(Photo: Tomoko x (Flickr))
40. Vampire Weekend
The Preppy Ivy Leaguers subscribe unerringly to the New Porno‘s school of “no-frills performance“, but this short but sweet set was bouncy fun from start to finish. Proceedings were almost scuppered by an unforeseen fire alarm, but order was restored in time for a exultant Walcott.
39. Fleet Foxes
A tad over-rated on record, but live the Seattle five-piece deliver the goods with their lusciously baroque harmonies melting the hearts of even the sternest critic. Real nice guys too.
38. Polysics
The sterilely corporate Islington Academy isn’t the obvious venue for the Polysics’ brand of day-glo electro-J-pop but with four Japanese folk in fluorescent orange boiler suits yelling “BABY BIIIIIIIIIII-IIIIIIIIII-AAAAAAAAAAASSS” at you, you’re probably too busy to take in the surroundings. Quite impressed by how they managed to speed up their already rather up-tempo back catalogue…
37. Battles
If it hadn’t constituted the same set as the previous three times I’d seen them, this would be much higher on the list. But not even John Stanier’s earth-sundering drumming and a top-notch Atlas could stop this show from feeling a little stale.
36. DeVotchKa
Notable for being the only time in all my gig-watching career that I’ve ever seen a sousaphone. Think Calexico without the aridness, or a dapper version of Beirut; a great, old-school band with accordions and singalongs galore.
35. Clare and The Reasons
Clare Muldaur and her Reasons never fail to delight. Quirky without being obnoxious, luscious without being cheesy and with a cute sense of humour, their gorgeous string-drenched balladry deserves a far greater audience.
(Photo: Alan Bee (Flickr))
34. Deerhoof
Take the dazzling, off-kilter technical brilliance of Battles and then add a manic Japanese lady yelping God-knows-what into a mic and lots of bouncing and you’ve got Deerhoof. Great fun.
33. The Hold Steady
Ninety minutes of bar blues ‘bout getting wasted and hanging out with girls may eventually tire out even the most ardent fan, but there’s no denying Craig Finn’s lyrical wit and childlike enthusiasm are incredibly infectious. WOOOOAH-OH-OH, YOU GOTTA STAY POSITIVE (etc.)
32. Broken Social Scene
It wouldn’t be a Broken Social Scene show if they didn’t veer wildly between the sublime and the ridiculous. On the one hand, they opened with KC Accidental and 7/4 Shorelines, closed their main set with Ibi Dreams of Pavement with SEVEN BRASS PLAYERS and Major Label Debut (Fast) and found room for a very touching Anthems For A 17 Year Old Girl. On the other hand, you had to endure interminable jams, a cringeworthy experimental spoken word project and Kevin’s aimless drunken rambling. Still, that’s all part of the BSS experience, and at least it was better than the car-crash of a show at the Scala…
31. Miracle Fortress
Shame their 93 Feet East show was a bit gash, because Miracle Fortress' Luminaire performance was truly superb. Combining intricate guitar lines with spectral harmonies and lively indie-pop elements, their voluminous sound transcended the venue's unusually dodgy soundmix and their creative use of percussion elevated them above many of their peers.
(Photo: Old Del Passo (Flickr))
30. The Octopus Project
Theremins are the best instrument ever, and this Texan four-piece employed them with admirable panache in their first ever London show. Sounding like Of Montreal covering Holy Fuck, their enthusiastic, percussive melody-making was well appreciated by the disgracefully small audience and I Saw The Bright Shinies remains a spine-tingling musical highlight of the year.
29. Parts & Labor
One of the best support act discoveries ever, Brooklyn noise-rockers P&L made my Top Live Act list last year, and their headline show at Elephant and Castle’s most ridiculously-difficult-to-find venue ensures they’ve made the cut again in '08. Experimental but accessible and oh so very loud, the addition of guitarist Sarah Lipstate adds a new dimension to their sound, and Joe Wong’s drumming remains as astonishingly rapid as ever. Ear-ringingly good.
28. Dananananakyroyd
Pronounced like the Batman theme tune, apparently. The excitable Scottish ‘fight-pop’ outfit have been quite the word-of-mouth success this year, securing a support slot for Kaiser Chiefs and it’s not hard to see why- walls of hugs, the lead singer hurtling back and forth through an archway of arms other such crazy antics. Not too bad musically either.
27. Jamie Lidell
Ah, there’s nothing like good old fashioned showmanship. Perhaps it’s ultimately just affectionate pastiche, but the electronica-artist-gone-soul man’s charisma, stage presence and awesome backing band (including a man playing two saxophones AT THE SAME TIME) all add up to a highly entertaining evening.
(Photo: Chin like David (Flickr))
26. Radiohead
The biggest, if not quite the best gig of the year. I’ve always been a fairweather fan of the wonky-eyed one and his troupe of earnest miserablists but this second night at Victoria Park was unexpectedly euphoric at times. The ‘In Rainbows‘-centered main set was pretty average, the daylight muting the effects of their inspired lighting but once sunset hit and the encore reached, the band unleashed a torrent of big hitters- My Iron Lung, 2+2=5, Karma Police and the mighty Paranoid Android- leading to some grand ol’ singalongs. There was little to prove the claim by some that Radiohead are one of the world’s greatest live bands (they’re completely devoid of stage presence) but it was much more enjoyable that I thought it'd be.
25. The Constantines
Not the derivative hacks I had them down as being. Whilst Kensington Heights is an exercise in MOR dullness, their live show is a riot of energy and passion with Bush Hall’s rickety stage struggling to hold up under their synchronised jumping. They’re basically a full-band version of Two Gallants (before they went shit), which as I far as I’m concerned is no bad thing.
24. Holy Fuck
Canada’s most naughtily named band may be lacking in the new material stakes, but they always put on a great show. Unlike many electronic-based acts of their ilk, they perform as much as possible with live instrumentation (or at least triggered samples) and they’re increasingly being more creative with the arrangements of their songs. Lovely Allen towers over all, but The Pulse and Royal Gregory are always good for a dance (read: awkward shuffle).
23. Why?
Yoni Wolf’s white-boy hip-hop may be perfectly calculated to win the hearts of skinny-jeaned, floppy haired DiS readers but that’s not necessarily something to hold against them. The harsh, guttural vocal style may irritate from time to time, but they’re excellent lyrically and musically and the albums’ splendour is recreated magnificently live with a shedload of percussion and some astonishing simultaneous vibraphone/drum playing.
22. Ratatat
People normally never dance at the Cargo. Trying to whip up an atmosphere at London’s premier Shoreditch-Twat-magnet is an feat that eludes even the most energetic of bands, which is why Ratatat’s accomplishment of getting the whole damn venue moving is especially impressive. Although there’s a reliance on backing tapes, the trio’s live drums and trademark computer-modified guitar sparks their sometimes repetitive album tracks to life, enticing even the most po-faced Hoxton Hipster to let themselves go for an evening.
21. Jens Lekman
Jens Lekman may hate London, but London certainly doesn’t hate him. As well as delivering a fine array of up-tempo, lushly orchestrated balladry that’d do Neil Hannon proud, the talented Swede’s a fantastically witty raconteur too.
(Photo: Littlepants (Flickr))
20. M83
Anthony Gonzalez’s synth heavy dream-pop might sound like it should soundtrack The Breakfast Club or something, but their expansive, shoegaze-y wall of sound and fantastic 80’s drumming would be blissful in any decade.
19. TV On The Radio
My biggest disappointment of the year. Shit sound, paper-thin arrangements of most of the Dear Science material and an audience that seemed to have been imported from a morgue does not a good gig make. However, the incandescent brilliance of Young Liars, Wolf Like Me and Staring In The Sun were so utterly breathtaking that they could have played James Blunt covers for the rest of the night and it’d have still made my Top 20.
18. Gogol Bordello
Am I getting tired of the Gypsy Punk? They’re moving further down the list each year, inversely proportional to the size of the venues they’re playing- it’s a sad state of affairs. But no matter how diluted their original no-holds-barred punk spirit gets, there’s not a song in the world that can get a whole audience pogoing as well as Start Wearing Purple.
17. Seasick Steve
I’m not sure how much of Seastick Steve’s hobo-dun-good schtick is an act, but he sure knows how to work a crowd. Musically he’s as derivative as anything, but with his self-made instruments, three-string guitar and charisma as bright as the Sun he’s the perfect way to while away a summery Saturday evening.
16. The Hidden Cameras
It’s Of Montreal, but with even more sexual undertones. ‘Overtones,’ really. Playing a rare UK show at Shoreditch’s St. Leonard’s, Joel Gibb and his crazy “gay church folksters” put on a show half-way between the Polyphonic Spree and The Decemberists, mixing joyous up-tempo folk with the highest of high camp- the semi-naked men in balaclavas gyrating on the altar must have had the vicar shaking his head in disbelief.
15. Bon Iver
This year’s critical darling well deserves his plaudits. Acoustic troubadours aren’t usually my bag, but as soon as I saw Justin Vernon effortlessly enchant 2000 people at his first ever UK show I knew I was witnessing something special. Wolves complete with full audience accompaniment is one of those magical moments that only live music can provide.
14. Broken Records
I’ve seen the UK’s finest up-and-coming band five times this year, and it’s been satisfying to see them evolve from nervy new kids with obvious potential to an accomplished, confident live act with the stage presence to match the sweeping epicness of their music. The Arcade Fire and Beirut influences are clear, but their songwriting’s more than solid enough to make these guys stand out in their own right.
13. Okkervil River
There’s few things as good as Okkervil River when they’re on form, and with Will Sheff barking himself hoarse like a man possessed, their scintillating Scala show showcased the Texan indie-rockers at their best. Alas, a punishing tour schedule seemed to get the better of them as the year went on, but they always managed to pull it out of the bag for the encore.
12. Shearwater
Jon Meiburg, feel free to throw a triumphant V-sign at Will Sheff right now. Because although Okkervil River get all the live plaudits, I’ve found myself more consistently impressed by their lesser known, more innovative side project. Taking a more orchestral approach to their balladry, Shearwater’s menagerie of instruments, intricate arrangements and THE MIGHTY THOR cemented their status as one of the best discoveries of ‘08.
11. O’ Death
Everyone loves the…Appalachian gothic-blues? Whatever O’ Death are, they’re still as tremendously fun as they were in 2007, their frantic bluegrass breakdowns igniting the sort of involuntary hoedowns that could get a man arrested.
(Photo: Rich Thane)
10. Wildbirds and Peacedrums
Wowee. The first of four Scandinavian acts in the Top 10, I’d not heard a note by them before their Luminaire show in June but they completely blew me away. A husband-and-wife duo hailing from the wilds of Sweden, the majority of their songs consist of just drum and vocals but dear God that woman can sing. Not always the most accessible of acts mind, but a band that sounds like a mixture of Bjork, The White Stripes and Nina Simone was never going to be.
(Photo: Alan Bee (Flickr))
9. Of Montreal“I'm screaming out to you from the depths of this phallocentric tyranny!” You’d never get Noel Gallagher screaming that whilst prancing about in nowt but some tight golden hotpants, but on reflection that’s probably for the best. Kevin Barnes has upped the theatricality to ridiculous levels, but he’s still got a fantastic ear for hyperactive synth-pop melodies and the new material from Skeletal Lamping nestles nicely in the midst of classics like Heidmalsgate and Wraith Pinned To The Midst. Good fun in their acoustic guise too.
8. I’m From Barcelona
The credit crunch may have seen Sweden’s foremost 29-man musical army shorn to a mere twelve-piece, but they still know how to put on a party. The first half-hour spotlights a more thoughtful, less exuberant side to Emmanuel Lundgren’s hyperactive joymongers but it’s only a matter of time before the balloons, confetti and stage-diving come out in full force. I HAVE BUILT A TREEHOUSE, I HAVE BUILT A TREEHOUSE, NOBODY CAN SEE US, ‘COS IT’S A YOU AND ME HOUSE
7. The National
Yes, the National are in my Top 10 again. They just can’t help being awesome. Couple of new songs apart they’re pretty much the same as they always were, but Matt Berninger’s awkward intensity and grizzled baritone vocals will never get old. The new brass players add new layers to old favourites, and they’ve finally mastered Fake Empire- hooray!
(Photo: Valido (Flickr))
6. My Bloody Valentine
I’m not sure my ears ever truly recovered from this- 128.9dB’s of feedback played for fifteen minutes straight is a recipe for tinnitus if I ever heard* one. But beyond the ear-bleeding volumes and the natural hype surrounding their first ‘proper’ show in 14 years MBV proved themselves a formidable act by any measure, their crushingly dense shoegaze providing a sense of auditory overload few other bands can offer. Whilst You Made Me Realise (the feedback song) was inevitably the night’s most memorable moment, the woozy gloriousness of I Only Said was my personal highlight. A truly worthwhile reunion.
* or not, as the case may be
5. Wolf Parade
At Mount Zoomer may not have been much cop, but Wolf Parade can sure still cut it live. But then what do you expect- with the prodigious talents of Man-God Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner, it’d be a strange world if they weren’t totally awesome. The new material comes across much better in a live setting, but it’s the old stuff- Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts, This Heart’s On Fire and the knockout encore of I’ll Believe In Anything and Fancy Claps- that wins Wolf Parade the LCD Soundsystem Memorial Award for inspiring the most bat-shit crazy audience of the year. And they’re still not the best Krug-related band I saw in 2008...
4. Joanna Newsom
Even when fucks up, she’s adorable. Joanna Newsom’s special Sunday lunchtime performance at Latitude was the perfect follow-up to the previous night’s Sigur Ros/Guilty Pleasures festivities, mesmerising all and sundry with a magnificent display that’s sure to have won her many new fans. Although the eccentric, squeaky-voiced folkster eschewed her typical instrument for a piano to preview some promising new songs, she also delivered a generous dose of harp-based balladry that made my heart flutter like a particularly fluttery thing. And when she forgot the words for Sawdust and Diamonds, her endearing apologies only caused the audience’s affection for her to increase. Awwwwwwwww.
3. Sunset Rubdown
Three years I’ve been waiting to see the foremost member of that incestuous circle of bands involving Spencer Krug, and I didn’t think it possible that they could possibly live up to my obscenely high expectations. That they exceeded them just goes to confirm my vaguely-held belief that Krug is essentially God. Stadiums and Shrine II was as perfect a live song as I’ve ever heard- shorn of the muted production, its profuse intensity is amplified to insane levels, but the utterly unhinged Trumpet Trumpet Toot Toot also almost had me in tears of sheer pleasure. The only thing I could hold against them was the cruel dismissal of For The Pier from the setlist, but beyond that I couldn’t suggest a single improvement to the show. Except, maybe, that they played their whole back catalogue…
2. Sigur Ros
There are few bands that can take my breath away like Arcade Fire, but Iceland’s premier purveyors of BBC soundtracks have succeeded again and again and again. Whilst their four-piece Alexandra Palace shows were great (Untitled 8’s apocalyptic climax fantastically bolstered by a hurricane of confetti blasting into our faces) their ‘fully-orchestrated’ Westminster and Latitude shows were on a whole other level. The highlights are legion, the disappointments negligible; from the achingly beautiful Sven-f-englar through the brass band dramatics of Se Lest, the twinkly majesty of Hoppipolla, the mind-blowing double-whammy of Olsen Olsen and Hafssol, a confetti strewn Gobbledigook to the aforementioned sensory Armageddon of Untitled 8 they were utter joys from start to finish. And they’re sure looking like they’re having more fun these days too!
(Photo: vern. (Flickr))
1. Bjork
The biggest problem with being such a prolific attender of gigs is the inevitability that they stop being as special as they used to be. That’s not to say that I don’t still love live music but it’s increasingly rare that an act genuinely takes my breath away. So to leave me staggering out of Hammersmith Apollo agape with incommunicable wonder is pretty much unprecedented- but that’s exactly what Bjork Gudmundsdottir did that unforgettable April night.
Clad in a headdress inexplicably made of multi-coloured pom-poms, the irrepressible Icelandic pixie queen skipped onto stage to the opening strains of Earth Intruders with its tribal percussion and the Timbaland influences; a spell-binding introduction to a show that, flat Anthony Hegarty duet apart, was never less than completely enchanting. It’s hard to pick particular highpoints from a show comprised almost entirely of them- Toumani Diabate’s stunning kobe playing on Hope, a bewitching rendition of Hunter and the glorious Who Is It all deserve special mentions, as do her fantastic 10-piece all-female brass section The Wonderbrass. But it was the unabashed TECHNO-TECHNO-TECHNO sing-along of Hyperballad and the sheer jaw-dropping spectacle of Declare Independence that cranked things up to ‘transcendental’, the latter’s mix of earth-sundering bass, silver confetti and arching lasers being one of the finest closers to a show I’ve ever seen. Bjork, I know you’re old enough to be my mother but…will you marry me?
(All photos unless otherwise credited: John Gleeson)
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