Domingo 25 Nov 2012, 20h:58
I had stopped rating the performances I have seen this year because ratings are boring. So let me just list a bunch of complaints about live shows I have been to this year.
01/20/12 - Morbid Saint and Deceased @ Club Europa (Brooklyn NY)
My first show of the year consisted of probably my least favorite traditional metal genre: thrash metal. I had previously heard many things about how the thrash scene in California is overrun by a bunch of teens who wish they grew up in the 80s. I had not expected to see this type of crowd in New York. The openers were a bunch of thrash metal local bands who all brought their little cult following of young kids who had a blast tossing each other in the pit. It was quite a site to see. The room kind of cleared up for the two known acts, Deceased and the reunited Morbid Saint. Deceased was good, it was my 2nd time seeing them. Morbid Saint on the other hand completely killed it. Reunions often come with skepticism,. I was worried that these old farts no longer had it and were just looking for a quick cash grab. I was wrong. They have such a short catalog of songs and with a headlining set, I assumed that they would play the full album but they did not. They only played for like 30 minutes which including like 2 new unreleased songs but they shredded through their songs like they were still living in the glory days.
01/28/12 - Tool, Yob @ TD Garden (Boston MA)
Tool is my favorite band of all time but the first time I saw them back in 2009 at the All Points West Festival, I found their performance to be nothing short of a disappointment. The crowd was probably the worst i have been in at the time, the sound sucked, and even though I have never seen them before I felt that the setlist was just lazy consisting of their hits. I was reluctant to buy a ticket to see them again and was sure I wouldn't go. Then I saw the setlist. I could not believe that it included Ticks & Leeches, which is my favorite Tool song ever and was previously never played live due to Maynard hating screaming. Pushit was also on the setlist which was is my 2nd favorite Tool song, and Hooker With a Penis was also rare. The rest of the setlist consisted of the usual hits but I did not care, Ticks & Leeches and Pushit back to back alone would be worth the price of admission. YOB was the opening band, a very weird choice since the concert was at a stadium. They only played like 3 songs for 20 minutes. The performance was alright but you could tell the majority of the crowd was uninterested, and the band did not really care to play to a stadium of Tool fans. I would like to see YOB in a smaller venue one day. Tool was perfect. This time I actually had seats with a great view of the band. I now could appreciate the incredible visuals and could finally appreciate seeing my favorite band live. Incredible show. i just hope Tool finally comes out with a new record the next time they tour.
02/16/12 - Doomtree @ Gramercy Theatre (New York NY)
P.O.S and his collective are in my opinion, the most under appreciated rap group out there at the moment. P.O.S is one of my favorite rapper of all time, Dessa is my favorite female MC by far, Sims makes his political rap interesting with a fun and upbeat rap delivery, Paper Tiger and Lazerbeak are both great producers, and Mike Michtlan and Cecil Otter both have their moments every now and then. Live they were very fun, everyone looked like they were having an awesome time on stage performing, and they would get the audience to dance along with them. Also i really have to respect Doomtree for not cutting their songs short live like pretty much every single other rapper group does. I definitely recommend going to see Doomtree when they come around.
02/25/12 - Pianos Become the Teeth, Xerxes, The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, The Saddest Landscape @ The Space (Hamden CT)
A stacked lineup! The Saddest Landscape are pretty much locals which is insane because they rule hard. Being introduced to them through this lineup was one of my greatest discoveries of the year. Decent live band too but I dunno, in 2012 I started to go to many hardcore shows and I am just not a fan of all this pit squashing to scream into the mic. The World Is.. is a pretty neat indie electronic and post-rock combo, trust me they're not as bad as the band name implies. Xerxes is a decent Touche Amore wannabe. And Pianos is pianos. Good live performance but this was my 2nd time seeing them and it was pretty much the same as the first time except with a longer set and a smaller venue. Their music is very limited in a live setting.
03/10/12 - The Wonder Years, Polar Bear Club, The Story So Far @ Gramercy Theatre (New York NY)
If you told me I was going to attend this show a year ago, I wouldn't have believe you. I previously despised pop punk and would never want to be into a band with the name The Wonder Years. My main draw to this show was The Story So Far, a pop punk band that has been successful in appealing to hardcore fans. They were by far the best part about this show. Even though they were the 2nd band to play in this 5 band bill, the place was packed for them and the energy for them was the highest. Pits broke out all over the room and their was crowd surfers in the most unusual of places. Even the headlining band, The Wonder Years, the band nor the crowd could not match the energy of The Story So Far. The Wonder Years were still good, I dunno why but I enjoy them. Transit is one of the worst live bands I have ever seen and I despise them. And Polar Bear Club is generic.
03/18/12 - The Saddest Landscape, Loma Prieta, Birds In Row @ The Space (Hamden CT)
My 2nd The Saddes Landscape show of the year, this time a headlining set and a record release show for their latest record. They still played a very short set but were just as good as before. Birds in Row was probably the highlight of the night, those French bastards made me a fan. Loma Prieta I love on record but they suffered from serious sound issues on this night, they were incredibly loud and just inaudible.
04/01/12 - Alcest, Vaura, De Omega @ Lilly's Pad (New Haven CT)
A live performance by Alcest in a very small lounge with no stage, I was in the front for the entire thing and it was beautiful. Vaura is a new Toby Driver band, one that I am actually a fan of and they were great live too. The opening band was a local progressive metal band that played some impressive tunes, I will look out for anything they record in the future.
04/05/12 - Daytrader, Code Orange Kids, Heavy Breath, Birds In Row, Full of Hell @ West Haven American Legion (West Haven CT)
Really weird hardcore show that took place in a veteran memorial building in a very sketchy part of Connecticut. The stage area was basically a living room. The only notable things about this show was 1. It was the first concert that I attended drunk. 2. Birds In Row killed it again. 3. Code Orange Kids are a group of very young kids that look like generic 80s high school films nerds but they totally destroy live. 4. Heavy Breath is a very famous local in the CT punk scene and their performance was very fun and I will not mind seeing them in the future. Other than that, the rest of the bands I either didn't see or they sucked. Daytrader headlined but they mostly played new songs when their new album wasn't even out yet so of course no one was really into it, not even their fans. Full of Hell is awesome on record but they sucked live, failed to match the ferocity of their recordings, no dual vocals, and more time messing with a bunch of pedal noises than actually playing their songs.
04/20/12 - Titus Andronicus, Bomb the Music Industry! @ Quinnipiac University (Hamden CT)
This was a free show that my college's radio station through on. Not much to say about it except that I had a great time moshing with all my friends and it was pretty hilarious seeing moshing and crowd surfing in a school gym.
05/12/12 - Behemoth, Watain, The Devil's Blood, In Solitude, Evoken @ Irving Plaza (New York NY)
All around, a pretty weak show for me. I mainly went for The Devil's Blood since I am honestly not a fan of Behemoth or Watain but I thought Behemoth would be better given the recent history with Nergal recovering from cancer and everything. Evoken opened, they were alright but not great. In Solitude were actually the best band on the bill. I never really cared for them on record but live they're insane. The front man wore animal fur on his neck and was fucking around with it the whole show. He was actually pretty frightening. The Devil's Blood were very good, a band where you can just appreciate their musicianship when you see them. Watain are not for me, honestly I watched a hockey game in the lounge (Rangers vs Capitols Game 7) instead. Behemoth sucked. They took forever to come on stage and their performance was really nothing special.
05/31/12 - Radiohead @ Prudential Center (Newark NJ)
I am not gonna lie. I expected more from this show. With all the hype Radiohead gets, I actually didn't really enjoy their live show much. It mostly consisted of a bunch of monitors with different colors being raised and lowered throughout the show. That's pretty much it. Unfortunately I had some pretty bad seats and they looked like ants. The sound was very good at this stadium though. Next time I see Radiohead, I'll make sure to try to get some GA or level 100 seats or nothing.
06/27/12 - Iron Maiden, Alice Cooper @ Nassau Coliseum (Wantagh NY)
Now this was a great show. I am not the biggest fan of either of these bands but I would not mind checking out their live shows whenever they come to town. Alice Cooper had something different happen during every single one of his songs. Like a guy with a frankenstein costume coming onstage, a decapitation going on, a huge snake coming out, fire, and confetti explosions. He is a very entertaining frontman. Iron Maiden was also on the same caliber with fire and huge stage props being a very crucial part of their live shows. Iron Maiden also has to be the most active "old" band I have ever seen perform. Even with the members pushing 60, every one of them displayed more energy than guys I have seen half their age.
07/26/12 - Agalloch, Taurus, Musk Ox @ Music Hall (Brooklyn NY)
Finally the time came to see Agalloch, my other favorite band and the one I so desperately have wanted to see for the longest time. I was at the front of the barricade less stage for the entire show and had an amazing time rocking out to hit after hit. The setlist was perfect. I really got into Pale Folklore this year and they played the best songs from it. They also played In the Shadow of Our Pale Companion complete with acoustics and a slow "i walked to a river" with accompany from the opener, Musk Ox. They played Bloodbirds, a song that translates great live. And You Were A Ghost In My Arms which was the very first Agalloch song I loved. Overall incredible show, incredible band, incredible performance etc.
08/09/12 - Gojira, Car Bomb @ Santos Party House (New York NY)
Another band I have waited years to see, Gojira and they delivered. Not much to say about their shows except every member of the band is talented, the music is meant for moshing so expect lots of that, and the riffs are massive and the drummer is one of the best you will ever see.
10/08/12 - OFWGKTA @ The Dome (Wallingford CT)
Contender for worst show of the year. I loved the first Odd Future show i went to and I really wish I went to the Hammerstein show in May and the Tyler & Earl show in July but this show was really weak. Connecticut crowds are always weak, nothing compared to New York crowds. The crowd was the biggest problem with the show. Odd Future lives for insane crowds, Connecticut did not provide an insane crowd. Instead of room for pits, the concert was a huge deadlock. People packed like sardines, no breathing area, guys that wanted to grind with girls, and filled with people that just wanted to say that they were there or wanted to be close to a famous person. You could tell that Odd Future was not feeling the crowd at all. The few times they tried to crowd surf, they were dropped, and the setlist was cut dramatically. Odd Future, if you ever come back to CT, please come to New Haven.
09/13/12 - Circa Survive, Touché Amoré @ Toad's Place (New Haven CT)
Of course I went to this show to see one of my favorite bands Touche Amore again. Weird lineup for them to be on. Their setlist was actually very long consisting of the majority of songs from both their albums, a song from their new split, and a new unreleased song. The crowd was awesome, a huge pit for every single song, and filled with the craziest of crowd surfers. This was also the first time I have seen a hardcore bro willing to let countless people jump off his back into a crowd surf. Shit ruled. O'Brother is like experimental music for a mainstream audience, I am really hating how much praise they're getting by people who don't listen to any music like them when they're really just a wannabe post-metal band. B&C is generic. And I really despise Circa and the crowd for them, just hundreds of people wanting to touch Anthony Green.
09/23/12 - A$AP Mob, Schoolboy-q, Danny Brown @ Toad's Place (New Haven CT)
AKA The night I smoked 4 blunts at a concert and fell in love with Danny Brown. Danny Brown completely stole this show, was the best rapper I have ever seen live, and one of my favorite performances of the year. I also got completely addicted to his music right after the show and he is now my current favorite rapper of today. I will make sure I see him whenever he comes around. i fucking love that Danny Brown guy. A$AP for the most part was weak, the sound was atrocious, similar to all the rap performances I see on tv with like 10 guys on stage and you can't understand any of them, at least the crowd was better than for Odd Future and the Mob actually crowd surfed successfully.
09/28/12 - Dropkick Murphys @ TD Bank Sports Center (Hamden CT)
This was another Free show at my college. I don't know why it happened but I'm glad it did. Me and my friends were just pissing people off by moshing. This was the first time I successfully crowd surfed, a very fun experience. And I was drunk the whole show.
10/13/12 - Agalloch @ El N Gee (New London CT)
Agalloch at some black metal festival. I didn't like any of the other bands I watched, even Fen sucked in my opinion. Agalloch was great again but they pretty much played a much shorter setlist to their summer tour.
10/26/12 - Party Supplies @ The Space (Hamden CT)
Another show booked by my school's radio station. Nothing special but I have to show my support.
11/11/12 - Converge, Torche, Kvelertak @ Highline Ballroom (New York NY)
It's been a long time coming but I finally saw Converge a 2nd time after the horrible first time with the shitty Mastodon/Dethklok crowd. This show was obviously much better. The crowd was intense and did not let up throughout. Lots of hardcore dancers everywhere. Kvelertak is great but I saw them headline at a much smaller club last year. Torche was better than the first time I saw them and I actually grown to like some of their shitty pop metal tunes. Converge is one of the best bands ever and their live shows kick ass.
11/12/12 - Death Grips, Mykki Blanco @ Music Hall (Brooklyn NY)
Death Grips dominated this year. The Money Store is easily my favorite record to come out this year and I was pumped to see them live. I was worried that the crowd would contain loads of hipsters but luckily it was not that. Given the music, I hoped for lots of drug abusers everywhere and I somewhat got that. Security was kicking people out left and right for being to drugged up or intoxicated and they were like hawks catching people smoking. i didn't expect much from the opener but the performance was very interesting to say the least. The DJ kept playing a much slower version of the main beat of Machine Gun by Portishead. The main performer was a crossdressing black gay rapper who makes some pretty unique raps that I need to check out sometime soon. There was a couple of gay couples there that came for them, and then there were the normal Death Grips fans that just went along with it "WHERE ALL MY FAGGOTS IN THE HOSE?" "FUCK YEAH" Death Grips was 45 minutes of a dancing screaming black guy, a drummer banging away on the poorest drum kit you have ever seen, and 2 macbooks playing the visuals and beats. It was awesome. The crowd was relentless moshing that was completely dead after the short set. I'm not sure if I would want to see Death Grips again but it was an interesting evening to say the least.