I didn't quite feel that I could set aside 5 shows I attended this that could justify being in a "best of". Not because I didn't see any great gigs, I had the pleasure of seeing plenty this year. Rather I felt that each was excellent in its own away and that putting 5 of them above the rest would not be right.
So here are 5 of the best moments I experienced at gigs this year.
Powderfinger @ Big Day Out - Sydney Olympic Showgrounds
Being the massive Muse fan I am, I had taken my place in front of the Orange Stage when Powderfinger took the stage on the Blue Stage. There was an incredible energy around the venue for their entire set but it wasn't until they kicked into My Happiness that I was truly amazed. I quite literally could not hear Bernard sing a single word for the entire song, the crowd, particularly the Muse fans around me were singing every word. It made me realise what a profound impact Powderfinger have had over the Australian music public regardless of whether they're fans of the band or others like Muse. Hopefully in the future, bands from this generation can reach those levels of popularity.
LCD Soundsystem @ Hordern Pavilion
What a show this was! With 3 spectacular albums under their belts they had the comfort of playing any song from their catalogue. The only question was, how well would they play them? With talent like Juan MacLean's Nancy Wong and drummer Pat Mahoney on stage with frontman James Murphy it was no surprise the band delivered their hits with perfection. Too many times I've seen great bands whose great studio work preceded them but failed to recreate them adequately on stage. Pow Pow was one of the very few tracks on This Is Happening that I didn't enjoy but live on stage it was a different story, Murphy delivered the lyrics with more ease and fluency and I was sold on the spot.
Mumford & Sons @ Enmore Theatre
With LCD I walked in not liking one of their tracks, I walked in to Mumford & Sons not particularly liking the band at all. I felt that they were simply riding on the rise and rise of indie folk styled music and didn't justify the hype. I didn't change my mind until the closing moments of the show when the Englishmen kicked into The Cave and got the whole venue rocking into a frenzy. There really is something special about seeing a band on their debut album tour, there's this heightened sense of anticipation and excitement in the air with some degree of curiousity and uncertainty which creates an unique energy inside the show.
Muse @ Acer Arena
As I mentioned before I saw these guys as the headline act at Big Day Out 2010 in January so I had a fairly good idea of what to expect going into the show. But there was one song my mates and I were hanging on hearing and that was Citizen Erased and the fangirl-like scream we let out when Matt Bellamy played the opening riff was unforgettable. It isn't their laser shows and jaw-dropping stages that make Muse a great stadium act, it's their rock anthems and Citizen Erased is one of their very best.
U2 @ Olympic Stadium
I'm sick of people talking about how they saw great stadium trotters like Led Zeppelin, Queen and Guns n Roses back in their day. So this was my chance to add one of the true megabands to my "seen em" list. Over my 2 nights at the Olympic Stadium I spent close to 5hrs watching this incredible band on a magical "space station" stage in front of a terrible crowd of almost 80 000 with disappointing acoustics in support of a mediocre album. But it was one song that passed the goosebump test with flying colours and that was the classic Where The Streets Have No Name. The length guitar intro before the drums and bass kick in creates the perfect stadium moshpit moment as the entire venue lit up and every arm went up in the air and countless began to bounce up and down. It was wonderful being a part of that moment on the first night and just as wonderful watching it from the stands on the second.
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