Hmm, I'm going to have to think on my actual "top 10" proper, but I will say that, aside from seeing some new faces and bands for the first time, I really enjoyed seeing Sleater-Kinney back in Feb. And I had a transcendent little experience with an even older favorite in the spring.
I had no initial plans to even try to get to the SK show, but with friends like mine (over-enthusiastic thirty-somethings who worshipped SK in another life), it wasn't surprising to find myself on the other end of a "duuude- I've got an extra ticket to see SK tomorrow! You coming or what?" kind of conversation. And come I did, mainly because the lady was out of town and I was bored and lonely, but MAN did I enjoy it.
It was like 1998 all over again. with better equipment, certainly, and a much more crowded house. It was my ... ninth? tenth? SK show of the millennium, and I think it was all the more electrifying because of how little I expected walking in.
But, that's just one show that comes to mind. I've been to more concerts this year than in any year in recent memory, and before a I can start ranking I need to think back to the experiences.
Not gonna lie though - I saw Jesus & Mary Chain this year, and it was bloody unforgettable. Different energy than the SK show... At SK, I had the impression that if I started to chat with anyone about my honest feelings on the band and their public personas (ahem, Carrie), I might be lynched. Everyone was singing along, but I was just kinda grooving.
At J&MC, it was clear that I was the wild idiot kid in the room. I read reviews of the show later where writers admitted to having a kind of a take-it-or-leave-it attitude toward the band. I, on the other hand, may well have been foaming at the mouth. It was so foggy and droney and stoney and beautiful, and I sang my smokey little lungs out.
Until I can reflect further, I'll go with Jesus & Mary Chain for the win.
Oh! And Swans. Shit.
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