TOP TEN SHOWS OF 2019

Another year and yet more shows. Plenty of these are always going to be good, but I was surprised and what stood out to me, weeks and sometimes months after. Time can change things, but these were all very fun, adventurous shows, and incoed getting to experience them. Enjoy!

​10. HEALTH. ONE EYED JACKS
Seeing this band last week convinced me that they needed to be on this list. I’ve seen this band before, however, this time around they delivered a slightly larger production, but with the same tenacity they’ve become known for. Strobe lights were ever present and blinding at times, but songs like “FEEL NOTHING” hit with the desired impact, so all good there! 

9. RUSSIAN CIRCLES, ONE EYED JACKS
Over the course of sixty electrifying heavy minutes, Russian Corckes did what they do best. Stomping through old standards from “Geneva” as well as their other records, they proved yet again just how serious they take the creation of music under the Russian Circles moniker. It’s almost like a gradual march of death, never speaking, just gradually marching forward. 

​8. FOO FIGHTERS, FILMORE
The band itself is great and reliable as always. The scheduled grand opening shows for the Filmore, featuring the Foos were postponed, but it didn’t matter once the rescheduled shows arrived. Night one they supposedly played for three hours, and it was nearly the same the second night I attended. All the hits were represented, and the crowd energy was tremendous. Grohl is phenomenal, and a true frontman. The rest of the band is just icing on the cake.  

​7. CHARLY BLISS,GASA GASA
The band’s songs aren’t long, so within 15 minutes they had plowed through four quickly paced youth-infused anthems. It’s refreshing to see a band who clearly believes in the product they’re dispersing, and it helps that listeners can relate to the themes presented. As the show went on, the band never lost energy, with every member bouncing around the tiny stage while the crowd below revealed in the energy. The star of the show was Hendricks though. Dressed in a glittery leotard and her handy guitar, she leapt up and down regularly throughout the show, her combat boots nailing the stage harder each time as the music enveloped her.

6. DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE, ORPHEUM THEATER
Ben Gibbard and Death Cab have became a very reliable band, both on record and live. As the band got to the halfway point of the show they began gradually bringing out the big guns for tracks that everyone could get behind. “What Sarah Said” still rings with the same sadness that it filled you up the first time you heard it, and it darkness is frankly palpable. Shortly after we got an engaging, darkly tinged rendition of “I Will Possess Your Heart” which reads at first like a beautiful love letter, but rather it’s the story of a man coveting a woman so much that his love results in the possible abduction and killing of the woman he thought he loved. It was gorgeous, layered and well executed. Definitely check them out if they come through your area. 

​5. KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD, JOY THEATER
In three years I’ve watched the Australian trippy prog rock fusion band play and sell out three increasing larger venues. This time was the two thousand person capacity Joy. The band had the biggest show yet, but the approach was quite different in terms of setlists. Most of their bigger hits were ignored, with them instead playing to the thrash of recent releases. The show was nearly two hours long and they never addressed the audience. It didn’t matter. It was incredibly intense visually, and the roaring bass drilled into the crowd. Easily the best I’ve seen from them so far. It’s been an interesting ride, and I’m sure they’ll be around for years to come.

​4. THOM YORKE,MAHALIA JACKSON THEATER
If ever this decade has a spirit all its own, it’s Thom Yorke. Stepping out frequently from the best band in the world is hard, but he manages to make something uniquely his. His latest album and tour with Nigel Goodrich is fantastic. The setlist featured many songs early on from Yorkers first two solo records, “The Eraser” and “Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes,” such as the light flickering qualities of “Black Swan,” “Pink Section,” a slow and insular track that’s basically acted as a segue on their way to the next set of tracks. While the first eight songs essentially culled from his first albums, by the middle of the show, Yorke and his mates were ready to explore some of the most recent record, and with that they launched into selections from “Anima,” specifically “I am a Very Rude Person,” as well as a selection from the haunting score Yorke provided for last year’s terrifying “Suspiria” remake. The song, “Has Ended,” worked as well in the live setting as it did in the film, and as the lights shimmered throughout the crowded house, the crowd lost itself in the intoxication floating around and over our heads.

​3. MESHUGGAH, FILMORE 
The math metal gods of Sweden seem to be a band that gets more proficient and more brutal with age. Appearing at the luxurious new venue shortly after the grand opening, the five piece, featuring Jens Kidman on vocals and Tomas Haake on drums led the way through a stunning 90 minute set, barely addressing the audience but instead relying on the blast beats and strobe lights to move the audience. Most bands play to their strengths early on to get the energy up, but with Meshuggah it’s full force from the word go. During the opening moments of set starter “Pravus,” all I kept thinking was that the music and fury being showcased would have been the perfect accompaniment to the recent Game of Thrones episode “The Battle of Winterfell.” Both are unflinchingly brutal and fast paced, and well, both are also kind of terrifying, in an exciting way. 

2. ANGEL OLSEN, CIVIC THEATER
As the house lights made the room big and bright, an ornately elegant but spooky backdrop featuring stars hung quietly in the background, the evening paused while we the audience waited. Eventually, the house lights diommed to allow the band to enter the evening. e off flawlessly, with Olsen’s voice straining beautifully under the weight of emotion that surrounds the record. I’ve seen plenty of shows, but her voice was something I wasn’t prepared for. So full of volume, depth, and exactly how she sounds on records, she allowed the backing band, fully equipped with amazing musicians playing guitars, bass, and classical string instruments to propel her own vocals to make something so beautiful.

​1. PUP, ONE EYED JACKS 
Every now and then you’re surprised by a performance and your life shifts. That’s what occurred when I witnessed the marvelous Canadian pop punk with a thrash twist PUP, who were playing in support of their excellent “Morbid Stuff” record from earlier this year. It was a punk show for all intents and purposes, with the band playing for less than an hour, but the raw intensity from the opening moments of “Free at Last,” to the closing moments of chaos provided by “DVP,” the show was everything you would want from a band on the rise. Many of the other songs played seemed to inspire a kind of jubilant disobedience that only this kind of band can conjure. The title track to the new album was amazing, while “If this Tour Doesn’t Kill You, I Will,” reached out and grabbed the audience so fiercely you could barely hear the vocals, but those moments are the ones that stay with you the most. All the songs fed into one another, with the band rarely stopping. The energy was just too much for everyone. I went in not knowing much about the band, but since that night I’ve been enamored with them. That doesn’t happen too often, which made the evening even more special. PUP is a band worth watching, and should be enjoyed live as often as possible.