Tuesday, January 29, 2019

TRCK Archives: My Top 20 Concerts of 2012


From the archives, here's a list I made of my top 20 concert experiences in 2012:

I ended up seeing 96 shows last year and these are the most memorable ones for me. It's not exactly a list of the best live performances, but of the all around experiences. I'm also grouping multiple shows together if they were from the same tour. I'll have more to say about some shows than others, so please excuse me for being pretty lazy and generic with some of them.




#20:  August 15 - fun. at Open Air Theater San Diego State University
This was fun.'s biggest headlining show to date and it was great to see the emotion on their faces, Nate nearly cried at one point. The crowd was sort of annoying because they seemed to really only care about We Are Young, but as a fan of the band for years, it was great to be a part of such an occasion.

#19:  February 3 - MuteMath at 4th & B in San Diego
MuteMath is one of the best live bands out there. The performance at this show was spectacular. If you have the chance to go to one of their shows, don't miss it.

#18:  March 6 - Flogging Molly at House of Blues San Diego
Flogging Molly shows are always full of energy, if you've seen them then you know what it's like. Everyone knows the words to every song and the band appears to have a great time. 

#17:  May 1 - Go Radio and This Providence at Chain Reaction in Anaheim
I used to see This Providence all the time but they had a rough few years so this show was the first time I'd seen them in quite a while. It was great to finally get to see them again, along with getting to see the awesome Go Radio headline for the first time.
See For Yourself: Go Radio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXSU9US4M3g

#16:  September 8 - Devin Townsend Project at the El Rey in Los Angeles
If you read my top albums list, then you should have an idea of what to expect at a Devin Townsend show. You're basically getting two shows in one, a heavy metal show and a comedy show. This was the show where I discovered Stolen Babies, I'm so glad I showed up early. Getting to a chance to meet the master himself Devin again didn't hurt either. 

#15:  July 29 - Tenacious D at Open Air Theater San Diego State University
This was the first time I got the chance to see The D and it was just as glorious as I'd always hoped. The show was a fantastic combination of hilarious comedy and great music. The band was tight and the setlist was killer. Oh yeah, and I was in the front row.

#14:  February 27 and 28 - Foxy Shazam at 710 Beach Club and 91X Studio
Again, this was my first time getting to see Foxy and seeing them in such an intimate setting was great. You haven't seen a crazy/eccentric performance until you've seen this band live. I stood right in front of the keyboard player and he was constantly picking up his keyboard while playing it. At one point he even stood on the stand right in front of me. Eric (the singer) ate cigarettes at one point, and at another he jumped on the shoulders of the guitar player. Before the show, a girl that works for 91X came up to me and gave me a pass to see the band play an acoustic set at the radio station. Seeing them twice for $0.91 at two very different intimate settings was an unforgettable experience. 

#13:  August 26 - Between the Buried and Me at the Slidebar in Fullerton
This was BTBAM's "secret show" the day after the conclusion of the Summer Slaughter Tour, which I caught them on the month before in SD. Just like the Foxy Shazam show, this was a very intimate show at a tiny club. I've never been that close for a BTBAM show and I really enjoyed getting to see them up close and personal. It felt like a show they would have been playing when they first started, but with the musical prowess they've acquired over the years. 

#12:  August 18 - Alexz Johnson at Hotel Cafe in Hollywood
Out of all the artists on this list, I've been a fan of Alexz the longest by far. Unfortunately, she's never had steady enough support from record labels to enable her to tour so I never really had the opportunity to see her before this show. But after more than a decade, I finally did get that chance and I will never forget it. Seeing and hearing her live was not disappointing in the least, despite all those years of buildup. I also had the utmost pleasure of getting to meet her and tell her how much she's meant to me since I was 12 or 13.

#11:  June 22 and 24 - Dia Frampton and Xenia at House of Blues in San Diego and Anaheim
This was the second and third time I got to see Dia in 2012, each time different from the other. The show in San Diego was a full acoustic set which I was directly in front for, and the show in Anaheim was a full band set. It's sad to think that this may have been the last time I ever got to see Dia perform with most of Meg & Dia as her band, the show at the Troubadour in March actually featured the same lineup as Meg & Dia, this tour was all of Meg & Dia but without Meg. I hope it wasn't the last time I ever get to see Carlo, Jon and Nick because I love those guys. But anyway, these shows were fantastic because not only did I get to see an extremely playful Dia, but I got to see Xenia who was also on Team Blake. Xenia has come a long way since she auditioned on The Voice and she will continue to grow and improve. The SD show was special because it was at the sidestage at HOB and that allowed a lot of interactivity between the band and crowd, I even got to joke around with the MAD guys while they were setting up. I am so incredibly proud of everything Dia has accomplished and seeing people pack venues to see her is something I'll never get tired of.

#10:  April 7 - Steven Wilson at House of Blues Sunset in Los Angeles
This was my first time seeing Steven Wilson's solo project live and it had a different vibe to it than the Porcupine Tree shows I've been to. The band performed the first four or so songs behind a veil that had images and videos projected on it, as well as on the screen behind them. It was a really cool effect and made it seem like the band and the visuals were one. The crowd was one of the most respectful I've ever witnessed. Steven's music has a lot of quiet parts and during all of those parts the crowd was dead silent, allowing the music to be heard the way it's intended. There are few things worse than a band attempting to play softer, quiet parts of songs only to be drowned out by hundreds of drunk idiots. I highly recommend the DVD/Blu-Ray release Get All You Deserve which is a live recording of a show from this tour.
See For Yourself: From Get All You Deserve - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL61k2o-EA4

#9:  February 20 and 23 - Ariana Grande at House of Blues San Diego and Anaheim
I've been a fan of Ariana's since 2009 and I never had the chance to see her until these shows. I splurged and went for the VIP Meet & Greet ticket for San Diego, wanting to make absolutely sure I was able to meet her. When I showed up at the venue I saw her brother Frankie hanging out in front of the venue and he was very sweet and friendly to everyone out there. Then before Ariana went on, I had the pleasure of meeting her mother and having a conversation with her, she is also very sweet and lovely. Ariana sounded incredible and looked adorable, then afterwards at the m&g I finally got the chance to meet her and tell her how fantastic I think she is. She even said she recognized my Twitter name when I brought it up because I was one of her first 1 or 2,000 followers (now she has 4+ million). She was nothing but gracious and kind, making every fan that I saw meet her feel appreciated. I had such an incredible experience that I decided to go again a few days later (Thankfully I had an amazing manager that let me get off work a few hours early to drive to Anaheim). While I was in line for the meet & greet after the second show, Ariana looked up and noticed me. Her face lit up and she waved and said "Hey! You're back! How are you?!" I was in such a state of shock that I don't even remember if I was able to muster any response other than a smile and wave. When it was my turn, she opened her arms to hug me and said it was great to see me again. The whole thing was a blur but I remember her hugging me several times and her brother photobombing us while I was talking to her. Those two days were some of the best experiences I've had so far in my life, let alone 2012. The only reason it's not higher on the list is because her set was only 45 minutes long due to her only having one officially released song at that point, and she sang over a backing track instead having a live band. But getting to meet an amazing artist and person as well as her wonderful, supportive family was easily enough to put this in the top 10.

#8:  September 6 - Blaqk Audio at the Casbah in San Diego
The problem with being an AFI/Blaqk Audio fan is that touring and album releases are so inconsistent it's frustrating. The only other time I've seen Blaqk Audio live was back in 2007, it felt like an extremely long wait. As a huge AFI and Davey Havok fan, it was a thrill to get to see Blaqk Audio in a tiny place like the Casbah. Quite a big difference from the last time I saw AFI, which was at an amphitheater. Being closer allowed me to see all of Davey's trademark overly dramatic facial expressions and gestures. I felt the setlist could have been a slight bit stronger, but seeing as I rarely get to see them I can't complain. The biggest moment of the night was getting to meet one of my absolute heroes in Davey after the show. Even though it was extremely brief and I wasn't able to meet Jade, I still felt satisfied. Just getting to shake the hand of someone who has had such a massive impact on my life was more amazing than I could ever adequately express.

#7:  August 9 - Iron Maiden and Coheed and Cambria at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine
This was a very bittersweet day. I spent the entire day trying to get everything sorted out to buy my car and I ended up being caught in rush hour traffic getting home, which meant Kevin and I were over an hour late leaving. We ended up missing almost all of Coheed's set which was a major bummer and I felt absolutely terrible (still do). However, we did still get to see one of the greatest live acts ever, Iron Maiden. All the other times I've seen Maiden, I wasn't what you'd consider close. This time, though, I was really close and it was an entirely different experience. Seeing them live is always a good call no matter where you can get a seat, but when you are right up near the stage with the pyro and lights going off in your face and their gorgeous backdrops filling your field of vision, it's a majestic experience. The setlist was fantastic, I dreamed of the day I'd get to see them perform Phantom of the Opera and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son live. As much as those songs blew me away, one caught me off guard and stole the show. Afraid to Shoot Strangers was the one song that I thought was going to stick out like a sore thumb. Even the band acknowledged that it did. But Claud damn if it wasn't the best song of the night. 

#6:  October 7 - Circa Survive, O'Brother, Touche Amore at the Fox Theater in Pomona
One of the most solid all-around lineups I saw all year. While I can't say I'm a big fan of Touche Amore or Balance and Composure, they are both very good bands and I enjoyed their sets. However, I am a huge fan of both O'Brother and Circa Survive. This was my SIXTH time seeing O'Brother in an 11 month span, each time better than the last. They sound as powerful and heavy live as anyone else out there, the atmosphere they create permeates every inch of the venue and wrap you in a cocoon of sound. They really understand how to build up to a climax. Their live performance is mezmerizing and is something everyone should experience. Since this was the second of two shows in Pomona, O'Brother decided to mix up the setlist and bring out Cleanse Me, a song they had played less than a handful of times previously. Circa Survive was also in top form that night, treating the high-energy crowd to a nearly perfectly balanced setlist encompassing all of their albums to date. Though it did feature only one song from On Letting Go. A trademark of Circa Survive shows is the crowd loudly singing along with every word, sometimes even drowning out Anthony's vocals. This show was no exception, some of my favorite moments ever are when Anthony holds the mic out to the crowd and invites them scream his lyrics at the top of their lungs. The light setup they had essentially only allowed the band to be viewed as silhouettes which took some getting used to but it was one of the most unique and hypnotizing lighting features I saw all year. I did have the pleasure of talking to Brendan Ekstrom from Circa and the awesome guys from O'Brother before and after the show. But I did miss out on getting to chat with Anthony Green again because of all the crazy, obsessive, obnoxious, stalker-ish, disrespectful, overly-excitable fans that were camped behind the venue. It wasn't a complete bust, though, because Anthony performed an acoustic set outside for the fans. Unfortunately it was difficult to hear him over the idiot fans yelling random things like, "GIVE ME A HIGH FIVE! I HAVE YOUR SHOES!!" I wish I could have recorded videos of it, but they would have turned out like crap. Anyway, this show was one of the most solid of the year and I don't regret going for a second.
See For Yourself:  O'Brother - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeFLarAzp2Y

#5:  October 13 - The Smashing Pumpkins and Anberlin at Viejas Arena in San Diego
I didn't realize until a few weeks before this show that this would be the third time in a row I'd seen Anberlin as the opening band at this arena. The other two times being 91X Wrex the Halls shows, the most recent being with The Smashing Pumpkins. This is the kind of venues Anberlin belongs in, unfortunately they're still vastly underrated and can't play arenas by themselves yet. Despite a few very minor missteps, they sounded great and hopefully earned themselves a lot of new fans on this tour. I had high hopes going into this show because it was one of my favorite bands opening for the band with one of the finest albums of the year, which they were playing in it's entirety. I was blown away the last time I saw The Smashing Pumpkins and immediately became a huge fan, this concert only solidified that. Hearing the masterpiece that is Oceania live along with another 45 minutes to an hour of older material was fantastic. For this tour The Smashing Pumpkins had a sphere-shaped screen with visualizations projected on it, the effect was awe-inspiring. The only negative thing about the show was the disappointing turn out. Only about 2/3 of the arena was full and I can only imagine how frustrating that must be for the artists. I had the privilege of meeting the legendary Billy Corgan after the show and he echoed that frustration by saying that it might have been the final show they've ever played in San Diego. I guess from now on I'll have to travel to Los Angeles to see them, but that's ok with me as long as the shows continue to be up to the caliber that this one was.
See For Yourself: Anberlin - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uVh5jnrPqI

#4:  April 26 - Opeth, Mastodon and Ghost at the Gibson Amphitheater in Los Angeles
The Heritage Hunter Tour is easily the best co-headlining tour since the Coheed and Cambria/Porcupine Tree tour of 2010. Like that tour with The Dear Hunter, the Heritage Hunter Tour had a killer opening act in Ghost. From the beginning of their set with the ominous organ music and chanting paired with the costumes and backdrops fashioned to look like evil stained-glass windows, Ghost transported you into a satanic church, their music leading the worship of the dark lord. At several points during their set, I completely forgot I was in a concert venue, totally lost in their performance. Mastodon came out and melted faces right from the start, opening with Black Tongue. When I saw their setlist for the tour, I thought the large chunk of new songs was going to drag a little bit but I was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked live. After Mastodon's epic 70+ minute set they departed and made way for the greatest band ever, Opeth. While a majority of Opeth's setlist was similar to their previous tour, there was one major change. Whereas the Heritage tour didn't feature any songs with growling vocals, they closed with two such songs on the Heritage Hunter Tour. One of the highlights for me was finally getting to see them perform Burden live. While this was only the second time I had seen Opeth without getting to talk to them after the show, it was still one of my best experiences of the year.
See For Yourself:  Ghost - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-SHVLooaQc

#3:  March 18 - Dia Frampton at the Troubadour in Hollywood
This was the first time I had the opportunity to see Dia as a solo artist excluding The Voice Live Tour. Unfortunately, it's also currently looking like the last time I will ever see Meg & Dia together as a group. Meg, Nick, Carlo and Jon from MAD were here backing band for her tour with Blake Shelton and her first run of solo tour dates. For the Dia Frampton headlining shows, they even performed a few Meg & Dia songs for the crowd which consisted of new fans that discovered Dia on The Voice and old-school MAD fans. Looking back on this show is extremely bittersweet for those reasons. At the time it was a massive thrill getting to see the gang back together after such a long time since the last time I saw Meg & Dia was back in 2010, before anyone knew what was in store. It was great to see them performing a show that had sold out well in advance, I was so happy for them. Due to some of Blake Shelton's tour dates getting rescheduled, they had to miss one of his shows to fly to L.A. for this show, but they were unable to get their equipment and had to borrow everything from the opening bands. This meant they couldn't perform a full band set and adjusted brilliantly to play a quasi-acoustic set. They treated the Meg & Dia faithful to a rendition of Roses. After the show, Meg & Dia/Dia's manager Mike let me go to the after-show meet & greet and for the first time since The Voice, I was able to tell Dia how immensely proud of her I was, I nearly brought myself to tears because I felt like I've been a part of her journey since 2006. I got to talk to the other members of the band and reminisce on old times and talk about future plans. I did have the opportunity to see Dia perform a few more times in the year, as you've already seen, but this was an even more memorable experience (for good or for bad) because it was sort of an end to Meg & Dia. Though none of the members are by any means done with music, and the future is only getting brighter for Dia, this was possibly the last time I'll ever see any Meg & Dia songs performed live. As I said before, reminiscing about this night is very bittersweet and emotional, but it was one of the best experiences I had all year. 

#2: May 4, June 17 & 18 - Thrice, Animals As Leaders, and O'Brother at House of Blues San Diego and Anaheim and The Observatory in Santa Ana
Since this tour was billed as Thrice's "Farewell Tour", I wanted to see it as many times as possible. I knew that it wasn't their final tour ever, but it was the last one for an indeterminate amount of time. Luckily for me there were 7 dates in Southern California. I would have gone three times no matter who the opening bands were. The fact that they were A-Grade talent was just an added bonus, and a big one at that. These shows were half the reason I was able to see O'Brother six times in 11 months, in fact I have Thrice to thank for discovering them as the first time I saw them was when they opened for Thrice in November of 2011. Getting to see Tosin and Animals As Leaders shred it up three more times wasn't too bad either. Yet another added bonus was getting to see not one but two after-show Dustin Kensrue acoustic sets, in San Diego and Santa Ana. All three Thrice setlists were slightly different, which was a treat. The show at the Observatory was the final show with the opening bands which meant it was the night for one of my favorite things, end-of-tour pranks. I always love to see bands and crew messing with each other and having a good time celebrating the end of a tour. This edition featured Animals As Leaders, Thrice and members of their crews flooding the stage during O'Brother's set with drums and playing along to one of their songs, Riley (the drummer of Thrice) even got behind his own kit at one point and mimicked O'Brother's drummer. During Animals As Leaders' set, they all came out with animal masks on holding guitars and pretended to play along. O'Brother pulled off the greatest prank of the night, and possibly the best I've ever seen, by coming out in costume right when Thrice left for their encore and performing a cover of Creed's "Higher". The Thrice guys couldn't believe it and they were laughing hysterically in the background. Having the pleasure of seeing three 2-hour long Thrice sets, as well as three sets from O'Brother and Animals as Leaders and two Dustin Kensrue acoustic sets, plus getting to talk to Riley, the O'Brother guys and one of my favorite people, Dustin Kensrue was all certainly one of the biggest collective highlights of my 2012.
See For Yourself:  O'Brother San Diego - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1v88Rl6kR4
Animals As Leaders San Diego - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mjw-A63EfO4



O'Brother prank on Thrice - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSgXttG-hqQ


#1B:  May 13 - Roger Waters: The Wall Live at Valley View Casino Center in San Diego
So I'm kind of cheating. I have two #1's. It's because they were both the best in two very different ways. The Wall Live is the best aural and visual concert experience I've ever had. It's one of the greatest achievements ever as far as live performances go. Roger took the original The Wall performance and revamped and improved it using the latest technology. I'm sure it was awe-inspiring in it's original form, I find it hard to believe that it was anywhere near the spectacle that the new incarnation was. For those unaware, throughout the course of the show, a wall is constructed from one side of the venue to the other between the band and the audience. They used numerous high-definition projectors to turn the wall into a massive screen. By the intermission, the wall is complete and the second half of the show takes place in front of it, utilizing the enormous wall/screen for jaw dropping visuals and scenery. The show also includes 50-foot tall puppets, a flying pig, countless costumed performers and a plane crash. The finale of the show is when the 50-foot wall comes crashing down. This is a show that needs to be seen to be believed. A tremendous spectacle worthy of one of the greatest concept albums of all time.
See For Yourself:  In the Flesh? - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkE2Y3P8SH8
Another Brick In the Wall 1&2 and The Happiest Days of Our Lives- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qIycIXuaEU
In the Flesh and Run Like Hell - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjd40Puf1vI
The Trial and Outside the Wall - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z39EfYmtDl4

#1A:  October 5 and 7 - Coheed and Cambria at the Troubadour in Hollywood and the Copro Art Gallery in Santa Monica
I'm sure this is going to be a heart-stopping shock to the people that know me, but my best overall experience was my Coheed weekend in October. These were no ordinary Coheed and Cambria concerts, my friend, no sir. The show at the Troubadour was more or less an album release show, The Afterman: Ascension came out the following Tuesday. It was at an undersized venue compared to what they normally play and that added to specialness of the night. Not to mention this was the first time we West Coasters had gotten to see them headline since the Neverender: SSTB tour in May 2011. They premiered some brand new songs they'd never played before, as well as old favorites. It was great getting to reunite with the ever growing group of friends I've met through Coheed shows. Due to my work schedule, I wasn't able to go for the trifecta and attend the acoustic in-store in Long Beach in between these two shows, but the show in Santa Monica more than made up for it. To celebrate the release of The Afterman, they put together an art show to showcase the 18 gorgeous paintings by Nathan Spoor which each coincide with a track from the double album. I loved getting to see those up close and in person, along with the original painting of The Afterman cover artwork. The band performed a half acoustic/half electric set outside the art gallery, which I'm certain was their most intimate show in a very long time. There was no stage, they just set up everything in the parking lot and performed face to face with a crowd of about 75-100 people. It was an experience I'll never forget. After the performance as fans gradually left, my friends and I ended up sticking around and chatting with Claudio and Chondra Sanchez. At one point I was talking to them about my love of Taylor Swift and Claudio burst out singing the chorus of We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together. At another instance he held up a bottle of wine and screamed, "WHOOOO!!" I turned to his wife and said, "...is your husband a 'Woo-girl?'" To which she replied, "after a certain number of drinks." Later on my friend Kevin ended up giving Claudio his clip-on bowtie, which was quite a sight as well. There were tons of little unforgettable moments from this weekend that I am so happy to have been a part of, and that is why these nights are at the top of my list.
See For Yourself:  Troubadour - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-dPOPdK9CE
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