Shows I went to in 2017
Woo boy here they come here comes the shows |
| 1 | Mates of State
good ol time with the lady in ol new haven. show was at the bar named BAR which in true new haven fashion was packed to the brim with yale types and rather overwhelming and obnoxious. but seeing mates of state is sure to warm the heart and this was no exception. pretty much exclusively played My Solo Project tunes which was a plus |
| 2 | Alcest
er i remember they were loud and good and sound great live |
| 3 | Cate Le Bon
small dive-ish bar and my first time in Hudson NY. i just got into her last year with the excellent Crab Day and this certainly solidified my newfound fandom. great to hear most of that album plus more. was right up front |
| 4 | The Body
i love the body but i dunno man. i had just seen them open on that Alcest show too the month before too and this was the same schtick -- no live instrumentation, just three dudes standing at laptops/machines pressing buttons sometimes, one guy screaming with a screen playing eDgY shit in the back. too pre-recorded and not enough going on to back it up really. loud and ridiculous but just kind of a letdown both times. stick to the records i say |
| 5 | Pissed Jeans
passed up seeing these guys a few times in the past so siked i finally saw em touring one of my faves from them (this year's Why Love Now). fun show, had a good Boston day beforehand, good mix of old+new tunes, good moshin and singalong action |
| 6 | Nails
i believe there may have been some notable openers but they've slipped my mind. sold out show. scary moshing that i avoided, pummeling sound and people getting pummeled, heavy and brooootal man |
| 7 | King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard
part of a memorable Portland ME weekend with a good group of friends, holy moly do they rule live. very fun and insane stage presence with 2 perfectly aligned drummer and like 7 people total. moshing and fist pumps and sweat galore. played lots of flying microtonal and nonagon. particularly remembered a new track that would later be a fave from murder of the universe: "VOMIT COFFIN" |
| 8 | Oathbreaker
Cammyboy aka cjbizzlebizzle recommended Rheia early in the year and it wound up being one of the most aw-man-shoulda-got-it-last-year albums of the year. this was another performance that helped solidify an artist for me. shutting up lotsa bar chatter in an instant upon opening with "10:56" will forever be an epic show memory |
| 9 | Mastodon
an all out wtf non-"festival" metal lineup for the ages: Mastodon headlining alongside Opeth, Gojira, Devin Townshend, Eagles of Death Metal (? k) and Russian Circles. Big ol group with the ol air b&b in philly, good times were had. beer+food consumption like no one's business and this show was massive. massive lines, massive bands, massive riffs, massive amount of black shirts, massive amount of whining douchery via Brent Hinds. We missed Russian Circles but heard em kinda while in mass line. Gojira was best imo |
| 10 | Conan
this was like a slow heavy headbanging good time. yes i'm sure of it. i do remember North and Wormwood being notably cool too |
| 11 | 9 Shocks Terror
me and the bizzle out in the nyc, this was so epic. hadn't seen 9 shocks since like 2002 and their shows from back then were like some enlightening and crucial high school-era happenings kinda shit. and this show was some in the front circle pit nostalgic ferocity. hoarse voice and gnarly whiplash the next day. show of the year shit |
| 12 | DJ Tiga
DJJJJ TIGGGAA wut. me and RyRy aka cheap crayon drove to a sketchy 2-floor nightclub where no one gave a shit it was tiga only that there'd be a dj. what started as the most awkwardly empty dance floor ever by the end had erupted with breakdancers and men in suits and generic woman wooing. a guy knocked over my beer from 10 ft away with his dreadlocks. a different guy asked me if was okay while standing there and headbanging. after his set i told TiGa that The Sound Volume 1 was the best album of 2016 and he gave me a hug. his hoodie was sparkling-clean white. good night |
| 13 | Dinosaur Jr.
errr they played an unannounced show outside in a small town common on a beautiful day, and only You're Living All Over Me (not quite) in full to boot. Western Mass perks I spose? Still say it's not the whole album without "Poledo" |
| 14 | Big Thief
they rule, but they and especially whoever the acoustic guy was who played first (sorry acoustic guy) really got the shaft via crowd chatter. it was pretty crowded but it seemed like 75% of the people there didn't give much of a shit about a show going on. it was my first time at this venue and they seemed err ill-prepared to handle a crowd of this magnitude and balance out bar/restaurant patrons and showgoers. Both artists too timid to put up a stink. Would see them again fo sho. Just someplace else |
| 15 | Mount Eerie
i dreaded and looked forward to this show very much. all seated maybe 100-person space in Providence RI served for a fittingly intimate setting. just him and an acoustic up there somehow made it that much more crushing. yeah, crushing enrapturing stuff. played a few of A Crow Looked Like Me then unexpectedly had even MORE new songs about, you know. wife. many still seemed like sketches and incorporated an almost sun kil moon-style autobio ramble, which gave me mixed feelings man. but yes. special. i also told phil i loved him while buying merch before the show. Juilos etc. afterwords we get a room at this stupidly sketchy hotel, walk in the room, and somehow someway there's someone else already in there! he was pissed which is certainly justified. we said nvm see ya and drove 90 miles home instead |
| 16 | Jay Som
Harvard pizza or whatever beforehand i think? Yeah. she's good. |
| 17 | Smash Mouth
they played at this local fair and it was free, what you wouldn't go? almost impossible to see a show there and not cringe but this i just had to witness the spectacle, and inevitably hear "all-star" and "walking on the sun". they played one of those and maybe 4 more then singer guy started inviting girls on the stage and asking their age before dancing with em. too much to bear, we left and i probably got a deep-fried m&m burger or something |
| 18 | Between the Buried and Me
Colors is 10 years old wow Colors can be played in full live wow Colors can STILL be played by these dudes pretty damn well night after night wow. |
| 19 | Andrew W.K.
I got wet and you better believe it. Last time ever at Sunset Grill (RIP), crew rollin deep, headbanging silhouette as kickoff, countdown from 100 into "party hard" as sendoff, put the hoarseness and whiplash of 9 shocks to shame. Incredibly fun and a long overdue artist to see for me |
| 20 | Chelsea Wolfe
she cancelled in 2016 cuz of throat stuff so siked there was no flakage this time around. not the huuuugest Hiss Spun fan but it sounded awesome live plus plenty of earlier material. Youth Code were a treat to see as an opener in all their spitting/industrial thrashing/technical malfunction glory. 2 very different goth-type actz coming together. i had 3 cds stuffed in my pants which i think was a new record for me |
| 21 | Boris
Endon opened and had to be the loudest thing i've ever seen, music-wise or otherwise. Too loud would certainly be a fair complaint. But jeez that performance. 2 months later i think i can still hear it. Mutoid Man opened too and I love me some Mutoid Man but it was like a 25-minute set that was half bordering-on-lame banter and tuning issues. Boris kills it live so much they made me enjoy Dear in full so good on them |
| 22 | Slowdive
Fun day which included a pitstop at OEC Brewing and once again BAR in new haven; which was still not only packed to the brim with Yale types but little kids for some reason too. i'd seen Slowdive in '13 or '14 on one of their initial reunion tours, and with the baller venue and new s/t material this time around certainly was a step up. Close your eyes and bliss out kinda show for sure. Skated in the cold city night for a bit afterwards which was glorious |
| 23 | Regina Spektor
Not really familiar with her stuff post-Begin to Hope but "us" is still a stunner and good to see her still bang a chair with a stick on "poor little rich boy". That quirk and banter tho, it's a bit insufferable. Twas at a theater/newly turned venue in the area which was pretty nice on the inside but they need to work on their line control and turn the heat down |
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