My ears are still bleeding but in a good way: Best Shows of 2011

[monkeypants]

I saw what will probably be my last show of the year this weekend and it seemed like a good time to start a best live music of 2011 thread.  Pretty good year for me.  In very roughly chronological order:

Crooked Still
Math The Band
Jonathan Richman
Lightning Bolt
Mostly Other People Do The Killing
ICP Orchestra
Titus Andronicus
Algernon Cadwallader/Snowing/1994
Hot Club Of Cow Town
Red Baraat
Man Man
Deerhoof
Gillian Welch
Kronos Quartet
Eastern Blok

So, what good stuff did you see this year?

[peacocks]

~~best kind of a big deal~~
Hunx And His Punx
Davila 666
Tonstartssbandht

~~best local~~
1991
Surfin Serf
King Grincewicz and the Grincewicztones
The Sexcapades
Permanent Nap

[dieblucasdie]

The only show I went to in 2011 was Lil B.  I'm pretty much fine with this

[narlus]

i saw a ton of shows once again. a lot of good ones.


i was thinking about compiling a list like this over the weekend. i gotta get this done soon.

[justinh]

I saw comparatively few shows in 2011.  I liked:

Puro Instinct (way better live than recorded)
Brute Heart (great violin/bass/drums band from Minneapolis)
Kurt Vile & the Violators
Thou

I need to get out more

[edison]

Here's my top ten, arranged in two rough categories of awesomeness:

Exceptional

Joanna Newsom (Jan 15, Bouffes du Nord, Paris)
The Ex & Brass Unbound (Aug 25, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse)
EMA (Nov 10, Laiterie, Strasbourg)

Excellent

Cannibales et Vahinés (Mar 12, Stimultania, Strasbourg)
Deerhoof (Apr 21, Trinitaires, Metz)
Ebo Taylor (June 9, Salamandre, Strasbourg)
Beyoncé (Jun 23, Galaxie, Amnéville)
Patti Smith (Nov 9, Laiterie, Strasbourg)
Bill Callahan (Nov 26, Gaîté Lyrique, Paris)
Polwechsel (Dec 8, MAMCS, Strasbourg)

Another very good year!

[Trousers and Pat]

that list makes me totally jealous but the fact that you saw Beyoncé just pushes it over the top.

I missed more concerts than I saw this year, but these ones were really good :

-Kode 9 and Spaceape (really good despite taking place at like 4 in the afternoon)
-Lil B (set-length monologue with occasional burst of song)
-microwave on fire
-the guys with a synth and an oud at the coffee shop

[edison]

"microwave on fire" makes me really jealous, too.

I must admit would never have gone to see Beyoncé without the lady, but I was genuinely surprised and moved by how she made what is essentially a stadium show feel so intimate and genuine, somehow.

[Antero]

The Cell Phones in Chicago - a few times, once opening for them.  They're a trio, vocals/drums/bass, and they sound like this.  If you don't know now you know.

OFWGKTA in San Francisco.

But I figure the G-Side/Main Attrakionz show in a week is gonna be #1.

[mountmccabe]

Favorite single shows, chronological:

Feb 22 - Sebadoh, Quasi @ Rhythm Room, Phoenix, AZ
May 22 - Our Band Could Be Your Life @ Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
Sep 25 - Elbow, Glasser @ Terminal 5, New York, NY
Oct 22 - Gillian Welch @ Beacon Theatre, New York, NY
Dec 9 - The Weakerthans play "Reconstruction Site", Rah Rah @ Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY

The highlights for the Our Band Could Be Your Life gig were St Vincent covering Big Black, Titus Andronicus covering the Replacements and Buke & Gass covering Fugazi.

EDIT: Oops, forgot about the Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise tour. That will have to kick one of the above off.


Favorite sets at festivals, ranked

Swans @ ATP Asbury Park
The National @ Coachella
Shellac (Asbury Lanes show) @ ATP Asbury Park
Jeff Mangum @ ATP Asbury Park
The Joy Formidable @ Coachella

Honorable mentions to Portishead, PJ Harvey, Titus Andronicus, Suede and Ms Lauryn Hill.

I still may see Parts & Labor on Friday; we'll see!

[Black Amnesia of Heaven]

raddest shows:

blink-182 / august 7 at jones beach
a perfect circle / july 15 at beacon theatre
earth wind and fire / may 16 at 92y
yelawolf / july 23 during warped tour at nassau coliseum
john wesley harding's cabinet of wonders featuring Our Edit0r, craig finn and rosanne cash / november 18 at city winery
janet jackson / march 18 at radio city music hall
billy bragg / march 29 at city winery
flaming tusk / march 9 at union pool
the weakerthans performing reunion tour / december 10 at bowery ballroom
ted leo and screaming females / july 9 at south street seaport

pretty cool:
taking back sunday and thursday / july 17 at best buy theater
panic! at the disco and fun. / may 24 at terminal 5
patrick stump / april 9 at joe's pub

what the fuck:
scott weiland / november 29 at pc richard and son theater
pomplamoose / june 24 at music hall of williamsburg

complete bullshit:
the rest of warped tour
titus andronicus, whenever i saw them

i'm sure there are more but i can't remember

[davy]

Everything else I saw this year was overshadowed by the Twilight Singers show at The Masquerade in Atlanta. One of the four or five best concerts I've ever seen.

I guess Dr. Dog was pretty good.

[jacktrippa]

Is there really no best albums of 2011 thread?

[davy]

Is there really no best albums of 2011 thread?

http://www.lastplanetojakarta.com/forums/index.php/topic,13305.0.html

Just hasn't been a lot of activity in it for the past week or so.

My update is as follows: Mastodon and M83 will move much higher and Calexico will knock somebody out of the top 20.

[alistarr*]

I think Godspeed You! Black Emperor was this year, and that was a fantastic show. I also think Boris was this year, which was similarly overwhelming.

I haven't been to many concerts this year, but those two were good choices. I think the last Gandalfs UK visit happened this year, too, and that was also a really great show.

[narlus]

i still have to cull out my best shows of the year, but here's a selection of my favorite live shots (and some off-stage) from the year:

http://photos.tinnitus-photography.com/bestof2011

[Slime]

Stream of conscious reply.

I've seen Enslaved a bunch of times.  This year was easily the most they have ever rocked.  

Dead Congregation at Maryland Death Fest was probably the highlight of my year.  

I can hardly remember much else.  

Eyehategood a couple weeks ago was one of the most violent things I have witnessed.  

Local band, Elder, stole ruled my shoes.  So did Yob.

Wasn't the best thing ever, but seeing Wolves in The Throne room perform in between two abandoned mills in the rough part of Providence, RI was dream come true for the 13 year old in me.  It was like a scene out of the Crow.

Budos Band!! That show was fantastic.  They were probably the most drunk I have ever seen a band.  So drunk, but SO in the pocket.  The bongo player drank almost two full 750s of Jameson.  But he was the bongo player, so I had no idea if he was playing what he was supposed to or not.

I'm trying to think of shows based on the venue...I remember seeing some band in Worcester that sounded way too good for the room they were playing.  It may have been Katatonia, but I wasn't wildly impressed with them.

ABSU was so much better up here in Boston then the last time I saw them at Maryland Deathfest.  

Sharing the mic with Andrew WK was another dream come true.  

I saw the National, paid way too much money, and was wicked disappointed.  It seemed like half of the material was from those boring first few albums.    So many bros at the show too.  Stupid girls were throwing coins at my girlfriend because they wanted me to sit down (everyone was standing).  She was ready to get in a fight because they were given her bitch faces.  Kinda killed the mood.  

Other good bands at Maryland Deathfest this year included Cathedral, Malignant Tumour, Wormed, Cianide, and In Solitude.  

[narlus]

Local band, Elder, stole ruled my shoes.  So did Yob.

where did you see YOB?

agreed, Elder is fucking awesome. i finally saw them two weeks ago and was coming from another show so i only caught their last song, but it ruled. looking forward to an entire set from them.

[Slime]

Pawtucket, RI at Machines with Magnets.  Have you been to a show there narlus?  It's the best.  Dudes who run the recording studio (people who recorded Battles, Fang Islad, the Body) have an art gallery which they open for cheap shows right in the middle of mill-town-USA. They have awesome beer for super cheap.  It's like $2 for a 'gansette tall boy or $3 for Dales Pale Ale/beer of equal quality.  Home made sangria and other cocktails for the ladies (   )

[narlus]

that sounds awesome, but the drive to Pawtucket for me is about 90 min each way...way too long on a non-weekend for me.


edit - and here's my best shows of the year:
http://www.tinnitus-photography.com/shows.php?id=3