Live Concerts: A Year in Review.

The live year in review. I saw 21 shows this year (well at least as of this typing. I was going to get fancy and try to link to all the bands sites but we shall see. Here is what I saw and any comments I may have had.

The Arcade Fire February 2, 2005 at the Roxy in Boston. Final Fantasy opened.
Riding high on the massive wave of best of 2004 lists the Arcade Fire were super live. The show ended with the band taking their gear into the audience and walking all around playing the last tune.

moe. February 11, 2005 at the Palladium in Worcester, MA there was no opening band. My buddy KK is a big big fan of them and hooked me up with backstage passes. We watched the whole show from the side of the stage. It was excellent to look out and feel the energy that the band must get.

They Might Be Giants March 13, 2005, Borders Bookstore, Providence Place Mall (instore)
They Might be Giants released a second record for kids this year and we caught the instore. There was probably 500 people there and we got there at 430 for a 6pm show. Most of the show I had my six year old on my shoulders so she could see. The best is that I taped the show and at one point you can hear her squeal with delight..its the best.

Slint March 20, 2005 at the Roxy in Boston w/PG6
One of the few broken up bands that should have reformed did just that in 2005. Top 5 show of the year as well as a top 5 show of all time for me. Stunning from beginning to end. Rumor has it a DVD is in the works of this "final tour". It was worth the wait

Queens of the Stone Age March 28, 2005 at The Roxy, Boston MA. Throw Rag opened.
I love Queens. The band was on fire this night but the only down side was that I was taping and had a spot on the floor (near the back)
and a group of women decided to sit on the 1/2 wall and block my view for 99% of the show. I hope they return for another leg. Also a top 5 show of
the year.

Max Creek April 9, 2005 at the Living Room in Providence. There was no opener.
this is a local band that has been around for ages. A co-worker got us on the guest list and we went down for a few hours (the band plays 2 or 3 sets a show) so we had our fill and left. It was fun and free

Mono April 16, 2005 at AS220 in Providence. Seratonin, Eluvium and Urdog were in support. Urdog is the thorn in my local music scene side. The suck and I had to deal with them (more on that later). Mono was stunning just amazing in this small
art gallery. It was a show for the ages until the police broke in with their guns drawn. Long story short a few doors down is the police station. A guy had shot a cop in the police station and fled on foot. The only place open at this hour..AS220. I had no idea what was going on until the next day. The most scary moment ever in my life. I wrote a longer story on that, that I can post.

Death From Above 1979 May 2, 2005 at the Middle East in Cambridge. Controller Controller and Red Yellow opened the show. I loved LOVED the record and DFA cancelled 2 times prior to this show. When it all went down I left feeling a little cheated. On record they are amazing but live I was a little let down.

The Mars Volta May 7, 2005 at Lupos in Providence. There was no opener.
2hrs and about 6 songs, what is not to love

U2 for 2 nights, May 24th and 26th at the Fleet Center in Boston. Kings of Leon opened.
Yep back to back nights for U2. They are probably the biggest band I obsess over. I am not a freak about them but I own their cds and go to their shows etc. Night one was in the 'ellipse' with my wife. We got scanned in and were off to the side a smidge. The best was the Edge doing the solo to The Electric Co right next to me. Night 2 was good, still on the floor but not inside the ellipse

Lightning Bolt July 20, 2005 at AS220 in Providence with Afrirampo and Urdog.
Ugggh..Freaking Urdog. I got to the show and was told it was sold out. Then 2 seconds later the guy looks at me and says "can I help you?" and I said I wanted to come in but its sold out". No its not he said. So I had to stand thru Urdog once more but Lightning Bolt SMOKED the place. It was hotter than hell in the small room and they make you glad you wear earplugs to shows. Short mention of the show here


Pelican July 25, 2005 at the Living Room in Providence with Big Business, Panthers and Goat Island. Great show. Big Business was fun and how a bass player and drummer can make that much noise is beyond me. Pelican was great. I e-mailed the band a year or so ago asking about east coast dates and got a response "we all have used up out vacation time from our jobs". Working men indeed that I was glad to see took a "vacation" to come east. A mention of the show is here somwhere

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah September 14, 2005 at TT The Bears Place in Cambridge MA. Dr.Dog and 2 other bands opened that I missed. One of my favorite records of the year. I did a review on this you can read here

Sigur Ros September 15, 2005 at the Opera House in Boston. Anima opened.
umm yeah..prolly the best show of year. Read about me gushing over it over and over if you darehere

The White Stripes September 19, 2005 at the Providence Performing Arts Center. The Greenhornes opened. Another review here. As good as they sounded I am still pissed.

Nashville P***y September 24, 2005 at the Living Room in Providence. Zeke and Akas opened.
a buddy called and asked if I wanted to go. Saturday night..why not. The band rocked. For what they do it was a lot of fun. Strap on your domestic beer buzz and come along for the ride.

U2 for 2 shows October 3 and 4th at the TD Bank North Garden in Boston. Keane opened both shows.
I know I know...sorry. Again, floor both shows but I went alone and taped both nights. I was about 20 feet off the tip of the ellipse both nights. I think night one was better. There are reviews somewhere on my blog.

Death Cab for Cutie October 22, 2005 at Lupos in Providence. Stars opened.
stars were wonderful. I bought their cd after the show. Death Cab was pretty good and they did a lot to impress. I had seen them open for pearl jam.
you can read about my experience here

Bauhaus November 13, 2005 at the Orpheum Theater in Boston. There was no opener.
the same guy that asked me to NPus called me about this show. Free ticket to boot. if you want you can read about ithere