here’s a list of my favorite concerts from last year. i have grand notions of putting up a list of my favorite albums as well, but i’ve had those goals before! as with recent years, there was a heavy mix of reunion concerts on the list. i guess that’s just what happens when you get older.

afghan whigs – sat, oct 20th – the masquerade
david byrne & st vincent – wed, oct 3rd – cobb energy center
chairlift – thu, apr 19th – the earl
frankie rose – tue, apr 10th – 529
grimes – mon, mar 5th – drunken unicorn
jeff mangum – wed, feb 1st – variety playhouse
the jesus & mary chain – thu, sep 6th – variety playhouse
neon indian & purity ring – mon, mar 19th – the masquerade
perfume genius – thu, mar 29th – the earl
radiohead – thu, mar 1st – phillips arena
tame impala – thu, mar 8th – drunken unicorn
youth lagoon – thu, mar 22nd – drunken unicorn

-ryan

– be sure to check out my favorite shows from 2011 and 2010 as well!

my brother and i headed up to the cobb energy center last week to catch david byrne & st vincent. the show was really awesome, i’m glad i was able to attend. it wasn’t quite the life changing concert that songs of david byrne & brian eno was in 2008, however it still held its own.

the concert was the end result of a pretty ambitious collaborative project between the two artists called love this giant. the concert entailed david byrne & st vincent playing a few talking heads & david byrne songs (naive melody, burning down the house, road to nowhere, strange overtones, lazy, like humans do), a few st vincent songs (save me from what i want, marrow, cheerleader, northern lights, cruel, the party) and then songs from their collaborative album.

all in all it was a cool concept and a great show. hearing them sing backup on one another’s songs was pretty special. in particular, st vincent’s backing on stranger overtones was amazing! it actually sounded better than the album version, which is saying a lot. here is the full setlist.

– ryan

my brother and i recently attended the jesus & mary chain at the variety playhouse. after all these years, the reid brothers can still put on a great rock show! they weren’t touring for a new album or even new material, so they just played the hits, which was perfect. they covered classics from psychocandy though honey’s dead, while passing on their 90s material besides snakedriver from the crow soundtrack. check out the full setlist!

the jesus & mary chain were actually the first small concert my brother and i attended some 18 years ago. they played at the ritz theater in ybor city (tampa) on october 13, 1994. they were touring for stoned & dethroned and had mazzy star & velvet crush opening up! it was also the last show at the ritz before it became known as masquerade for 10+ years.

– ryan

wras fest 2012 is fast approaching on saturday, may 12th from 6pm – 1am at the the goat farm in atlanta. elf power is headlining and the first 88 receive a gift bag, so it should be fun.

trek matthews designed the flyer/poster and it’s really awesome! check out our recent post on his great living walls mural in cabbage town.

– ryan & gub

there is a new venue in atlanta called terminal west. i haven’t been yet, but the photos look pretty cool. it’s in the king plow art center over on the west side. both black lips and washed out are on their schedule, so it definitely has potential.

– ryan

with the upcoming radiohead concert fast approaching, i decided it was time to finally go through and post some photos from their last show in atlanta. we had these amazing general-admission pit tickets, so we were right up front and center. in all my years of concert going i’ve never been so close for such a big rock show, so it was a blast! as you can tell from the photos, their live show is quite impressive!

you can check out the full set list here.

– ryan

jeff mangum recently played the variety playhouse and we were fortunate enough to attend. to say the least, the show was remarkable! mangum’s voice sounded like it was 1998, probably since he hasn’t toured since then, and he played all of the songs you could ask for. scotty spillane and co. played horns on select tracks as well, which was unexpected and great!

highlights were ghost, two headed boy part one & two, the fool (with horns) and in the aeroplane over the sea. you can check out the full set list here.

– ryan & gub

atlanta has a ton of great shows this spring. don’t miss out on the fun! for a full list, click here.

march:

radiohead – the, mar 1st – phillips arena – $69 – 7:30pm – tickets
cults – tue, mar 6th – the earl – $10 – 9:00pm – tickets
deleted scenes – mon, mar 19th – 529 – free – 9:00pm
neon indian – mon, mar 19th – the masquerade – $15 – 8pm – tickets
youth lagoon – thur, mar 22nd – drunken unicorn – $10 – 9pm – tickets
alcest – thur, mar 29th – 529 – $8 – 9:00pm – tickets
perfume genius – thur, mar 29th – the earl – $10 – 9:00pm – tickets

april:

school of seven bells – sat, apr 7th – the earl – $12 – 9:00pm – tickets
frankie rose – tue, apr 10th – 529 – $8 – 9:00pm – tickets
bowerbirds – sun, apr 15th – the earl – $10 – 9:00pm – tickets
sharon van etten – wed, apr 25th – the earl – $12 – 9:00pm – tickets

may:

m83 – mon, may 14th – the buckhead theatre – $24 – 7pm – tickets
st vincent – sat, may 19th – variety playhouse – $20 – 7:30pm – tickets
damien jurado – wed, may 23th – the earl – $10 – 9:00pm – tickets

with m83 coming back to town, i figured i should finally review their show from last halloween at the the masquerade.

all in all, the show was great! the new songs sounded amazing live and the crowd was way into it. at the same time, this was my fourth time seeing m83 and i had high expectations. i was definitely bummed they didn’t play any old songs, including completely skipping dead cities, red seas & lost ghosts, which is one of my favorite albums. i understand they have to cater to their huge new fan base, but i still want a set list that goes deeper than their last two albums (they’ve released six since 2001).

i still plan on checking out m83 at the buckhead theatre in may, i just hope for a better selection of songs this time.

– ryan

i gathered a list of my favorite concerts from 2011. i hope to also put up a list of my favorite albums later in the week.

archers of loaf & band of horses – sun, jul 24th – the earl
broken social scene – thu, feb 10th – the buckhead theatre
casiokids & strfkr – wed, mar 23rd – drunken unicorn
godspeed you! black emperor – tue, mar 22nd – 40 watt
kurt vile – sun, aug 7th – the earl
m83 – mon, oct 31st – the masquerade
the pains of being pure at heart & twin shadow – tue, apr 5th – the earl
sebadoh playing bakesale – mon, mar 28th – the earl
tUnE-yArDs – tue, oct 4th – the basement
zola jesus – tue, oct 25th – the earl

-ryan

-here is my favorite concert list from last year.