few i forgot to mention

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shearwater

northern soul - how was matthew good ? i have always wented to see him

Top 4:

1. The Posies - October 2 - La Sala Rossa

Pretty much the best show I ever went to in the 7 years of me attending shows on a regular basis.

2. Autolux - Feb 1 - Cabaret
3. Dredg - Aug - La Tulipe
4. The Helio Sequence - June - El Salon

i still have a few more shows to attend to for the remainder of the year (explosions in the sky, helen stellar/the 88, we are scientists) but my list probably will be this:

1. wolf parade @ the bowery ballroom (cmj) - along with kinski, rogue wave, the constantines: well, duh, i'm obsessed with wolf parade. and it was new york. i always love seeing shows outside of la. that shit was amazing- not to mention meeting dan & spencer after the show and giggling like a little schoolgirl afterwards. the constantines were primo as well.

2. royskopp / basement jaxx @ the hollywood bowl - there is nothing like being with a group of 10-12 of your closest friends and just dancing your ass off all night. it was for a friend's birthday and he WORSHIPS b. jaxx so it was a fun night. and b. jaxx live is something you CANNOT fuck with.

3. arcade fire @ the troub- first time seeing them live, at an intimate venue like the troub, and it was tania (aural fixation)'s birthday. we were up in the very front, and it was unreal. since they blew up, they won't ever play at a venue like that again. funny how 6 months later i see them open for david byrne at a HUGE venue like the hollywood bowl.

4. digable planets @ the el rey- reunion tour, i loved these cats in h.s. so it was pretty damn amazing to see them play again. and ladybug is hot.

5. gang of four @ avalon- great to see them play at a somewhat small venue. plus being up in the front always helps- their energy was just phenomenal.

The Azoic were my favourite because I got to meet them and got hugs.

2/11 - Jens Lekman @ PA's Lounge
2/25 - The Futureheads @ The Paradise
3/9 - Les Georges Leningrad @ PA's Lounge
4/4 - Lightning Bolt @ Great Scott
4/13 - Fantomas, The Locust @ The Roxy
5/10 - Thunderbirds Are Now! @ Great Scott
5/14 - Neil Hamburger @ Great Scott
6/5 - Lucero @ The Middle East
7/2 - Cheater Slicks @ The Middle East
8/9 - Hot Snakes @ Bowery Ballroom
9/21 - Hot Chip @ The Middle East
10/10 - Jamie Lidell @ Bowery Ballroom
10/16 - John Vanderslice @ Middle East
10/22 - Tunnel Of Love, The Original 3, The Turpentine Brothers @ PA's Lounge
11/1 - The Go! Team @ The Paradise
11/7 - Tom Vek @ TT's
11/20 - Immortal Technique @ Middle East

OH YEAH.

hon. ments:
while at cmj--
hot chip @ north six 9/14
the rakes @ the fader lounge 9/14

also:
tom vek @ the troubadour 11/23

Have you introduced yourself to the board? I'm just curious because I was at a few of those shows, as was James (Z).

I wrote up a top five last night, which I'm not sure if I''ll post. The Features were my number 5.

1. Arcade Fire - 9:30 Club, Washington DC: Best show of 2005? Hell, arguably the best show I've ever been to. Yes, I am a total Arcade Fire fanboy.

2. Pixies - Merriweather Post Pavillion, Columbia MD: They got their gold record for Surfer Rosa at this show, and arguably rocked harder than they did at Coachella 2004. Plus, my life was not in peril during this performance (nor was swiateck's, largely because he wasn't there).

3. The Hard Lessons - The Lager House, Detroit MI: My second time seeing them, my first concert in my hometown in two years, and their first concert in Detroit after a long West Coast tour. Fuck yeah.

hey alright

3/18 (with jagged):
Spoon @ La Zona Rosa in Austin, TX during SXSW
Pretty much everything about this show -- including how we went on a whim at the last minute -- was dead solid perfect. Probably the happiest I've been for a single two-hour period in years.

6/6 (with jagged):
Ted Leo/Pharmacists, The Oranges Band, and The Fall Collection @ The Gypsy Tea Room in Dallas, TX (Deep Ellum, to be exact)
Leo slayed. Boundless energy. Tight as shit rhythm section. Wacky banter. I will make it a point to see Leo/Rx every time they roll through town.

6/20 (with jagged):
Neko Case and Johnny Dowd @ Sons of Herrmann Hall in Dallas, TX
A wonderful dream. Beautiful music sung with a beautiful voice by a beautiful woman who touched my soul...and my shoulder!

11/18 (with jagged):
My Morning Jacket and Will Johnson @ The Gypsy Ball Room in Dallas, TX

Rock gods, man. ROCK. GODS.

Relentless.
Onslaught.
Shredding.
Jaw-dropping.
Bone-rattling.
Soul-shaking.
Cathartic.
Awestruck.
Tinnitis.

As great as all the other shows I listed were, MMJ was THE BEST!

1. Ray LaMontagne
2. White Stripes
3. Mike Doughty (x 4)
4. Ted Leo
5. New Pornographers (sans Neko)


I really enjoyed each of the (few) shows I went to this year, but I guess that's the order I'd put them in. Mike Doughty should be higher, because I'm obsessed with him, but the White Stripes and Ray LaMontagne really impressed me.

I'll go with Neko...she was great, the venue was great, the crowd was great...it all came together

MMJ gets dinged for the suck-ass crowd...but the band was tight as shit

Spoon was really good

so were the Black Keys

I don't see too many big-rock spectacles these days, but Oasis was fun

i wasn't at any of these shows, but it should be a crime to rank mike doughty higher than the white stripes live. so, you are still squeaky clean.

They would have been ranked first had I know anything about Ray LaMontagne's live show, but since I didn't, there was no expectation to meet and he blew me away.