Continuing on with the Gigs of the Year…now we are into the good stuff.  I saw some great shows this year as well as some no-so-great.  The best concert of the year also turned out to be the last one I saw — I had high hopes for this gig, and the guys did not disappoint.

 

8. Riverside (The Agora Ballroom, Cleveland)

This was the fourth of the four gigs in a row that I caught during the Love, Fear and the Time Machine tour in North America.  It was a difficult show; Duda was sick and exhausted, battling some kind of throat infection. Cleveland came the day after blowing the roof off in Chicago and Mariusz was essentially running on fumes, doing his best to not just phone it in but clearly struggling, short on energy and fighting his way through the songs.  However, towards the end he got a huge injection of energy when the crowd belted out Happy Birthday (and mangled his name; his expression was priceless).  That really seemed to make him happy and boosted the last few songs.

 

7. Árstíðir (Church of St. Stephen’s-in-the-Field)

I can’t remember exactly how I came across this outfit, gentle folk rock/post-rock from Iceland; I tried a few tracks from youtube and they didn’t really grab me, far too sedate; but the idea of seeing a band like this in a church seemed like something worth checking out.  And they really were very good, very musical, personable and intimate, a beautiful setting, it was a special evening.

 

6. Riverside (The Mod Club, Toronto)

Toronto audiences are a bit weird.  Really hipster alty and metal types, not really into prog, and I was a bit nervous about the turnout for Riverside given the size of the venue.  And the crowd was smaller than I had hoped for, a couple hundred people or so, but the show, being the first of four in a row I was to see, was a great introduction to the new material and new stage presence of Riverside.  They were much heavier on stage than the new album would have suggested, lots of energy; and it was the first time to experience the beauty of “Found” with the lights.

5. Riverside (The Token Lounge, Detroit)

The second of the four Riverside shows I saw, this was a gig that could have been tricky; the venue was small, the crowd was small, and Mariusz was falling ill for real, and beginning to lose his voice.  He mentioned being on two antibiotics and steroids, which is not trivial.  The guys played  “Egoist Hedonist” only from ADHD,  and did not play “Found” at the end (they finished with “The Curtain Falls”).  For all that though the enthusiasm, energy, and sheer love emanating from the audience fed back to the guys and pumped them up, and transformed the gig into a truly memorable experience.

4. Torche (Lee’s Palace)

This is another band I do not remember exactly how I found, but I really liked their album Restarter, very thick and melodic sludge metal, and I have to say a very interesting album cover. Penises, anyone?  I could not miss the opportunity to see them live.  And they put on a great show, four unassuming, witty guys who simply get up on stage and work their asses off, authentic and spontaneous audience interaction, and churn out short cheerful metal and post-punk offerings with great joy and heaviness.

 

3. Salt of the Chief Cornerstone (Opera House, and a small pub)

The first time I ever saw these guys, a guitar/drum duo who play very heavy and intricate instrumental prog/post-metal, they had pulled a gig opening for two Apocalyptica shows in Ontario; I caught the Toronto show.  They were so astonishingly good live that I became a huge fan and their first album ranked at the top of my 2014 list.  I managed to catch two short gigs this year, and they just confirmed what I had observed that first time: once they hit the stage and start playing, they are utterly compelling; intense and relentlessly good, crazy guitar and effects and the drummer is a madman…to the point that the entire attention of the audience becomes focused on them.  They really do mesmerize.  One day I will see a complete set by them, and it will be amazing.

 

2. Riverside (Reggie’s, Chicago)

This was the third show of four in a row that I managed to see, and Mariusz Duda was (once again) not in the best of health; it seems the North American habit of blasting air conditioning everywhere plays havoc with his immune system.  But for this gig the guys apparently had imbibed some sort of rocket fuel – the performances were absolutely incandescent, tight and hard-rocking, sizzling with energy, Mariusz lean and intense and literally bouncing around the stage, by far the best I have ever seen them (which was the 7^th time).  It was the show I had been waiting a long time to see.

Number 1

Public Image Limited (The Opera House)

This is the second time I have seen PIL.  The first time, in 2012, I was as excited as hell – the notion that I might actually experience this iconic band, and see the legendary John Lydon in person, had never even occurred to me.  I had thought they were done.  And the show blew me away with its impossible energy and Lydon’s stage presence.  So when I learned they were coming to town again I didn’t hesitate for an instant.

And they did not disappoint.  Lydon mugs and wails, barks and screeches – he sounds as powerful as he ever has.  His band is impeccable, relentless, tighter than tight, maybe the best rhythm section I have ever watched.  Endless energy and real joy of performance – and the audience fed it back by orders of magnitude.  Old pros who are on the stage because they want to be, and honestly have something to say. This, folks, is how it is done.