2009 was another great year in gigs for me. From a crazy January that was highlighted by an insane Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds show at the ATP Festival through to finally getting to see the Manics again, 2009 was a fantastic year. Thinking back on some of these shows brings back some pretty amazing memories. Links will take you to the original review of each show. Have a happy new year!

Underworld @ Bondi Beach
Underworld blow my mind on New Year’s Eve.

Fleet Foxes @ Metro Theatre
Somehow managed to actually live up to the live hype. Those harmonies!

Spiritualized @ Metro Theatre
One of my favourite bands in fine form.

ATP Festival @ Cockatoo Island
The most enjoyable experience you can have at a festival. Plus it featured…

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds @ ATP Festival
At the time I said this: “The entire show was one of the finest live performances I have ever witnessed.” And I stand by that, nearly one year later.

TV on the Radio @ Metro Theatre
Energy energy energy.

Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova @ Sydney Opera House
I wasn’t expecting much…and got pretty surprised by the Swell Season.

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals @ Enmore Theatre
My final Cardinals show and Ryan busted out all the “hits.” RIP Spacewolf.

And that was just January.

Primal Scream @ Forum
FINALLY.

Gareth Liddiard @ Vanguard
Acoustic Drones. It’s gigs like this that I am going to miss now that I’ve returned to Canada.

Black Mountain @ Annandale Hotel
A little bit of Vancouver in Sydney.

The Drones @ Metro Theatre
It can’t be stressed enough how amazing The Drones are live.

Deerhunter @ Manning Bar and the Annandale Hotel
Hypnotic.

Young & Restless, The Seabellies @ Spectrum
Turns out it was the last Sydney show for Young & Restless. Their live energy will be missed.

Dappled Cities @ Metro Theatre
A glorious, hometown triumph.

Handsome Furs @ Oxford Art Factory
My last gig in Sydney was certainly a memorable one.

Manic Street Preachers @ Commodore Ballroom
I never thought I’d see them live again so this was pretty damn special. Hell, we left Sydney a couple weeks early just to make this gig.

The Horrors @ Venue
Seeing one of my favourite albums of the year played live was kinda nice.

Grizzly Bear @ Vogue Theatre
The Griz!

U2 @ BC Place Stadium
It was big but it worked.

Japandroids @ Biltmore Cabaret
In which the Japandroids cap off a huge year with a raucous homecoming.

Mew @ Venue
Finally seeing Mew live was a great way to end my concert calendar this year.

Hopefully 2010 brings some amazing shows. But I must say not having a jam-packed Sydney January is a bit odd.

Sad news indeed. Rowland S. Howard (The Birthday Party, The Boys Next Door, Young Charlatans) has lost his battle with liver cancer today in Melbourne. Mess & Noise and FasterLouder have brief articles. More word is expected soon.

Australia has lost a truly unique songwriting voice and one that I was spurred onto exploring after his placing on this year’s Top Australian Bands list.

Album #1: Journal For Plague Lovers by Manic Street Preachers
The Manics had no business making an album this amazing, this essential, nine records into their career. But they did. Using a notebook of lyrics that Richey Edwards had bequeathed the band, the Manics set about making a visceral, confronting record and that is exactly what Journal For Plague Lovers is. Journal has the best lyrics of any record I heard in 2009 (not bad considering the lyric writer wrote them in 1994) and the band haven’t sounded this necessary since their mid-90s commercial and creative peak. As a longtime Manics fan this record really means a lot to me.

Watch:

Song #1: Young Hearts Spark Fire by Japandroids
I first wrote about this song back in January and here it is in December at the top of the pile. I may be a few years older than the Japandroid boys but I find that their “Uh oh, I’m getting older” sentiment is spot on. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m staring down the barrel of a landmark birthday but these types of songs (LCD Soundsystem’s All My Friends is another) are really hitting home lately.

But all I really need to say about this song is this:

It kicks ass.

Download:
Japandroids – Young Hearts Spark Fire

—> See the rest of the 25 for 2009 list here.

And with that, the list is done and I’m taking a break. I hope you all have a very, very Merry Christmas (if that’s what you celebrate). Enjoy the holidays, kids.

Album #2: Primary Colours by The Horrors
If you had told me at the beginning of the year that The Horrors would release a record that I would want to listen to more than once I wouldn’t have believed you. So the fact that they released a record that I listened to a lot is, well, shocking. And #2? Unbelievable. But here it is. Primary Colours isn’t particularly original sounding (it sounds like every cool 80s new wave/shoegaze band in a blender) and its lyrics aren’t spectacular. But the songs (all of them) are great. So here it is. I don’t understand it. But I loved this record this year.

The Horrors – 1
Sean – 0

Download:
The Horrors – Sea Within A Sea

Song #2: 1901 by Phoenix
Before it soundtracked car commercials I heard this for the first time and I was blown away. And you know what? It still sounds effin awesome. Even in car commercials.

Download:
Phoenix – 1901

Watch:

—> See the rest of the 25 for 2009 list here.

Album #3: Fever Ray by Fever Ray
Back in February I said that Fever Ray’s debut solo record was one of the best albums of the year. And I wasn’t lying. This dark, spooky record got under my skin all year and it still kind of weirds me out whenever I listen to it. Karin Dreijer Andersson is confidently staking her claim as one of the most innovative and talented electronic musicians working today. Also, best videos of the year.

Download:
Fever Ray – If I Had A Heart
Fever Ray – When I Grow Up
Fever Ray – When I Grow Up (Bassnectar Remix)

Watch:

Song #3: Two Weeks by Grizzly Bear
One of those songs you know you will be listening to for years and years. As I so often mention, I’m a sucker for killer backing vocals and Two Weeks has them in spades.

Download:
Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks (live on Letterman)

Watch:

—> See the rest of the 25 for 2009 list here.

Album #4: XX by The XX
I’m prone to ignoring bands if they hype surrounding them becomes too much to take (this does mean I never wasted my time with some truly awful bands). Thankfully, I didn’t do this with The XX and their self-titled debut record. While I certainly approached XX with some skepticism, the first notes of the opening song won me over. This London (now) trio had me at hello. XX is an incredibly accomplished and confident record as the band says a lot with very little. The use of reverb and space is particularly effective. My favourite new band of 2009?

Download:
The XX – Basic Space
The XX – Do You Mind?

Song #4: Sea Within A Sea by The Horrors
While all eight minutes of Sea Within A Sea are pretty special, the final couple minutes when that synth line kicks in are absolutely spectacular. The perfect ending to an amazing record. Remember when this band was a total joke?

—> See the rest of the 25 for 2009 list here.

Seven years ago today Joe Strummer passed away. I still remember the day he died. Some friends and I started emailing each other our thoughts on a man we all respected a great deal. And of course there were lists of our favourite Clash songs. I think we were all taken aback by his death due to its suddenness and his death still remains the only “celebrity” death that has ever really upset me. We miss you, Joe.

The future is unwritten…

Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Redemption Song

The Clash – Janie Jones (live in 1977)

Rest in peace, Joe.

Album #5: Post-Nothing by Japandroids
One of my first posts of the year concerned the Just About To Blow Up Japandroids and then the band proceeded to at least partially own my musical 2009. Post-Nothing got played relentlessly on my iPod all year long and I still never tire of hearing it. Hell, it soundtracked the family Christmas party over the weekend. Grubby. Little. Anthems.

Download:
Japandroids – Heart Sweats

Song #5: Marlon JD by Manic Street Preachers
It was hard to pick just one song off Journal For Plague Lovers for this list but I finally decided on Marlon JD. Sonically it is actually a bit of departure for the Manics: an aggressive song buoyed by an electro beat. I just wish they had played this one when I saw them back in September.

Learn to live without clutter
To live without luxury

Stream:
Manic Street Preachers – Marlon JD

—> See the rest of the 25 for 2009 list here.

Album #6: Dark Days/Light Years by Super Furry Animals
While I do think that the Furries have been the second most consistent band of the past fifteen years or so, I must say I did enjoy their previous few records less than all that came before them. However, with this year’s Dark Days/Light Years the Super Furry Animals completely restored my faith in their ability to create magnificent albums from start to finish. As always, SFA cover a lot of musical ground in very little space: compare the schizophrenic Crazy Naked Girls with the marching Mt. and the poppy Moped Eyes to kick off the record, for one. Then there is the glorious eight minute opus that is Cardiff In The Sun…and I could go on. Never a dull moment.

Download:
Super Furry Animals – Inaugural Trams

Song #6: Zero by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Did the Yeah Yeah Yeahs realize how awesome this song was as soon as they had finished recording it? Plus, one of my favourite videos of they year.

Watch:

—> See the rest of the 25 for 2009 list here.

Album #7: Veckatimest by Grizzly Bear
Veckatimest was one of the most lauded records of 2009 and for good reason. On their third album, The Griz managed to fine tune their songwriting to the point where some of the years finest songs (Two Weeks, While You Wait For The Others) sounded completely effortless. They put on a hell of a live show as well.

Download:
Grizzly Bear – Cheerleader
Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks (live on Letterman)
Grizzly Bear – While You Wait For The Others (live on KCRW)

Song #7: My Girls by Animal Collective
I think I’ve only directly mentioned Animal Collective once on A Reminder (and that was because Dappled Cities covered them). While I certainly love the fact that an experimental and forward-thinking band is gaining so much praise, the fact is, nearly every Animal Collective song I’ve ever heard kinda bores me. My Girls, however, is a glaring exception. This brilliant piece of summery electro-pop was, for me, the obvious highlight of Merriweather Post Pavilion and I still don’t tire of hearing it.

Download:
Animal Collective – My Girls (live at the Bowery Ballroom)

—> See the rest of the 25 for 2009 list here.