For the past few years, I've always kept track of what the best concert I saw that year was. (2008: Rage Against the Machine, 2009: The Offspring, 2010: tie between Supersuckers and Powerman 5000) But this year, I am making it official. I am writing an entire article, building up to hand out my "Live Preformance Of The Year" award. "Why not 'Concert Of The Year'," you might ask. Because, if i awarded a single concert, then lollapalooza would never have any competition. Also, i don't want to judge opening acts as part of the headliner's preformance. Along the way I will hand out some special awards and honorable mentions, so let's get started.
Lollapalooza gives you the chance to hear a ton of music in a short time. For a band to stand out, it really has a lot of competition. My "Band On The Rise" award goes to the very first band we heard at Lollapalooza this year: The Vaccines.
They closed out their set with “Norgaard”. After listening to the studio version, they must have played it at double speed live. And the studio version (On the album What Did You Expect From The Vaccines) only clocks in at 1 minute 38 seconds. The song ended just after it started. It left us reeling, but hungry for more. The Vaccines cemented themselves in my mind. I’m now a fan.
Every year there are concerts I want to go to, but just can't fit into the budget. This year, that lists consists of The Supersuckers, Flogging Molly with Clutch, Dropkick Murphys, Local H, Alien Ant Farm, and more. My "I Can't Believe I Missed It!" award goes to Rise Against with Bad Religion. I should have been at this concert. I wanted to so bad. But my daughter was born just 2 weeks before this show, and dishing out money for a concert was not smart at the time. Oh well, I have a baby now. I think it worked out.
The "This Music Sucks, But I'm Having A Great Time" award, is a tricky award to hand out. It usually involves getting suckered in to going to a concert. Luckily for this award, I am married. So this happens from time to time. This year, the award goes to New Kids On The Block and Backstreet Boys.
Every crotch grab, every torn shirt, every pelvic thrust; I just shook my head while every woman in attendance (my wife included) shrieked for more. The crown jewel of these moments came when a member of one of the bands (I honestly have no idea which one) unloaded a barrage of 10 pelvic thrusts in a row. In unison with his 10th thrust, fireworks erupted. It was somehow awesome, in its own cheesy, over the top, kind of way. I want my pelvic thrusts to trigger fireworks.
Every once in a while, you experience something much bigger than yourself, or even the concert itself. Formerly winning this award (for all the wrong reasons) was The Pink Spiders, in what has become known to my family as "The Matt Friction Meltdown Show". But Let's not get sidetracked... This year's award winner was the opening moment of a show that will never be duplicated. The winning moment occured at Lollapalooza, by Deadmau5.
Deadmau5 wasn’t set to start for another 20 minutes, but the rain wasn’t going to wait. We saw it hit the far edge of the crowd, and raindrops began racing over people, making their way towards us. There was no running for cover even if you wanted to. We were packed in like sardines. All we could do was brace for the impact of the sudden chill.That’s when it happened: the most cinematic moment I’ve ever been a part of. As the rain swept across the crowd, the curtain dropped. The fans erupted. Immediately, the lights ignited, and music overpowered both the sounds of the cheering masses and the sudden downpour. Deadmau5 started blasting his rhythms within seconds of the rainfall emerging. Everyone started jumping. Just witnessing the incredible lights and graphics shining down through the pouring rain, on to the thousands of people who were cheering and bouncing, after it all started so suddenly was absolutely overwhelming. The only thing I could do was jump and cheer as well.
This year's runner-up for "Live Preformance Of The Year" is... a tie. The first was OK Go at Lollapalooza.
All their gimmicks and videos aside, this band was made to play live. Front man Damian Kudash had beautiful control of the crowd with his banter from the stage. After instructing their fans how to sing the chorus of the last song, they closed the show with “This Too Shall Pass”. When the last note hit, and my body finally stopped shaking from standing in front of the speakers for the entire show, I was in amazement. On a day, where I thought OK Go was under billed by not playing on any of the four main stages, they brought their A-game and put on the kind of show I was hoping for. There it was: the highlight of my day.
Equally impressive, but not quite good enough to capture my "LPOTY" was Tom Morello with special guests Tim McIlrath and Wayne Kramer. For every other show I've awarded so far, I have just included a piece of a review which I had previously written. But I don't want to do that for this concert, because my initial review was not very kind. At first, I was disappointed in this show because of the way the rest of the crowd responded that night. I felt like I was the most excited person in the room, and was bummed that my all-time favorite musician, Tom, did not get the respect and appreciation I felt he deserved. Looking back, I cannot let how others responded affect the way I feel about the show. So, I will say this: Tom and his guests were great. The show just never had that "wow" factor. I was entertained, I sang along, I even gave Tom a pat on the shoulder as he walked off stage. It just wasn't good enough to be the best this year.
One of the most frustrating awards to give out is my "Why The F$#! Didn't They Tour This Year!?" award. Like the previous years, this award once again goes to The Living End. I've only seen them once, at a Warped Tour in Pittsburgh in 2006. They have not toured the U.S. since. Come on guys, it's about time.
Already, the rumor mill is swirling with word of what bands will embark on a U.S. tour next year. Of all the names I've heard, the winner of the "Most Anticipated Show For Next Year" is Rancid. They are easily one of my favorite bands that I have never seen. Other bands on this list include Zebrahead and the Flobots. But the fact that I've never seen Rancid gives them the edge.
Finally, we have arrived at our final award: "Live Preformance Of The Year". There was next to no anticipation for this concert, as my wife and I just had our baby and were adjusting to our new life. In our first date night without our daughter, we went to Cleveland, and were blown away by Cake. Prior to this show, we were not huge Cake fans (we both liked them, but she liked them just a bit more than me), but when we left... wow. It didn't hurt that they opened up for themselves, playing two complete sets totalling over 3 hours with a brief intermission. They commanded and interacted with the crowd perfectly; they even gave away a tree (yes. a tree. believe it.). They played hits from their deep library, and even playing a few lesser known gems off of their latest release. Maybe it was the fact that my wife and I had not had a night alone in over 2 months... but, wow. Cake is not my favorite band. They are not even my favorite band that I have seen preform live this year. Their latest album is not even my favorite release of this year. All that aside, they put on an amazing show... the best live preformance of the year.
