Top 5 Concerts of 2017

[martha]

Limit it to the best five concerts you saw in 2017, in order. Annotate if you like.


I saw a buttload of shows this year, maybe too many, if that's possible.


1. Nick Cave at the Greek. No contest. This was an amazing show. Intense emotional and musically.

2. Sturgill Simpson at Greek. The best of the three times I've seen him. He stripped his band down to a four-piece and played his own guitar. So good.

3. Radiohead in Portland. Fuuucckk. I'm still shaking pieces of the roof out of my hair from when they played Burn the Witch.

4. Nixon in China--LA Phil at WDCH. One of my favorite operas in a semi-staged production. So good, even when I was on anti-histmines.

5. U2--Rose Bowl first night. An abbreviated ASOH is better than none, right?

 

[RoKKeR]

Wait, how was ASOH abbreviated at LA1? I was there... they played the whole thing.

A great year of concerts for me, lots of U2 but lots of other bands as well. Hard not to load it up with U2 as I got to see them in some amazing new places this year, so apologies there.

1. Yellowcard's Final Show in LA Damn, this was an emotional show. This was my band growing up as a kid, and they called it a year this year. Fortunate enough to go to the final show in LA, and it was truly an unforgettable night. Will miss these guys, they were a fantastic live band.

2. U2, LA1 - first TJT show, with my family/U2 friends, great set and energy, and I was in the perfect spot in GA to see both the tree stage and the main screen. Remember being absolutely floored when they fired it up for Streets... it almost didn't look real. (Honorable mention: U2 in Dublin, Paris 1)

3. Milky Chance - maybe the best sounding concert I've ever been to, the sound was dialed in perfectly. Incredibly groovy band.

4. Wolf Alice - My favorite up and coming band, caught them before they closed out the year just last week. Tough songs to play live but they nailed them, so impressed how they translated the songs to a live setting. Will definitely be seeing them again.

5. The War on Drugs - Definitely an interesting show, but an incredible display of musicianship. They played almost the entirety of the new album, and hearing that guitar tone live was an experience.

Great year of live music. Here's to 2018.

 

[Axver]

First, four honourable mentions before I begin my countdown, for I considered all of these shows for my fifth place:

Esben and the Witch at Club Stereo, Nuremberg
Explosions in the Sky at the Melbourne Recital Hall (first night)
Midnight Oil at Amager Bio, Copenhagen
Roadburn Festival (day 4 only) at the 013, Tilburg (Author and Punisher, Come to Grief, Inter Arma, Les Discrets, Pallbearer, Pillorian, Temple ov BBV, Ulver)

5. We Lost the Sea at the Lansdowne Hotel, Sydney

I saw WLTS twice this year - once in January in Melbourne and once in December in Sydney. Good bookends. The first time, they were doing an encore run around Australia playing their new album Departure Songs in full, as the first round in 2016 had not come close to meeting demand. In December, though, they took things up a notch: touring to commemorate five years since The Quietest Place on Earth, their second album and the last to feature vocals by their former lead singer, who committed suicide the year after it came out. This show had all the emotion. All of it. They found a fantastic guest vocalist to take Chris Torpy's place and played most of Quietest Place, one song from the debut, and a few instrumentals from Departure Songs. I thought I'd seen immense performances from this band before, but this was on a level you will almost never see. Oh yeah, and Rosetta were the support, delivering the best of the three sets I've seen them play.

4. Pinback at the Columbia City Theatre, Seattle

Hard to choose which of the two concerts was better, because they kind of functioned as a unified whole: one night was all of Autumn of the Seraphs, while the second traversed their entire career, with not a whole lot of crossover between setlists. But I would have to take the second night simply because "Proceed to Memory" was the most powerful moment of either show, and it was only done that one time.

3. A Colossal Weekend at Vega, Copenhagen (Agent Fresco, Alcest, Anna von Hausswolff, Deafheaven, Emma Ruth Rundle, Mouse on the Keys, Mutiny on the Bounty, Oxbow, The Physics House Band, Redwood Hill, Speaker Bite Me, Sumac, Toundra, Tvivler, Valerian Swing, Yndi Halda)

Best festival I have ever attended, if you don't count my #1. Agent Fresco, Emma Ruth Rundle, The Physics House Band, and Toundra all deserve shoutouts for excellent performances. But the high point was without question Yndi Halda and Alcest back to back. I doubt I will ever experience such beauty in concert again.

2. Ride at the New Theatre, Oxford

My favourite shoegaze band launching their fantastic new album at a gorgeous theatre in their hometown? And I got a front row seat? And they did their longest setlist of the tour to date, throwing in a couple of sweet rarities for the hometown crowd? Holy hell this was incredible. "Leave Them All Behind" in the encore is a monumental experience I will never forget.

1. Roogaze 2017 at the Tote, Melbourne (Bloodhounds on My Trail, Hideous Towns, Flyying Colours, Kodiak Galaxy, Laedj, Lowtide, The Provincialists, Seance Mystere, Vim, White Walls, Zond)

Yeah, so, I organised this year's edition of Melbourne's shoegaze mini-fest. It took place on the night before I moved away from Melbourne and featured ten of my favourite local bands, plus my own band opened the night. It was the most meaningful concert I've ever attended. I can't describe what it meant to me to perform with a bunch of good mates on a lineup with so many local legends who were all only too eager to be on the bill and whose performances were all enthralling.

 

[cobl04]

Great picks Martha hopefully I'll get the chance to see Radiohead again some day......

Pretty easy for me.

1. Gang of Youths at Festival Hall, Melbourne. Felt like the sort of gig that I'll be telling my grandkids about. "Biggest band in the world and I was at their coming out gig." Left me awestruck.

2. U2 x2 at the Rose Bowl, LA. I flew halfway across the world for this and it was worth every last cent. Hearing Running to Stand Still live broke me. Just only wish I could recall A Sort of Homecoming from night one better.

3. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds at Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne. Truly something special. Thunderous, incredibly intense. An unmissable show from an act at the very top of their game in their fifth decade.

4. LCD Soundsystem at Homophobic God-Fearing Cunt Arena, Melbourne. Got drunk as all fuck and danced the night away to about 15 of my all-time favourite songs. Exceptional.

5. Car Seat Headrest at The Curtin, Melbourne. A few contenders for this slot (in no order Springsteen, Paul Dempsey, Sampha, Ariana Grande, Julien Baker), a bit below the top four, but I'm giving it to Car Seat Headrest for being an exciting young rock band. Destroyed by Hippie Powers and Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales were sublime, as was their cover of Boys Next Doors' Shivers. Shithouse venue though.

 

[cobl04]

1. Roogaze 2017 at the Tote, Melbourne (Bloodhounds on My Trail, Hideous Towns, Flyying Colours, Kodiak Galaxy, Laedj, Lowtide, The Provincialists, Seance Mystere, Vim, White Walls, Zond)

Yeah, so, I organised this year's edition of Melbourne's shoegaze mini-fest. It took place on the night before I moved away from Melbourne and featured ten of my favourite local bands, plus my own band opened the night. It was the most meaningful concert I've ever attended. I can't describe what it meant to me to perform with a bunch of good mates on a lineup with so many local legends who were all only too eager to be on the bill.

I wish you had told me about this. Sounds like I missed something pretty special.

 

[Axver]

Homophobic God-Fearing Cunt Arena, Melbourne.

And what have you got against the Curtin? If I were to hang shit on any venue from your list it would be the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.

I wish you had told me about this. Sounds like I missed something pretty special.

I bloody posted about it enough on Facebook! But I suppose its algorithms decided you didn't give a shit and I'm too polite to do the "invite all contacts" thing.

 

[cobl04]

And what have you got against the Curtin? If I were to hang shit on any venue from your list it would be the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.



I bloody posted about it enough on Facebook! But I suppose its algorithms decided you didn't give a shit and I'm too polite to do the "invite all contacts" thing.

it's a fucking nightmare mate. the pub is great but the bandroom, getting up there, the bar being in the corner, the stage being on the left side of the room instead of the centre, the gigantic fire hazard being the only exit in the middle of the room surrounded by people, shit sight lines, I could go on and on.

Sidney Myer is a pain in the arse because it's impossible to get a good spot but all the concerts I've seen there have been excellent.

yes, next time, do not be that polite.

 

[Axver]

it's a fucking nightmare mate. the pub is great but the bandroom, getting up there, the bar being in the corner, the stage being on the left side of the room instead of the centre, the gigantic fire hazard being the only exit in the middle of the room surrounded by people, shit sight lines, I could go on and on.

Sidney Myer is a pain in the arse because it's impossible to get a good spot but all the concerts I've seen there have been excellent.

yes, next time, do not be that polite.

Well, usually when I'm there for a gig I'm not drinking; I'm holding a spot up front. It's one of those venues where if you're front row centre you don't get vocals, but standing hard left or right tends to work out with good sound. And they also put on small local bands where I can drink and just waltz to the front when each band begins. They're good at supporting the scene.

But yeah fair call on how much of a fucking fire hazard it is. I'd also hate to get out of the Gaso's upstairs band room in a hurry.

What shits me about Sidney Myer is how the seated area is in front of the GA area. Get fucked.

 

[cobl04]

Yes, me too. To get a good spot you have to get a seat... but then you're stuck with a seat and the ever-present risk of a funereal Melbourne crowd. Although I have to say the only time I've had a seat there was for Tame Impala and we stood for the majority of the show.

 

[kabigon]

I had a seat at the 'Bowl on Saturday and was a bit surprised by how positive the reaction was for Gang of Youths. Never seen such a popular support act. Usually you'll get a polite smattering of applause and nobody seems to be paying attention.

 

[Axver]

I reckon Melbourne crowds have relaxed a bit in recent years. I remember gigs at the start of this decade where people just... stood still. It was like they were only at places like the Corner to be seen, and to show off how cool they are. But over the last few years it seems people feel more comfortable to let go a bit.

 

[cobl04]

I had a seat at the 'Bowl on Saturday and was a bit surprised by how positive the reaction was for Gang of Youths. Never seen such a popular support act. Usually you'll get a polite smattering of applause and nobody seems to be paying attention.

They're massive though, seriously. I can't recall an Australian band this popular since Tame Impala. They're gonna have at least three songs in the top 10 of the Hottest 100 next week.

 

[kabigon]

They're massive though, seriously. I can't recall an Australian band this popular since Tame Impala. They're gonna have at least three songs in the top 10 of the Hottest 100 next week.

I was getting a big INXS vibe during the whole show. I can see now that they're gonna be around for a long while.

 

[cobl04]

Yes. So much like INXS it's not funny. Check me out here, wrote this earlier in the year: The life-affirming joy of Gang of Youths might just change the world

 

[superchuk5]

5. Arcade Fire @ Capital One Arena - On the rail GA was fun
4. Coldplay @ FedEx Field - Chris Martin is a terrible dancer, but he's so enthusiastic
3. Jay-Z @ Capital One Arena - 2 hours, just Hov, in the round, no backing vocals.
2. U2 @ FedEx Field - GA with my dad. Also, headstand man FTW.
1. Concert for Charlottesville @ Scott Stadium - Dave Matthews, Justin Timberlake, Ariana Grande, Chris Stapleton, The Roots, Pharrell Williams, and Cage the Elephant on one bill. Also, surprise appearances by Coldplay and closing with Stevie Wonder (!!). Yup.

 

[djerdap]

The Stone Roses/Primal Scream at Hampden Park, Glasgow (insane audience - haven't seen anything like it before)
Sigur Ros at Dom Sportova Hall, Zagreb
U2 at Twickenham Stadium, London
Mogwai at Columbiahalle, Berlin
Radiohead at Visarno Arena, Florence

honorable mentions:
The National at Annexet, Stockholm
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at Kombank Arena, Belgrade

 

[kabigon]

1. U2 - By default, this was always going to be number one after not seeing them for over six years and playing such an album in full. However, I came very close to not getting on the plane to the US at all due to some last minute personal stuff, so it's extra special for me. In some ways it feels more a relief that I made it, rather than realising what a privilige it is just to be able to do something as trivial as travel 15 hours on a plane to see a band.
Rose Bowl I for ASOH and having Bad unexpectedly near the end of the set given that setlist surprises were pretty rare.

2. Midnight Oil - Saw three shows and wish I'd seen more. The second show at the Music Bowl had the best energy of the three I felt, up until Jim Moginie's fall at the end of the main set which led to a shortened encore (luckily Jim was ok and they were able to play the third show a week later). Great balance of hitz and less commonly played songs each night.

3. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Hot, humid night under heavy clouds was an appropriate setting for such a heavy album.

4. LCD Soundsystem - Obscured seat on the side trying to see through the gaps of the massive speakers, and I had to find medical assistance for the person sitting next to me, so I was a bit distracted during the whole show. So glad they're coming back next year (this almost never happens in our backwater) and I can make up for it.

5. The Legend Of Zelda Symphony Of The Goddesses - Zelda + Orchestra. Not much to say here. All the nostalgia and feels.

 

[Axver]

2. Midnight Oil - Saw three shows and wish I'd seen more. The second show at the Music Bowl had the best energy of the three I felt, up until Jim Moginie's fall at the end of the main set which led to a shortened encore (luckily Jim was ok and they were able to play the third show a week later). Great balance of hitz and less commonly played songs each night.

Ha, that's the Melbourne show I attended too. I did rather well for getting "Hercules", one of my all-time favourite Oils songs and not a common feature in their setlists (they did the whole Species Deceases EP in Copenhagen). I was in the GA section and at the end of the main set I just thought Moginie was rocking out really hard - none of us had any idea he'd hurt himself badly until Peter informed the crowd at the start of the encore.

It's not easy for me to rank the three shows I saw. That Melbourne one was great, and Wollongong had an awesome setlist (I'd honestly never even heard "Surfing With a Spoon" before, and "Wedding Cake Island" was a big surprise). But Copenhagen wins not just because it was in a much smaller venue than anything back home and I scored front row effortlessly, but also because we got the longest set of tour! That was quite some luck.

 

[kabigon]

Ha, that's the Melbourne show I attended too. I did rather well for getting "Hercules", one of my all-time favourite Oils songs and not a common feature in their setlists (they did the whole Species Deceases EP in Copenhagen). I was in the GA section and at the end of the main set I just thought Moginie was rocking out really hard - none of us had any idea he'd hurt himself badly until Peter informed the crowd at the start of the encore.

It's not easy for me to rank the three shows I saw. That Melbourne one was great, and Wollongong had an awesome setlist (I'd honestly never even heard "Surfing With a Spoon" before, and "Wedding Cake Island" was a big surprise). But Copenhagen wins not just because it was in a much smaller venue than anything back home and I scored front row effortlessly, but also because we got the longest set of tour! That was quite some luck.

I didn't really see Jim fall either, despite being a couple people back on the lawn. Just that something was wrong with the sound.

A day or two before the last show I saw, I was thinking it'd be cool if they played Mountains of Burma. Then they did. Without knowing how rare it was, I looked up SetlistFM after the show and saw they'd only played it 6 times this year.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I've only seen U2 twice at Met Life and Roger Waters at Capital One Arena, because I'm an old now.

I watched GNR and Depeche Mode soundcheck, though. I guess that counts. Also, old.

 

[martha]

Rank 'em.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[lazarus]

I don't go to many live shows anymore.

1. La Femme at Desert Daze festival in Joshua Tree
Late to the game with this French band, only had heard a few songs that my roommate played for me. This show blew me out of the water, and now I'm obsessed with their 2 albums. Seeing them again next weekend; it appears they've been spending a lot of time in the states lately.

2. Saint Etienne at The Glass House, Pomona
Been a fan of them since the late 90s when their Good Humor album came out, and this was the first time I managed to see them live after wanting to for so long. They've been very consistent with their albums over the years, and this show was a good mix of some old favs with a good helping of their newest release from this year. Sarah Cracknell was having some throat issues but still sounded really good.

3. U2 at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena (night 1)
Not much to add to what's already been said. I feel like we got one of the best setlists of the tour (the only better one was Seattle, I think?), with ASOH before it was shamefully dropped and a surprise showing of Bad in its rightful place near the end. We thought we might be hearing Little Things as the finale but were actually more excited when they did I Will Follow instead. Also, earlier Bono dedicated RTSS to Chris Cornell who had died a couple years earlier, and I highly doubt there was a more emotional performance of it on the tour.

4. Spiritualized at Desert Daze festival in Joshua Tree
If you've ever seen them, you'll understand. Few bands reach a level of sustained transcendence like they do. The 1-2-3 punch at the end of Cop Shoot Cop, So Long You Pretty Thing, and Oh Happy Day was just next fucking level.

5. Facial at Echo Park Rising festival
One of the neighborhood's best new bands. Highly suggest checking them out if you haven't yet, particularly their new album Facade. I could make lazy comparisons to Nirvana or Joy Division but I don't know how accurate that would be. A lot of energy. And the trio constantly switches instruments; they can all play drums, guitar, and bass, and share lead vocals. It didn't come off as gimmicky as that sort of thing sometimes does.

 

[Joey788]

I did a post of my 10 favorite concerts this year here:

My Favorite Concerts of 2017 | The Casual Geekery

If I had to narrow it down to five, the best shows would be St. Vincent, U2, Lorde, LCD Soundsystem and The National.