So anyone who knows me knows that live music is a very important part of my life. I managed to go to fifty-four shows this year (I can't call them "concerts" because most of them are in basement bars with less than one hundred people in attendance) and saw over one hundred and sixty acts. I don't expect to see as many in 2019 with the one bar closing (number ten on my disappointment list, I think I went there fifteen times this year) and with my work situation being such an unknown factor, but it was a damn good year.
Here's a list of the top ten bands I saw this year. I couldn't do the list as individual performances because then it would've been three or four bands. I very well could've done a top twenty but then I'd have been forced to do a top thirty, so ten it is.
adamclark52s Top Ten Live Acts of 2018
10. Respire (July 20th at the Garrison)I had no idea who Respire was walking into that show but I thought the show poster was cool. I thought they’d be some electronic band. It turns out they were a Deafheaven clone only with more members (three guitarists, two trumpets, drums, bass and violin) and way better than Deafheaven. Deafheaven’s gotten way too mainstream for me so it was nice to hear their sound on a small club with a hundred other people.
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9. KGD (February 10th at the Double Double Lounge August 7th at the Phoenix)Most would find this guys throbbing drone boring but given the right environment it is a very captivating experience.
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8. HIDE (August 10th at the Garrison)The harshest, most abrasive show I went to all year. The kind of show where you expect to get pulled on stage and then have a high heel pressed through your larynx. I can’t wait to see them again in a few weeks.
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7. The Crystal Method (September 28th in Vegas)This was just fun. It was in Vegas (at the hotel I was staying at none-the-less) and I just went all out and somehow managed to not fall in the pool.
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6 Jessica Moss (August 6th at the Phoenix and December 14th at the Burdock)Both times I saw her it was just best to close my eyes and let the music sink in. Hauntingly beautiful.
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5. Nuclearhammer (June 8th at Nocturne)These guys need to play shows more often. Like, weekly.
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4. Harms Way (February 18th at Sneaky Dee’s, March 7th and September 27th at American Legion Post 8 in Las Vegas, Nevada and October 12th at the Hard Luck Bar)I saw Harms Way four times this year, twice in Toronto and twice in Las Vegas. The first time in Toronto wasn’t too good because the venue was packed and I couldn’t even see the band. But the two times in Vegas were incredible, the second time especially. I was supposed to go see some other bands that night that I was lukewarm on seeing and as a lark I checked Harms Ways Facebook page and found out they were playing. So I ate the thirty dollars the other bands cost and went to see Harms Way again. Strange that both live I went to Las Vegas this year (for different reasons, Ring of Honor actually) Harms Way ended up being in town. Since I was in Vegas I was also able to let loose more than I usually do at shows and I made a complete ass of myself headbanging like an idiot. I didn’t care.
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3. Efrim Manuel Menuck (February 10th at the Double Double Lounge and June 15th at Jam Factory T.O)Efrims solo work is a totally different beast from Godspeed You! Black Emperor but something new and refreshing for me. There being twenty people at the second show made it even more special.
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2. Godspeed You! Black Emperor (August 6th and 7th at the Phoenix)The two performances I saw of theirs in August just cemented that they are the greatest band in the world. Being right up front of the stage and hearing David Bryant sing the one vocal line they have during
the Sad Mafioso was on of the most incredible things I’ve seen at a concert.
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1. Kontravoid (August 8th and December 1st at the Garrison)Nothing can beat Kontravoid live. I saw him twice in 2018 and both times it was utterly amazing. I’ll admit that the booze helps but this guys mixture of Depeche Mode and darkwave techno plus the incredible lighting is the greatest visual and music experience I have every year (he topped this list last year too) and takes me to a place I don’t visit very often. This years shows were a lot more intense too, which was even more awesome. He tours the States and Europe a lot so do yourself a favor; follow him on Facebook and see him live.
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Best Overall ConcertDatsik, Space Jesus, Riot Ten, Carbin, Cookie Monsta, Funtcase (March 8th at the Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada)This was a rave I went to in Vegas at the hotel I was staying at. It took a few minutes for me to settle in but once this show got going it was the most fun I’ve had in my life. The best thing about this show was it was non-stop. When one DJ left the stage the other walked right on and started playing. So it was like a three-hour straight dubstep breakdown. There was a twenty-minute break for Datsik to get set up but that didn’t matter. Space Jesus was the best act that night but it was all awesome. I was going to see the tour again in Toronto a week or two later but a week after this show Datsik got accused of sexual assault so his career’s over now.
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I saw quite a few bands I didn't like this year but that's different from just being terrible. I hated Big Wreck and O.A.R. but they were good at what they do. So these are five bands that just sucked.
adamclark52s Top Five Worst Acts of 2018
5. Whip Kisser (December 28th at Lees Palace)I just saw these guys the other day so the sounds of their guitarists broken amplifier making screeching noises and their bass player playing a different song from the rest of the band are still fresh in my mind.
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4. Excementory Grindfuckers (September 1st at Coalition)Joke grindcore bands are fun for a few minutes. I walked out of this band after maybe ten minutes. I saw their setlist had twenty-six songs on it and I didn’t want to risk that being a joke or seventeen of those songs being five seconds. It was a gamble I wasn’t prepared to take.
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3. Xero Tolerance (April 14th and October 27th at Coalition)These guys are terrible because of their keyboardist. She’s always in the wrong key or off time. The rest of the band is fine but she’s horrid. And the sad thing is since Type O Negative is no longer around I’ll probably go see this Type O Negative cover band as many times I’m able to. I went to two shows of theirs this year with the sole intent of seeing them (granted, I didn’t know they sucked the first time).
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2. Holy Grinder (August 11th and September 1st at Coalition)These guys are just fucking terrible. I know grindcore is supposed to just be noise but this is the wrong kind of noise. They were much better when I saw them opening for Weedeater a few years ago but they added a girl singer since who sounds like Angelica from the Rugrats yelling.
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1. Fet.Nat (June 15th at Jam Factory T.O.)I loves me some Mr. Bungle. But unless you’re Mr. Bungle you should never try to be Mr. Bungle. I lasted maybe a minute into these guys set before I went outside and sat on a curb with Efrim Manual Menuck, who they were opening for that night.
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I guess the worst show I saw all year was the aforementioned Video Games Live show in April. I saw tons of worse live acts but they weren’t all at one show. That show just sucked from start to end.
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Funny that I saw three of the five worst bands this year were at the bar I put in my first post that I was so upset about closing, and none of my favourite acts were from there. But that place is moar than a bar. It's all about the ambience. The Garrison is a wicked place too but they don't do too many metal shows there.
I'll finish all this shit up tomorrow with the top ten albums, band of the year, song of the year and if enough people want it the coveted "What's In Sheamus' Pocket?" award.