Popular With Me, 2008: Favorite concert moments
Kevin Bronson on
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[Some 200-plus shows later, here are my favorite sets of 2008, counting down from No. 10 to No. 1 . You have a favorite? Tell me about it in the comments …]
10. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Jan. 25, Safari Sam’s: Probably my fondest memory of Safari Sam’s, the east Hollywood club whose lowlights exceeded its highlights until, finally, later in the year, owner Sam Lanni was evicted and the venue was shuttered. On this night, BRMC unleashed a gorgeous wall of shoegaze amid colored lights and haze. The packed house ate it up — until the fire marshals arrived and shut down the show (with two songs remaining) for capacity reasons. Thing is, it was nowhere near as crowded as I’ve seen other venues.
9. Anytime the Henry Clay People play, anywhere, U.S.A.: This young L.A. quartet has managed to put the moxie back in classic rock. Whether it’s their nimble choice of covers, winky stage antics that border on calamity or the simulated sibling rivalry between the brothers Siara, they’ve seldom disappointed.
8. Love and Rockets, April 27, Coachella: A true case of a band winning me over with a live set. I’d never been a huge fan of Daniel Ash and David J post-Bauhaus, but their sweaty, colorful set at the Outdoor Theatre changed that.
7. Against Me!, June 20, Warped Tour at Pomona: Amid the smarminess, commercialism and vending-machine punk aesthetic that dominates Warped, it was wildly refreshing to see a band that really means it. It was about as uncompromising as it gets these days.
6. The Sweet Hurt, Aug. 3, Tangier: I shared this anecdote on another website last month, but … Two weeks after I lost my job, I stopped by Tangier on a Sunday night. I was kind of a wreck, especially physically, having played three baseball games that weekend in brutal heat. In the dark, air-conditioned room, frontwoman Wendy Wang’s voice seemed to have otherworldly clarity and honesty that night, demonstrating the power not only to inhabit her songs but compel the listener to, too. [Photo by Jeff Koga]
5. M83, Nov. 29, Music Box @ Fonda: As with any music that requires long incubation periods in the studio, I was skeptical about how the tunes from “Saturdays = Youth” would translate live, especially in a room not known for its great sound. But everything clicked. Positively exhilarating. [Photo by Timothy Norris]
4. Jane’s Addiction, Oct. 23, La Cita: Simply getting into the show was a huge victory itself — then seeing Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro, Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins raise the roof of the tiny downtown bar for an hour was electric. The passion of the few hard-core Jane’s faithful who wangled their way into the venue was contagious.
3. Beck, Sept. 20, Hollywood Bowl: Some Beck fans thought this was an off-night for the local hero, but from where I sat it was quite engaging — almost storybook, in fact, since he was performing for the first time in collaboration with his father, David Campbell, who conducted the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra Strings. [No photos from the Bowl show, so the one above was from one of his secret shows at the Echo.]
2. The Airborne Toxic Event, Jan. 31, Spaceland: In my late-2007 story for the Times, I tabbed three L.A. artists as bands to watch, Airborne, the Deadly Syndrome and Castledoor. On the final night of their January residency, the savvy Airborne folks invited the other two bands to share the bill; Castledoor decorated the joint with newspapers (of all things … see the aftermath above); and it made for a celebratory evening.
1. My Bloody Valentine, Oct. 1, Santa Monica Civic: Sixty bucks got you a ticket, a set of earplugs and the feeling that some sort of history was being made, even if the venue felt slightly wrong. The seminal shoegazers did not disappoint, drenching their devotees in sheets of noise and finishing with a 16-minute wall of sound that separated the men from the ADD-addled boys.
I’m surprised Minipop covering Catherine Wheel @ Spaceland didn’t find a way on here. You were pogo-ing and hugging strangers throughout that one.
My Bloody Valentine at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium clearly stands out as the best show this year. I can still feel the sound and the lashing I received from my girlfriend for making her attend. Other favorites included the Raveonettes, 3/1, the Glass House in Pomona, the almost vacant venue seemed so perfect.
If we count the non local shows, The Raconteurs in Lollapalooza this year were my favorite performance of all times! Jack White has so much stage presence, everyone around me was losing their minds and we weren’t even close to the stage..
Yeah….The Kills @ El Rey, The Deadly Syndrome last sat night, and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros @ Eagle Rock Music Fest.
I definitely agree with you on the Airbourne Toxic Event, Deadly Syndrome, Castledoor show at Spaceland, that was pretty spectacular – I still have a Castledoor newspaper from that show. I also have to say Grizzly Bear w/LA Philharmonic @ Disney Concert Hall, Portishead @ Mayan, The Kills @ El Rey, Beirut @ Wiltern, Lykke Li @ Hotel Cafe, Bon Iver @ Troubadour, Fleet Foxes @ El Rey, Lisa Hannigan @ Largo, and Noah and the Whale @ Spaceland round out my top ten for 2008.
you’re an animal. i don’t know how you keep up the pace….
Love & Rockets, even some band from the Warped tour got on here, but Sigur Ros didn’t? Even if you didn’t go, this should have been like a “Lamentable Concert Misses” or something.
Sigur Ros, c’mon!
Hugo — Guilty as charged. “Lamentable Concert Misses” indeed. I was at James at the El Rey that night, perhaps still suffering an MBV hangover. Forgive me?
Wire at the Echoplex was pretty amazing, three encores and at least one song from nearly every release.
And that Whigs/Henry Clay People show last summer was equally awesome.
That MBV show was the most physically demanding concert I’ve ever experienced. My sight and hearing will never be the same — and it was worth it.
Also the Verve in Vegas was envigorating, despite the tech problems and the Urban Hymns-centric set. “Already There” was an absolute ass-kicker.