2013's shows that didn't blow.

Hello, friends. As promised, I've returned to comprise a list of my favourite gigs/concerts/shows/festival sets of 2013, all before the year's out. I also need to do it now as I'll only use it as procrastination when I need to do some real work. For now, I'm back in Cardiff, and thank God. I hope you all had a smashing Christmas too. Let's start from the beginning (or the best), it's a very good place to start. There were so many concerts I wanted to include, but again I encountered the same problem as I did for the previous post (they were late 2012-ers), so that's a bit of a shame. 

1. John Mayer - October 26th @ Wembley Arena, London

Sorry that this is the only photo I have. I spent the rest of the concert drowning in my own tears.

Who else? Only the greatest songwriter and guitar player of our generation. After a three year break, John Mayer embarked on a world tour and unsurprisingly sold out Wembley. I was slightly further away than my front row in Cardiff in 2010 but my reaction to his setlist was much more dramatic. As well as a fair few from Paradise Valley and Born and Raised, John played my favourite song ever, "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" and I sort of screamed, burst out crying and blurted all the words out in one go. I was glad I took my good friend Yasmin with me as we were able to sing along together (I would have done it alone anyway), hoe-down together (to "Wildfire" and "Half of my Heart") and swoon together at this fabulous man. To top it all off, we were informed that a certain Aphrodite Lady was in Landan Tahhn, so we ventured to Heaven and saw Matt Lucas, Sharon Osborne and Lady Gaga (and her lady garden, much to my brother's fangirling dismay), and that kind of made my year (as if Mayer hadn't); even if I was hanging into my green tea the following morning.

2. City and Colour - 25th August @ Reading Festival

Second in the "I cried watching this guy" list is Dallas Green and friends on a very smelly Sunday at Reading this year. I turned down Fall Out Boy (who I'd never seen before) for this lovely man and I haven't a single regret. Apart from those in the crowd who only knew "Comin' Home" and the knobs who were heckling for Disclosure, I had a fabulous time at this set. Dallas had stated beforehand that it'd be more of a rock'n'roll set and that is certainly what we got; very few songs from Bring Me Your Love and Sometimes (I rejoiced that "As Much As I Ever Could" was included) and a load from Little Hell and this year's The Hurry and the Harm, suggesting that Dallas baby is moving on. They finished with a cover of fellow Canadian Neil Young's "Like a Hurricane" and I went fucking beserk. It was one of the first songs my father taught me on the guitar and to hear this live by the one and only DG was spellbinding. 

3. Nils Frahm - 11th July @ St John-at-Hackney Church, London

Hands down the best classical concert I've attended. Ever. If there's anyone who puts their all into a set, it's Nils bloody Frahm. Making full use of the facilities, he began upstairs on the church's organ and ran downstairs to continue on piano, with the echo of the organ still resonating. The stage was placed in the middle of the audience, and my front row seat was perfect. I could see all the sweat dripping from his forehead and it was lush (somehow...). Now, if you're familiar with Nils Frahm you're familiar with the song "Said and Done". If you're not, you should be. Nils plays the same note in perfect rhythm throughout the entire song with one hand, fitting chords with the other - a tremendously hard thing to do. Frahm married his insane live capabilities with this already beautiful composition which left me rather tingly by the end. St John's was the perfect platform for this artist - brillz.

4. Daniel Johnston: 30th Anniversay of Hi, How Are You - 2nd June @ Barbican Centre, London

This show was wonderful and heartbreaking at the same time. Some special guests (and fans) of Daniel Johnston performed covers of their favourite songs in the first half, followed by Johnston himself performing some others, accompanied by the performers of the first half. Some particular highlights were (Teenage Fanclub's) Norman Blake's covers of "Mountain Top" and "Story of an Artist" and Glen Hansard's cover of "Devil Town". Some argue that you can the full potential of these songs when performed by artists such as these, as Daniel Johnston's guitar playing is obviously not all-out-Hendrix-stylee, and to some extent I can agree. It's always been clear that Johnston is unwell but seeing him on-stage upset me slightly. However, it was lovely to see him come together with the special guests who really did admire him and had been influenced by him over the years.

5. The Staves and Sivu - 23rd April @ The Gate, Cardiff
These are three lovely ladies, indeed. After I saw them supporting Bon Iver in November 2012, I kind of maybe actually fell in love a little bit. The gorgeous three part harmonies sound even more gorgeous live than on the studio album, and especially in such a lovely venue. The Gate is about a ten minute walk from my little Cardiff house and to hear such fine music at a cute venue like this was nothing short of an absolute delight. Sivu, the support act, whom I'd only heard of about a week or two before the show, played a set more acoustic than that on his EP, but it was delicious and the addition of a cello made me melt. We're all a sucker for the lower register strings (I'm talking through my arse here). I got a chance to see the Staves again at the Trinity Centre in Bristol later on this year, but the venue of this gig made it just a teeny bit better.

6. Ólafur Arnalds and Douglas Dare - 5th December @ St George's, Bristol
Above is a link to my full review of the show in Bristol this year. This beat their London show in June a million to none (despite a gorgeous duet) due to the setting, the better organisation, and the fact that I prefer a smaller orchestra. I'm expecting big things from Douglas Dare in 2014.

7. Paramore - 21st September @ Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
Come on. If you've ever seen Paramore live, you'll know why they're on the list. Belter after belter after belter. Who can beat emo-phase nostalgia, right? 

8. Deaf Havana - 24th August @ Reading Festival
There's something magical about seeing a band you've seen grow and develop work their way through the stages at Reading to a set where every person in the crowd is singing along. Yasmin sent me a link to this year's set earlier and it made me feel a bit gooey inside. Love them. (See my defensive DH rant in my previous post too).

9. letlive. - 15th October @ Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
letlive. are notorious for their mental shows, and this show was no exception. Having seen them twice before, I knew there'd be theatrics (chucking mics in random directions) as well as the "I hate my father" rant which always bodes well... followed by another philosophical statement. If this was Soupy or something I'd want to shove my fingers down the back of my neck but Jason hit me in his words, (spoken and sung). letlive. always mean what they do and it's something I really admire. 

10. The Story So Far, Seahaven and Save Your Breath - 17th October @ The Fleece, Bristol
Here's one for all you pop punks. FFO: hometowns, pizza, stagediving, angry finger pointing (I did a lot of this). I had to leave this show slightly damp with ruined clothes because of the fact I endured a lot of hurt from stage divers, all in the name of fist pumping "TRYING HARD, REAL HARD" as close as I could to Parker Cannon's face. Of course I'm a huge Seahaven and Save Your Breath fan and I'm partial to the angry finger point to SYB's "Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy" - just for the WAYULZ love. TSSF are always loads of fun so that's why they're here. There's always too much stagediving so that's why they're no higher than double figures.
----
Well, there you have it, my dears. A little top ten of sorts. I think the next post'll be some kind of "new year's musical resolutions". I don't know what that really means at the moment but wait and see. Have a glorious new year. I'll be behind a bar, crying into everyone else's half drunken double vodka lemonades. 

2013's Best Releases

Tonight, I've turned down a rather messy work outing of pub golf as I spent a disgusting amount of money two nights ago. Never go to the students' union knowing full well you can go to a much better place with better music, and never leave for that better place instead and spend shitloads at that better place. Also never order shit tons of Domino's pizza when you get back and not eat it. Anyway, I've got to justify my not going out tonight not only for my bank balance, but in favour of doing something else productive.

So, without further ado, here are my top 10 releases of 2013. There's a mixture of EPs and full lengths here because some of the EPs deserved to be in the same list. 

10. Deaf Havana - Old Souls

Okay. First of all, people need to stop slating this band. I've spoken to far too many people who are sat on their high horse, neighing "bands who used to be heavy and lightened up only did it for the Radio 1 plays". Utter bollocks. Ever since Fools and Worthless Liars, I've given Deaf Havana nothing but my utmost respect. Old Souls is summery, fun and at the same time a little bit emotional. I listened to "Mildred (Lost a Friend)" on repeat about twenty times when I first heard it. You might want to do that just the once. 

9. Kodaline - In A Perfect World

I was late to the Kodaline party. At this year's Reading Festival, in a Tesco Value gin-fuelled haze, I caught their set at the NME stage and I wondered where on earth I had been. Sucked up in pop punk, maybe. In A Perfect World makes you think of Coldplay in some bits, and Mumford in others... but that might put you off. 

8.Ólafur Arnalds - For Now I Am Winter

If you know me then you know I love this man to death. He is a musical genius and I mean it. FNIAW is a little more dancey than his earlier stuff and the tracks featuring Arnór Dan are fabulous and show what you can do when you cross a drum machine, sexy falsetto and some violins. This would have been higher in my list but I found it harder to get into this album than I did the others - but that doesn't detract from the fact album is certainly worth a listen, particularly the song "Old Skin".

7. Diamond Youth - Orange

This is when I start licking Topshelf Records' arse. So many amazing records have been released under this label in the past twelve months and Orange is no exception. Even though it's just six tracks long, each one is musical gold, especially "Come Down" which begins as a slow and quite mellow song and kicks your arse when it heavies up. I'm not sure I can use "heavy" as a verb but let's be fucking metal about this. Diamond Youth's overall sound is as 90s as your Saved By The Bell VHS so if that's your thing, check 'em out.

6. Daylight - Jar

Let's hi-five one of the most consistent bands around. Everything I've heard by Daylight has been just awesome and has packed quite a punch, but in a non-threatening and easily listenable kind of way. As if the punch were the liquid kind, served at an alternative spring fling party where they play Nirvana or something. Jar is as grungey as you like and a personal fave is No One's Deserving, for the riff that runs through its verses. Fingers crossed for a UK appearance in 2014. 

5. Citizen - Youth

I am a huge Citizen fan, and I couldn't say that until very recently. When I first heard Youth I thought "yawwwwn" and I'm not sure why, because I'm kicking myself. Citizen epitomise this new emo scene that's going on, and that's okay. "How Does It Feel" made me want to cry like it's 2006 and that's okay too. This album rules. 

4. Paramore - Paramore

There is a reason why Paramore are one of the biggest alternative acts in the world, which is simply because they are amazing - in the best sense of the word. When I got to see them at the Motorpoint arena in September I was reminded why they are one of my all time favourite bands. We can put the deuces up to anyone who thought Paramore weren't going to survive as a trio. Hell, even I thought so. "Ain't It Fun" and "Hate To See Your Heart Break" are the perfect songs to demonstrate how this band can nail ballads as well as the huge "fuck you all" audience singalongs. I don't know anyone who doesn't like Paramore, which makes sense. There's not much not to like.

3. Twyns - Chyr

I only heard this album last week and knew it had to be in this list, even if it only lasts me the last two weeks of 2013. Twyns absolutely hit the nail on the head in terms of ethereal, downish tempo, trippy, dancey electronic music. It's stuff you want to listen to in your room with some fairy lights as well as on a massive night out. I'd compare this to Grigori, Passion Pit in some parts and The xx. Hell, even Bon Iver (vocally). It's up so high on the list because of the immediate effect it had on me. I hope you feel the same.

2. Pity Sex - Feast of Love

I'd love my own Feast of Love with Pity Sex. Another Topshelf (and now RFC) gem, Feast of Love is raw and sad, textured and upbeat, soft and grungey. I think I actually cried to "Hollow Body", which is definitely up there with one of my top songs of 2013. Pity Sex's vocals sound like they're sung by some totally nonchalant slackers who smoke weed all day and don't give a fuck. It's like what many bands sound like recently (take Seahaven and Tigers Jaw, for example). It's not exactly like they belt the words out. And I know that Pity Sex definitely do NOT smoke weed and slack around. But yeah, that vocal style obviously works for me, otherwise they wouldn't be up so high on the list.

1. John Mayer - Paradise Valley

Finally, last and the furthest away from being the least, is John Mayer, my one and only. Paradise Valley blew away all my expectations. I personally preferred Battle Studies but these are 2013's best albums, not Johnny Mayo's. It's true to say that he's gone a bit country and according to my dad, this is when artists try to "appeal to a wider audience" (if so - where, fucking Texas or what?) but John's sound is still awesome. His collaboration with Katy Perry in "Who You Love" is smooth and sensual and "Paper Doll" is again, another one of my top songs of 2013. If you haven't heard Paradise Valley, go and do so. 

So there you have it! There's my 2013 Top Ten! What were your favourites? What have I missed out?

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Travis - Where You Stand
Into It. Over It. - Interections
KOJI - Crooked In My Mind

Balance and Composure - The Things We Think We're Missing
Owen - L'ami du Peuple

City and Colour - The Hurry and the Harm

The Wonder Years - The Greatest Generation

UNFORTUNATE DISAPPOINTMENTS

The Swellers - The Light Under Closed Doors

Polar Bear Club - Death Chorus

http://open.spotify.com/user/niawebb/playlist/1Vazcyio9jF42nmRCHef7C

Owen, Clwb Ifor Bach Cardiff, 9th December 2013

Hello. Last night I had a great time.


I should really get a better camera. Or learn how to use a phone.

I had been waiting a bloody long time to see Owen, otherwise known as Mike Kinsella of American Football, Cap'n Jazz, and a few more of your emo faves. Tonight, his gig (put on by STHC) at my much frequented Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff would be my first chance to see the man in action. If you've not heard of Mike Kinsella/Owen before, you might like him if you like twinkly acoustic guitars, self-deprecating lyrics and buggering up half way through songs and still managing to look cool as hell. 

Support for the night were locals Pipedream, a Cardiff three-piece comprising of Tom on guitar, Josh on bass and the return of Harry on drums. Tonight's gig proved quite special in that this was Harry and indeed Pipedream's first gig since an incident which left Harry very seriously injured. Following some sort of superhuman recovery, Harry was back in the swing of things and Pipedream sounded no different to how they'd done the other few times I'd seen them - which is top notch. Pipedream's sound (you can have a little gander/listen here), to me, sounds surprisingly textured for a three-piece. (Just on an aside, sorry if the phrase "three-piece" makes you think of a two-piece swimsuit with an extra bit on the side. Like a swimming cap or something. That's what I'm thinking of, anyway.) But yeah, Pipedream's sound is textured and yet raw at the same time? Maybe it's all the work of all these FX pedals that I've been trying to decipher since I got my Fender Telecaster when I was about thirteen. I can't explain it. Basically, if you like Basement's earliest stuff but a little less clean sounding or perhaps Jawbreaker, they're your go-to. My personal fave is "Burn the Midnight Oil" from their 2011 Demo which they happened to play last night. Happy days.

Despite the fact that I won't be able to pay my rent next month as it is, I bought two Owen LPs which Mike signed before his performance. To me, he seems like the nicest guy ever with just an air of "fuck the world" behind gritted teeth. If you're wondering why there's a silver scribble on my "No Good For No One Now" LP then that's because he spelled my name as "MIA!" and I had to correct him. Bit awks. Nice guy though.

For his set, he got us all to sit down as he didn't want us hovering over him or us having to struggle to see. Fair point, actually. I ended up with a numb arse and pins and needles for a bit but that's alright because he was bloody great. I spoke with a guy afterwards and we were in total agreement that his voice sounds exactly the same live which is something that you don't come across often.

I just went on my phone to get up the setlist... and I didn't save it. Balls. You now have permission never to read my blog again... But all is not lost! It's okay, I remember that he started with "The Armoire", one of my favourites from Ghost Town, the first Owen album I actually heard. I was struck by a nasty jealousy in that I would never be able to play the acoustic guitar like that with such ease. Finger-picking just pisses me off because the height of my abilities in that area is "The House of the Rising Sun" at half its normal speed. He also did "The Sad Waltzes of Pietro Crespi", a favourite of mine that I'd forgotten about until about a week ago and wondered what I'd been doing. Crying over some of his other songs, probably. Hearing the cute little intro in the flesh actually wet my eyes (rather sadly) and it was hard not to start shouting along. Might have been a bit awkward to do so in a room full of people sitting on the floor. When he played "Nobody's Nothing", my all-time favourite Mike Kinsella song, (and a song I didn't think I'd get to hear,) I kind of winced, but in some sort of ecstatic way (you'll probably have gathered by now that I don't explain feelings or sounds very well. I'll hopefully be able to do that soon). Like I said before, Mike had to stop once or twice during songs to sort out his guitar playing, but I can't play the guitar in public without sweating profusely and staring intently at the fretboard hoping I get my A minor chord correct so we'll cut him some slack. He took some requests off this bloke who sat right in front of him and sang along to every single word (there's always one) which was nice. I was glad to hear "One of These Days" but it struck a nerve as it mentions a few little familial issues with which I can relate - when it's normally the relationship and "WHERE AM I GOING IN LIFE?" stuff. So apart from feeling a little subdued by that, I was feeling like I always do in nice gigs, which is the "Live music is the essence of life!" feeling.

...Until I got home and my friend who I went to the gig with texted me to tell me that he was in Urban Tap House and that Mike Kinsella had just bought him a pint. Prick. 

--------------

Soon I'll do my top ten albums of 2013, complete with my top ten gigs. That's when I'm done sleeping when I go home for Christmas. Until next time!

Ólafur Arnalds, St George's Bristol, 5th December 2013

Arnalds at his final show of the 100 date "For Now I Am Winter" Tour. (Photo from his Facebook)

If you've not heard of Ólafur Arnalds before, it might be time to take an adventure to the treasure island of modern classical music. Someone who I very briefly spoke to on a dating site a year or two ago told me I should give him a listen and I didn't really know what to expect. If he wasn't a fucking creep I'd have married this bloke for the introduction to what I've fallen asleep to, cried to, walked to work to.. et cetera.

I got to see Arnalds earlier this Summer in London, supported by Douglas Dare (also the support for this concert) and I was spellbound, as I had been by the studio recordings, the YouTube videos and live videos. The St George's show was no exception.

St George's, in the heart of Clifton in Bristol, is a spectacle in itself. My brother and I walked into some sort of vestry turned gallery/coffee shop - you know the kind of thing the yuppies lap up. Don't expect an overpriced pint of Carling served in a flimsy plastic cup here, folks. I couldn't complain though - much like the setting for his London show in St. John's at Hackney, the main auditorium/concert hall was the perfect setting for this kind of concert. Once you give his music a listen, you'll see why.

Douglas Dare, signed to the same label as Arnalds, kicked off the show with an emotional and yet reserved performance. Just his voice and the piano's sound resonated and without sounding like a prat, the acoustics were great. Douglas, bless him (I wanted to hold him a bit) explained that he doesn't really talk about the meanings of his songs, most of which start as poems. Sometimes this can detach the listener from the artists but with Douglas, I don't think it matters. The way he articulated, leaned into and away from the piano and his the keys was enough to show his emotion. "Seven Hours", the title track of his EP and "Caroline" were particular favourites. If he tours again sometime (it might not be for a while, he's been on tour with Óli for ages) then go and see him. You need to hear the voice in person. I say THE voice and not HIS voice for a reason. It's not like velvet because when you stroke velvet the wrong way it's not as smooth anymore. Douglas' voice is like swirling thick double cream around a glass or something, but with something mesmerising too, like, I dunno, the cream in question here changes colours. You get the jist. Listen to his music.

Fifteen minutes after my brother and I were done tweeting Douglas Dare and insisting that he'd been staring at us (we were in the front row) for the duration of his, the man who'd introduced me to the world of modern classical came to the stage, followed by his accompanying violinist and cellist. Arnalds is nervous, sweet and endearing and undoubtedly seriously talented. Sampling the audience aah-ing to middle C to provide a background hum, he played three songs to which I just kind of zoned out, watching the projections on the wall. It's easy to do that and just get lost in the music, to use a crappy cliché. His violinist performed an excellent rendition of 3326, my least favourite Arnalds recorded composition and one of my favourites to hear live. It goes to show how much the live experience can change your perception of a song or an artist.

Half way through the set, Arnór Dan came to the stage. Arnór features as a vocalist on Óli's latest album and if you've seen Broadchurch with David Tenant, sings on the title credits. Blimey, his falsetto goes higher than half of the Sopranos in my choir. I was even more impressed by his than of Justin Vernon's when I went to see Bon Iver last year. Old Skin is my favourite Dan/Arnalds track and its performance was perfect. It's a song aching to be remixed and played in a trendy nightclub. You know those ones where everyone is fucked but looking really sexy. The ones that don't exist, essentially.

Óli finished with the "Near Light" and the gorgeous Lag Fyrir Ömmu, meaning "Song for Grandma", written after the death of his grandmother, who had forcefed him Chopin and the like from a young age. He said without her he'd still be in that death metal band, stage-diving or something. Thanks, Grandma Arnalds.

Had it not been for our train back to Cardiff (which turned out to be delayed anyway) I'd have stuck around to take more in and tried to catch Douglas for a litte chat but instead it was a rather brisk walk across Bristol, humming to Douglas Dare's Scars and feeling very uplifted. Great show.

--------

On Monday I'm heading to Cardiff's Clwb Ifor Bach to see Owen (Mike Kinsella of American Football et al's side project). Somewhat different to modern classical twinkly piano, but I'm very excited. Kinsella is a music genius. I'll let you know how that goes.


On an aside, I'm a big fan of the Staves, and as implied, Bon Iver. They toured together in November 2012 and I managed to catch the Manchester date. Half way through writing this blog post, this happened. I had to stop for a minute and go a bit mental. So that's exciting.

Until then - have a lovely weekend. Let me know what you think. I'm not really sure how these things should go.

This may or may not work!

So I've started, and just left to fizzle out, blogs before. I'm a second year Law undergraduate and writing about my frustrations at Law school got a bit boring. Probably moreso for the one or two people who may have skimmed over it when searching for something under which I'd tagged the post.

However a week or two ago my brother asked why I wasn't blogging about music and it made sense. I'm making it to at least three shows a month which isn't loads but it's enough to warrant talking about. I want to absorb new music like a sponge. I want to absorb stuff I should have discovered a lot earlier like a sponge. Having to wait days for my Spotify minutes made the sponge absorbing a bit slow, like sucking up butter or something. It's no excuse when I can buy music online but when you want to sample songs from a certain record label, for example, Spotify is perfect. So I went and got a Premium Account. What a godsend - I'll never look back. 

I'll plan to blog about the shows I go to, post some playlists, review some albums - everything my brother recommended I do - and a bit more. Hopefully you'll enjoy. You might not. 

My tastes vary quite a bit. I won't blab on about what I like because my last.fm page explains it a lot clearer.

In my next post I'll talk about the Ólafur Arnalds concert I went to two nights ago. If someone wants to read a post about an Ólafur Arnalds gig they won't want to read this mumbo jumbo first so I thought I'd split the posts. 

Let's go!

P.S. In case you're wondering what my blog title means, my name's Nia and it's a play on words. I should have mentioned that at the beginning.