My Favourite Albums Of 2023

My top albums of 2023:

Wednesday - Rat Saw God

Jess Williamson - Time Ain't Accidental

Margo Price - Strays & Strays II

Jenny Lewis - Joy'All

The Mars Volta - Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazon

Lana Del Rey - Did You Know There's A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd

PJ Harvey - I Inside The Old Year Dying 

Inger Lorre - Gloryland

Margo Cilker - Valley Of Heart's Delight

Black Belt Eagle Scout - The Land, The Water, The Sky

Wilco - Cousin

Best Gigs Of 2023

Last year I went to only six gigs and this year, I did even better... seven! While hardly the heady days years back when I was going to over fifty shows a year, I still feel grateful to have seen some absolutely exceptional concerts this year including lots of old favourites I hadn't seen in a long time and finally seeing the magnificent Amanda Shires live, lucky for me, in such a wonderful intimate venue as Omeara. My gig of the year though has been a complete life-changing one, as it has utterly shaped my entire year and re-awakened my love of music and its importance to me in my life, and also had me nostalgically re-visiting lots of my favourite artists from the past. That show was The Mars Volta at Troxy and I am forever grateful I got to see it and I truly hope it won't be the last time. 

1. The Mars Volta at Troxy

2. Dinosaur Jr. at The Garage

3. Margo Price at Lafayette

4. Sleater-Kinney at Roundhouse

5. Amanda Shires at Omeara

6. Alison Sudol at Omeara

7. Caitlin Rose at EartH

Omar And Cedric: If This Ever Gets Weird review

 

Last night I was lucky enough to be one of the few who got to see the world premiere of the Omar & Cedric: If This Ever Gets Weird documentary at the Raindance Film Festival and wow, I am still trying to process it all, as there is a lot in this film to ponder for any fan.

The Mars Volta at Troxy

The Mars Volta

Teri Gender Bender

Troxy, 18 June 2023

It's crazy to think I haven't seen The Mars Volta live since 2009, when I went absolutely crazy for them and saw them three times in one year including a super intimate gig (only 300 people!) at the ICA. Even though they released two more albums after that, I didn't venture to see them in the couple of years before they split up but I have continued to support the band's two members Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez in their other projects, At The Drive-In and Antemasque, seeing them live numerous times (as I've written about on this blog) so the last 14 years haven't been completely Volta-free at least.

My Favourite Albums of 2022

My top 10 albums of 2022, in no order:

Courtney Marie Andrews - Loose Future
Caitlin Rose - Cazimi
Pines - I Walked With You A Way
The Mars Volta - The Mars Volta

Alison Sudol - Still Comes The Night

Weyes Blood - And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow

Kelsey Waldon - No Regular Dog 

Erin Rae - Lighten Up

Afghan Whigs - How Do You Burn?

Angel Olsen - Big Time

At The Drive-In at Brixton Academy

At The Drive-In
Death From Above
Le Butcherettes
Brixton Academy, 9 March 2018

The last time I saw At The Drive-In it was six years ago on their reunion tour back in 2012. I can't believe it was that long ago, in fact when this show, once again at Brixton Academy, was announced I initially decided not to go because it felt like it hadn't been that long since I saw them. But fate intervened when two for one tickets popped up close to the date and it felt like I was meant to give the boys another visit.

Antemasque at the Electric Ballroom

Antemasque
Le Butcherettes
Electric Ballroom, 15 October 2014

When it was announced that Le Butcherettes were supporting tonight I was thrilled because I've wanted to see them live for ages, ever since I heard their debut album Sin Sin Sin three years ago. Not that it was too much of a surprise given that Antemasque's Omar Rodriguez-Lopez not only played bass for the band for a short while and formed another, Bosian Rainbows, with Le Butcherettes front woman, Teresa Suárez aka Teri Gender Bender, but the pair are apparently also a couple. That said, even if there wasn't a personal connection between the two bands, judging by tonight's performance they were a more than worthy choice and Teri has to be one of the most incredible frontwomen I've seen in ages.

At The Drive-In at Brixton Academy

At The Drive-In
Brixton Academy, 28 August 2012

"We consider this the last show of the Relationship Of Command tour,” guitarist Jim Ward, who has been silent for much of the show, tells us near the end. “It’s taken us 12 years to get here, but I love these guys more than life itself."

At The Drive-In is now operational...

Another of my favourite bands from the 90s, At The Drive-In, have announced they are reuniting for some festival dates. Not sure how I feel about this one since I actually have come to love Cedric and Omar's post ATDI band The Mars Volta more and they have a new, long-waited album called Noctourniquet coming out soon so hopefully it won't interfere with that.

Albums of the decade

My favourite albums of the past decade. This has been a really hard task, much harder than I imagined. I've left out some really great albums that I've really enjoyed and loved but after a lot of consideration I think that this is the music that has meant the most to me over the past 10 years.

1. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
2. Mark Olson - The Salvation Blues
3. Midlake - The Trials Of Van Occupanther
4. Fleetwood Mac - Say You Will
5. The Twilight Singers - Twilight As Played By The Twilight Singers
6. Neko Case - Blacklisted
7. Lindsey Buckingham - Under The Skin
8. Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker
9. Joanna Newsom - Ys
10. At The Drive-in - Relationship Of Command
11. Songs: Ohia - Magnolia Electric Co.
12. Cat Power - The Greatest
13. Neil Young - Prairie Wind
14. Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans
15. Rufus Wainwright - Want One
16. The Mars Volta - Deloused In The Comatorium
17. PJ Harvey - Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
18. Stevie Nicks - Trouble In Shangri-La
19. Neil Diamond - 12 Songs
20. Hawksley Workman - (Last Night We Were) The Delicious Wolves
21. Elvis Perkins - Ash Wednesday
22. Kathleen Edwards - Asking For Flowers
23. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cold Roses
24. Wilco - A Ghost Is Born
25. The Snake The Cross The Crown - Cotton Teeth

Best & Worst Gigs Of 2009

I learned many lessons from all the concerts I attended this year, important things such as: Bob Dylan fans are grumpy, selfish and have short attention spans but Pearl Jam fans are kind, cool and generally awesome; The Troxy is the worst venue in London unless The Flaming Lips are throwing confetti around the place; Steve Martin is an amazing musician and even more surprising, still very funny; M. Ward really doesn't like cameras; Fleetwood Mac security for the front row is really strict at their shows but the guards can be worn down if you're persistent and appeal to their better nature; going to gigs really sucks when you are ill and, finally, Roger Daltrey of The Who is one of the nicest guys in the whole world. And with that, here are my favourite gigs of the past year. Click on the titles to bring you to my original review of each show.

The Best
1. The Mars Volta at the ICA

2. Neil Young at Hyde Park

3. Crosby, Stills & Nash at the Royal Albert Hall

4. Pearl Jam at Shepherd's Bush Empire

5. Faith No More at Brixton Academy

6. M. Ward at The Borderline

7. Steve Martin at the Royal Festival Hall

8. Fleetwood Mac at Wembley Arena

9. Wilco at The Forum

10. Neko Case at Bush Hall

The Worst
1. Monsters Of Folk at Troxy
2. Bob Dylan at the O2

The Mars Volta at The Forum

The Mars Volta
The Forum, 14 December 2009

You know how in the movies when someone goes to a rock concert they never queue up or stand there waiting for the opening act to finish, they just walk right in to a prime spot as the main act is playing? The only time that’s (almost) happened to me was last year in New York when I went to see the Drive-by Truckers. We walked up, bought our tickets and excitedly arrived in the venue as the Truckers were rocking the stage. It was a pretty magical moment.

The Mars Volta at Somerset House

The Mars Volta
Somerset House, 13 July 2009

A month after their incredible gig at the tiny ICA the Volta were back in town, this time taking part in Somerset House's annual series of open air summer concerts and once again they just about blew me away.

The Mars Volta at the ICA

 
The Mars Volta
ICA, 18 June 2009

The first time I saw The Mars Volta was as a fairly slim (compared to now) five-piece back in 2002, supporting Les Savy Fav. I was one of the few in the crowd specifically there for them, but despite the lack of a big crowd they were electrifying, combining all the energy of the At The Drive-In days with a new musical confidence (plus at the time they had a kick-ass female bassist - always a bonus). By the time I saw them again headlining their own show the following year they had attracted an army of dedicated fans since the release of their debut album De-Loused In The Comatorium, changed personnel, become even more assured and turned into this jazz-inspired, jam-friendly rock monster. It was a pretty epic transformation and, maybe because my fragile little mind couldn't take it, hearing my favourite songs from the album turned into sometimes pretty unrecognisable 30-minute jams was a bit much for me at the time.

Omar Rodriguez Lopez at Dingwalls

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group 
Zechs Marquise 
Camden Dingwalls, 11 March 2009

Before this show I had seen Omar Rodriguez-Lopez live in three other bands - At The Drive-In, De Facto and The Mars Volta (three times) - but I've never seen him as the star of the show and without right hand man Cedric Bixler-Zavala stealing a lot of the attention. Could he pull it off?

My Favourite Albums Of 2008

I thought I may as well start off with a list of my favourite albums from 2008, because it probably best sets the scene for what will be on this blog. In order to compile my astonishingly brilliant list I am using this foolproof equation to calculate the perfect top 10: my most played albums on last.fm + the albums I think I like best + whatever ones are the coolest. It's an incredibly mathematical, painstaking process that obviously has taken me weeks to perfect, which is why I'm only posting it now. So at long last, here it is: