Air, Anna Erhard, Ari Tsugi Trio, Barbican Estate; Bright Eyes, Brigitte Calls Me Baby, Chinese American bear, CMAT, Dal:um, Du Blonde; Electric Six; Famous, Fiery Furnaces, FLOW, Focus, Franz Ferdinand, Fulu Mizuki, Haroumi Hosono, Hawkwind, Hazy Sour Cherry, Hidden Cameras, Hilgeum & Alice Zawadzki; Jeffrey Lewis, Justice, Kamasi Washington; Kuunatic; La Securite; Mannequin Pussy; Mega-Ran; Mercury Rev; My Brightest Diamond; Ninush; Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp; Pearl and the Oysters; Pom Poko; Samuel J Herlihy; Santana, Smokey Robinson; Teeth of the Sea; Terje Isungset; The Boy Least Likely To; The Orchestra (For Now); Wet Leg; Youth Lagoon
And now, without further ado...
50. AVALANCHE KAITO- London Lexington
A hyper-charismatic Burkinabé griot fronting a Belgian noise-rock outfit was exactly the adrenaline rush I needed to survive my 6th gig in 5 days. The kind of band that would have been legendary in a late-night ATP/Raw Power slot.
49. CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH- London Scala
Deep in some drawer somewhere resides a press cutting from the University of York student paper, wherein a certain individual reviewed CYHSY's first ever official European show in 2005. My main takeaway was that it was alright, but Alec looked like a deer stuck in the headlights throughout, never once acknowledging the audience. Two decades on and it's a whole different ball game- actual banter (including some pass-agg barbs at chatterers in the audience), dancing (albeit in mid-Noughties indie auteur fashion) and a much more engaging vibe. What hasn't changed though is my enjoyment of that first album (still a banger, f*** the haters) and this was a fitting celebration of its quirky, beguiling charms.
48. MICHAEL ROTHER- London Islington Asssembly Hall
The 75-year-old German kosmische legend returns once more to bless London's balding male community with a set of shimmering, motorik majesty. Yes, there's little in the way of variety, between songs or within them, but they all make me feel like I'm going to embark on some awesome 70's sci-fi adventure and that's what's important.
47. DELVON LAMARR ORGAN TRIO- London 229
I love soul-funk, I love Hammond organs and I love unexpected Curtis Mayfield covers so this 2-hour tempest of old-school groove ticked all the right boxes for me.
46. ORCHESTRE POLY RYTHMO DE COTONOU- London Jazz Cafe
Delighted to see this legendary collective from Benin return to the UK for the first time since 2017- their afrobeat/samba/funk grooves were truly enlivening.
45. CAMERA OBSCURA- London Union Chapel
"Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken" was the soundtrack to the summer I graduated from Uni, and these Scottish melancholists have been one of my comfort bands ever since. Great songs, no nonsense.
44. MÚM- London Islington Assembly Hall
Glitchy Icelandic lusciousness from a band that's consistently awed me for almost two decades. I'll never tire of Gyða Valtýsdóttir's cello skills.
43. POPULAR MUSIC- London Shacklewell Arms
My first reaction upon hearing Popular Music was "hey, this reminds me of Parenthetical Girls" and it turns out there's a reason for that... Anyhow, Zac Pennington remains the greatest frontman you've probably never heard of, prowling the Shacklewell music room (and beyond), standing on any available surface and expending the last of his Rufus Wainwright-meets-Xiu Xiu-esque vocal energy over 45 minutes of emotionally-wrought synth pop, with his Australian partner Prudence Rees-Lee handling the instrumental duties - including theremin - with consummate skill.
42. THE EARLIES- London St. John's Hackney Church
I first fell in love with The Earlies' chilled transatlantic blissfullness aged twenty and last saw them on my otherwise-dire 30th birthday, so it's fitting the ten-piece's one-night-only reunion took place soon just after I turned 40. And they were thoroughly lovely, despite chattery arseholes in the audience and the echoey acoustics of the venue. Roll on 2035!
41. BALIMAYA PROJECT & DISCO PACIFICO ALL-STARS- London Barbican
London's premier Mandé jazz collective joined forces with several musicians from Colombia's Discos Pacifico label to bridge together two distant, but related forms of African diaspora music with joyful, celebratory results.
40. MULATU ASTATKE- London Royal Festival Hall
The Father of Ethio-Jazz concludes perhaps his last tour in the city where it all started, and it's a perfect summation of his 60-year-long career- inventive, eclectic, sometimes meditative, often exuberant (incidentally, who knew Ethiopian wedding dances were so...suggestive?) If this is the last time we see his unfussy, sage-like presence on stage, this was a great note to bow out on, but he's only 81 which is nothing these days....
39. BLACK COUNTRY NEW ROAD- London Village Underground
I've seen BCNR in their James Chance-meets-The Fall phase, their klezmer-meets-Slint phase, their Arcade Fire phase and now their Van Dyke Parks phase, and I've been impressed by every one of them. Their lush yet restless arrangements are seriously underrated, and their new material proves they're still in the fight despite nasty setbacks.
38. THE HOLD STEADY- London Electric Ballroom
These days I'm usually stood halfway back under the aircon rather than in the thick of the moshpit, but I'll never turn down a chance to spend the 2nd weekend of March in the company of the magnificent gentlemen from Minneapolis. Craig Finn's wild gesticulating! Franz Nicolay imbibing 3 Berningers of wine before the encore even hits! My inevitable "Sequestered In Memphis"-induced voice loss! For we are all (WE! ARE! ALL!)...The Hold Steady.
37. THE SPACE LADY- London Jazz Cafe
A delightful evening with the 77 year old space-valkyrie performing (mostly) covers ranging from The Beatles to Rodriguez to Patti Smith on an ancient Casio keyboard- and more impressively, with two recently fractured wrists. Wonderful vibes all round.
36. HAMISH HAWK- London All Points East
Erudite, intense, charming, risque...Scotland's answer to Jarvis was the highlight of the whole All Points East festival, and deserved better than a 25 minute slot at the start of the day.
35. LES SAVY FAV- London Scala
Not the most anarchic LSF gig I've ever been to, but still a riot. Tim Harrington is a sheer force of nature; a perpetual middle finger to the concept of "Health & Safety" so credit to the security team for understanding the assignment ie. stop Tim's mic cable from strangling anyone as he prowls around the audience, steals hats and beers, clambers up balconies and attempts to crowdsurf in a dustbin. Good songs, too.
34. COLIN MELOY- London Union Chapel
A high-spirited evening of baroque folk ballads from the guy behind The Decemberists, featuring Victorian barrow boys, Montana mining disasters and post-apocalyptic paeans (although time constraints denied us the one with a giant whale). Left me a real gigglemug, guv'nor!
33. MELIN MELYN- Leeds Brudenell Social Club
Probably the most Welsh thing I've ever experienced (laudatory), wherein our oddball heroes - and a Dutch wizard - saved a mill from greedy developers via the medium of quirky psych-folk.
32. EFTERKLANG- London Troxy
Obviously I wish they could have played a lot longer, but my favourite Danes' opening set for Beirut was a triumph, and hopefully won them some new fans. Maya Jay's harmonies really elevate the newer songs, "Modern Drift" is an all-time indie-pop classic and they managed to make their unplugged 'in-the-audience" encore work in the cavernous Troxy with a little bit of help from Zach Condon and co....
31. RED SNAPPER- London Hootenanny
What I love about Red Snapper is that they're both straightforward- a savage four piece instrumental group featuring guitar, sax and electronics over a taut-as-hell drum n' double bass rhythm section - yet also hard to pin down. There's elements of acid-jazz, trip-hop, downtempo, funk, dub and afro-beat, weaving in and out the set, but ultimately they're very much their own bloody fantastic thing.
30. THE MAGNETIC FIELDS- London Union Chapel
🎵Adam
was a rodeo, Adam loved indie rock bands
Downloaded DICE, and
rolled his eyes at 'indie sleaze' firsthand
Home was a seat at
the Barbican, John Misty he couldn't stand
But two nights at
chapel with the Magnetic Fields was mighty
graaaaaaaaa-aaaa-aaaand
Love songs, wit and baritone; plus a
random traffic cone.🎵
29. BEIRUT- London Troxy
It's good to have them back! Zach Condon swore off touring several years ago - no big surprise, his discomfort on stage was apparent even back in 2006 - but tonight he looks refreshed, even happy bringing his Balkan-accented balladry to Limehouse, complete with his loyal, ever-cheerful drimmer Nick Petree, a generous setlist and some live Swedish acrobatics (not a euphemism).
28. ARCADE FIRE- London Royal Albert Hall
I dozed off during the first two songs which is a pretty succinct review of "Pink Elephant", but Disco Reg on the Albert Hall's Grand Organ? FOUR Neon Bible songs after a decade ostracised from polite society? A big conga line outside the venue? I've seen this band 37 times now, and diminshining returns album-wise and Win's behaviour means I'll never feel the way I used to, but they sure still know how to please a crowd.
27. TUNE-YARDS- London Royal Festival Hall
Turns out all you need to have several hundred concertgoers eating out your hand is a ukulele, two drums, a loop pedal, an incredible voice, sixteen years of exuberant, rhythmically hypnotic songs and a bass-playing husband. A decade ago I said I'd much rather watch Merrill than any number of over-hyped guitar bands and that remains as true now as it ever was.
26. SUPER JET KINOKO- London Owl and Hitchhiker
I forget to take my meds *once*, and now a half-naked man with a mushroom codpiece is consorting with aliens and 70s weed afficionados to a fusion of electro, trance and mystic psych. Pretty standard, then.
25. SPARKS- London Hammersmith Apollo
There will never be another band quite like Sparks, and watching the Brothers Mael soak up the well-earned applause after a fantastic 20-song jaunt through their formidable back catalogue felt pretty poignant - after all, there's only so long you can beat the clock. But as an act that has always looked to the future and defied all expectations, I half-suspect Russell and Ron will outlive us all.
24. DESTROYER- London Barbican
I always forget how much I love Dan Bejar's dense, verbose indie-rock epics until they're gracing my ears, which is the only way I can justify not seeing Destroyer since 2018. The tinnitus-grade volume at the start did threaten to overwhelm everything, but once the levels were balanced this fantastic band went full bore as Mad Dan glared suspiciously at the audience, probably wondering how such an odd, niche concern became the kind of act that plays the Barbican. Also, "Rubies" is one of the best songs of the Noughties, don't @ me.
23. WHY?- London EartH
HOW has it been so long since Yoni Wolf and his alt-hip-hop collective last visited the UK? WHEN I first saw them circa 2008, there were fewer shirts or grey hairs, but WHAT hasn't changed is the dazzling instrumental work, Yoni's fusion of the mundane, crude, surreal and beautifully insightful and some frankly banging tunes. WHICH is to say, they're a band WHO I always have time for - [Enough of that, Ed.]
22. HOPE OF THE STATES- Bristol Strange Brew
"WE ARE THE HOPELESS MISTAKES, WE STAND SIDE BY SIDE, ONCE MORE THE BROKEN-HEARTED SIDE BY SIDE". There are few songs I listened to more as a pitiful undergrad than "Angels Over Kilburn" so to finally hear it performed live justified the cost of this trip to Bristol alone. Rest of the set was splendid too- more polished than the first reunion gigs, with the new songs earning their place on the setlist. If this is the last tour they do, they leave on a high; but I have my suspicions we haven't heard the last of them.
21. HUMAN PYRAMIDS- London Lexington
I once described the Scottish collective as "The Penguin Cafe Orchestra abducted by a math-rock cult" but there's also hints of Fang Island and the Earlies which is to say, they're bloody awesome. I still can't work out how 16 people managed to fit on the tiny Lexington stage, let alone 26 when the choir joined them.
There are three things certain in life: death, taxes, and feeling thoroughly uplifted by a Burning Hell gig. I did briefly worry about them hoarding excess band members into a cage, but the witty lyrics and top-notch musicianship made it easy to overlook their questionable working practices.
19. EZRA FURMAN- London EartH
Ezra's now officially my joint-second most seen live act (along with The National) and after THIS scintillating, banger-after-banger performance, it's not difficult to understand why. One of the most consistently amazing musicians of the last decade.
18. ROIS- London St John's Bethnal Green Church
One half Gaelic seance, one half brooding electro-pop, this gothic reverie with lamentations to the dead, lace-entombed apparitions, poetry interludes and jaw-dropping vocal techniques was one of the most striking introductions to an artist I've seen in a while.
17. DEERHOOF- London Bush Hall
Very pleased the final gig of my thirties featured a band that encapsulated so much what I love about live music- energy, eccentricity, chaos, intensity, dazzling musicianship...and small Japanese ladies bopping around whilst a long-haired, wild-eyed octopus man erratically attacks a drum kit to basslines and time-signatures both genius and insane. More of this as I move inexorably towards my dotage, please.
16. LCD SOUNDSYSTEM- London Brixton Academy
'North American Scum' into 'Dance Yrself Clean'? 'Tribulations' with ground-sundering bass levels? Singing along to 'All My Friends' then walking out into daylight (9pm curfew!)? Yes, Brixton was like a sauna filled with pissed-up wankers, and it wasn't my preferred setlist overall, but LCDSS truly remain Something Great.
15. KOENJI HYAKKEI- London Cafe Oto
Just your standard bit of Magma-influenced prog-psych-operatic-free-jazz insanity for a Saturday night. Their Lexington show pre-COVID was one of the most mind-blowing gigs of all time, and this too was up there with the best.
14. JAMBINAI- London Barbican
If Sigur Ros felt like an ascent to Heaven, the South Korean post-rockers sounded like a desperate charge towards Hell. Apocalyptically intense, uncompromisingly noisy and exquisitely beautiful, it was a genuine pleasure to see them celebrate the 10 year anniversary of their (excellent) debut UK tour in such tremendously epic fashion.
13. BEVERLY GLENN-COPELAND- London Hackney Empire
In 2019, a Canadian trans composer performed a show in a church in Bristol that's in contention for the best gig I've seen in my life. Not long after, Glenn was diagnosed with dementia and it seemed unlikely he'd ever visit these shores again. But miracles do happen, and as such, we find ourselves at Hackney Empire for a poignant celebration of a unsung genius. There's sadly no denying Glenn's much frailer now, but the unmistakable timbre and power of his voice remains undimmed. Add in crowd participation that actually worked (singing in the round!) and several pieces in conjunction with the queer-led, femme-centric F Choir and you've got another show that brought tears to the eye, but even more joy to the heart.
12. ST VINCENT- London Royal Albert Hall
Why yes, "Black Rainbow" does sound incredible with a full orchestra behind it, thanks for asking. The rest of Annie Clark's Promenade Concert (ft. Jules Buckley and his musicians) was pretty breathtaking too, standouts being a stunning, Portishead-esque "Los Ageless", the aggressively punchy "Digital Witness", and eternal bangers 'Slow Disco" and "New York". A real step-up after the slightly alienating Somerset House show.
11. EZRA COLLECTIVE - London Hyde Park
South London's premier Afrobeat jazz collective truly understood the assignment and transformed a sea of indifferent Stevie Wonder fans into a full-on dance party. The perfect warm-up act, and one of the most memorable sets of the year in their own right.
10. QUJAKU- London Strongrooms
Apocalyptic grooves, ritualistic drums and guitar squalling that could sunder your soul from your body. Yes, Japanese noise-mongers Qujaku are back in town and they obliterated me on a sub-atomic level.
9. THE FLAMING LIPS- London Brixton Academy
Say what you want about them (and yes, Wayne's ceaseless need for affirmation is still very irritating) but The Flaming Lips truly are second-to-none when it comes to elicting joy. I found the Hammersmith show last year disapponting, but this was exactly what I was hoping for - a passionate, diverse audience; a no-killer, no-filler setlist and moments of spontaneous silliness, like the collective effort to knock a giant glitter balloon up into the balcony seats. But what will stick with me is the dad with his teenage son who had tears streaming down his eyes during "Do You Realize?", and his son wiping them off with confetti. The magic of music, eh?
8. SIGUR ROS- London Royal Albert Hall
By far the most difficult gig of the year to place! Like last year, I found the first part of Sigur Ros' orchestral collaboration quite sophorific, albeit with moments of the stunning beauty you'd expect. But then the second half featured the unexpected live debut of "Ara Batur", one of my absolute all-time favourite pieces of music, with the London Contemporary Orchestra, a children's choir and the Albert Hall pipe organ and it was truly one of those moments that make you glad to be alive. (And then they followed up with "Hoppipolla", which made me cry even more).
7. ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE- London Corsica Studios
Wherein I was rendered into cosmic dust by a psychedelic supernova in the form of several wild-haired Japanese men (again, not a euphemism).
6. DEVOTCHKA - London Islington Assembly Halls
From dark country ballads to gypsy-punk knees-ups, the Colorado four-piece brought their rambunctious cabaret back to London after a 7 year absence and it was absolute magic. I mean, how often do you get to see a sousaphone in action, let alone covered in fairy lights? And that double bass sure did reverberate through the Assembly Hall's ominously springy floor...
5. HEAVENPHETAMINE- London George Tavern
One of the joys about gigs is that you'll sometimes see a show in the back of a pub for a fiver that eclipses any corporate festival or arena spectacle, and I present this show as Exhibit A. The Ari Tsugi Trio's Brazilian-tinged jazz session sparked more joy than anything I saw at Wide Awake, and the headliners- a Japanese duo based in Tbilisi who sound a bit like YMO meets Holy Fuck- were the best new band I've seen this year, sparking a hipster dance party by the end.
4. MASSIVE ATTACK- London Victoria Park
Acutely political, epically atmospheric, truly magnificent. "Safe From Harm" sounded apocalyptic, Elizabeth Fraser's otherworldly delicacy was bewitching and Horace Andy's vocals remain unsurpassed. Visuals sometimes a bit on-the-nose but stunning and certainly got the message across. A serious gig of the year contender, and I wasn't expecting that going in.
3. PULP- London O2 Arena
Sheffield's finest musical export may have been around for fast approaching half a century (as insane as that sounds!), but on the evidence of tonight, they're on as fine a form as they've ever been. A 22-strong setlist featuring new songs, deeper cuts (OU, The Fear, Party Hard) plus ALL THE HITS; some well-judged new tweaks to the staging and of course, Jarvis being, well, Jarvis. As good as arena gigs gets.
2. STEVIE WONDER- London Hyde Park
I mean, what can you say really? Two and a half hours of hit after hit after hit, each sounding perfect and all delivered with joy, humour and sometimes a dodgy cockney accent..."My Cherie Amour" has had a place in my heart from a time before memory so that's always a particular pleasure, but that late-set run of "Living For The City"->"Sir Duke"->"I Wish" was such an overwhelming rush, I feel hard-pressed to put it into words. A true all-timer.
1. YOKO KANNO & THE SEATBELTS- Manga Barcelona Festival
The anime Cowboy Bebop has my favourite soundtrack of all time, and I have fantasised since the age of 14 about seeing it performed live. So when I discovered by complete accident that literal living god Yoko Kanno had announced her first ever European show along with many of the accomplished jazz musicians that made that show so legendary, I mysteriously found myself with plane tickets (and a depleted bank balance) less than 20 minutes later.
Obviously, you expect these things will never live up to your expectations, and they had already been lowered when vocalist Mai Yamane had to cancel last minute, but I can honestly say it was everything I'd ever hoped. Watching Masato Honda's saxo-mo-phone his way through "Tank!" was a genuine dream come true, hearing "Space Lion" and "Blue" back to back was equally so, and being surrounded by so many other people who shared this deep and enthusiastic love for this music elevated this to one of my favourite musical experiences of my life. Now to persuade them to play over here...
(Thank God that's over! For previous editions of this self-indulgent nonsense, now in its 20th year, here are the lists for 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024- sadly the photo links remain broken but I plan to sort that out before genAI replaces us all. Until the next time!)
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