - Union Chapel
Thurston Moore and Alex Ward - Cafe Oto
Mikal Cronin - The Shacklewell Arms
The Ex and Brass Unbound - Shellac ATP
Menomena - National ATP

Plenty of great ones to pick from. Got a feeling the best one is coming this weekend when I see the Twilight Sad at the Barrowlands. Support from WWPJ and Holy Mountain. Should be fucking amazing.

Frightened Rabbit - HMV Picturehouse
The Twilight Sad - The Jam Jar
Errors + Remember Remember - The Doghouse
Django Django + NZCA/Lines - The Doghouse
Meursault, Rob St John + Body Parts - Queens Hall
Grandaddy - O2 ABC
Django Django - Liquid Room
The Walkmen - O2 ABC
Animal Collective - O2 ABC

must be getting old. didn't go any in april, august or september. favourites though...

50 little dragon- o2 oxford
49 nathan fake- o2 oxford
48 dele sosimi- africa oye liverpool
47 endless journey- africa oye liverpool
46 thundercat- sonar barcelona
45 amy speace- bullingdon arms oxford
44 daedelus' archimedes- sonar barcelona
43 naytronix- le guess who utrecht
42 the pyramids- le guess who utrecht
41 franz ferdinand- field day
40 jacques greene- sonar barcelona
39 hot chip- sonar barcelona
38 portico quartet- womad
37 mo kolours- le guess who utrecht
36 steven severin- phoenix oxford
35 destroyer- le guess who utrecht
34 sharon van etten- le guess who utrecht
33 listing ships- modern art oxford
32 azari & III- sonar barcelona
31 manacles of acid- modern art oxford
30 microfeel- sonar barcelona
29 koreless- le guess who utrecht
28 damo susuki w/ odc drumline and al english- jericho oxford
27 samba mapangala- africa oye liverpool
26 m83- o2 oxford
25 spiritualized- o2 oxford
24 death in vegas- o2 oxford
23 blanck mass- field day
22 stone roses- razzmatazz barcelona
21 metronomy- field day
20 nicolas jaar- sonar barcelona
19 femi kuti- womad
18 orbital- o2 oxford
17 fuck buttons- le guess who utrecht
16 mala in cuba- le guess who utrecht
15 matana roberts- le guess who utrecht
14 cornelius' salyu x salyu- sonar barcelona
13 holy other- o2 oxford
12 dva- sonar barcelona
11 liars- field day
10 alejandro escovedo- bullingdon arms oxford
9 little wings- le guess who utrecht
8 jaliba kuyateh- africa oye liverpool
7 tigran hamasyan- north wall oxford
6 grouper- le guess who utrecht
5 tortoise- field day
4 afrocubism- field day
3 julianna barwick- le guess who utrecht
2 mostly robot- sonar barcelona
1 the roots- sonar barcelona

At The Drive-In - Brixton Academy
Bo Ningen - Joiners, Southampton
Willy Mason - Joiners, Southampton
Hundred Reasons/HIFH - HMV Forum
Future of the Left - 2000 Trees
Crazy Arm - Joiners, Southampton

What?!

Perfume Genius - Union Chapel, London
Wild Beasts - Colchester Arts Centre
Christopher Owens - St Giles-in-the-Fields Church, London
James Blake - Conway Hall, London
Wild Beasts - The Lexington, London
Blur - Hyde Park
The Cribs / The Cure - Reading Festival

Absolutely outstanding!!

Saw Mono at the Leicester Cathedral a few weeks ago. That was really good. Can't stand post-rock when I'm sat in my room really but nothing puts a shit-eating grin on my face like a big old japanese bloke smashing a gong while his mates wig out on electric guitars. Add to that a few cans of Budweiser, some nice glasswork and excitable japanese schoolgirls stood in front of me doing the V sign with their hands and I am in HEAVEN.

Apart from that I mostly went to indiepop gigs this year. Ones that stand out as the most fun were the Nottingham all-dayer with Shrag and Milky Wimpshake and Martha and Standard Fare all playing blinders, the Bearsuit/Haiku Salut/The Middle Ones line-up at Beccles Town Hall (first gig there so they hired a St. John's Ambulance to stand around in the corner; I couldn't stop smiling until November) a week before that. Every band played at least 'very very good' sets which is all you want really. Of course, the very best indiepop gig I went to this year was THE AISLERS SET and THE PASTELS at the Chickfactor party at Bush Hall. Both bands played completely different sets: AS with basically song after song after song of amazing pop smashes and The Pastels seem to have refined themselves into an incredibly tight almost jazzy instrumental six piece.

Who else? Nurse With Wound at Koko supporting Sunn O))) managed to be both A Load Of Fun and Musically Innovative which happens about once every 40 gigs I go to so that was nice. Michael Chapman at the Norwich Arts Centre though his voice is a bit shit. Moon Duo at the Leicester Musician were a total one trick pony but it's a good trick and it's only an hour. Nice projections. Allo Darlin' at the same place. Jeff Mangum at the Union Chapel is the one everyone keeps going on about and it's probably a fair shout though I think it could've been better than it was.

NB: not mentioned Indietracks even though it's totally the most fun you can have in this shitty capitalist hellhole we all live in but it's not really a gig per se rather a shimmering beacon of love.

Beach House – Village Underground, London, 24/05/12
Roddy Frame, Paisley Abbey, 27/10/12
Dominique A, Espace 1789, St Ouen, 28/11/12
Atlas Sound, Scala, London, 19/07/12
Blue Orchids & Silver Apples, Kazimier, Liverpool, 30/09/12
Perfume Genius, St Pancras Old Church, London, 14/05/12
Drugstore, Lexington, London, 06/04/12
Disappears, Corsica Studios, London, 29/03/12
The Men & Hookworms, Prince Albert, Brighton, 19/02/12
Stars of the Lid, St John’s at Hackney, London, 10/12/12
The Pastels, Bush Hall, London, 17/11/12
Lotus Plaza, Electrowerkz, London, 10/11/12
DIIV, The Waiting Room, London, 21/08/12
Exitmusic, CAMP Basement, London, 23/05/12
Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Forum, London, 04/11/12
William Basinski’s Disintegration Loops, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 12/08/12
James Blackshaw, Green Door Store, Brighton, 25/04/12
Pulp, Royal Albert Hall, London, 31/03/12
Lower Dens, Primavera Sound, Barcelona, 01/06/12

http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4145853-my-top-10-live-performances-of-2012-by-dom-gourlay

Chromatics @ Primavera... had a real moment, completely taken over by the music, never felt such an urge to dance.

So much other stuff I saw at Primavera... Jeff Magnum, Archers of Loaf, Afghan Whighs. List is endless.

The Horrors @ The Kazimier, Liverpool
The War on Drugs @ The Kazimier, Liverpool
Los Campesinos! @ O2 Academy, Liverpool
Grandaddy/Patti Smith/Tindersticks @ EOTR
Tame Impala @ Postbahnhof, Berlin
Japandroids/Jessie Ware/Lairs @ Pitchfork Paris
Shearwater @ Some music bar in Prague

Also saw Springsteen twice, pretty much topping of a great year of gigs. Sadly next year is going to have to be much more low-key, here is hoping for some good local gigs.

...at St. Giles in the Fields last week was highly enjoyable. Looking forward to the record.

Hundred Reasons/HIFH/Cable - The Coronet, was my fav

Rancid last night were fun. Good support from Cock Sparrer.
Allo Darlin' and Joe Gideon and the Shark (and indeed Woodpigeon) were great value at £10, and a very good gig.

Due to being ill for a lot of the year.

Ani Difranco - Union Chapel (Finally got to see her after about 12 years and it was absolutely brilliant)
Earth/Mount Eerie/O Paon - Union Chapel (One Word..Tallahassee!)
Bon Iver/Destroyer - Latitude Festival
Dingus Khan/Strange News From Another Star/Fashoda Crisis - Saks Southend (Probably only around 15-20 people there but was a storming night, each band gave it their all, and a shitfaced Jimmy Watkins is something to behold)

david byrne & st vincent - orpheum, boston
grandaddy - eotr
david thomas broughton (secret set) - no direction home
wild beasts - junction (might have been end of 2011?)
perfume genius - latitude
mystery jets - junction
battles - latitude

First hometown show in a decade, 24 songs, Jarvis on top form. Brilliant.

Mount Eerie - The Ruby Lounge
Los Campesinos! - Manchester Academy
Battles - The Kazimier

Anais Mitchell in a church in Guildford.
Jack White - The o2 Dublin.
Calexico - The Forum, Kentish Town.
The Carolina Chocolate Drops - Shepherds Bush Empire.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Thekla, Bristol.
Francois & The Atlas Mountains - South Street, Reading
Ben Folds Five - Brixton Academy

Special mentions to End of the Road festival, my first time. I want to go every year now.

and... the Jimmy Buffet concert I went to in Cincinnati OH. Very much an experience.

Highlights were

M83 - Laneway
SBTRKT - Laneway
Toro Y Moi - Laneway
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Bodega
The Shocking and Stunning - San Francisco Bath House
Radiohead - Vector Arena
Grizzly Bear - Wellington Opera House

and have Unknown Mortal Orchestra, AnCo, Crystal Castles, Dirty Projectors, A Place to Bury Strangers, Mount Eerie, GY!BE, and Dinosaur Jr. coming up in the next few months so that should be pretty spectacular.

The Horrors - Bestival
M83 - Primavera
Erol Alkan - Primavera
Eagulls - Beacons / Mcr Scenewipe
Factory Floor - Beacons
Crystal Castles - Leeds Festival
Purity Ring - Sound Control, Mancs
The Field - Parklife
Slime - Nail The Cross
Liars - P4k Paris
Fuck Buttons - P4k Paris
Savages - End of the Road
Joie de Vivre / Football etc. - About Time Festival
Hookworms - Soup Kitchen, Mancs
Foals - Derby
Mount Kimbie - Bugged Out
Momus - Anthony Burgess Foundation
Youth Lagoon - Elektrowertz
M O N E Y / G R E A T W A V E S- St Pancras Old Church
Keep Shelly In Athens - SFTOC
Shoes & Socks off - Castle, Mancs
Simian Mobile Disco - Bugged Out Warehouse Project
Dirty Projectors - Gorilla
Animal Collective - Roundhouse
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Kazimier
Beak> - Bestival

Cloud Nothings @ Cargo (May)
Codeine @ Primavera (June)
Stars Of The Lid @ St John-at-Hackney Church (December)
EMA @ Scala (May)
Afghan Whigs @ Primavera (June)
The Mountain Goats with Anonymous 4: Transcendental Youth @ Barbican Centre (April)
Ty Segall @ The Garage (November)
Jeff Mangum @ Primavera (June)
Julianna Barwick @ Cafe OTO (November)
Wavves @ Primavera (June)

- Chris Cohen at The Lexington in Dec was quietly awesome and I spoke to him briefly after

- Dirty Projectors at The Roundhouse in Oct was incredible in parts

- O Paon supporting Earth and Mount Eerie at the Union Chapel earlier in the year was captivating. Hoping Mount Eerie comes here with the full band in Spring.

- Her Parents at the Windmill was a lot of fun.

- Deerhoof at the Garage in Dec was also great.

think that's it

1. Allo Darlin – Brudenell Social Club
2. Cloud Nothings – Beacons festival, Skipton
3. Dirty Three – Lille Aeroneuf
4. Wave Pictures – Cloudspotting festival, Cliteroe
4. Melt Banana – Shellac’s ATP
5. Art Brut – Long Division festival, Wakefield
6. Staff Benda Bilili – Aldeburgh proms
7. Ty Seagal – Brudenell Social club
8. Veronica Falls – Brudenell Social club
9. Vialka – Bradford 1 in 12 club
11. Low – Halifax minster

Allo Darlin wins it by a short neck. I have seen them several times before this year and always found them pretty decent. But the gig at the 'Nell this year felt really special. It was a miserable wet Monday night in Leeds (is there any other?). I went with very little expectations but there was a great energy to their performance which fed back to the crowd.

Have done multiple Dirty Three/Cloud Nothings/Wave Pictures gigs this year. Their best for me of each included in the list rather than clogging up with several performances.