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.
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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.