Why my hearing is rapidly deteriorating, AKA the TOP TEN GIGS OF 2010!

As we all know, I attend a LOT of gigs. Some might say an abnormal amount. But whether it's an all-day summer festival in a dustbowl, a quiet free night at the local, an arena spectacular at Rod Laver or Etihad, or even an impromptu generator party held under Citylink (god those were/are? fun!), there's nothing I enjoy more than a good live music outing. And here are the ten gigs that I particularly enjoyed last year!

10. Coffins (Japan), at Hi Fi Bar and Ballroom, September 18. With a MAMMOTH support bill starring Gospel of the Horns, Cauldron Black Ram, The Day Everything Became Nothing, Clagg, Ignivomous and Whitehorse. WHEW!
What a night this turned out to be! I wasn't too familiar with the output of Japanese death/doomsters Coffins, but with a support bill like that I was inspired to just purchase a damn ticket anyway, and of course I would not be disappointed. Earplugs were MANDATORY as some of Australia's finest metal bands warmed the stage before a truly blistering performance from the Japanese visitors! And how could you go wrong with the encore - Scooter Williams from Clagg joined in for a cover of Eyehategod's classic Sister Fucker. BRILLIANCE.

9. Mumford & Sons (UK), at Palace Theatre, July 28. With support from Alberta Cross (USA) and Boy & Bear.
This really was a good night; Mumford & Sons were in the country only a few months prior to this show for the Laneway Festival, but with their profile expanding considerably since their Hottest 100 win, we were only too happy to welcome them back, especially considering they didn't play sideshows during the Laneway visit. What excellent supports too; this gig really kicked off my love of Boy & Bear!
Full review here

8. Silversun Pickups (USA), at Corner Hotel, September 28. With support from Papa vs Pretty.
Definitely very happy with this one, especially seeing no other state got a full headline slot from the band (they were merely curtain-jerkers for Birds of Tokyo). A great setlist from a very energetic and LOUD band.
Full review here

7. Porcupine Tree (UK) performs The Incident in its entirety, at Palace Theatre, February 7. With support (again!) from Sleep Parade.
Well, it's nice to see that after years of basically ignoring Australian fans, the British prog five-piece are making up for lost time, and hightailed it over here after their 2009 release The Incident, to play the whole damn thing from start-to-finish in the lovely surrounds of the Palace Theatre - and then delivering a quality second set filled with other favourites from their back catalogue. A very classy live act, these guys are indeed! Cannot wait to see what Wilson and co. have up their sleeves for their next album!

6. The Mars Volta (USA), at Festering Hole, January 25. NO SUPPORT.
Well, it's fair to say that last time Volta were out (2008, roughly June-July from memory) they were slightly disappointing - we all like it when they get into "the zone" and jam out for ages on certain songs, but when the whole two-and-a-half-hour gig consists of merely EIGHT songs, one of which went for FORTY MINUTES, you can't help but feeling they could've done better. This time around, they did exactly that - in spirit of the back-to-basics ethic that they adopted for 2009 album Octahedron, this gig featured them delivering a classy package of fourteen songs from across their brilliant career, including many old favourites we hadn't seen in a while, and just the right balance of jamming and playing SONGS. Indeed, some of us who didn't get the opportunity to go to Volta gigs in 2006 or 2004 got to hear some songs we'd NEVER heard before, which was most delightful. I knew I was going to see them at the Big Day Out the following day, but really, the promise of a full-length set was too good to resist! If all goes well, album number six from this wonderful band should land sometime this year, and I always look forward to seeing where they'll go next. So should you.

5. Faith No More (USA), at Festering Hole, February 24. With support from AFI (USA), Gallows (UK) and errr, Neil Hamburger (USA).
You have to laugh at the whingeing AFI fans who complained about Soundwave squeezing Faith No More onto this bill, due to the overwhelming demand for them to perform another sideshow. I mean, you're getting a FAITH NO MORE SHOW! With no disrespect to AFI band intended, this night belonged entirely to a show-stopping performance from Patton, Hudson, Gould, Bordin and Bottum, and how could it go any other way? Despite the group's absence from the scene for quite a long time, they came onstage and ripped through their amazing back catalogue that's become so well-loved and appreciated by many over the years, and they were no slouches on the live stage at all. This was well worth the impulse decision I made to attend.

4. Them Crooked Vultures (USA), at Festering Hole, January 22. With support from Sailors & Swine.
Ah yes. I remember being very excited in late 2009, when in a rather clever anticipation-building manoeuvre, Frontier Touring plastered the streets of Melbourne with a poster of "the" Vulture that we'd come to associate with this rock n roll supergroup, simply accompanied with the text "FOLLOW WHAT'S HEARD" and a website address. Said website simply featured a countdown, and when this countdown was up, as expected, touring dates for Them Crooked Vultures WERE ANNOUNCED! Now, it's funny that the tour dates (and indeed, a lot of other shows by this band) were announced before they actually released an album or indeed a full-length song, but then the album came in November and we didn't have to worry about the gig sucking any more! The lineup of the band is Josh Homme, John Paul Jones and Dave Grohl (and also features Alain Johannes in the live format) - now, really, need I say more?! This gig truly lived up to expectations, with the thunderous bluesy riff-rock of their debut album translating very well to the live stage. Let's have more of them!

3. Muse (UK), at Rod Laver Arena, December 14. With support from Biffy Clyro (UK).
There was a little bit of disappointment in the air when Lees and West didn't give this British powerhouse a run of headline dates when they were here in January for the Big Day Out, but then again, their reasoning for doing so was acceptable - Muse were GUARANTEED to return later in the year, bringing their full (and quite over-the-top!) live production with them! So Muse fans said, "OK!", enjoyed them at the BDO nonetheless, and then bought tickets to this. And for doing so, we were rewarded with giant towers, an intense laser show, and a quality set jam-packed with plenty of songs from across their five-album career - and indeed, "jam-packed" it was, the band breaking into several classic riffs throughout the evening. A solid show this was!

2. Cynic (USA), at Billboard the Venue, January 3. Technically, this show was headlined by Edguy (Germany), but quite a lot of the crowd, including myself, left after this truly amazing performance!
I couldn't begin to describe the emotions I felt back in 2009 when the Just Say Rock team announced the lineup for their New Year's Eve and Day extravaganza in Sydney, which they dubbed "Screamfest". There were plenty of quality international acts on the bill, including Ensiferum, Dark Funeral and Rotting Christ, but above all, one name stood out for me and many others, and that name was CYNIC. In 2006, Paul Masvidal announced plans to revive his long-since disbanded progressive-fusion metal project, and with the band actually playing shows in 2007, and recording an album which was released in 2008, the dream of seeing this wonderful band live began to seem not so hopeless after all! After a fantastic show on New Year's Day at the aforementioned Screamfest, plenty of Melbournians couldn't help themselves and thus, we all got ourselves down to Billboard on a Sunday night for a second helping of Cynic. Of course, the setlist was a little different; delighting those that had been disappointed by the absence of said songs in Sydney, the band even ripped out Focus classics Veil of Maya and Textures. It was truly inspiring to see such talented musicians playing in Melbourne after all this time, and they looked genuinely happy and appreciative to be doing so. They even did us the honour of hanging around at the merch desk after the show, more than happy to speak to and take happy snaps with their grateful fans. I don't know why I'm bothering to write about this show; words cannot explain its magic.

But at the end of the year, there was one gig that clearly stood out above the rest, and what a show it was. That honour goes to...

1. Om (USA), at Hi Fi Bar and Ballroom, July 16. With support from Lichens (USA; he also played in Om), Blarke Bayer / Black Widow and Breathing Shrine.
Even though the legendary Sleep have reformed, owing to financial constraints I still rate my chances of actually seeing them slim-to-none, so when this gig was announced I jumped at the opportunity to be in the same room as the MIGHTY Al Cisneros. Om's performance on this night really showed that you don't need a massive stage/venue or a flashy lightshow to deliver the goods - sometimes, all you need is a bassist, guitarist and drummer to just play to a medium-capacity room and let the music do the talking. Which it certainly did - the bass-heavy drone-y stoner metal reverberating through the room and pleasing the ears of all in attendance. Just a simple yet powerful performance, delivered with a surprisingly great live mix. I really enjoyed this one.

Well then, that just about covers it! 2010 certainly did have some beauties didn't it? 2011, you've got a lot to live up to!

NOW PLAYING: The Mars Volta - Festival Hall bootleg. I thought it appropriate!

"We made plans to..." actually no, that title's too obvious :) - Birds of Tokyo w/Silversun Pickups, Festival Hall, 01/10/10

There's something somewhat rewarding about watching a band you've liked for ages suddenly achieving some serious recognition, and recently it's been Birds of Tokyo that have risen out of the underground to make a major dent in the mainstream. Their recent self-titled third album has been going great guns in the ARIA charts, and Plans has become a very successful tune for the band. And to think, three years ago when the band's first album Day One was released, a lot of people knew them as "Ian Kenny from Karnivool's other band". So on a very pleasant spring Friday night in Melbourne, they took to the stage at Festival Hall - a major achievement in itself - with support from noisy LA rockers Silversun Pickups and fellow WA rockers The Chemist. The near-sold out crowd enjoyed immensely!

The Chemist were up first, but as usual, hardly anyone had bothered to turn up yet, and those that had were a little bit indifferent to the fact that there was a band up on the stage - quite a talented band though if I do say so myself. ...To be honest, it's now been four days since I saw them and I had never heard them previously, so I now can't remember exactly what they sounded like, but I did enjoy them :) I will be seeing them again in a few weeks when they warm the stage for Boy & Bear (and how I am looking forward to that!), so they might get a more detailed review then...

Following that, we had our international visitors Silversun Pickups, who I'd seen just three days earlier but was nevertheless looking forward to catching again. I was aware however that their set would only be half of the 90 minute+ marathon that they did at the Corner (see previous blog), something a lot of people in other states (who didn't get SSPU headline shows) complained about bitterly. Nevertheless, they had more than a few vocal fans inside Festival Hall this evening, and delivered the best set they could in 45 minutes - although they were somewhat shortchanged by the sound guy. Again, frontman Brian Aubert was full of love for Melbourne, noting that it was the only city in Australia where they've played three times before. The set was pretty much the more well-known half of their full set, but still played extremely well by a very energetic band. Again, a class act!
SETLIST:
Growing Old is Getting Old
Well Thought Out Twinkles
There's No Secrets This Year
The Royal We
Future Foe Scenarios
Substitution
Panic Switch
Lazy Eye

Now, this was the sixth time I'd seen Birds of Tokyo, so one might expect I'd be a little less enthusiastic for them this time around. However, it had been close to a year since I'd last seen them perform; that particular event being the Broken Strings tour which saw them reinvent their back catalogue in acoustic-and-strings format. As awesome as that tour was, I was looking forward to them returning to the standard big ol rock 'n' roll format, and with an EXCELLENT new album to boot with songs I'd never seen live before! And they burst into life just after 9pm, with a great rendition of grandiose new track The Unspeakable Scene - however, that particular choice of song to open left a few people a bit stunned and the crowd didn't really get into it until the next song dropped, which was everyone's favourite Black Sheets. As usual, frontman Ian Kenny was particularly animated, several times declaring the night to be a "party", and thanking us all for being in attendance. And when he wasn't endearing himself to the fans with banter, he was doing that amazing space cadet dance we all know and love, all around the spacious Festival Hall stage. I've seen Birds' stage production increase steadily with each tour, and tonight they'd really gone all-out, with a giant visual screen up the back complementing the likes of Circles and Silhouettic very nicely. And as for the setlist? You couldn't ask for a better mix of old and new - in amongst the likes of The Saddest Thing I Know and Murmurs, there were plenty of crowd singalongs to the likes of White Witch, Off Kilter and even VERY old song Believer, from the Birds of Tokyo EP. Such was the crowd's enthusiasm that at one point Kenny noted that he'd like to bring us all on tour next time to be Birds of Tokyo's official choir. The show just went from strength to strength, until finally, with that familiar gentle drum intro, it was time for Plans, which was when the voices really got going! But what to follow it with? Silhouettic of course, and the ENTIRE crowd joined in during the first rendition of that last chorus after the jam! After disappearing for a quick breather, the demands for an encore would see them return to close the show with The Gap and the ever-popular Broken Bones. Some people might grumble about the pop-friendly direction the band took with the new album, but on this night, Kenny, Spark, Jackson, Weston and Sarangapany really took flight with an amazing show that left everyone satisfied.
SETLIST:
The Unspeakable Scene
Black Sheets
Wild Eyed Boy
White Witch
Believer
Circles
Wayside
The Saddest Thing I Know
Wild At Heart
Off Kilter
In the Veins of Death Valley
Get Out
The Bakers Son
Murmurs
Plans
Silhouettic
---Encore----
The Gap
Broken Bones

"I've been waiting... I've been waiting for this moment, all my life" - Silversun Pickups, Corner Hotel, 28/09/10

It was the show that wasn't really supposed to happen, but thank FUCK it did. Los Angeles' highly acclaimed dreamy noisemakers Silversun Pickups were announced as part of the bill for the Coaster Festival in Gosford, NSW, but I think there was a very large amount of people who couldn't really make it there who were PRAYING they'd be putting in a few capital city appearances. However, in a miscalculated move to say the least, the promoter decided that the ideal way to tour them across this country would be to have them warming up the stage before a headlining performance from Birds of Tokyo. Now, with no disrespect to Birds intended because I'm sure it wasn't their fault (I'm actually a massive fan), but seriously, it's a bit of an insult to a TOURING BAND FROM AMERICA, who have only been here once and on that tour only played TINY venues, to have them playing a pathetic eight-song set before some band from Perth that everyone's probably seen before come onstage and play for almost two hours. There's just some logic missing there. To say nothing of the fact that musically, the two bands are worlds apart. Thankfully, Frontier Touring did a bit of damage control, at least for the Melbournians, and booked Silversun Pickups into the Corner Hotel, for an amazing headline set that sold out in, I believe, about 20 minutes. Papa vs Pretty opened the night; because I got there a bit late and only caught about 3-4 of their songs I'm not going to give them their own paragraph, but they were very good and I'd like to check them out again.

Maybe it was because it was a very un-rock and roll Tuesday night, maybe it was because they wanted to make up for lost time, but whatever the reason was, we only had to wait until 9:30 before the curtain pulled back and Brian Aubert (vocals/guitar), Nikki Monninger (bass/vocals), Joe Lester (keys/effects) and Christopher Guanlao (drums) kicked into a beautiful rendition of Growing Old is Getting Old from last year's brilliant Swoon album. Even from this opening song it was clear that we were going to be in for a good night - and when that "heavy" section in the middle kicked in, the crowd responded accordingly! After that song was done, Monninger hit a very familiar few bars, introducing my personal favourite SSPU song Well Thought Out Twinkles. This favourite from their first album Carnavas had the effect of really getting the crowd going, not that they needed encouragement. Everyone was really excited for this very special opportunity that the other states were not getting. I was surprised at how energetic the band are onstage too - not that their songs are dull, but they aren't exactly ultra-high intensity either. Still, that didn't stop Monninger from bouncing around the stage with a huge grin on her face, while Aubert made the most of the non-singing bits in the songs by leaning out over the barrier and thrashing the hell out of his guitar. Up the back of the stage, Guanlao was absolutely belting that kit; he even had a cymbal towering way above the rest of the kit, John Stanier-style.

After about five songs, the band finally took a break to allow Aubert to speak. He was pretty quiet earlier on in the set, but gradually got more and more chatty as the night wore on. Punters weren't afraid to voice their disapproval of the tour's mismanagement either, with one yelling out, "Where's your headline shows, what's wrong with your promoter?" Aubert grinned and replied, "This is the headline show motherfucker. The tour starts and ends tonight!" Later on, someone chimed in with "Fuck Birds of Tokyo!" to which Aubert responded "If you want me to, it's your town!" Birds-bashing aside, the crowd and band alike showed their appreciation of the other being present. Not letting it go to his head, Aubert showed his genuine modesty when recalling that on their last tour, the band played in the relatively tiny Ding Dong Lounge. He said that when they had been asked to play the Corner this time around, upon hearing that the venue had a capacity of 800, he'd replied "Good luck selling that shit out!" Aubert also played up the typical city-to-city interstate rivalry card, but had to backpedal when he realised that some hardcore fans had made their way from other cities to witness this special show.

And what a show it was. Despite assurances actually coming from Adam Spark himself (see the Fasterlouder thread), as openers for Birds, the SSPU set was criminally trimmed down to 45 minutes - tonight, despite the Corner website advertising that the show was to finish at 10:45, it stretched past 11pm! The crowd enjoyed all that the band had to give, but were particularly responsive to Carnavas tracks getting an airing - Little Lover's So Polite and Future Foe Scenarios were particular highlights, and for the diehards in the room there was even Kissing Families from the band's pre-Carnavas EP Pikul. It wouldn't be right of me not to extend my highest compliments to the sound guy on the night - as we know from listening to their albums, Silversun Pickups do enjoy their feedback-drenched pedal-driven noisefests, but this comes across so much better in their live show, although I was extremely thankful I'd brought earplugs! This was particularly evident during an epic version of Lazy Eye which closed the main set. After it, an encore seemed a bit redundant, but the curtain remained opened and those roadies onstage just seemed to be tuning instruments, so we knew there was something more coming. It was two slightly more chilled-out numbers, Substitution from Swoon and from Three Seed from Carnavas - before Christopher Guanlao amazed once more with an extended version of that intense beat that begins Common Reactor. As the song drew to a close, Monninger and Guanlao made their way offstage, leaving Aubert and Lester to conclude by deafening us all with blasts of feedback and effects, until finally it was over. Melbourne's Silversun Pickups fans knew they were extremely lucky to get this show, and the band rewarded us many times over.

SETLIST:
Growing Old is Getting Old
Well Thought Out Twinkles
Sort Of
There's No Secrets This Year
The Royal We
Little Lover's So Polite
It's Nice to Know You Work Alone
Future Foe Scenarios
Kissing Families
Catch and Release
Panic Switch
Lazy Eye
----Encore----
Substitution
Three Seed
Common Reactor