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Gigs you've been to and your thoughts.

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BlahBlah:
I went to see the Fall two weeks ago but never posted about it.

John Cooper Clarke was sick so didn't show up and Milophobia were crap but luckily only played for about twenty minutes. The Fall came on, MES staggered to the centre of the stage a minute later, obviously out of it, then left 20 minutes later and the band just played instrumentals for another 10 minutes. For £20...

Tommy was right.

Latte:
Just saw Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band last night.  Dunno about his standing with people anymore but it was a pretty damn good time, they were all energetic and played a great encore set.  Played stuff from the s/t and new songs from an EP they got out.  Opening acts were decent (The Like aren't AGSFB though...)

Hljómalind:
On Friday evening, I saw Aimee Mann, supported by The Submarines, at indigo2.

I like the venue: it's small enough to feel reasonably intimate (which, with someone like Mann, is needed for her quirky stage manner) but large enough to have decent acoustics. Her most devoted fans might have been slightly disappointed - stoned out "space jazz jam" interlude from the band while she fixed a technical difficulty, lots of new material, and a stumbling, five-attempt version of "Mr. Harris", with much prompting and only the piano accompanying - but otherwise, the show was a treat. Her band are super-tight, and she was pretty flexible with the set list (she added "Little Bombs" after "Little Tornadoes" - "I can deal with small, manageable catastrophes") and they really rocked out a couple of times. A haunting version of "Red Vines" was one of the highlights.

Her support was pretty decent, actually: chirpy indie pop from The Submarines, including the delightful "You, Me, & The Bourgeoisie". Definite influences from The Cure (who I later found out they've covered - "Boys Don't Cry" is on their Facebook page, and will be released on a Cure tribute album next year) and some of the songs had a distinct tinge of Cocteau Twins. Would see the band in their own right based on their albums.



Then, Friday night went to The Arches for the Mogwai afterparty. Aside from the insanely long wait to get in, it's a superb venue, and they had a bunch of really sound DJ sets: only saw the tail end of Fuck Buttons, but Caribou, Nathan Fake and (in particular) James Holden were all great. One of the guys from Mogwai did some entertaining and mildly improbable Public Enemy remixes.

tigrar:
Just got back from The Faint.  Dear Lord, that was fun.

AanAllein:
So I'm pretty sure I'm not seeing any more live music in '08, since all the future gigs/festivals I'm going to are January/February next year. Thus, a quick list of my favourite gigs of '08...

5. Modest Mouse (V Festival Sideshow)

Couldn't quite afford to go to V festival, as tempting as it was with The Rakes, Queens of the Stoneage, etc. So we ended up at the Modest Mouse sideshow, supported by Sparkadia and Hot Hot Heat. Sparkadia were awful as per their recorded stuff, and Hot Hot Heat were disappointing. But Modest Mouse put on an impressive two hour set with a sprawling set list. I hadn't really enjoyed a lot of the stuff on We Were Dead... until I saw them here. Impressive. Also Johnny Marr looked far younger than I would've expected.

4. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (Laneway Festival)

Probably the gig this year that I was most looking forward to. While it wasn't perfect - the crowd was all looking forward to the Presets who were up next - it was a damn good show, with an excellent setlist. Props to Alec Ounsworth (singer) who kept "The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth" going despite the strap on his guitar breaking mid-song. Also "Clap Your Hands!" was both unexpected and awesome. Some dudes from another band - I believe Broken Social Scene, despite their set ending halfway through this one, so I can't be sure - joined them for "Satan Said Dance" and it was great.

3. The Polyphonic Spree (Splendour In The Grass)

I'd heard these guys were pretty amazing live, but their first half hour or so, all kitted up in their military style black gear, was impressive to watch but not that sonically amazing. Towards the end it really started to click, and had a great time with their last few songs, including an awesome cover of "Live and Let Die." They disappeared and I was pretty disappointed that it was over just as it as getting good - and then they turned up again, kitted up in their old school white robes, and let loose with another half hour or so of bliss. Was dancing like a loon at the back of the tent with my girlfriend, despite both of us only having a few drinks that day. "Light and Day" and their cover of "Lithium" were definitely the highlights.

2. Arcade Fire (Big Day Out)

Was originally planning on watching them from outside the D, so I could run off and catch as much of Battles as possible (stupid, stupid clash). Then they started playing and I just needed to get in. Great gig, great setlist. Best moment for me was when the organs kicked in for "Intervention," easily my favourite song of theirs, and goosebumps ran up my whole body. Though I could've done without the dude next to me going "PLAY INTERVENTION!" right after the song...

1. Okkervil River (Laneway Festival)

I wasn't overly familiar with Okkervil River before this gig, having only started listening to them because I knew they'd be at Laneway. I'd listened through Black Sheep Boy a few times, and had just started listening to a couple other albums. In hindsight, given how long they've toured for, it makes sense how amazing their live sound is, but it just blew me away. The highlight was undeniably the opening, where they started with a rocky version of "The President's Dead" that suddenly morphed into something else - then Sheff snarled over the guitars "I'm coming into your town" and goosebumps twice those I had at Arcade Fire's gig enveloped me. It still gives me chills thinking about it. The setlist was essentially perfect, right down to finishing up with "For Real"/"Westfall." Singlehandedly made me a fan, and I think they're the live band I look forward to seeing again most.


HONOURABLE MENTIONS:
(aka Probably would have made the list if I'd seen a full set...)

Devo: (Splendour In The Grass)

I only caught the last twenty minutes or so of their set. My girlfriend and I had left the Polyphonic Spree, and were heading off to catch Tricky when the sound of Devo's guitars hit us, and we wordlessly agreed to see Devo instead. I'm not overly familiar or impressed by Devo's recorded works, but they had hands out the best guitar sound I'd ever heard going. And they rocked out pretty well for old dudes!

Battles: (Big Day Out)

I only caught the tail-end of this set, running over from Arcade Fire. catching I believe "Race: In" and, of course, "Atlas." "Atlas" was, unsurprisingly, amazing, and while I was dancing my ass off to it, I was also impressed by the skills of the musicians - the lead singer darting from guitar, to keyboard, to mixing board, looping vocals while he's at it. Admittedly I have no real knowledge of what he was up to, but it sure looked tricky.

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