Not a poll, list your top 10 of the year or however many you may want to list
This was the best year for gigs I have had in maybe 20 years. Really some of the greatest shows I have ever seen.
1. Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Budweiser Stage, Toronto, ON
2. Wilco – Solid Sound Festival, North Adams, MA (night 2)
3. Bruce Springsteen and the E St Band – Canadian Tire Centre, Kanata, ON
4. Rolling Stones – Browns Stadium, Cleveland OH
5. Wilco – Solid Sound festival, North Adams MA (night 1)
6. PJ Harvey – Centre Bell, Laval, QC
7. Squeeze – Massey Hall, Toronto ON
8. Jeff Lynne’s ELO – Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
9. Graham Nash – NAC, Ottawa, ON
10. Cat Power – Bluesfest, Ottawa, ON
PJ Harvey probably should be higher but the competition is tremendous
Normally get to one a month (getting up to and staying over in Dublin ain’t cheap), but this year only managed nine – would have been 10 but had to miss out on Peter Hook and the Light due to issues that need not detain us here
BEST
Chris Stapleton and Marty Stuart – Dublin 3 Arena, Oct
R Hawley – Dublin Olympia, May (as reviewed on this very site)
Handsome Family – Dublin Liberty Theatre, May (as reviewed on this very site)
Patti Smith – Dublin Vicar Street, June
Bruce S – :London Wembley Stadirum. July
BIGGEST LETDOWNS
Elvis C and Steve Nieve – Dublin Vicar Street, Sept – SN relegated to the back of the stage for most of the night when EC decided he’d rather play with the Brodsky Quartet
Lambchop – Dublin NCH, Jan – Just Kurt W and a pianist doing some sort of recital. So dull, I fell asleep and awoke to find half the audience had left for home before they did likewise
I forgot probably the best of the lot –
Phosphorescent – Dublin Whelans, August – Magnificent band in a tiny club what’s not to like. A night so sublime not even having to pay Coldplay-inflated hotel prices could detract from it
Only a Top 3 from me:
1. Phish – Live at the Sphere, Las Vegas (2nd day)
2. Alice Cooper – Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin
3. Nits – Passionskirche, Kreuzberg/Berlin
1. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Leeds Arena
2. Pretenders, Hull Connexin
3. Girls Aloud, Leeds Arena
4. Taylor Swift, Murrayfield Stadium
5. Johnny Marr, Scarborough Open Air Theatre
6. The Unthanks In Winter, Hull City Hall
7. Hejira, Beverley East Riding Theatre
8. Katherine Priddy, Cottingham Folk Festival
9. ABC, York Barbican
10. Suzi Quatro, York Barbican
Been a busy year with family and work, so less time for gigs, just the one gig of the year which was Slowdive at the Institute. Looking forward to more gigs in 25!
The Last Dinner Party at the Roundhouse
The Mysterines at Guildford Boilerroom
Taylor Swift at Wembley Stadium
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at Cardiff Principality Stadium
Nerina Pallot at London Palladium
Katherine Priddy at Union Chapel
Bettye LaVette at Cadogan Hall
Bernard Butler at St Matthias’ Church
Chris Isaak at Bournemouth Pavilion
Kirk Lightsey Quartet at Porgy & Bess, Vienna
The first two were completely and unexpectedly terrific, and it was a thrill to be thrilled like that at this stage of my gig-going life; Taylor was genuinely the most entertaining stadium thing I have ever seen, and everyone seemed to be having a joyous time of it.
Nick Cave – Glasgow Hydro
Nick Lowe & Los Staightjackets – London Palladium
The Courettes -Tufnell Park Dome
Paul Weller. -New York, King’s Theatre
Suede/ Johnny Marr – Audley End
Loads at Stone Valley but the Damned were a revelation!
Lots of local gigs that ranged from fabulous to awful!
Big Star Radio City Tribute – Hackney Church
Pretenders – London Palladium
Novelty Island – Slaughtered Lamb, Clerkenwell
Molly Tuttle – supporting Tommy Emmanuel, Cadogan Hall
Sheryl Crow – Hampton Court
ABBA Voyage – Stratford
Jason Isbell – Hammersmith Apollo
They Might Be Giants – Shepherds Bush Empire
Jimmy Regal and The Royals, Colne Blues Festival
Stage Door Guy – The Moustache, Sydenham
Didn’t manage 10 gigs this year but the best two were certainly…
Mono – Esplanade Waterfront Theatre, Singapore
Thom Yorke – Star Theatre, Singapore
With an honourable mention to Level 42 at the University cultural Centre (mainly from a nostalgia point of view, but they were great fun)
1)Imelda May – Southbank centre
2)Bob Dylan – Wolverhampton Civic
3)Bruce Springsteen – Cardiff Principality
4)Danny and the Champions of the World – The Garage Islington
5)Felice brothers – Hare and Hounds Brum
6)Roseanne Cash and John Leventhal – Back Deer Festival, Kent – highly emotional
7)Michelle Stodart – Temperance Leamington
8)Martin Stephenson – Temperance Leamington
9)Richard Hawley – The Halls,Wolverhampton
10)Elvis Costello and Steve Nieve- The Civic Wolverhampton
The gigs I saw at the Civic would previously have been at the Symphony hall/Town Hall Birmingham.
It is clear the Civic has a better marketing dept or offers better deals to performers as the Brum venues are losing out big time. I donating either way as they are equidistant. Parking slightly cheaper in Wolverhampton but food options inferior if you are eating.
I like to catch the train to B’ham gigs, centre of town ones, anyway, Symphony and Town Halls, the O2s, other Digbeth etc, but they seem to have dried up since Wolverhampton opened up the Civic and Wulfrun again, post refurb. Which means driving. Booger.
I’ve only done 27 this year (with one more to come), but the top 10 of the year have been;
1 – Taylor Swift – Anfield, Liverpool. Sat 15th June
2 – The Blaze – Royal Albert Hall, London . Fri 26th April
3 – Depeche Mode – Arena, Manchester. Mon 29th January
4 – Puressence – Albert Hall, Manchester. Sat 29th June
5 – Everything Everything – The Plaza, Stockport. Mon 26th February
6 – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Arena, Manchester. Tue 5th November
7 – Half Man, Half Biscuit. Picturedrome, Holmfirth. Fri 21st June
8 – Gruff Rhys/Bill Ryder Jones. Albert Hall, Manchester. Sun 24th November
9 – The Magnetic Fields. Albert Hall, Manchester. Wed 28th August
10 – Elbow. Co-Op Live, Manchester. Tue 14th May
I’d imagine you might be going to see the Chameleons this Saturday @seanioio?
Unfortunately not. We have a family do this weekend so I am unable to go! 🙁
My last of 2024 is The Quivers at The Castle Hotel tonight, a venue I have never been to before so excited to see. Are you at the ig on Sat?
I’m seeing the Cams at Albert Hall if that’s what you mean! The ig??
That’s my stupid fat fingers, I did mean gig. Hope that you have a fantastic time
I’m well looking forward to it. Been a ropey few months so looking forward to meeting my mates and singing along to “Second Skin.”
Beer and chippy tea prior to that. Can’t be beat.
@seanioio
It was a very good gig though the sound was a bit muddy and there were quite a few knobheads who had surely been on the Colombian Marching Powder. It was a sell out , possibly an over-sell out.
They do seem to have had a second coming in recent years attracting, gasp, younger and even FEMALE fans…
New album next year which I’ll be buying though I doubt it’ll quite match up to any of their first three.
@seanioio I wanted to see that Gruff/Ryder-Jones gig but it clashed. How was it?
I saw them in Dublin. I wasn’t over impressed with Bill Ryder-Jones. It was pleasant enough but he was quite low energy and not overly engaged with the audience. His band were competent but anonymous. It reminded me of the Lightning Seeds last time I saw them, tuneful but not very animated for a live show.
Gruff Rhys and his band were much more entertaining. Great tunes and lots of fun. The drummer in particular was quite an impressive performer. It was the second time to see them do a similar set and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wasn’t really a fan before these shows.
After much whittling down, here’s my top ten so far*. In chronological order.
January 21st. Dave O’Higgins/Rob Luft/Ross Stanley/Jeremy Shoham/Rick Finlay @ The Elephant Inn, North Finchley.
April 21st. Roland Perrin’s Blue Planet Orchestra @ The Elephant Inn, North Finchley.
May 9th. Gary Crosby/Denys Baptiste/Andrew McCormack/Rod Youngs perform A Love Supreme @ Pizza Express, Soho.
May 18th. Maddy Coombs Quartet + Fergus Quill Trio @ The Pumphouse Theatre Colne River Room, Watford.
July 1st. The Primevals with Stewart Lee @ The Lexington, London N1.
November 17th. Mark Kavuma & The Banger Factory, Magnum Opus launch @ Queen Elizabeth Hall, London South Bank.
November 23rd. Cleveland Watkiss + National Youth Jazz Orchestra, Sun Ra Reimagined @ Guildhall School of Music’s Milton Court Concert Hall, London Barbican.
November 24th. Nu Civilization Orchestra play Duke Ellington’s New Orleans Suite etc. @ Kings Place, London Kings Cross.
December 1st. The Tomorrow’s Warriors Winter Showcase Extravaganza @ The Clore Ballroom, Royal Festival Hall, London South Bank.
December 6th. Elena Duni & Rob Luft @ St. Jude’s Church London NW11.
*Still four more to go before New Year.
I’m surprised to learn that we have been to as many as 29 shows of various kinds this year (5 comedy performances, 12 gigs, 2 one day festivals, 4 plays, 3 operas and 3 events related to the local lit fest). There are 3 more to go, the next one this evening.
Top gigs in no particular order
Louis Brennan – The Betsey Trotwood
Lust for Life – Colchester Arts Centre
Richard Thompson – The Royal Albert Hall
Others
Comedy – Spencer Jones at the Soho Theatre
Opera – Cosi Fan Tutte at the Royal Opera House
Play – Bluebeard at the Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh
I have not laughed as much in 1 hour as I did seeing Spencer Jones about 8 years ago. Hoping for a Manchester date from him next year
I went to eleven gigs this year.
Here they are, in rough order of preference.
Basically, the top 5 were outstanding – a great concert year!
1. Matthew Halsall, Fasching, Stockholm
2. Max Richter, Konserthuset, Stockholm
3. Nils Frahm, Maxim, Stockholm
4. Magnetic Fields, Nya Cirkus, Stockholm
5. Mary Lattimore, Fasching, Stockholm
6. Freiburger Barockorchester, Konserthuset, Stockholm
7. John Cooper Clarke, Södra Teatern, Stockholm
8. Bonny Light Horseman, Nalen, Stockholm
9. Roger Robinson & Disrupt, Hörsalen, Kulturhuset, Stockholm
10. Concerto Copehagen, Tyska Kyrkan, Stockholm
11. Lloyd Cole, Göta Lejon, Stockholm
Joan as Police Woman at Whelan’s, Dublin. Clear winner!
Simple Minds at the 3 Arena, Dublin. Surprise second. I expected little but they were brilliant.
David O’Doherty at the Moat Theatre, Naas. Technically a musical act. He never disappoints.
Gruff Rhys at the Sugar Club, Dublin. A really entertaining gig, great craic, great band and so melodic.
The Undertones/Something Happens at the Olympia, Dublin. Two great bands still at the top of their game.
Bela Fleck at Vicar Street, Dublin. Bluegrass virtuosos. An extraordinarily talented band. Not my kind of thing but very enjoyable.
Declan O’Rourke, Vicar Street, Dublin. A heart warming rerun of his first album with bonus Steve Wickham.
Sadly I missed the Bluetones first Dublin gig in 17 years as I was really unwell on the day.
Tragically I made it to Thundercat at Vicar Street. The worst gig I’ve seen in years. Total jazz bollocks. I should have walked like my friend Fearghal did. It didn’t get any better.
Not a lot of gigs due to moving to the country and even fewer really good ones.
Cold Chisel – Mornington Racecourse
Ed Kuepper and Band – Archies Creek Community Hall
Derek Gripper – Mt Eliza Community Hall
Jon Cleary – Meeniyan Community Hall
Only 3 from me –
King Creosote – Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow
The Saints ’73-’78 – Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide
Crowded House – Sydney Opera House Forecourt
Was that the Celtic Connections gig for KC, @hot-cider? It was good, wasn’t it, if odd?https://atthebarrier.com/2024/01/29/king-creosote-old-fruitmarket-glasgow-live-review/
@retropath2 -Yes, it was a good one. I loved the band format on the night,
but I probably prefer the more acoustic performances I’ve seen previously.
Great old venue, but they packed too many punters in, I thought.
Glasgow, Adelaide and Sydney – you travel a bit to your gigs !
@Junior Wells – Yes, I’m lucky enough to have just enjoyed a six week road trip, catching up with friends from my backpacking days in the early eighties. My schedule didn’t give me the chance to see the Cold Chisel tour like you did. They seemed to be playing huge outdoor shows.
A friend recommended some solo Don Walker stuff, which I loved.
I would like to list 13, and I have been to many many more, but these are the ones that stand out. Three of these were dances.
1. Fest noz: Les Bugales Melrand, Melrand, Brittany
2. Chris Wood & Andy Cutting, Sidmouth Folk Festival
3. Rheingans Sisters, Liverpool Philharmonic Music Room
4. Bellowhead, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
5. Topette!, Crookes Social Club, Sheffield
6. Melrose Quartet ceilidh, Sidmouth Folk Festival
7. Fay Hield Trio, Bromyard Folk Festival
8. Once a Fig, some tiny-venue-run-by-a-collective type place, Manchester
9. Sally Ironmonger and Brian Carter, Manley Village Hall, Chester
10. Le Vent du Nord, Shrewsbury Folk Festival
11. Clive Carroll supported by Dariush Kanani, Northwich Folk Club
12. Steve Hacket doing Genesis Revisited, Bridgewater Gall, Manchester
13. Karine Polwart, Sidmouth Folk Festival
1. The Skids.
I’ve only been able to go to one concert.
So your concert going is on the skids.
Bravo.
Living where I do the only gigs I ever go to are at the Citadel, our lovely ex-Sally Army hall. Anything more ambitious would involve going to – horror of horrors – the Gold Coast, or – horror of horror of horrors – Brisvegas. Amusingly, I’ve actually played more gigs than I’ve attended this year.
One that stood out though was Fanny Lumsden, that wry and ballsy chanteuse from west of the Snowy Mountains. I’ve shared my lurve for her before without much in the way of response, but no reason not to have another go.
Nice bit o’ country ‘n’ ozten.
More Fanny…big chap with the beard is her brother. Imagine having a brother (or sister) you could sing with!
I think I have only been to four gigs this year.
Lucinda Williams – Birmingham Town Hall
Robert Plant – Sheffield City Hall
The Eagles – Co-op Live, Manchester
Nick Cave – AO Arena, Manchester
All were brilliant, but Nick Cave edged it for intensity and effort!
Better than at Symphony Hall a year or two back?
Much as I like the Carnage material, I think that the Symphony Hall gig would have been better with the full Bad Seeds line up. We were quite close to the front this time and it was fantastic seeing Nick’s interactions with the audience. Also, the Wild God material sounded epic played live.
I must agree that Warren Ellis can get very visually annoying when there aren’t sufficient other musicians to dilute his scene-stealing.
Yep, he hogs.
@Mike-Hull good to see you back on here.
I agree that Wild God is a much better album than Carnage and I would have preferred this tour which regrettably I didn’t get to see.
66 gigs this year! The Top 3 are nailed but after that, they are in date order.
No duffers but I wish Seth Lakeman had sung a few more well known songs at Union Chapel in February.
Pleasant surprise of the year? FM, the melodic rock band from the 1980’s who put out one of my albums of the year and then backed it up by taking the roof off a rocker’s pub in Hastings, in October.
1. Big Big Train – The Stables, Wavendon
2. Paul McCartney – The O2 (2nd night)
3. The War on Drugs – The RAH
4. It Bites – Islington Halls
5. ABC – London Palladium
6. Cutting Crew – Pizza Express, Holborn
7. Simple Minds/Del Amitri – Bournemouth IC
8. Starry Eyed & Laughing – Rambling Roots
9. Average White Band/Kokomo – The RAH
10. The Black Crowes – Hammy O
11. Yes – The RAH
12. Richard Hawley – Portsmouth Guildhall
13. Nick Mason’s S of S – The RAH
14. Bruce Springsteen – Wembley Stadium (2nd night)
15. Peter Cox – Pizza Express Holborn
16. Kokomo – ” ” ”
17. David Gilmour – The RAH
18. Steve Hackett – Reading Hexagon
19. Paul Carrack – The RAH
20. 10cc – G Live, Guildford
21. Danny & The Champions of the World – The Garage, Highbury
22. Deep Purple – The O2
23. Bonny Light Horseman – The Roundhouse
24. Jason Isbell – Hammy O
25. The Hanging Stars – Jazz Cafe, Camden
26. Del Amitri – Shepherd’s Bush Empire
I saw 61 but that includes 18 free ones. Of the 43 ticketed gigs here’s my top 20
1. Aoife O’Donovan with Orchestra & Girls Choir – The Barbican
2. Ranagri – Costa Portugal
3. The Eagles – Co-op Live, Manchester
4. Bonny Light Horseman – New Century, Manchester
5. Urban Folk Quartet – Costa Portugal
6. Thea Gilmore – Costa Portugal
7. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Apollo, Manchester
8. Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage – Folk at the Barlow, Edgworth, Bolton
9. Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage band – The Met, Bury
10. Jaywalkers – Folk at the Barlow, Edgworth, Bolton
11. A Winter Union – Stoller Hall, Manchester
12. Peter’s Field (Sean Cooney, Sam Carter, Eliza Carthy) – The Old School Rooms, Middleton
13. Nishla Smith with Tom Harris Trio & String Quartet – Pavilion Arts Centre, Buxton
14. Gary Stewart’s Graceland – Costa Portugal
15. Jacob & Drinkwater – Costa Ibiza
16. The Hunch – Costa Ibiza
17. Tom Robinson (solo) – Costa Ibiza
18. Sunny Sweeney – The Met, Bury
19. Holy Moly & the Crackers – Costa Ibiza
20. Bella Hardy Trio – Costa Ibiza
A Winter Union are a Christmas Band that include Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage making their 3rd appearance in my top 20. Definitely my find of 2024! Also Costa acts take up almost half my list. But a festival in sunny climes with convivial company makes any band sound better 😉