Live Act(s) of the Year

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With the Grammys endless lists out and album lists due to drop around us at any minute, let’s do what DiS does best and recognise some other areas of the industry

I’m always curious who the best live acts people have seen are as there’s so much scope, so feel free to add some more sub categories if you wanna shout out multiple acts (and add a sentence or two if you don’t think many people will know who they are or you wanna say why)

Best Live Act: Young Fathers - they’ve been the best band in the world for a while and somehow keep getting better

Best First Gig; The Faux Faux at Groucho - technically Faith has played loads of shows in PINS but her first solo show was incredible

Proudest Gig: The Anchoress at Queen Elizabeth Hall - I’ve worked with Catherine for many years and it was a huge moment seeing her headline such a legendary London venue

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Not “best” if we’re talking technically or whatever, as there were (understandably) a few mistakes, but the best gig for me this year in terms of enjoyment and being an all round lovely experience was seeing Patrick Wolf at the Globe in Cardiff on his first tour in however many years.

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Best were The Callous Daoboys. Just one of those gigs which reminds me of why I love music.

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Quality over quantity for me this year on the gig front. I think the recent Protomartyr gig at the Electric Ballroom was probably the best, as they are the best, but I can’t remember too much specifically due to getting in a right old state. Billy Bragg and Fever Ray were both fantastic too.

Saw a bunch of great stuff at Primavera Porto too, in the pissing rain.

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It’s Young Fathers

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My list:

1. Bruce Springsteen at Hyde Park

Perhaps the best gig I’ve ever been to. We got a perfect setlist and The Boss was the boss. Every gig I’ll been going to in the future has this to measure up to. If asked what your favourite concert/gig ever is and you reply “Springsteen” you might seem a cliche…but what a gig…I’ve never experienced anything like that before. Just phenomenal.

2. Metric at The Roundhouse and Rough Trade West

Saw the two sides of Metric this year. Both great. At The Roundhouse they figuratively blew the roof off. Their big hitters sounded even grander. At Rough Trade West, me and 30 others were treated to their acoustic side and they’re as delicate and as beautiful as they are loud with their amps plugged in.

3. Yo La Tengo at The London Palladium

Their new album reacquainted me with them as I skipped so many of their recent stuff. I’d have Heart Beating As One as one of my all time favourites and great to see them after maybe a six or seven year break.

4. The Pretenders at Lafayette

So glad Chrissie Hynde has no intention of slowing down. She just kicks ass live.

5. Lael Neale at The Lexington

Came back from a trip at NYC in the morning of this and wondered whether to go as I was knackered. Her new album is definitely in my top 5 of the year and she put on such a brilliant live show.

6. Lana Del Rey at Hyde Park

She can prove the doubters wrong. A few days or so after personal attacks after her shortened Glastonbury set she delivered a brilliant theatrical set at huge stage. Loved it.

7. Jen Cloher at The Jazz Cafe

Her new album like much of her early albums don’t seem to get the accolade they deserve. This gig was great and her backing band/artists of a Māori group was great fun and very memorable.

8. Belle and Sebastian (both shows) at The Roundhouse

Their gigs are now always fun nostalgic shows for me and remind me of being in my 20s.

9. Sugababes at The Garage

A very small one for them. Just smiles everywhere.

10. PJ Harvey at The Roundhouse

We got the new album in full and songs from her back catalogue but not a “best of set”. She’s able to do whatever she wants as she is one of the best British artists ever. Is This Desire? is phenomenal for me. I love some of her other albums. Other albums of hers I just don’t like. But I do like the fact that her music always challenges me. There’s no one else like her.

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I saw 2 gigs this year. So yeah. YLT and The Walkmen

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Model/Actriz at Wide Awake.

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Beyoncé

Edit: don’t think I really need to elaborate because it’s Beyoncé but she has the best voice I have ever heard live, the show was incredible start to finish and impeccably choreographed, she managed to go from a big ballad in a ball gown to some kind of robot alien number, and it ended with her on a flying glittery horse having dropped not one note in three hours.

Like I enjoyed seeing American Football and whatever else this year but it would be silly to even try and compare anything else I saw this year with that show.

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Their birmingham gig is the only one I’ve been to so far this year (ignoring a mates DIY thing a while back) but I’m pretty sure it still would have been a gig of the year contender even if I’d gone to a gig a week…

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The Beths, BoyGenius and Algernon Cadwallader were the shows that made me smile the most.

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Kicking myself for not making it up to Stockholm for the opening night of her tour

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Best dance act. Alex Banks in some tiny room in Bethnal Green. My mate and I were around 20 years older than most of the crowd but it didn’t matter. He just banged out a perfect techno set.

Best gig of the year? I’ve about 5 left before Xmas, but so far it’s Cult of Luna. They’re just one of the best live bands out there at the moment and Beyond the Red Shift was a great day.

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This ^

I went primarily for my wife and daughters (and because it meant a weekend away in Scotland).

I left a fan.

Not so much a gig, and more a mind-blowing spectacle of epic proportions.

Above all else, though, that voice, and those tunes.

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A bit different to Beyonce, perhaps, but this is right up there too.

It was a great day, and Cult of Luna were (always are) truly magnificent.

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It’s Young fathers by a mile. Easy win.

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Fever Ray was incredible. Confidence Man continue to be the most fun.

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So far it’s

  1. DITZ - Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh
  2. The Chemical Brothers - OVO Hydro, Glasgow
  3. Suede - The Music Hall, Aberdeen

QOTSA next Saturday at Hydro will hopefully top them all

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Still annoyed I didn’t get to that Ditz gig

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  1. Mickey Callisto at Dot to Dot, Nottingham
  2. Last Dinner Party at Bodega, Nottingham
  3. Anthony Szmierek at Live at Leeds, Leeds

Not loads of great gigs this year but went to three all day festivals (the two mentioned and Somewhere in Sheffield). Gigs have become for me more of a social thing to do with my partner and we’ve got a small group of bands we like seeing (the three above and Hamish Hawk) and making trips around. Not sure anything stands up to Ditz or Sigur Ros last year, but I’ve had more fun at concerts than I have before (arguably because I’m not watching boring shoegaze and post rock bands).