Well, it's December, once again...a time to reflect on the year gone past, the friends you met, good times had, and great shows I saw. As we all know, I've been a little lazy on this blog for the past 6 weeks. Apologies, but I have been very, very busy doing a host of freelance work.
I just spent several hours reminiscing on 2009, and the live music I caught this year. After digging through a year's worth of facebooking, and picking my brain, I've managed to come up with a pretty comprehensive list of artists I managed to make it out to see. This list is by no means in any order, and some bands I caught multiple times (and by multiple I mean 2-15, depending). Here they are, with a little snippet on each.
Many thanks to my comrades and colleagues who made all this possible for a mostly unemployed kid. Enjoy.
Zambri - super fun sisterly brooklyn indie pop.
Devries - alt/psych group from new york. kinda dark, catchy, very awesome.
Beach Fossils - amazing 60's folky/surf revivalists. fantastic show.
Eartheater - fronted by Alex Drewchin, whom the world will soon know. hauntingly psychedelic and heavy...definitely an exciting band to watch in 2010. caught them a few times, and they were some of the best shows i saw all year.
Metallica - @ Madison Square Garden...it was awesome. lots of old shit, lots of new shit.
The Jesus Lizard - @ The Fillmore. It was incredible.
French Horn Rebellion - saw them a bunch, always a blast. great synth pop from brooklyn.
The Mighty Five - great set at Santos.
NoYesNo - very funky, good time.
ArpLine - saw them a ton. incredibly technical, progressive art rock. 2010 will also be good to them. New album in February.
Christopher Paul Stelling - best folk singer/songwriter in brooklyn, hands down. go see him any time you can, each show is an experience all of its own.
Alex Drewchin - another one of Brooklyn's best kept secrets. keep your eye out for any & all musical projects that she is involved in. they are all insanely great.
Ivana XL - wonderful, quirky folk songstress in Brooklyn.
Arms - awesome solo artist.
Hooray For Earth - catchy, thrashy indie rock. fantastic songwriting, definitely check them out.
Francis & The Lights - Francis is performer all of his own, with a great band. They've got soul, funk, and style.
Pattern Is Movement - Fun duo from Philly. Lots of sound, great show.
Let's Wrestle - UK indie rock, saw them at CMJ. great band.
Takka Takka - psychedelic indie/pop with soul and depth. also one of my faves in BK.
Naked Hearts - great chemistry, fun songs. good band.
Anamanaguchi - <3 my anamanabroz. crazy awesome chiptune masters of destruction. amazing live show, they rule.
Drink Up Buttercup - also from Philly. also great.
Darwin Deez - Brooklyn's Darwin Deez is bringin the dance back to the party. some of the most fun i had all year was at darwin showz!
Bottle Up & Go - Bluesy, thrashy, honest rock. Fantastic band. Lots to come from them.
Savoir Adore - dreamy, quirky, fun indie pop. watch out for them too. love 'em.
Christopher Raiche - beautifully wistful, engaging songwriter. check him out.
Tree Roots - great band. it's everything that is folk and rock and awesome.
Deleted Scenes - saw them a few times, always good.
Loxsly - really exciting band. looking forward to more from them.
Unicycle Loves You - well crafted tunes.
Chromeo - how could Chromeo not be awesome?! tons of fun.
The Giraffes - one of the best true rock & roll shows i saw all year.
The Pretenders - Chrissy Hynde wouldn't let me eat meat. pretty boring show, left early.
Apes & Androids - most epic band of all time. i will never wear out their one and only album. i will miss these bros. some of the most fun i ever had in brooklyn to date were at A&A shows.
The Death Set - the muthafuckin death set...always a blast.
Of Montreal - saw 'em late night at a private fashion week party. incredible seeing them up close & personal.
PFUNKT - one man party, every time. lots to come from him.
Database - crazy brazilian electro. good stuff.
Shudder To Think - saw their last show ever at bowery ballroom. high energy/emotions. good night!
Freshkills - one of the best post-punk groups in brooklyn. look into them.
Phantogram - female fronted, big beats. sultry, lots of sounds and great.
Your Vegas - good show.
BoysNoize - euro dubstep...at summerstage!
Drop The Lime - local dubstep...at summerstage! ;)
Mon Khmer - incredible, technical indie rock with a big sound.
Bela Fleck & Toumani Diabate - really cool, twangy world muzak.
My Bloody Valentine - the absolute loudest show i've ever heard in my life. i was impressed.
Arctic Monkeys - @ All Points West. Alex Turner & Co. are bringing irresistable British indiepop back to the forefront.
Tim & Eric - Great Job!
Gogol Bordello - one of the highest energy sets i saw through the blazing hot summer. love them.
Neko Case - she was Neko Case.
Fleet Foxes - played an awesomely soggy set at All Points West...hypnotic and beautiful.
Jay-Z - he opened with No Sleep Til Brooklyn. AMAZING.
Ra Ra Riot - very good from what i saw. tight band, unfortunately only caught about 20 minutes.
The National - one of my faves around. made the monsoon rains at all points west bearable :)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - saw them several times this summer...always phenomenal.
Crystal Castles - holy seizure-inducing lightshow!
Damian Marley & Nas - inventing the term reggaengsta. great stuff.
Boombox - hypnotic, bluesy, electronic jam band. always fun.
The Disco Biscuits - they were The Disco Biscuits
Shpongle - sweet euro-psytrance
Prometheus - more psytrance. not so bad.
Dr. Dog - great blues/folk/indie blend.
Yeasayer - one of the most exciting bands in the land? Odd Blood is a masterpiece. 2010 is gonna rule.
The Hold Steady - awesome set in philly. cut short by thunder & lightning (via the heavens)
Wiz Khalifa - what up pittsburgh?! saw a smokin' set of his at the studio at webster hall.
Mission of Burma - great show at the pool parties from these seminal post-punk vets.
Ponytail - spastic and awesome.
Fucked Up - pink eyes keepin hardcore alive!
Matisyahu - surprisingly lots of fun.
Umphrey's McGee - always pretty mind bending
John Fairhurst - this dude from Manchester, UK played a set of his incredible slide oriented steel guitar in my living room en route to SXSW. Amazing.
Liz Green - Also played my living room w/ Fairhurst. Wonderful fellow folk songstress from Manchester
Explosions In The Sky - @ SummerStage. one of the best shows of the summer.
Castanets - opened for Explosions...meh. I think soemthing was off.
Controlled Storms - one of my favorites. totally psychedelic post-rock with entrancing songwriting. watch out for these guys.
White Rabbits - brutally awesome.
Hockey - funky, dancey, tight.
Portugal The Man - raucous, soulful indie rock.
Chairlift - brooklyn pop. fun show.
Gomez - fun.
Animal Collective - awesome daytime set at Bonnaroo. psychedelic, heavy, bassy.
Grizzly Bear - always good.
TV On the Radio - amazing as ever. only getting better.
David Byrne - saw him twice, and they both pretty much completed my life. talking heads are one of my all time faves.
Phish - got a soft spot in my heart for them. always a wonderful experience.
Public Enemy - YES!!!!! I saw Flava Flav & Chuck D. and life was good.
Femi Kuti - shit yes.
Jimmy Buffett - surprise guest at Bonnaroo! awesomely nostalgic.
Girl Talk - yeahhh pittsburgh! Gregg Gillis, always killin it. He's good at what he does.
Paul Oakenfold - good times.
William Elliot Whitmore - awesomely crafted, soulful rock & roll with an edge.
Rodrigo y Gabriela - great set at bonnaroo
Bon Iver - finally saw him, believe the hype. amazing.
Wilco - Jeff Tweedy is amazing.
Nine Inch Nails - Late night at Bonnaroo. YES. Fucking unreal.
MGMT - huuuuuuge crowd for them late night at Bonnaroo. They lived up on a massive stage, sounded great.
moe. - also an awesome nostalgic, super late-night set at B'roo.
Citizen Cope - blah.
Erykah Badu - as beautiful & soulful as you can imagine she would be.
Andrew Bird - dude can whistle! and write an amazing pop song or 10.
Apache Beat - cool psychy/electronic New York group.
Dirty Projectors - very interesting band, but not my cup of tea to be honest.
Wild World - one of Alex Drewchin's phenomenal side projects.
Crocodiles - rad post-punk with some electronic beats. dig 'em.
The Antlers - these guys put out one of my favorite albums of 2009. check them out.
Ennui - dreamy, synthy, beautiful indiepop from Pittsburgh. another band to watch.
Ninjasonik - party rockin all the time.
Previously On Lost - music based entirely around a tv show?! why not.
Woodhands - crazy electro dance party.
True Womanhood - awesome lo-fi from DC
Dinowalrus - awesomely experimental set. totally dug 'em.
Apollo Heights - solid rock & roll.
Gliss - shoegazy, loud & melodic band from LA.
The Takeover UK - alternative/indiepop from Pittsburgh. Catchy stuff.
Violens - amazing brooklyn greatness
Blonde Acid Cult - rawk & roll. dirty & awesome.
Thing-One - fun electronic indie band
Big Bang TV - quirky & fun brooklyn indie pop
88 Keys - energetic hip hop/indie style
Outernational - political, punk, rock, indie awesome.
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - pretty solid indie pop darlings.
Alan Braxe - awesome French DJ. RIP Studio B.
PWRFL Power - crazy one-man experimental guitar tunes.
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - wonderful show from the ever-talented Mr. Adams.
Royal Bangs - awesome.
Satin Gum - another amazing indie pop band from pittsburgh. catchy & well thought out songs. check 'em out.
Frightened Rabbit - holy fucking awesome, heartfelt show at CMU from these Irish (Scottish?) folks.
Passion Pit - awesome show early in '09 at Bowery Ballroom.
Wow, that was quite a trip down the memory lane of 2009.
