Top 5 Shows of 2012

2012 was a great year! I was lucky enough to catch some amazing shows. I hope you did too!

Seeing as 2012 is coming to an end, every music writer in the blogsphere is writing their list of top albums/songs/shows. So I thought that maybe I should do that too!

Just for fun, I've compiled my five favourite shows of 2012. Here's my top 5:

5) Passion Pit. The group released their sophomore album this year and played a couple of festival shows the summer (despite lead singer Michael Angelakos' struggle with his mental illness). Their show at Osheaga was fantastic! It was great, hearing the new material live. Although this wasn't my first time seeing the group in concert, I was beyond excited for this show. And it did not disappoint... 

4) Grizzly Bear. This past September, I was able to see Grizzly Bear play at the famous Radio City Music Hall during my trip to NYC. The show was phenomenal! I didn't have high expectations and I was absolutely floored with the performance. Not only did the band sound great, the visuals definitely added a great element to the performance. So worth it! I was just a casual fan before this show; now, I have great appreciation and respect for this band.

3) Matthew Good. Yes, I am still a huge fan of Matthew Good. Yes, I've seen him live half a dozen times. Still, his last show was fantastic! I had seen him play at the NAC in October of 2011 and I was thrilled when he announced he would be playing an acoustic show at Ottawa Folkfest this past August. Only a few days after getting some of his lyrics tattooed on me, he performed a great show with an impressive setlist. Lots of crying ensued.

2) Patrick Watson. In 2012, I (finally) discovered Patrick Watson. Within a six-week period, I was able to see him live twice, once at the Ottawa Folkfest, once at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. I cannot even describe what his music means to me and how happy I am to have discovered his beautiful words. This man knows how to bare his soul in his music, it's so amazing to experience it. Also, it definitely helps that Mr. Watson is down to earth and a total goofball. It's hard not to love this guy!

1) Radiohead. This is by far the most epic show I've seen in 2012. Back in June, I was lucky enough to score tickets to see Radiohead in Montreal. Never in a million years did I ever think I would have the opportunity to catch this group in concert. And although I was only introduced to Radiohead in the last couple of years, I knew I could not miss this show. The setlist was phenomenal and included songs that I absolutely adore, including "Street Spirit", "Idiotheque", "How to Disappear Completely", "Everything in Its Right Place", "All I Need" and "Reckoner". The group had lots of energy and Thom Yorke was dancing up a storm on the stage. The sound completely invaded the Bell Centre and I was taken to a whole other place. For all these reasons, this show totally deserves my #1 spot, hands down.

What shows did you see in 2012? Which ones would make your top 5?

Let's hope that 2013 has a lot more amazing shows in store!

Review: Grizzly Bear @ Radio City Music Hall

One of the highlights of my recent trip to New York City was to check out a show at Radio City Music Hall.  During my stay in NYC, there were many shows playing, including Bon Iver and Metric. I was seriously considering going to see Metric, but I decided to go see a band that I hadn't previously seen live. So I decided to check out Grizzly Bear on September 24th.

Image courtesy of grizzly-bear.net

I discovered Grizzly Bear a little over two years ago. Since then, I've been listening to their music on occasion. I would not call myself a huge fan of the group. However, I had taken a quick listen to the group's new album and was curious to check them out live. I am also really excited to check out Radio City Music Hall and see how it measured up as a concert venue.

The show's opening act was Unknown Mortal Orchestra. They put on a decent set. Some of the songs, I really enjoyed; some, not so much. Overall, not a bad opening act; I tend to be harsh when it comes to opening acts and I can be hard to impress.

There didn't seem to be many people in the venue at the beginning of the evening. However, once Grizzly Bear took the stage, the venue was absolutely packed. I feel like this show was pretty special one for the Brooklyn-based group. It definitely felt like a homecoming.

After they began their set with the first song, "Speak in Rounds ", lanterns began to float off the stage and light up. It was quite beautiful. For the rest of the set, the lanterns would float up and down, in various patterns (see pictures here to get an idea). The vocals of Edward Droste and Daniel Rossen were flawless and filled the room with such passion and vulnerability. I was sold!

The group played mostly songs from their latest album "Shields" (released September 18th of this year), including "Sleeping Ute", "A Simple Answer", "Gun-Shy", "Adelma", "Sun in Your Eyes" and "Yet Again" (a favourite of mine). They also played some old favourites, including "Two Weeks", "While You Wait for The Others", "Ready, Able", "Knife" and "On a Neck, On a Spit". The highlight of the entire show for me was definitely their performance of "The Foreground" (video below), which is my absolute favourite Grizzly Bear song.

Although Radio City Music Hall is a huge venue, the show felt incredibly intimate. Between songs, band members were thanking and acknowledging family members and friends that were in attendance. At one point,  one of the band members thanked his 91 year-old grandmother who traveled from Texas to see the show. He also apologized if the sound was too loud for her. Now that's adorable! The whole thing definitely felt like a family affair.

The venue was fantastic. The sound was absolutely impeccable. Overall, the show was absolutely amazing. I am really happy that I decided to attend. Also, my husband, who had never listened to Grizzly Bear before, really enjoyed the show. That's a win for me!