Because I can’t help myself

10 Albums I Listened to the Most This Year

Destroyer – Kaputt
The Vaccines – What Did You Expect From The Vaccines
The Horrors – Skying
Hooded Fang – Tosta Mista
Wild Beasts – Smother
Young Galaxy – Shapeshifting
Black Lips – Arabia Mountain
Washed Out – Within and Without
British Sea Power – Vahalla Dancehall
The Rapture – In the Grace of Your Love

10 Songs

M83 – Midnight City
Girls – Vomit
The Vaccines – Post Break Up Sex
Austra – Lose It
The Rapture – How Deep Is Your Love
The Horrors – Still Life
Cut Copy / Architecture in Helsinki – Need You Now
Foster The People – Pumped Up Kicks/Houdini (inescapably catchy)
Young Galaxy – Cover Your Tracks
Adele – Someone Like You (Buffet Libre Remix) *don’t really like original

10 Eating Experiences

Cinc Sentits
Guinea Pig
Alpaca Tenderloin
Squid Black Ink Paella, BOMBAS! aka Everything in Barcelona
Legit Kofte
Sugar Mamma‘s Mini Donuts
Pide / Turkish Pizza
GUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
Salt Lick / Iron Works / Everything in Austin

Top 10 Travel Memories

Pulp, Primavera
Hiking Machu Picchu
Amazon Rainforest
Istanbul’s Bosphorous
Familia Sagrada, Barcelona
Blue Mosque / Sophia Hagia / Basilica Cistern
Freezing ass off skating down Ottawa Canal
Going to Sam Adams brewery..when it was closed
Crashing coworker’s wedding and err, high school concert in Istanbul
SXSW

Top 10 Panic Manual Writers

Paul – what a tank, traveled the world, reviewed shows from Austin, Guelph, Barcelona, Paris and Denmark among others. Shaved his sideburns into a star for Halloween.

Brian – Fringe/Theatre MVP, Writes Jazz pieces and also produced a baby.

Wade – Jack of all trades will be coming with you with an insanely brilliant album review series next year, and also, provided us with endless donuts throughout the year.

Mark – Covers Jazz and Worldly music like no one else, also, will go to whatever NXNE show I tell him to go to. Interviewed someone.

Allison – Eighties music experts went to more 80s bands this year than one could imagine, while constantly lamenting about how hot and fit those fifty year old singers were. Managed to not piss off an entire local band’s fanbase this year too.

Sarah – Our only writer with Elite status on Air Canada. Sarah was too busy mimicking George Clooney’s character from Up in the Air to delight us with too many show reviews but she still listened to more Canadian music than all of us (minus Wade) combined.

Stacey – Our newest casual Toronto writer has true appreciation for local and cancon music and is the only member of the Panic Manual team that could legitimately save your life (she’s a doctor). Also, compared an RAA show to sex.

Halley and Celeste – The youngest and brightest writers on our blog, the sisters of destruction listen to all the hip and new music I used to listen to. They’ll provide you with insight on boatloads of new bands and songs next year, while the rest of us sit around in our rocking chairs reminiscing about the nineties.

Gary and Derek – Our two resident photographers, Gary moved himself onto the set of the Wire / Baltimore last year and has since become a nutjob who dedicates his year end article to the occupy movement. Still, he takes amazing pictures. Derek not only took amazing pictures at SXSW, he took them while being completely inebriated. Also, provided us with the minibooth for our 90s party.

Vik – Our graphics and layout guy Vik had the pleasure of making this site look pretty this year. Also, has a really cute kid and let me borrow Red Dead Redemption for half a year

Verdict

Overall, just like Tori Amos said.. “Pretty Good Year”

2012

It’s coming.
Be ready to rock.
Be ready to roll.

Childish Gambino – EP

While he made a bit of a splash with the recent release of Camp, this 5 song EP from earlier in the year got a lot more play from me.  There’s a few reasons why I like this, among them the instantly likeable melodies, clever lyrics, and the fact that I have a short attention span, but of course the reason I listened to begin with was of course the fact that Gambino is the alter ego of Community star Donald Glover and I am, of course, totally obsessed with that show.  Gambino is a mastermind.

The Decemberists – The King Is Dead

2011 will go down in music history as the year that REM broke up (and the year that cynical internet douchebags cracked wise about how they should have split up years ago) but with The King Is Dead, Portland’s Decemberists showed their willingness to take up the torch with an album that definitely evokes the glory days of their Athens forebears and even recruited Peter Buck to play on a few songs.   

Wild Flag – Wild Flag 

Seeing as how this band features two thirds of Sleater-Kinney, that automatically qualifies it for this list.  Add Mary Timony and Recca Cole into the mix and you’ve really got something.  These ladies know how to rock.  “Nuff said.

Chelsea Wolfe – Apokalypsis

I discovered this album sometime late last summer and was hooked immediately.  It may have been the brief moment of gurgling, demonic black metal vocals that opened the album that snagged me, but after that I was drawn right in by Wolfe’s “doom folk.”   Her vocals and the overall musical vibe probably remind me most of PJ Harvey (if she was American and into black metal).  This is definitely one of the most sonically interesting albums  to be released this year.

Ghost – Opus Eponymous

Technically a 2010 release, but it got rereleased stateside by Metal Blade Records this year so while it’s a bit of a cheat, I say that’s enough to qualify it as a 2011 release.  Simply put, there was no album that caught my imagination more than this one.  Over the top Satanic hard rock/metal made by a bunch of “nameless ghouls” who may or may not be members of a well known black metal band, these guys are a lot of fun.  Like cheesy 1970s horror movie fun – kind of scary, but also ridiculous. 

]]> http://www.panicmanual.com/2011/12/29/2011-pauls-faves/feed/ 1 http://www.panicmanual.com/2011/12/28/2011-rickys-favorite-concert-moments-awards-format-pt-22/ http://www.panicmanual.com/2011/12/28/2011-rickys-favorite-concert-moments-awards-format-pt-22/#comments Wed, 28 Dec 2011 22:00:06 +0000 Ricky http://www.panicmanual.com/?p=7198

Everyone likes awards right? Especially when they are random and whimsical..right? Here’s the rest of my favorite concert moments. Since it’s my blog, I’m just going to call these awards The Panickys. I would call it the Rickys, but that oozes of ego boasting.

2011 Panicky for Concert Where I Saw the Most Friends

Sloan, December, 2011 – The Great Hall
Before I joined this cultish indie blogger group I am now apart of, I rarely knew anyone at concerts. Since that fateful day, I seem to run into at least a few people at shows. While I’ve seen a lot of friends at a lot of shows, the Sloan show was by far, the one I went to with the most amount of people I knew there. I didn’t talk to most of the people I knew there, because I had a good spot. It helps that the show was phenomenal, and a nice cap off to a phenomenal concert year.

Sloan – Everything You’ve Done Wrong (live 2011-12-21) by panicmanual

2011 Panicky for Concert with the best backdrop/environment

The National, Llevant Stage, Primavera Sound, June, 2011
Brooding band, sun setting, beautiful weather and the Mediterranean Sea at my back. Even Matt Berninger mentioned how amazing it was for The National to play a set at that particular time at that particular place. Pure magic. Second best sunset show I’ve seen (after Coachella 2004, where Belle and Sebastian played a sunset show).

2011 Panicky for Concert where I formally gave up on a band

Interpol, Llevant Stage, Primavera Sound, June ,2011
I used to love Interpol, their brooding, atmospheric debut was one of the better records from the past decade. Sadly, the band has failed to consistently improve/expand on their sound and seeing the band go through the motions and play their inferior new tracks was a tough pill to swallow. Maybe Carlos D left at the right time, but I’m pretty sure that the sixth time I saw these guys was my last, until of course, the Interpol reunion in 2019.

2011 Panicky for Best Unexpectedly Great Concert

Erasure, Sound Academy, September 2011
The 80s synth-pop band put on one of the best shows I saw in Toronto this year, delivering a hits filled set at their show in September. The track selection for this set was perfect, building momentum slowly and then exploding in an outburst of color, melody and hook filled choruses, instantly transforming yours truly into a big time Erasure fan.

2011 Panicky for Best Unexpectedly Great Local Concert

Allie Hughes, NXNE, Wrongbar, June, 2011
Given the amount of large shows I go to, it’s probably not fair to group them with the smaller, more intimate local shows. So Allie Hughes gets the Panicky for the local version of best unexpectedly great show. Catching her on a whim at NXNE, I wasn’t expecting too much but came away awfully impressed by Allie’s theatre meets indie music mashup. Fun, original and filled with good music. A definite highlight of NXNE.

NOT THE STARS by AllieHughes

2011 Panicky for Best 1 Song Show

The Walkmen, Primavera Sound, June 2011
I only caught the tail end of the Walkmen (who Allison confuses with the Watchman, 9 times out of 10) set at Primavera Sound, but they sang the only song I would ever want to hear – The Rat. Seriously, listen to it. It’s one of the best tracks from the past decade and should have launched the band into the stratosphere. It didn’t, but that doesn’t make it a great moment to hear that song live.

2011 Panicky for Best Show I Do Not Remember

Yeasayer, Microsoft Party, Austin, March 2011
As chronicled in my article here, the PM crew indulged a bit too much at the free booze fest and as a result, I missed/forgot what happened at the Yeasayer show. Still, this was better than my performance at the Woodhands show in 2010. I didn’t have to review the Yeasayer show, I kinda had to review the Woodhands show and instead ended up making references to Fast and Furious in the article.

2011 Panicky for Show with the Highest Dancing Crowd/Collapsed Floor Potential

Sheezer, Sneaky Dees, NXNE, June, 2011
While they didn’t dress up as Spice Girls aka their Halloween show, Sheezer’s Sneaky Dees show was the perfect storm of great music, amazing crowd and really small space. The crowd was more than amped to see the Weezer cover band at 2 am at the height of NXNE and the result was a venue long mosh pit which was literally floor shaking. Great show.

Sheezer – Only in Dreams (Live) by Pop Montreal

2011 Panicky for Best Concert

Pulp, San Miguel Stage, Primavera Sound, June 2011
Was there any doubt? Favorite Concert Ever.

As another year draws to a close, it’s time for Panic Manualers old and new to contemplate what has just happened. For many of us, it’s an opportunity to reflect on the music released in 2011. For others, it’s an opportunity to reflect on just about everything else.

This year was the whirly-windiest yet. While I can’t say I saw as much live music as I would have liked, there were certainly some moments worth mentioning. The Panic Manual hosted another successful 90’s party at the Boat in Kensington Market, and that was the most exciting DJ experience I’ve had to date. It’s amazing to think how we’ve grown from a blog that used to cover a few shows in Toronto to covering some amazing festivals both near and far.

Here are some on the 2011 list: Canadian Music Week, NXNE, SXSW, Guelph Hillside, the Toronto Jazz Festival, Primavera (Spain), as well as a host of European festivals during Paul’s epic Lord of the Rings-esque trek to the mother land. We’ve also got some great writers stationed in Chicago, Washington and Baltimore heading up our Canada-U.S. relations. All in all, it was another great year for the Panic Manual. Thanks to Ricky for running this hot mess and thanks to all of our writers. You rock.

So without further ado, here are some things:

Best Show – Branford Marsalis & Joey Calderazzo

Easily the most transcending show of the year; Branford Marsalis and Joey Calderazzo played Koerner Hall for the debut launch of their album Songs of Mirth and Melancholy. These are my two favourite contemporary musicians. As much as I love Branford Marsalis’ quartet, hearing the two of them play in intimate duet format was out of this world. I could not dream up a better show. It’s almost as if the mind-control device I implanted in Toronto Jazz Festival Artistic Director Josh Grossman’s brain actually worked!! Mwuhuaha!

Honourable mention goes to Empire of the Sun. I won’t attempt to one-up Ricky’s description. It really was “the carnival meets space travel meets Thundercats”.

Best Podcast – Panic Manual Rogue Podcast

While our fearless leader Ricky was hiking the Himalayans or some shit, he left the keys to the proverbial Benz in the hands of Paul and myself. Enter Operation World Metal. While we didn’t cover as much heavy metal and world music as we would have liked, we did rogue podcast it up. The craziness of 2011 meant that we didn’t do as many of these as we’ve typically done in years past. However, we did discover that my apartment is just as echo-y as Ricky’s cavernous living room. Go figure.

Best Symphony – Bugs Bunny at the Symphony

The Toronto Symphony is in its 90^th season this year. It recently hosted rock-star pianist Lang Lang for a residency last November. In the new year, they will be hosting both Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma in what will inevitably be fantastic shows. I’ve often made the case that tsoundcheck is one of the best programs to catch live Classical music for super duper cheap.

That being said, what stole the show for me this year was seeing Bugs Bunny at the Symphony. Bugs is the reason I love Classical music in the first place, so seeing a live symphony play along to my favourite Looney Tunes cartoons was both nostalgic and awesome. Prior to the show, I had the opportunity to interview conductor George Daugherty, making the entire experience that much more special

Best New Dictator – Kim Jong-un

In last year’s review, I mentioned North Korea’s dictator-in-waiting Kim Jong-un. With the recent passing of his father, “Dear Leader” Kim Jong-il, it’s only fitting we re-tread on this soil. The rubber truly hits the tarmac now as North Korea’s military leaders scramble to stabilise what is already an inherently unstable country. Last year Jong-un was named the “Great Successor” and now it’s his turn to lead. Let’s hope that cooler heads can prevail and real reform can happen in this broken country.

Have a safe holiday everyone! Stay tuned in 2012 for more fun from the PM.

Does that make sense? here we go!

Washed Out – Within and Without

Back in the days of my youth, people who stayed home in the basement and fiddled around with knobs and keyboards were routinely called losers and beat up. These days, people who stayed home in the basement and fiddled around with knobs and keyboards are routinely called chilled wave artists and play sold out shows at hipster clubs before getting to have their pick of freshmen girls eager to cross off ‘groupie’ from their bucket list. Go figure. I find that the muted beats and warm synthesizers off Washed Out‘s Within and Without album creates a nice calm ambiance and his mostly background vocals blend nicely with the tone of the album. What is he singing about? No idea.

Washed Out – Belong by Dominicono

Zola Jesus – Conatus

Zola Jesus is the stage name for Russian-American singer-songwriter-hypenator-extraordinaire Nika Roza Danilova. Conatus is her third album and that is pretty much all I knew before hitting up her information page on Wikipedia. Speaking of wikipedia, who is the person doing all these information pages on wiki for these indie bands/acts? I am assuming it’s the publicist, otherwise there are some pretty obsessive fans out there. Is anyone else is getting a kick out of these memes for the people that wikipedia is putting up pictures of so that you can donate money to them? Don’t tell me something like this doesn’t at least generate a chuckle.

Anyways, I have enjoyed Conatus throughout the year (sounds a bit dirty). The album’s dark minimal arrangements are utilized nicely to shift all the attention to Zola Jesus’s voice, which actually has a hint of Katie Stelmanis’s voice in it. Basically, it’s like Austra’s Feel It Break filtered through valium.

Night by ZolaJesus

Patrick Wolf – Together

Patrick Wolf always has good releases so it should be no surprise that this EP, released December 4th makes this list. I feel like over time, I will know the tracks off the album a bit better, but for now, I don’t. I just know its a little less dramatic than The Bachelor and one of the songs has a very 80s sitcom-ish saxophone solo to start off the song. Like any other Patrick Wolf release, the album features plenty of instrumentation and complicated arrangements that under the helm of Wolf, comes off as one cohesive unit.

Youth Lagoon – Year in Hibernation

Youth Lagoon is the on stage moniker of Trevor Powers, who you assume would be some sort of litigator based on name alone. His debut album is called a Year in Hibernation and it plays out like a dreamy, hazy soundtrack to that certain period of time between sleeping and waking up. Trevor’s barely there vocals plays perfectly into the lo-fi synthy ambient vibe that he has created with this record. Maybe I should lock myself in a bedroom and make some music. It’s a precious album, and it’s really really good.

Youth Lagoon – Daydream by E.D.P.M.C.

Black Lips – Arabia Mountain

Atlanta rock group The Black Lips made the right choice this year in getting Mark Ronson to produce their latest album. Arabia Mountain is a great burst of energy that blends modern day punk elements with rock-a-billy, surf punk elements of the 50s and 60s. With Ronson at the helm, much of the fun and energy that is the trademark of a Black Lips live show is captured and bottled in a neat 40 minute package. I should probably know some tracks but given the brief two minute nature of each track, it makes it hard to pick out specific tracks. The sum however, seems a lot greater then the parts.

The Black Lips – Family Tree by 247QM

Coming off a year of traveling throughout the United States and finally making Elite status with Air Canada (one of my greatest accomplishments to date), I have gained a new found appreciation for Canada and the music that comes out of the great white north.  As an ode to Canada I have curated a list of my top 5 Canadian albums from 2011, complete with witty commentary and what the band “sounds like”.

Sheepdogs – Learn and Burn

Sounds like: The 70’s

In one year this bearded, 70’s inspired band that hails from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan have been on the cover of Rolling Stone, signed to Atlantic records and have grown legendary beards.  After the Basketball Jones live show I was lucky enough to take a cab with the lead singer Ewan Currie, to their concert at Lees Palace where we proceeded to see the band expertly transport the audience back to psychedelic times with their rock anthems.

Library Voices – Summer of Lust

Sounds like: Okkervil River, Ra Ra Riot, Fleetwood Mac

Another band from Saskatchewan! And you thought it was just uranium and oil!  Looking for light-hearted catchy pop music? Library Voices is your band!  This album is a continuous flow of sweet pop tunes with a surfer twist, great for summer and a glass of Pinot Grigio.  They also have a song called Que Sera Sarah, which inspired me to create my own blog so I could call it that, however someone smarter than me had already bought the URL…talk about a “wind out the sails” moment.

Library Voices – Generation Handclap by Nevado

Whitehorse – Whitehorse

Sounds like: Wooden Sky, June Carter and Johnny Cash

I came across Whitehorse whilst trolling blogs other than Panic Manual.  Whitehorse is made up of two independently famous Canadian singer-songwriters, Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland, who also happen to be married (awww).  Whitehorse has a unique rock country twang with some beautiful harmonies between husband and wife (awww).  If you like a good brush drum, definitely check these guys out at the Winter Garden theatre on February 24^th.

Hooded Fang – Tosta Mista

Sounds like: Beach Boys, Surfer Blood, Dum Dum Girls

I was told about Hooded Fang through my boyfriend’s sister’s step daughter Lily who had just seen them at Hillside, (probably the coolest 10 year old I’ve ever met). This album is happy and reminds me of a 60’s high school dance, with some lively tunes like ESP and Tosta Mista and the token slow jam: Den of Love. If you’re around Toronto on December 28^th, go see them at the Drake!

Hooded Fang – Tosta Mista by HoodedFang

Imaginary Cities – Temporary Resident

Sounds like: Adele, Janelle Monae, Amy Winehouse

To many this was the year of Adele, however Marti Sarbit of Imaginary Cities has pipes that will rival Adele’s any day.  I recently read someone describe this Winnipeg band as Motown, which to me is a bit of a misnomer.  Their music is definitely pop first with Marti’s voice giving it some serious soul.   In 2011 Imaginary Cities even opened for The Pixies on the Canadian leg of their tour!  I for one can’t wait for them to tour in 2012, plus their show will be a lot more accessible than Adele’s…

Imaginary Cities – Temporary Resident by goodsouldept

Okay, I’m going to admit it. I used to be one of those people. You know the type; the ones who claimed that they “could never live in Toronto”. Two years ago, I went to Vancouver to check out job prospects, loved the place, and started making plans to move. My family – all from Ontario – objected, pleading with me to consider someplace not so far away. As such, I begrudgingly decided to check out options in Toronto, expecting to hate it and end up in Vancouver anyhow. Boy was I wrong. I knew quickly that the work here was just what I needed, and over the course of this year, I’ve become one of the other kinds of Canadians – the Torontonians who couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. From the perspective of a newbie, here are some of the best things about Toronto…

1. There is live music happening everywhere in this city all the time. Included in that are the usual suspects (ie. The Horseshoe, the Phoenix, the Music Gallery, etc… music venues that are always playing shows), but that is only a small portion. As soon as the weather gets nice in the spring, and right into the fall, there are constantly free shows going on outside – from concerts in Nathan Phillip’s or David Pecaut Squares, to cultural beats at the Harbourfront, and indie shows in Trinity Bellwoods. Then, there are those surprise finds – like flamenco guitar at a little Mexican place on Thursday night, overhearing Ella Fitzgerald covers pouring across the street to my perfect spot on the Diplomatico patio, or my absolute favourite hangover cure… Sunday morning Dixieland Jazz breakfasts at the Rex!! You have to time it just right (they stop serving breakfast at noon, and the jazz doesn’t start until 12:30), but between the amazing homefries and the older gentlemen with serious skills, that place always hits the spot!

2. Toronto has amazing summer evenings. Sitting on a patio, drinking a pint in a summer dress makes me one happy girl. Likewise, late dinners on Baldwin St, bike rides along the harbourfront, ferris wheel rides, secret midnight swimming and even just taking it all in from my own patio with loved ones and great conversation cannot be beat.

3. A sincere appreciation for uniqueness and differences. The most obvious manifestation of this is the insane variety of thriving restaurants from every corner of every country across the world… but all around – skills, art, culture, festivals, language – there really is a space for everyone, and (at least a small group of) people who will support your unique perspective.

4. Speaking of food… there are amazing foodie indulgences everywhere you look. This city is full of farmers markets, little shops and fantastic restaurants. I could spend all day every day tasting, smelling and looking; in fact, I often spend Saturdays doing just that. I have a particular soft spot for cheese, and with at least three shops, and two markets dedicated just to cheese in close walking distance to my house I sample a LOT of cheese. And reminiscent of small town living, when you frequent somewhere enough, you get to know your “neighbours”… the cheesemaker from Ewenity, and the Monforte crew make some mean cheese and are happy to share the stories of how their favourite different varieties were created.

5. (Almost) never having to drive in the city. Driving in this city is enough to make anyone hate Toronto, and frankly, the human race. Fortunately, living downtown means that between my feet, my bike and transit, I only take a car when I’m leaving. Moving around more slowly lets you immerse yourself in the amazing sights, sounds and tapestry of culture that makes up Toronto – smiling at the lovely Museum station, happening upon back alley graffiti masterpieces, smells pouring out of bakeries and restaurants, overhearing lilting conversations in five different languages over a one block span – it is all the little surprises that makes you fall in love with this town.

Much of my 2011 was dedicated to travelling to various locations around the world and seeing as much music as I could.  As a result, I saw a lot of music, and tried to write about as much of it as possible, but of course a number of great shows fell through the cracks for various reasons – laziness, distraction, or simply not knowing what to say at the time.  The end of the year is a perfect time to revisit some of the “ones that got away.”  Now their stories can be told …

Hazel Dickens, March 16, Driskill Room, Austin, TX

Hazel Dickens was one of the performers I was most looking forward to seeing at SXSW simply because I figured it would be my only chance to catch the pioneering bluegrass legend in concert.  This ended up being truer than I’d thought as Dickens passed away just a little over a month after this show, which I believe was her final performance.  While looking a bit frail and older than her 75 years, her voice was still ridiculously powerful and resonant.  I’m definitely glad I got to see this.

Yoko Ono, March 19, Elysium, Austin, TX

Yeah, she’s weird.  Yeah, she can get noisy and the potential for pretentiousness is high.  But here’s the thing: that’s kind of what made this such a great show.  That, and a top notch crew of musicians assembld for her new Plastic Ono Band that included her son Sean (looking a bit goofy in top hat and goatee), Wilco guitarist Nels Cline, Mr. Bungle’s Trevor Dunn, and Yuka Honda of Cibo Matto fame.  With a group that like backing you up, you can get as out there as you want and it’s still going to sound fantastic.  On top of all that, tUnE-yArDs opened things up with a cover of one of Ono’s songs that sounded pretty good as well.

Swans, May 28, Primavera Sound, Barcelona

Epic, noisy, and a little bit scary, Michael Gira and Co. also bring a strange kind of beauty to their sound as well.  Still don’t have that much to say about this set (to quote the title of the song they opened with, I have “No Words/No Thoughts”) but I felt this show was worth mentioning at the very least.

Tindersticks, June 23, BOZAR, Brussels

Performing as part of the Brussels Film Festival, British band Tindersticks put on a special show made up entirely of the music they’ve composed for the films of French filmmaker Claire Denis.  As they band played a bunch of pieces I was unfamiliar with against a backdrop of scenes from a number of Denis’ films, none of which I has seen or ever really heard of before, I was totally drawn in.  Not only by the music, but by the images, which I attempted in my mind to combine into one weird continuous narrative.  The show got me interested in looking deeper into Denis’ works, but on the other hand, I’m not sure if the fake story I made up in my head isn’t better. 

Mercury Rev, May 29, Primavera Sound, Barcelona 

While Ricky will tell you that Pulp’s set at Primavera Sound was hands down the best show he’s seen in his life, for me, it wasn’t even the best set I saw in Barcelona.  Don’t get me wrong, Pulp was fantastic, but for me, this show was much more compelling.  Sure, I was only going on a couple hours sleep from the night before and has just spent an inordiante amount of time waiting to buy a train ticket that afternoon, but after one last trip to the beach and a stroll through the streets of Barcelona taking in the post-Champions League win reverie, i was ready to tackle the Catskills band’s festival closing set at Poble Espanyol.  And what a show it was.  The band sounded amazing and frontman Jonathan Donahue was a sight to behold onstage, progressively getting more drunk on a bottle of wine throughout the set and making pretty much every second of the set a photo op with his dramatic, grandiose gestures.  It’s a shame my camera’s batteries went dead right before I arrived.

So there you have it. 2011 was a pretty good year for live music. 2012, you’ve got a lot to live up to. Don’t let me down.

Every year, we ask our friend Josh from the esteemed music blog Indie Kid vs Dance Kid to give us his best of. This year he just gave us a list of videos but neglected to provide comment, so being the friend that I am, I will provide commentary (in italics)

IKDK Best of Holiday Songs; Best served with Eggnog and Rum

Saint Etienne and Tim Burgess – I Was Born On Christmas Day
Saint Etienne is Josh’s favorite band ever and he used to/still does run a fan site for them.

Pogues – Fairytale Of New York
Classic track from the 80s band fronted by the one and only Shane MacGowan

David Bowie – Sound And Vision
The Thin White Duke makes an entry..

Emmy The Great and Tim Wheeler – Home For The Holidays
A great song that we previously posted about, after Josh posted it on his facebook page

Run DMC- Christmas In Hollis
Despite growing up in a upper middle class neighborhood and also going to a private school, Josh was always rebellious and this Run DMC song proves that he has the edge of a razor sharp knife

Wham – Last Christmas
For me, this song will always be linked to these girls we met at Clintons in October who invited us to go karaoke, then proceeded to only sing Christmas songs.

Flow Machines – I Was Born On Christmas Day
This song sounds like something Jesus would sing

Medicine – Christmas Song
Sounds like a band that I should know about, but don’t.

Velocity Girl – Merry Christmas, I Love You
This sub pop band was named after Primal Scream track

Cocteau Twins – Frosty The Snowman
Seminal 90s Scottish band

Jona Lewie – Stop The Cavalry
No idea who these guys are

Band Aid – Do They Know It’s Christmas
Obviously, I am too young to remember this.

Toronto – 2011 was the beginning of the end for me. At Primavera this May, I saw Pulp one of my two favorite bands. Last December, I saw Suede, my other favorite band. In a span of six months, I saw both my favorite bands, after waiting my entire life to see them.

It will never be topped. Every show I’ve seen since has been diminished in some regard because I will always compare it to the apex of my concert going experience, and it will ultimately fail in comparison. Still, this year, like every year, was great for shows, and here are my favorite moments from this year. In a random order.

Pulp – Do You Remember The First Time?

What an amazing opening track for the show. Totally appropriate, as it was probably the first time most of us have seen Pulp. The way the lights came on, the opening verse (in which we all sang along) and then the utter explosion that was the chorus of the track (completed with the unveiling of the curtain) made this moment the best concert opening ever for me. I still get goosebumps watching this video (not taken by me):

Spin Party, SXSW: The Vaccines, OMD, The Kills, TV on the Radio

Amazing weather, amazing lineup, amazing city. What more can you say about your typical afternoon at SXSW? The lineup at the Spin party featured The Vaccines, who played a brief but rocking 17 minute set and OMD, who played sing-along classic tracks such as If You Leave and Enola Gay to flocks of sunburnt and drunk fans in the middle of the afternoon. To add some icing to the cake, I had a lovely country fried steak after this show, and then we went and saw Matt & Kim. Seriously people, it’s days like this that forces you to go to Austin every year.

Norgaard by The Vaccines

Men Without Hats – Safety Dance, SXSW

First and last time a conga line forms at a concert I go to, probably. What an amazing show with the most confusing crowd ever.

Men Without Hats – Safety Dance 93 by popdjdysh

Empire of the Sun

As visually mind blowing as you expected. The carnival meets space travel meets thundercats show that is Empire of the Sun was about as visually stimulating as you can get. It even made me ignore the fact that I was in the Sound Academy for a brief moment. That in itself deserves some massive recognition.

Art Brut’s Storytelling

Art Brut is one of my favorite live bands – all their shows seem fresh and you can really tell the band wants you to have a good time. The leader of the group is Eddie Argos, who sometimes like to go on a tangent. Sometimes that tangent involves breaking off in the middle of a song and telling a ten minute story about going to a museum that somehow leads to the entire Mod Club jumping up and down. Sometimes that happens at NXNE. What a great moment.

Art Brut – Modern Art by everybodystalking

Part 2 to come at some point.