This year I was pretty anti-social and in a kind of hibernation. It was a slow year for me in a lot of ways. I only played about 5 solo shows and about 5 Angeldust shows. The least amount of shows I played in a year since probably 1997. Here are two lists. Both are top 5's. The first list is a best of with descriptions. The second list is "notable mentions" with one line reviews. Enjoy. Oh yeah, I still think everyone else's best of list sucks, and their reviews too. Don't ever forget that. In no particular order:
PRO BRO GOLD @ Big Rock Candy Mountain, 110108
This show was next door to my house. I stopped watching after the first 5 bands and went home to respect myself. A few bands later, I thought, "you know what, I think I'll go back over there and check it out again". So I walked over, into the house and down into the dungeoness basement. This guy was playing. It was really dark & he had a spotted strobe light on. Occasionally two red lights, attached to either end of his keyboard, would light up with the music. The music was really heavy blown-out speaker synth bass lines over cheap 80's techno casio beats. It was pretty dark stuff. The guy himself looked like a character straight of a "Tom of Finland" drawing. I felt like I was in some sort of a gay S&M goth club somewhere in Europe. Apparently this wasn't his normal kind of set, though, which is a pretty big bummer. A subtle head-banging/each man in their own zone kind of dance party, the best kind. Heavy rhythms, heavy bass, shitty sound. I was really surprised.
SHARKEE KATZ @ the Basement, 120908
The stand-up comedian that is famous for saying "its alright, let 'em soak in for a while". This was at a really small bar in Northampton, Mass. About 15 to 20 people were sitting all around the bar, which almost made it seemed filled. It was very cold outside. The lights were pretty low and Sharkee paced around the floor while wearing really dark sunglasses, occasionally leaning over and reading his jokes off a piece of paper. He seemed completely at ease, the most natural Sharkee set that I have ever seen. Perfectly timed, perfectly paced.
JIMMY COUSINS @ PIFAS, 120108
If you have ever heard jazz people say "in the pocket", that is exactly where these guys were. Insane. It sounded SO fucking good. The vocals were completely clear and in front. The guitar and bass were at a perfect volume. The drums were set back. The flute/horn player played farther back during most of each song and when his solo came up he stepped right up and into the front where he could be heard. It was very organic, each person was perfectly placed creating maximum live sound mixing. Great musicianship, the forgotten kind.
VERGRABEN - "Temperance" - CS (NAZOT)
Another phenomenal Nazot tape. Grumbling noise music. Slow, rhythmic, heavy & fluttering. 23 minutes total, 7 songs, all timed nicely. Very easy to listen to. Low bass tones, slow tape sounds, sort-of creepy but not really.
LIVING IS HARD - "West African Music in Britain 1927-1929" - 2XLP
I bought this at the beginning of the year and only listened to it once, not really liking it. But I wasn't really listening. More recently, maybe 2 or 3 months ago, I popped it on again. It's 2 records and there are about 4 or 5 songs per side. Each song is 2 or 3 guys, the vocals are always the main focus, very rhythmic and very poppy. A bongo or stringed instrument accompanies the vocals during most of the songs. It's very very catchy and very very simple. Very lo-fi but very good quality, perfect for capturing this scene. I listen to this all the time.
FIVE NOTABLE MENTIONS WITH FIVE ONE-LINE REVIEWS:
MIKEY WILD live @ Bobo's on 9th. Philadelphia, PA 012508
"I like my music scary and my girls bush hairy"
NORTHEAST POWER-ELECTRONICS FESTIVAL
@ Jacquest Cabaret, Boston, MA 0314/1508
"Where's my leather pants? Im looking for Steve so we can dance"
EMBARKER live @ Adventure Island. Philadelphia, PA 040408
"Like a fine wine, things age and get better with time"
TABOO live @ Scarey St. Baltimore, MD
"Like the Swans, slow, tight and heavy, the cops came and ended it early"
KITES last show @ the ICA. Philadelphia, PA 111208
"Broken bottles, ear-piercing and full throttle... in an art gallery"