Favorite Sets of 2014

Here are my 25 favorite sets of 2014 with a picture taken at each (from my Instagram).  They are more or less in chronological order.  Most were in Baltimore or DC. 

My blog also has short writeups on why I liked each set at:
http://draggedtohell.com/2014/12/05/my-25-favorite-sets-of-2014/


Pixies, Electric Factory in Philly, January 2014



Weekends, Ottobar in Baltimore, January 2014



Multicult, Stem Graphics in HarCo, February 2014



Priests, Barclay House in Baltimore, April 2014



Wolf Eyes, Current Space lot in Baltimore, April 2014



Cloud Cult, Sixth and I, April 2014



Swans, Black Cat, May 2014



The Skull Defekts, the Gold Bar, May 2014



Matmos, Fifth Dimension, May 2014



Microkingdom, the Crown, May 2014



Wildhoney, the Crown, May 2014



Wing Dam, Ottobar, June 2014



Guerilla Toss, Metro Gallery, June 2014



Dark Blue , Metro Gallery, July 2014


 
Kowloon Walled City, Metro Gallery, July 2014



Neutral Milk Hotel, Merriweather Post Pavilion, July 2014



Charanjit Singh, Tropicalia, August 2014 



Joanna Gruesome, the Rock and Roll Hotel, August 2014



Horse Lords, Fields Festival, August 2014



clipping, Metro Gallery, September 2014



Placebo, Fillmore Silver Spring, October 2014



Roomrunner, Metro Gallery, October 2014



Slowdive, 930 Club, October 2014



Riff Raff, Baltimore Soundstage, October 2014



Yusuf, Tiny Desk Concert, October 2014

–Best of 2014–
Low (Montreal)
Slowdive (Iceland, Washington, Philadelphia)
Slint (Philadelphia)
Shalabi Effect (Montreal)
Cibo Matto (Washington, Philadelphia)
Nick Cave solo (Montreal)
A Silver Mt. Zion (Wakefield, QC)

honorable mentions: Philip Glass + Steve Reich Ensemble (New York), Caetano Veloso (New York),
Land of Kush (Montreal), Spiritualized (Iceland), GYBE (Montreal), Kraftwerk (Washington)

the latter two were good but I just saw them too often in the last 2 years.

Somewhat disappointed by Pixies (Washington), Trans Am (Washington), Interpol (Iceland)
and don't think I will see these bands another time.

Hightlight of the year: Meeting Arvo Pärt in person.

:D That is the spirit!

nick cave & the bad seeds - dar
qotsa - mpp
st. vincent - mpp
lake shore dive - hartwood acres, pgh
nin - jll
alice cooper - jll
cheap trick - celebrate fairfax
elbow - 9:30
afghan whigs - 9:30
fka twigs - 9:30
sharon jones - bynum, pgh

This year,  sadly, is the first in which I've struggled to remember all the shows I went to. And not because there were lots of them.

A lot of these were firsts for me, hence me liking them so much:

Protomartyr - Gold Bar
Sharon van Etten - 930
Swans - Black Cat
Qotsa/St Vincent - MPP
Neutral Milk Hotel - MPP
Emma Ruth Rundle - dc9
Ty Segall - 930
Damned - Black Cat
Priests - Black Cat

Plus a few more I'm sure I'm forgetting…….

1. Ace Frehley
2. Ace Frehley
3. Ace Frehley
4. Ace Frehley
5. Ace Frehley
6. Ace Frehley
7. Ace Frehley
8. Ace Frehley
9. Ace Frehley
10. Ace Frehley

Neutral Milk Hotel - July, DAR
Andrew Bird - June, Lincoln
New Pornographers - Dec, 9:30
John Prine - June, Strathmore
Slaid Cleaves - Sept, St. Aiden's Church
Foo's - May, 9:30
Yo La Tengo + Lambchop, Dec, 9:30

1) The Feelies – The Met (Pawtucket, RI)
2&3) Queens of the Stone Age w/Warpaint – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (SF, CA) and QOTSA w/ Brody Dalle – Mann Center (Philly) (tie)
4) Peter Hook & the Light – Trocadero (Philly)
5&6) Foo Fighters – Black Cat/9:30 (tie)
7) Slowdive – 9:30
8 ) Ex Hex – Boot and Saddle (Philly)
9) Kraftwerk – 9:30
10) The Damned w/TSOL and the Briefs – Black Cat

 

Run The Jewels & Despot at 9:30
BANG at Metro Gallery
Jar'd Loose at Old Firestation #3
Antemasque at RNR Hotel
Bongripper at Deathfest
Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats at Deathfest
Tobacco at U Street
Queens of The Stone Age @ MPP
High on Fire, C.O.C. & Eyehategod at Ottobar (They made a book about this show)
The Deaf Scene at a mountaintop bonfire party

in no particular order

Merchandise @ BC
DIIV @ BC
Kraftwerk @ 930
Mø @ U St
Brad Mehldau Trio @ Sixth & I
Metronomy @ BC
Mehliana @ KC
Haim @ 930
Death From Above 1979 @ 930
Phosphorescent @ 930

That is the spirit!  Bring them on!

I reserve the right to look at my ticket stubs/spreadsheet at home but here's a tentative top 10:

Honorable Mentions: Pixies (The National), Low, The Hold Steady (Fall Line Fest), Fun Size, Protomartyr (Fall Line Fest)

10 Foo Fighters @ The National
9 Joanna Gruesome @ Gallery 5
8 Weezer @ The National
7 Arctic Monkeys @ The National
6 Priests @ Strange Matter
5 Kraftwerk @ 9:30
4 Ex Hex @ Strange Matter
3 Waxahatchee @ Strange Matter
2 Slowdive @ 9:30
1 The Pizza Underground @ Black Cat

I hardly went to any shows this year. Sad.

But, Queens of the Stone Age/St. Vincent were amazing.

Had tickets to Nick Cave, but couldn't go because of husband's ankle break.

And Tori…fantastic as always.

If I had to vote for Most Epic Guitar Shredder of the Year, my vote would go to Marissa Paternoster for both of her projects that I saw this year (solo as Noun at the Ottobar upstairs, and as the frontperson for Screaming Females later in the year at the Ottobar downstairs).

noun


Screaming Females

killsaly? wrote:
If I had to vote for Most Epic Guitar Shredder of the Year, my vote would go to Marissa Paternoster for both of her projects that I saw this year (solo as Noun at the Ottobar upstairs, and as the frontperson for Screaming Females later in the year at the Ottobar downstairs).

noun


Screaming Females

wow.she has all the stage presence of a dead mackerel….

pictures don't exactly scream excitement

unlike this:

GIFSoup

You cant tell anything from the two pictures I posted except it is a woman playing a strat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TmKvkndndQ

Unsanity wrote:
High on Fire, C.O.C. & Eyehategod at Ottobar (They made a book about this show)

I was at that show. They wrote a book about it?????

I am going to assume you don't watch the video.  But if you did, you would see her doing her thing, rocking out on vocals and guitar.  

That solo starting at 1:11… She shreds.  

Crowd surfing at 2:16…

The ending… damn

I am filing a challenge to your alleged trademark of earlier today, with the USPTO.. I think its clear that you lost the rights to the trademark after you freaked out and cancelled your account….. coming back with a different name was an implicit admission that you no longer had the rights to said trademark.

I have a very good friend who works with the USPTO regularly (former Patent Examiner) and another who is currrently at the USPTO so I would suggest you cease use of the name immediately.

I was killsaly way before I posted on here, pal.  ::)