2004

hell yeah! that album is great. those two shows at joe's pub last friday were fanfeckintastic! stunning! joe's pub has got to be one of the single best concert venues in america.

Originally posted by brennser:
and lily, there must be some Frames fans at The Onion - last line of article (talking about 05 releases)

Best of all, The Frames' Burn The Maps (out Feb. 8, though it's available as an import) offers an epic, moody, bruising collection of songs about disillusionment, dissolution, and disappointmentâ??all prime fodder for what may well prove to be 2005's best, and certainly most heart-rending, album.
quite frankly, i don't think 2004 was a top year for gigs. a lot of good gigs, but very few GREAT gigs. the kind of gig that leaves you buzzing for days.

that said, i'd vote for the following for shows as a top 45:

1. damien rice/frames at university of toronto
2. nerd/black eyed peas at 930 club
3. the frames at joe's pub
4. paul kelly at 930 club


lots of other shows were good-delgados, badly drawn boy, ted leo, matt pond, interpol, the streets, finn brothers, etc., but the above 5 absolutely wowed me 10 times over.
Favorite show of the year - Love at the State Theater!
Originally posted by lily1:
quite frankly, i don't think 2004 was a top year for gigs.
I'm w/ ya. Same on albums for 2004 nothing grabbed me. Except for Endochine.
Best show(s) I suppose (incorporating everything from crowd to artist to sound): Dylan, Air, Snow Patrol (1st show), all at 9:30.
Best Sound: Velvet Revolver, Dylan (tie). Or, Air. All at 9:30.
Originally posted by Celeste:
tapes? seriously?

I made a tape for a long drive a few weeks back because my ipod is broken and I felt so weird. It was fun, though. But I'm not cutting edge, technologically, so I figured nobody made tapes anymore.
Oops….Meant CD's. Sorry.
Originally posted by lily1:
quite frankly, i don't think 2004 was a top year for gigs.
the greatest band ever, played at the greatest US concert ever….this year.

you werent there?

i'm STILL buzzing, 7 months later.
i'd have to look at my calendar for shows… Supergrass, Decemberists, Franz Ferdinand, Matthew Sweet, Love come to mind. i'm always playing catch up with cds, so alot of my favored albums were from late 2003. i.e. De Novo Dahl, Myracle Brah, Splitsville, etc.

i'm with o'markie on the follow-up records. delgados, ash, phoenix and jimmy eat world all released new material after records that have been in heavy rotation for a while now. And they just didn't stand up as well. i suspect that in a couple years i'll toss on the new Delgados and be amazed by it. which happened all the time with XTC records for me.
Good shows small and large -

Twilight Singers, the Twinemen, Velvet Revolver for the nostalgia of it all, Kung Fury a couple weeks ago for the rock of it all. There were more but I remember those most fondly.
Favorite shows of 04:

Smog @ Iota
Camera Obscura @ Iota
American Music Club @ Iota
Ron Sexsmith @ Iota
Innocence Mission @ Jammin Java
Matthew Sweet @ 9:30
Mountain Goats @ Black Cat
How could I have forgotten the Detroit Cobras at Iota?
shows:

broken social scene @ black cat
los amigos invisibles @ black cat
pixies @ coachella
air @ 930 club
the hives @ 930 club
joanna newsom @ IOTA
kid koala @ iceland airwaves

albums:

the bees - 'free the bees'
kanye west - 'college dropout'
air - 'talkie walkie'
erlend oye - 'dj kicks'
kings of convenience - 'riot on an empty street'
leslie feist - 'let it die'
Originally posted by SalParadise:
shows:
kid koala @ iceland airwaves
Oh yeah, I've forgotten. Are you the one who won that trip? How was it??
Originally posted by El Tee:
Originally posted by SalParadise:
shows:
kid koala @ iceland airwaves
Oh yeah, I've forgotten. Are you the one who won that trip? How was it??
nah, that's not me.

the trip itself was great (i'd still say that even if i hadn't heard a single note of music, kid koala just happened to play possibly the most brilliant dj set i'd ever heard). i think it's worth it just for the blue lagoon.

reykjavik is small…and expensive. very friendly people, and gorgeous women.

we're probably going back next year.
I've been to 40 shows in 2004 and I still have a few more coming up. Here's my list of best concerts of 2004 (in chronological order):

2004/03/23 The Decemberists/Clearlake/Tom Heinl (Black Cat)
2004/04/22 Sleater-Kinney/The Thermals (9:30 Club)
2004/05/13 TV on the Radio/The Birdland/The Apollo Heights/The Six Parts Seven/The Hush (Supreme Imperial, Baltimore)
2004/06/01 Beulah/Dios (Black Cat)
2004/06/09 Wilco/The M's (9:30 Club)
2004/06/20 Franz Ferdinand/Sons and Daughters (9:30 Club)
2004/10/14 Mission of Burma/Channels (Black Cat)
2004/11/08 Muse/The Zutons (9:30 Club)
2004/12/02 Ted Leo+Pharmacists/Matt Pond PA/Vague Angels (Black Cat)
2004/12/08 Pixies/TV on the Radio/The Bennies (D.A.R. Constitution Hall)

I'd probably put Wilco, Mission of Burma, TV on the Radio (Supreme Imperial), Beulah, and The Decemberists, and Sleater-Kinney at the top, if I were ranking them in order.

Worst shows: Carbon Leaf (I had a free ticket that someone gave me, I just hated them), PJ Harvey (most disappointing, lamest audience ever)

Personally, I rather liked the 50 Foot Wave concert at Iota.

Favorite albums: I'm still catching up. I just got Nick Cave and Secret Machines last week and haven't had time to listen to them yet because I've been listening to the Pixies non-stop in preparation for last night's concert. I'll think about it and maybe post some albums later.
Well, I've been to 56 shows this year, and believe it or not I've cut back in the last two months in order to save money. I have to agree that this year wasn't as good as last year. I feel like I went to a lot of "okay" or "good but not transcendent" shows. However, several do stand out as being special. Here they are in no particular order:

Stars @ Black Cat opening for BSS
The Cooper Temple Clause @ The Khyber in Philly
TV on the Radio @ Black Cat backstage
Phaser @ Iota
Pixies + Radiohead @ Coachella
The High Dials @ Black Cat backstage
The Blueskins @ Mercury Lounge in NYC
Hope of the States @ Double Door in Chicago
Uncut @ Pianos in NYC
Soledad Brothers @ Iota
Interpol @ 9:30 Club

I'm looking forward to 2005. After all, Idlewild will be touring again!
my top 10 non gbv shows

Unicorns, The
Black Cat - Backstage
2/1/2004

Shins, The
Black Cat
2/11/2004

Metric opening for South
9:30 Club
2/14/2004

Elefant
Velvet Lounge
2/18/2004

Decemberists, The
Black Cat
3/23/2004

Pernice Brothers w/ Long Winters
Black Cat
4/15/2004

Okkervil River w/ Shearwater
Common Grounds
5/22/2004

Mclusky
Black Cat
6/19/2004

Secret Machines
Black Cat
7/15/2004

Mountain Goats
Black Cat

Top 12 non gbv albums ;)

Von Bondies - Pawn Shoppe Heart
Shearwater - Winged Life
Of Montreal - Satanic Panic In The Attic
Icarus Line - Penance Soiree
Mountain Goats - We Shall All Be Healed
Q and not U - Power
Mirah - C'mon Miracle
Burning Brides - Leave No Ashes
Secret Machines - Now Here Is Nowhere
Magnetic Fields - I
Thermals - Fuckin A
Destroyer - Your Blues
Originally posted by kurosawa-b/w:
The High Dials @ Black Cat backstage
I forgot about this one too….I really enjoyed this show.
show-wise, heres the rundown for me in 2004 in no order:

-converge/cave in/between the buried and me @ alley katz
-suicide @ knitting factory
-andrew wk/the locust - 930 club
-slick rick @ ottobar
-m.o.p. @ ottobar
-leo kottke @ lewis ginter botanical gardens
-an albatross/karate/circle takes the square - vcu student commons building
-cursive/darkest hour - 930 club
-mogwai/interpol - merriweather
-sonic youth - 930 club

records:
wolf eyes - burned mind
converge - you fail me
madvillain - madvillainy
the un - un or u out
mission of burma - onoffon
today is the day - kiss the pig
pig destroyer - terrifyer
animal collective - sung tongs
the arcade fire - the funeral
comets on fire - blue cathedral
the gris gris - s/t (thanks snail)
xiu xiu - fabulous muscles
wilco - a ghost is born
sonic youth - sonic nurse
the microphones - mount eerie
six strings of admittance - for octavio paz
mare - s/t ep
jolie holland - escondida
Originally posted by pollard:

Mirah - C'mon Miracle
Did you give me that then?

Every time a song comes on the ipod it pricks up my ears. You might like the concretes. I can barely guess which is which when they play randomly.

I thought both were too slow and girly for you.
Originally posted by Deepak Chopra:
Did you give me that then?

Every time a song comes on the ipod it pricks up my ears. You might like the concretes. I can barely guess which is which when they play randomly.

I thought both were too slow and girly for you.
yes I did, Concretes are a band I keep my eye out for because of reviews I have read, but have never heard them

i can like slow and girly, doesnt hurt that some of it was produced by phil elvrum of The Microphones, the influence is audible