an absolutely fantastic year. saw many of my heroes and all time favourite artists this year. 09 has a lot to live up to
this took a bit of thought but here goes.... oh and its in no particular order
@ the supesonic fest in birmingham
Harvey milk - i was reduced to tears for 'Anvil Will Fall'
Harmonia - thats one hero i can take off the must see list. (rother)
Wooden Shjips - as good as they were, i felt they could have been a little better.think technical difficulties might have played a part. gonna try catch them again in the new year
Asva - LOUD
Kikuri (Merzbow & Keiji Haino) - LOUDER & another hero off the list (haino). totally intense. far louder than MBV even. from a distance, when i squinted, i couldnt help but think of takeshi mizutani when i saw haino all in black, shades and all, punishing his SG. thats a good thing
Oxbow - after seeing them I still cant make up my mind about Eugene Robinson. he is a great frontman and they are a great great band, but a lot of people at supersonic seemed to be attracted towards seeing oxbow because of the promise of a spectacle. cant help but feel the efforts of the other three are being compromised.
Earth they were great at this but their set in dublin managed to be even better still. having the extra guest asva guitarists was great though.
Orthodox - a mostly doom orientated set. non-fans would have no idea about the jazzy elements to their recorded work on the basis of this set. coo sabbath cover too!
Guapo - cant remember much about the gig but remember being amazed
The Heads - second time seeing the heads. second time being blown away. still havent heard an album though...
dj scotch egg - great performer, place was going mental for him. brilliant start to a brilliant fest
(definitely making the trip over to this again next year)
@ the Electric Picnic fest in ireland
My Bloody Valentine - underwhelming in terms of volume ,but near perfect otherwise. had heard so much about decibels but they didnt deliver. that said, it was only a 'honey power' away from being the gig of the year hands down. another hero off the list.
George Clinton & the P-Funk Allstars - mammoth two hour set from the grandaddy of funk. this gig had it all. great energy, vibes, songs, theatrics. probably the most FUN ive ever had at a gig. another hero off the list.
Faust - some friends naively expected Faust to play some of their hits. of course they didnt. they just let rip. it was total chaos. chainsaws made an appearance. some members painted at the side of the stage amidst all the anarchy. only for their canvases to succumb to the chainsaws :)
Silver Apples - so so so much better than the portishead atp performance last year. he seemed to be enjoying himself this time & it rubbed off on the audience. most people there, who were waiting for crystal castles to come on next, loved it!
tinariwen - watching the sun go down to tinariwen was probably highlight of the year, musical or otherwise
disappoinments
Grace Jones @electric picnic
Battles @supersonic
Einstellung @supersonic (had high hopes for these guys after getting their 'Sleep Easy Mr. Parker' single. sadly the rest of their material is kinda rubbish)
Sigur Ros @ electric picnic
Damo Suzuki & Makoto Kawabata @ the Crawdaddy (another hero off the list though
honourable mention for the many great local DIY gigs, of which:
Lite, 54-71, Adebisi Shank & Vox Populi
James Blackshaw, Josef Van Wissem & Cian Nugent
Nadja, Altar of Plagues,Sea Dog & Wolflinge
were definite highlights.
hard to pick a top 5, even top 10 out of that list
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