My favourite shows of 2013 (and my list of 154 in total)

After listing my favourite albums of 2013 I thought I should list my favourite shows, and a complete list since I managed to get to 154 in total!

I won't elaborate too much but here is my top 10:

Deerhunter: 18th September - Webster Hall
I hadn't seen Deerhunter before despite being a fan for years, they were just perfect and what a setlist. I mean really, check this out, one could scarcely ask for a better setlist when popping your Deerhunter cherry.

Follakzoid / The Holydrug Couple: 21st March - Mercury Lounge
I've elaborated briefly on this show HERE. This show was significant as I discovered so many great acts from Chile this year and it was an amazing treat to see two of the best.

Fuzz:  13th of October - Death By Audio
Ty Segall is possibly superhuman, and Fuzz put on one of the best rock shows possible.

King Khan and the Shrines: 30th October - Webster Hall
I was in a bit of an "I can't be bothered" mood for this one, but sometimes music turns your mood around spectacularly. There was so much energy coming from the stage and the blend of the brass among the 60s nuggets-like songs were a perfect marriage.

John Grant: 2nd of December - MHoW
I reviewed this show HERE.

Vivian Girls: 15th of Feb - Music Hall Williamsburg
I reviewed this show HERE.

Mikal Cronin / Roomrunner / Shannon and the Clams: 20th of June - Bowery Ballroom
What a lineup! Both Mikal Cronin and Roomrunner released albums that made my top 10 of the year and are both great live acts. Something great and/or weird happens every time I see Roomrunner and Mikal Cronin was down to about 2 strings (starting with 12) by the end of his set.

Perfect Pussy / Total Slacker / Sisu / Hunters / Tweens / Lodro: 16th of October - The Flat
I reviewed this show HERE.

Fuck Buttons: 18th of October - Le Poisson Rouge
I reviewed this show HERE.

Medicine / Weekend: 16th of August - MHoW
It seems like once a year a band reforms that you really didn't expect to, this year Medicine made a comeback with a new record and some shows. I had fairly high expectations but I didn't expect them to be quite as good as they were, it really was an immense show. With support coming from Weekend, one of the best bands of the year, it just made things even better.

Some 2013 stats for the nerds...

The acts I saw the most were Hector's Pets (5 times, a support slot for King Tuff at Bowery is not listed in the table below), then Sisu, Pop Zeus, Weekend and Liquor Store, 4 times each.

The venue I went to the most was, surprise surprise, Death By Audio, 13 times, next up was Glasslands which I went to 10 times.

I only went to 1 venue outside of New York, which was The Windmill in Brixton, London.

In total I went to 58 different venues.

Here is my complete list of shows for 2013. Note that the dates are in UK format.

Band	Date	Venue
Holy Fuck	12/01/2013	Death By Audio
Diiv, Magic Trick	13/01/2013	Brooklyn Bowl
Yo La Tengo	14/01/2013	Barnes and Noble - Union Square
John Darnielle (Mountain Goats)	16/01/2013	Studio X
Total Slacker	18/01/2013	285 Kent
Soundgarden	22/01/2013	Hammerstein Ballroom
Soundgarden	23/01/2013	Hammerstein Ballroom
The Growlers	24/01/2013	Knitting Factory
Cat Power	29/01/2013	Terminal 5
Ty Segall, Mac DeMarco	01/02/2013	Webster Hall
Memory Tapes, Teen	06/02/2013	Glasslands
Nuclear Santa Claust, California X, Brick Mower	07/02/2013	Death By Audio
Slutever	09/02/2013	Death By Audio
Bleeding Rainbow, Daytona	11/02/2013	Cake Shop
Total Slacker, Cassie Ramone	14/02/2013	Webster Hall Studio
Vivian Girls	15/02/2013	Music Hall of Williamsburg
Ken Stringfellow	16/02/2013	Mercury Lounge
Dada	20/02/2013	Highline Ballroom
Beach Fossils	23/02/2013	Bowery Ballroom
Roomrunner / Speedy Ortiz / Stats	28/02/2013	59 Canal
Night Marchers \ Dan Sartain \ Mrs Magician	02/03/2013	Glasslands
Chelsea Light Moving	03/03/2013	Other Music
The Babies	06/03/2013	Knitting Factory
The Men	07/03/2013	Bowery Ballroom
Pop Zeus / Hectors Pets / A Rex & J Rex / Las Rosas	08/03/2013	Death By Audio
Girls Names	10/03/2013	Cameo Gallery
Spanking Charlene	16/03/2013	The R Bar
Beach Fossils	20/03/2013	Brooklyn Bowl
Follakzoid / The Holydrug Couple	21/03/2013	Mercury Lounge
Peach Kelli Pop	26/03/2013	Death By Audio
Meat Puppets	03/04/2013	Mercury Lounge
Jaill / Pop Zeus	04/04/2013	Knitting Factory
Redd Kross	06/04/2013	Santos Party House
Yeah Yeah Yeahs	07/04/2013	Webster Hall
Kurt Vile, Kurt Vile & the Violators	09/04/2013	Apple Store, Soho
Diarrhea Planet, Wild Yaks	11/04/2013	Shea Stadium
King Khan & the BBQ / Bloodshot Bill	13/04/2013	Glasslands
R Stevie Moore	15/04/2013	Glasslands
They Might Be Giants	16/04/2013	Academy Records
Euroheedfest (GBV tribute festival)	20/04/2013	The Windmill, Brixton, London
Nobunny	21/04/2013	The Windmill, Brixton, London
Dead Skeletons / Night Beats / Cosmonauts	08/05/2013	Glasslands
Sisu / The Yellow Dogs / Young Boys	10/05/2013	Glasslands
Mudhoney / Pissed Jeans	11/05/2013	Music Hall of Williamsburg
Foxygen / Amen Dunes Lodro / Prince Rupert's Drops	13/05/2013	Knitting Factory
No Joy / Weekend / Grand Resort	16/05/2013	Glasslands
Yeah Yeah Yeahs / Flaming Lips / The Darkness	17/05/2013	Googamooga - Prospect Park
Sharon Van Etten / Lee Fields and the Expressions	18/05/2013	Googamooga - Prospect Park
JEFF the brotherhood	19/05/2013	Mercury Lounge
Haunted Leather	20/05/2013	Death By Audio
Natural Child / Liquor Store	23/05/2013	Brooklyn Bowl
Apache Dropout / Pop Zeus / Thee Tsunamis / Blank Realm	28/05/2013	Death By Audio
Weekend	29/05/2013	Brooklyn Denim Co
King Tuff	02/06/2013	Bowery Ballroom
Fuzz / Ex-Cult	06/06/2013	Red Hook Park
Wyatt Blair / The Lovely Bad Things	07/06/2013	Death By Audio
Heavy Blanket (shut down by police after one song)	08/06/2013	Union Pool
Los Straitjackets	11/06/2013	City Winery
Liquor Store	12/06/2013	Shea Stadium
Bleached / Butter the Children / Pop Zeus	13/06/2013	Knitting Factory
A Place to Bury Strangers / Iceage	13/06/2013	Music Hall of Williamsburg
Torche / Ken Mode / Lo-Pan	14/06/2013	285 Kent
Paws	14/06/2013	South Street Seaport
White Fence	14/06/2013	Knitting Factory
The Zombies	15/06/2013	Central Park
Spires	16/06/2013	Villains / Jamesons
The Teen Age	16/06/2013	Muchmore's
Nu Sensea / Destruction Unit / Big Ups / Psychic Blood	16/06/2013	Shea Stadium
Heliotropes / Bad Cop	18/06/2013	Glasslands
Mikal Cronin / Roomrunner / Shannon and the Clams	20/06/2013	Bowery Ballroom
Fear of Men	21/06/2013	South Street Seaport
Bear in Heaven	22/06/2013	Prospect Park
Femi Kuti	23/06/2013	Central Park
Cheap Time	24/06/2013	Pianos
Unknown Mortal Orchestra / Bass Drum of Death	28/06/2013	South Street Seaport
4Knots festival (Kurt Vile, The Men, Parquet Courts, Reigning Sound, The Babies, Fat Tony, White Lung)	29/06/2013	South Street Seaport
Os Mutantes	29/06/2013	Prospect Park
Big Star's Third	30/06/2013	Central Park
Speedy Ortiz/Roomrunner/California X	06/07/2013	Death By Audio
The Joy Formidable	10/07/2013	BAM Café
Waxahatchee / Generationals	11/07/2013	Hudson River Park - Pier 84
Cheap Trick	12/07/2013	Coney Island
The Mantles / Pale Lights	13/07/2013	Cake Shop
La Luz / Heliotropes	14/07/2013	Mercury Lounge
Father John Misty, Wild Nothing	24/07/2013	Terminal 5
OBN III's	25/07/2013	Death By Audio
Beck	26/07/2013	Le Poisson Rouge
Turbo Fruits	27/07/2013	Union Pool
Fletcher C. Johnson / Hector's Pets / Rozwell Kids, Boy Toy	27/07/2013	Shea Stadium
Pete Rock and CL Smooth	28/07/2013	Central Park
Rasputina	30/07/2013	City Winery
Hector's Pets / The Numertors / Juniper Rising	31/07/2013	McCarren Park
The Go-Gos	01/08/2013	Coney Island
Blue Hawaii	02/08/2013	285 Kent
Grand Resort	04/08/2013	Fulton Stall Market
Hunx and his Punx	08/08/2013	285 Kent
They Might Be Giants	10/08/2013	Prospect Park
Shuggie Otis	11/08/2013	Central Park
Medicine / Weekend	16/08/2013	Music Hall of Williamsburg
Japanther	17/08/2013	The Flat
Radical Dads	18/08/2013	Fulton Stall Market
Blanche Blanche Blanche / Son of Salami	21/08/2013	Silent Barn
Bent Shapes	25/08/2013	Fulton Stall Market
Mac DeMarco	28/08/2013	East River Park
Blouse	30/08/2013	Glasslands
Thurston Moore trio / bEEdEEgEE	31/08/2013	Union Pool
Neko Case	04/09/2013	Skylight West
The Babies	07/09/2013	Mercury Lounge
Will Sheff	09/09/2013	Other Music
Liquor Store	12/09/2013	Walker Street
Chromatics, Glass Candy	13/09/2013	Terminal 5
Zola Jesus	14/09/2013	Our Lady Temple of Lebanon
Crystal Stilts	16/09/2013	Other Music
Cassie Ramone	17/09/2013	Studio X
Deerhunter / Crystal Stilts	18/09/2013	Webster Hall
Laura Veirs	19/09/2013	Mercury Lounge
Mordus	20/09/2013	Sullivan Hall
Obits	21/09/2013	The Bell House
The Young Sinclairs	22/09/2013	Cake Shop
Colleen Green / The Memories / White Fang / Hector's Pets	02/10/2013	Death By Audio
Wavves / King Tuff / Jacuzzi Boys	03/10/2013	Irving Plaza
Funky Meters	05/10/2013	Brooklyn Bowl
Meat Puppets	12/10/2013	Brooklyn Bowl
Fuzz	13/10/2013	Death By Audio
Joanna Gruesome / The History of Apple Pie	15/10/2013	Ran Tea House
Perfect Pussy / Total Slacker / Sisu / Hunters / Tweens / Lodro	16/10/2013	The Flat
The Beets / Hausu / Rose Windows / Moondoggies	17/10/2013	Death By Audio
Fuck Buttons / Lichens	18/10/2013	Le Poisson Rouge
Weekend / Odonis Odonis / Hunters / Hsy / Flashlights	19/10/2013	Muchmore's
Mac McCaughan	19/10/2013	Baby's All Right
Crocodiles / Bleeding Rainbow / Dream Boys / Punks on Mars	19/10/2013	Passenger Bar
Fidlar / The Orwells	24/10/2013	Bowery Ballroom
King Khan & the Shrines	30/10/2013	Webster Hall
Guantanamo Baywatch / Journalism	02/11/2013	Cake Shop
Fly Ashtray	03/11/2013	Cake Shop
Twin Peaks / Drowners	08/11/2013	Baby's All Right
Diarrhea Planet, Lovely Bad Things	09/11/2013	Glasslands
Anna Calvi	11/11/2013	Music Hall of Williamsburg
Steve Gunn	11/13/2013	Studio X
Wooden Shjips / Cave	14/11/2013	Knitting Factory
Nada Surf (Yellow Dogs Benefit)	18/11/2013	Brooklyn Bowl
Minor Alps	20/11/2013	Bowery Ballroom
Shannon and the Clams / Liquor Store	23/11/2013	Metropolitan Pavillion
Crocodiles / Wymond Miles	23/11/2013	Music Hall of Williamsburg
John Grant	02/12/2013	Music Hall of Williamsburg
Potty Mouth	05/12/2013	Converse Rubber Tracks Studio
Holograms / TV Ghost	06/12/2013	285 Kent
Iron and Wine, Nick Lowe, Beth Orton, etc WFUV Cheer	10/12/2013	Beacon Theatre
Mikal Cronin / The Entrance Band	11/12/2013	Webster Hall
Pizza Underground	13/12/2013	Baby's All Right
Diarrhea Planet / Purling Hiss / Big Ups	14/12/2013	Brooklyn Night Bazaar
Sisu	20/12/2013	Brooklyn Night Bazaar
Lightspeed Champion	21/12/2013	Cameo Gallery
So So Glos / California X / Palehound / Darlings	21/12/2013	Brooklyn Night Bazaar

My favourite albums of 2013

It has been an excellent year for new music, and in the end I struggled to limit myself to just a top 10, but here goes.

1) Roomrunner - Ideal Cities: As I said here, "if riffs could kill then Roomrunner would be a weapon of mass destruction". Ideal Cities is a crushing, hook-ladened and sonically inventive record. They're also a fantastic live band where something memorable seems to happen each time I've seen them (4 times so far).



2) Föllakzoid - II: Not only is II one of my favourite records of the year (reviewed here), it spawned my interest in Chilean rock music, which has some of the most incredible bands of the last decade. There is a new space-rock champion and their name is Föllakzoid.



3) Anna Calvi - One Breath: Having been a fan since before her debut album came out (profile), I was pretty confident that Anna wouldn't suffer from second-album-syndrome and she justified my faith with the wonderful, One Breath. I managed to catch her recent show in New York as well which was fantastic. 



4) John Grant - Pale Green Ghosts: This one crept up on me a little bit, but Pale Green Ghosts is perhaps my most played album of the year, and contains some of the best, most bitingly sarcastic lyrics I've heard in a long time. I managed to catch his recent show in New York, which I reviewed here. 



5) Mikal Cronin - II: This is one of those records where every song is so consistently strong that there isn't really a focal point or highlight. He plays almost everything on the album, the melodies are instant, perhaps so instant that the depth of the lyrics are missed on first listen, with lines like "Faith is just a lover I don’t own. Love is just an answer I don’t know".



6) The Men - New Moon: I reviewed this album earlier in the year here, my enthusiasm has not waned since it was released back in March. 

7) Weekend - Jinx: Slumberland have a great roster of acts at the moment, with Joanna Gruesome, Veronica Falls, Girls Names all releasing material worthy of consideration for this list. The pinnacle however, is Weekend's second album, Jinx, an assured and meticulously crafted record with as wide a colour pallette as you'll hear. 



8) Sisu - Blood Tears: Sandra Vu is better known as the drummer in Dum Dum Girls, but Sisu's output is more impressive, imo, debut album, Blood Tears was released the previous EP also got a re-issue. The album is filled with what are essentially dark, post-punk pop songs, highly recommended (artist to watch profile here and live review here).



9) Wymond Miles - Cut Yourself Free: This shouldn't come as much surprise (artist to watch profile here, live mention here), Wmon is one of those people that can't seem to write a bad song.



10) Mark Kozelek and Jimmy LaVelle - Perils from the Sea: Another album I reviewed earlier in the year, Kozelek moves out of his comfort zone to wonderful effect.

Top 10 gigs post coming soon...

Favourite gigs of 2012

2012 was most certainly a year for concert-going, I managed to get to 58 shows, where I usually go to around 20-25 a year. One of the biggest benefits about moving to New York has been the easy access to concerts, not to mention the quality of acts that obviously come through, or are from the city. It took me a little while to get going, the second half of the year in particular saw a surge of gigs (51 between May and December). It's a time for lists, and I'm working on my list of favourite albums from the year (as well as my next compilation), but for now, here are my favourite shows I managed to get to (all pictures are mine):

1) Grizzly Bear -  Radio City Music Hall - 24th September: I swooned over this gig in a previous blog entry and so I can't really add anything other than the re-emphasise that this was the best concert I have ever been to.

2) Nada Surf - Webster Hall (7th of April) + Bowery Ballroom (14th/15th of December): A bit of a cheat, putting up 3 shows as one, but there you go. If I were being picky then maybe the Webster Hall show was the pick of the bunch in terms of a performance although the Bowery Ballroom shows felt more special, perhaps because they were the last two shows of the tour and they played a huge setlist which included songs from every album. I've been a fan of the band since their debut album and been seeing them live for over 10 years, but I never thought I'd get to hear something like Deeper Well so it was a genuine thrill when they broke that one out (of which I took a video which can be viewed here). Nada Surf are a hugely special band for me and they always deliver. 

3) Chromatics - New Museum - 5th of September: This was a free gig (sponsored by pitchfork if I recall correctly), which included an afterparty on the roof. Chromatics put on an incredible performance and to cap the evening sipping free wine looking over Manhattan at night whilst enjoying a DJ set by Oneohtrix Point Never is probably something I will remember for many years to come.

 

4) Bitch Magnet - La Poisson Rouge - 25th October: Possibly the greatest surprise this year was not only the 3-CD re-issue of Bitch Magnet's complete recorded output, but the band reuniting to play some shows! They played an incendiary set and really surpassed expectation.

 
5) Diiv - Music Hall Williamsburg - 18th of October: This was a Captured Tracks CMJ showcase event, which also included Dignan Porch, Thieves Like Us and Mac DeMarco (who was good, but was better when we saw him headline a show at Death By Audio in August). I'd also seen Diiv earlier in the summer at an outdoor gig which was very good, but their performance here was almost brutal. The only downside was the amount of douchebags who crowdsurf, I don't really understand it, shows aren't about individuals in the audience yet some people seem to think they are... anyway, it was a spectacular performance.

6) Bob Mould - Williamsburg Park 7th of September: Another show I have already reviewed, Bob was really on form!

7) TV On the Radio - Commodore Barry Park - 25th of August: TVotR are one of my favourite bands, and I've had the pleasure of seeing them a couple of times in London over the years, but both times have had a few issues with the sound. Not only did this show have a triumphant home-gig feel to it, but the sound was also spot on and the the band ripped through an extraordinary set.

8) Dan Deacon / John Maus / Roomrunner - Hudson River Rocks - 12th of July: This was a free outdoor event, I'm mentioning all three acts because they were all fantastic for different reasons. Despite being dogged by technical issues throughout, Roomrunner pummelled the crowd with their abrasive grunge-influenced sound. John Maus performs with a passion and spirit that is perhaps unrivaled, what should be little more than glorified karaoke turns into some kind of fantastically demented pop sermon. Finally, Dan Deacon takes audience participation to new levels, creating dance-offs and all sorts of games in the crowd (of course, as an uptight Englishman who internalises everything, I moved off to the side to enjoy from a distance!), backed by two drummers who disappear into a blur of activity, Deacon's music is equally as enchanting as his earnest between-song banter.

9) Ty Segall - The Well - 22nd of September: A joint headline show with Thee Oh Sees, who were also highly enjoyable, but Ty Segall's set certainly stole the show. The crowd again was a little bit annoying for my liking (I did wince when someone crowd surfed over the barrier (where there were no guards) and landed head first onto concrete - "medic!"), but Segall's fat guitar licks was a sonic assault in its own right.

10) Rush - Barclays Center - 22nd of October: Personal bias may find them sneaking into 10th place, or perhaps I have tried to counter that and they really should be higher... regardless, Rush put on a great show in support of their latest album, Clockwork Angels (which I reviewed earlier in the year), with a setlist that seemed more fresh than recent tours and backed by a string section on many songs gave a different dynamic to the show.

Complete list in date order (UK date format! And yes, I keep a spreadsheet...):

Dum Dum Girls	07/02/2012	Music Hall of Williamsburg
Vivian Girls	10/02/2012	Gansevoort Plaza
Barry Adamson	20/02/2012	Other Music
Lee Ranaldo	20/03/2012	Other Music
Nada Surf	07/04/2012	Webster Hall
Pulp	11/04/2012	Radio City Music Hall
Terry Malts	20/04/2012	Mercury Lounge
Mark Lanegan Band	10/05/2012	Webster Hall
Violens	16/05/2012	(le) poisson rouge
The Adicts	17/05/2012	Best Buy Theater
La Sera	19/05/2012	Cameo Gallery
The Clean	05/06/2012	(le) poisson rouge
Rain Machine	09/06/2012	Union Pool
Laura Marling	14/06/2012	Prospect Park
Kurt Vile	16/06/2012	Central Park
Veronica Falls	29/06/2012	South Street Seaport
Guided by Voices, TPoBPAH, Cloud Nothings, War on Drugs	07/07/2012	Central Park
Dan Deacon / John Maus / Roomrunner	12/07/2012	Hudson River Park - Pier 84
Carina Round	24/07/2012	Knitting Factory
Mordus	02/08/2012	Fontanas
Wild Flag / Misson Of Burma / Ted Leo	03/08/2012	Prospect Park
Diiv, Wild Nothing & Grimes	09/08/2012	Hudson River Park - Pier 84
Little Dragon	10/08/2012	Prospect Park
Eternal Summers	12/08/2012	Fulton Stall Market
Nude Beach	13/08/2012	Other Music
The Drums	22/08/2012	Brooklyn Bowl
TV On the Radio	25/08/2012	Commodore Barry Park
Mac DeMarco	30/08/2012	Death By Audio
Chromatics	05/09/2012	New Museum
La Sera	06/09/2012	Helmut Lang
Bob Mould	07/09/2012	Williamsburg Park
Jesus and Mary Chain	13/09/2012	Irving Plaza
Jesus and Mary Chain	14/09/2012	Irving Plaza
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti	15/09/2012	Union Transfer, Philadelphia
Thee Oh Sees / Ty Segall	22/09/2012	The Well
Grizzly Bear	24/09/2012	Radio City Music Hall
Widowspeak	26/09/2012	Brooklyn Bowl
Neil Young and Crazy Horse / Foo Fighters / Black Keys	29/09/2012	Central Park
Dum Dum Girls	01/10/2012	Other Music
Afghan Whigs	05/10/2012	Terminal 5
Adam Ant	06/10/2012	Best Buy Theater
Port-Royal	12/10/2012	Pianos
Fletcher C. Johnson	17/10/2012	Pianos (upstairs)
Braids	17/10/2012	Pianos
Diiv, Thieves Like Us, Mac DeMarco, Dignan Porch	18/10/2012	Music Hall of Williamsburg
Gap Dream	20/10/2012	Big Snow Buffalo Lodge
Rush	22/10/2012	Barclays Center
Louis CK	24/10/2012	NY City Center
Bitch Magnet	25/10/2012	(le) poisson rouge
Molly Nilsson	04/11/2012	Public Assembly
The Fresh and Onlys	08/11/2012	Music Hall of Williamsburg
Animal Collective	05/12/2012	Terminal 5
Subsonics	07/12/2012	The Grand Victory
Of Montreal	11/12/2012	Webster Hall
Nada Surf	14/12/2012	Bowery Ballroom
Nada Surf	15/12/2012	Bowery Ballroom
Blood Orange	17/12/2012	Sony Store
Metz	18/12/2012	Generation Records