Oh tell me, what did you expect?

Since every band worth talking about seems to be on hiatus over the holidays, I'll do some typical year-end roundups. Because I know you all really care how I rank the musical events of my year. Don't lie.

I've just recently compiled the list of gigs I went to this year (50+), so I'll start with my top 5 gigs of 2005. This does not include Leeds festival or Matt Nathanson because he falls out of the genre I usually write about. (I will one day right a massive entry on him, though.) Well, without further ado...

#1 gig of 2005:
Maxïmo Park at Bowery Ballroom, September 25, 2005


Do you know those gigs you go to, when it's a band you've seen a few times before, stating out from when they were small and unknown, whose music you absolutely adore? And then you're at this gig, and they play more music than they ever have, but they also play it better than they ever have. It's like they have coalesced, right before your eyes, into this professional and kick-ass live band, and you are completely blown away, even though it doesn't come as a surprise to you.

Yeah, it was one of those.

(Although, they'd better play "Acrobat" the next time they come through, which they've been doing at UK gigs.)

#2 gig of 2005:
The Futureheads acoustic set at Pianos and full band set at Webster Hall, June 6, 2005

The big deal about these was that I didn't really like The Futureheads up until them. My friends adored them, and I really liked "Hounds of Love," but I couldn't get into the album at all. It was interesting going to the acoustic show first. I think if a band is talented, it shines through in that sort of setting. And it works so well with their harmonies, because so much of the music of their songs is produced by their own voices. And I had so much fun at the full band show, which is saying a lot considering that I didn't know most of the songs very well. It made me walk out of there liking The Futureheads. In fact, I started to crave listening to them. And lo and behold, I liked the album (minus one or two songs) afterwards. Even loved it.

#3 gig of 2005:
Art Brut at Mercury Lounge, November 10, 2005

Modern art may not make me want to rock out, but these guys sure do. Another band I couldn't really get into prior to seeing them - though I loved a few songs and generally liked the songs, I just couldn't listen to them a lot. Frontman Eddie Argos turns the concert-going experience into a wry, jumping-around-like-an-idiot experience. Something for your mind, and your body.




#4 gig of 2005:
Bloc Party at Webster Hall, June 15, 2005


While I am still waiting to hear "Always New Depths" live, we heard just about everything else that night. The boys played two encores, smashed some stuff, stage dived and almost had to be dragged off stage. We almost had to be dragged out of there.








#5 gig of 2005:
Nine Black Alps, Hard-Fi, and The Cribs at Mercury Lounge, July 19, 2005

The great thing about living in NY is that we get to see bands that are big or are getting there in small venues. In this case, three of them on the same bill for only $10. The only band I really knew any music from was the newest band on the bill, Hard-Fi. I knew about two songs from The Cribs. But I came away loving Nine Black Alps, liking Hard-Fi, and thinking that The Cribs are fun. (I now really like them.) I've seen the first and last a few times more, and am seeing Hard-Fi at Bowery Ballroom in January.

Honorable mention:
Arctic Monkeys at Bowery Ballroom, November 16, 2005

I may be a bit down on the Monkeys for the attitude they showed, but I also really like a lot of their music and find it a bit addictive. This was the better of the two shows, and it was a good time all around.

More lists to come before the year's over...