2011's Best Concerts

Let's be honest, I didn't attend nearly as many concerts this year as I would've liked. I find myself saying this year after year, but a few particularly worthwhile shows passed me by in 2011 (Grouper, Jay-Z & Kanye, Pitchfork Music Festival, Moog Fest, etc.). Nevertheless, it was a killer year, home to great big shows and great little shows. Here are some of the best and some of the rest:


Bonus Awards

Best Venue I Can't Believe I Hadn't Attended Until 2011
> Russian Recording

Best Free Outdoor Party-Concert
> B.o.B.

Best Band To Stalk From Afar At An After-Party
> Nurses

Best Use Of A Concert Space
> Nurses uncovering and playing the un-mic'd piano at Russian

Most Annoying Concertgoer
> TIE: Drunk heckler at Akron/Family; The tUnE-yArDs Super-fan

Concert That Elicited The Most Tears
> Braids

Other Honorable Mentions
> Mount Eerie, Moonface, the Music Tapes, Toro Y Moi

And now, without further ado...


the Top 10 Concerts of 2011

10 | Lil Wayne / Nicki Minaj / Rick Ross

Assembly Hall, Bloomington 

This was the biggest show I've ever attended. 

I'm not sure I ever want to be that close to balls of fire ever again, but it was hella spectacular. It's still hard to believe Nicki kicked a fan off stage for not being a Hoosier. Speaking of Hoosiers, I'm a little embarrassed by how many drunken "Hoo-Hoo-Hoo-Hoosiers" chants were heard during this concert. Even so, Weezy spit a fire "6 Foot 7 Foot" and Nicki blew my mind by performing "Superbass" months before it blew up.

And for the life of me, I still don't know why Rick Ross didn't come out to join Nicki for his intro to "Monster." I guess you win some and lose some (as long as the outcome is income). 

09 | tUnE-yArDs

Rhino's, Bloomington

It must be said, Merril Garbus perfectly reproduced live the enormous vocal presence captured on W H O K I L L. This concert would probably be ranked higher if it weren't for the presence of a miniature tUnE-yArDs Super-fan (replete with matching makeup and haircut). It was at this concert that I reached the height of my 21-year-old jaded hipster persona, tweeting "#KILLME #ALLAGES" over and over. Despite the best efforts of Super-fan, I did manage to lose myself during "Powa".

08 | Good Luck
The Bishop, Bloomington

Let's be honest, Good Luck's farewell-for-now performance at Russian later in the year didn't devastate and elate me quite like the early summer meltdown at the Bishop. The energy and the crowd were just right for this show, making ample space for arm-crossers and moshers alike. I've seen Good Luck maybe half a dozen times since their knockout State House show back in 2008, and this was the best of them all.

07 | Kurt Vile (& Woods)

Russian Recording, Bloomington

First I'd like to offer some praise for Woods, whom I've somehow seen four times without being a huge fan. They played another solid and jangly set.

However, this wasn't their show. It was Kurt Vile's, and he killed it. His long hair half-obscured his face most of the show, often hiding his broken-down eyes from view. The songs (almost entirely from Smoke Ring For My Halo) sounded all the more powerful thanks to the electric noise of the Violators, his cutely-named backing band. The extended "Ghost Town" was transcendental.

He then pulled a Neil Young and came out for a second, brief set of the solo jams from Smoke Ring. It was enough to throw my and Zech's night into some sort of pseudo-depressive self-reflection. Bravo.

06 | Avey Tare (& Eric Copeland)

Schuba's Tavern, Chicago

I bet none of you drove four hours to a bar show with your father in the middle of finals. I bet none of you met your online nerd forum friends in real life at a hole in the wall in downtown Chicago. I bet none of you care. I did!

Eric Copeland's set was transformatively noisy, totally racking my body in ways music rarely does. He also hit some oddly powerful melodic moments that I wasn't expecting.

Avey too surprised, busting out slightly reworked songs from Down There ("Laughing Hieroglyphic" was the death and rebirth of me) when I expected nothing but new material. Gratefully, there was plenty of that to be had as well, and it was stellar. Listen for yourself!

05 | Liturgy
Russian Recording, Bloomington

This year will probably be remembered as the year I dove headfirst into black metal (I swear to Based God y'all, it was before black metal got hip - just look at my Top 25 from last year). Needless to say, Liturgy brought the riffs and the screams and the pure walls of guitar I had been missing all my life. During the last three minutes of their set, during which they built up the vilest wave of noise I've ever heard, I think I left my body. Seriously.

04 | Big K.R.I.T. & Freddie Gibbs
Rhino's, Bloomington

How have I seen multiple rap shows at Bloomington's all-ages club? Whatever, this one was far and away the trillest. Smoke DZA and Jackie Chain tore up their brief bouts on stage, successfully hyping up the crowd for what would turn out to be two killer performances.

Freddie Gibbs had his shirt off and his swag on within the first few songs of his set. Indiana's finest impressed everyone, and frankly, had me convinced that K.R.I.T. wouldn't be able to match his intensity. I'm no hater (K.R.I.T. is one of my favorites - again, I direct you to last year's Top 25), but Gibbs seemed better-suited to devastating a crowd. I was wrong.

K.R.I.T. reigned king of the tween gangstas at Rhino's that night. I was blown away by how much of the audience was there for him, shouting all the lyrics and filling in the choruses. My only regret is that I convinced Bubbz and Steph to leave, when we could've lingered after the show to watch some freestyling (and more).

03 | Braids

The Bishop, Bloomington

When I first heard Native Speaker, I had written Braids off as a Feels-era Animal Collective cover band. When they opened for Toro Y Moi in the spring, I was blown away by their technical prowess and ability to conjure up effervescent soundscapes. When I saw them headlining in the fall, I was driven to tears. Here is a band that delivered punch after punch, eventually knocking me out with the haymaker of "Lammicken". It's all the better knowing they'll soon return, because the lead singer owes my friend a date.

02 | Animal Collective
Mr. Smalls Theatre, Pittsburgh

This was my fourth and favorite time seeing Animal Collective live in concert. You come for the new songs, but you stick around for the made-over "Taste", "Did You See The Words", and "We Tigers". It's hard beat immersing yourself in the terrestrial tones of your favorite band in a refashioned church. Get ready for the new record in 2012; this stuff hits hard.

 01 | Gang Gang Dance
The Bishop, Bloomington

I usually don't go to concerts drunk. Let's be honest though: I doubt anything will ever top my out-of-mind head-banging and stanky-legging experience with one of the best live bands of all-time. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The twin-DJ set leading up to Gang Gang was almost as maddeningly good as the headliners themselves. I was surrounded by some of my favorite people in the world, dancing harder than I've ever danced in my life. A part of me hoped I'd never exceed that feeling, because it would probably be too much. Then came the magic transition between sets, during which Gang Gang joined the DJs on stage and jammed into the first song of the night. The rest was pure emotion.

Gang Gang lead singer Lizzi Bougatsos has said she likes to single out and connect with an audience member during a show. I'd like to believe that on that fateful night the audience member was me. If you ask me, we made enough eye contact to establish a lasting relationship. Anyway, whether or not I actually was her chosen audience member, the night was over for me the moment Lizzi handed me her microphone. The only thing I could do was shout with every fiber of my being, "It's everything time!" It was.

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Come back tomorrow or the next day for the Top 25 Songs of 2011. Until then, take care!