What a strange year for shows. 2019 saw me attending a much lower number of shows than usual (10, fewest since 2009) and making an unexpected return to my metal roots (8 of those 10 shows featured predominantly metal acts on the bill). Thankfully, these oddities didn't have too much of an effect on the performance front. The vast majority of the acts I saw crushed it-with a handful turning in sets that I already consider to be among the best I've ever had the privilege of seeing. Here are my picks for the top 10 performances that I saw over the past 12 months, which fittingly were uncharacteristically easy to pick.
Concerts Attended:
4/14: Dance Gavin Dance/Periphery/Don Broco/Hail the Sun, The Palladium, Worcester, MA
5/14: Meshuggah/The Black Dahlia Murder, House of Blues, Boston, MA
5/25: Boston Calling Day 2 (Tame Impala/Hozier/Anderson. Paak/King Princess/Denzel Curry/Pile), Harvard Athletic Complex, Allston, MA
6/6 Coheed and Cambria/Mastodon/Every Time I Die, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion, Boston, MA
6/21: August Burns Red/Silverstein/Silent Planet, House of Blues, Boston, MA
9/6: Banks/Kevin Garrett, House of Blues, Boston, MA
9/12: Periphery/Veil of Maya/Covet, House of Blues, Boston, MA
9/20: Converge/Wound Man/Burden, Hardcore Stadium, Cambridge, MA
10/13: Vein/Higher Power/Buried Dreams/Silenus, The Middle East Downstairs, Cambridge, MA
11/25: As I Lay Dying/After the Burial/Emmure, House of Blues, Boston, MA
Honorable Mentions: After the Burial, Don Broco, Meshuggah, Periphery (9/12), Tame Impala
10.Veil of Maya: This might sound crazy, but having a clear sound mix can really do wonders for the quality of a live show. Shedding the sound issues that bogged down their set at Summer Slaughter last year shined a light on just how electric of a frontman vocalist Lukas Magyar is as well as how their bouncy, hooky new material really flourishes when it has a fully engaged audience to feed off.
9.Hozier: Being in the presence of immense vocal talent is something that I particularly cherish as a concertgoer and Hozier is without question among the best singers I've ever seen perform. His pseudo-headlining set at Boston Calling was a masterful exercise in minimalism that shined a much-deserved spotlight on the dynamic talent he and his band possess.
8.Converge: While it might not have been as wild as I had hoped a hometown show being held in an Elks Lodge would be, getting to see an iconic band return to their DIY roots by playing a super intimate show in an unapologetically scuzzy venue still made for an unforgettable experience.
7.The Black Dahlia Murder: Seeing The Black Dahlia Murder for the 10th time was just as magical as the first. Anybody looking for a blueprint on how to age gracefully and always deliver fun, balls-out performances-regardless of venue or billing-should take cues from these hardened death metal road warriors.
6.Denzel Curry: Getting a festival crowd riled up, especially in the middle of the day, is no easy feat. Energy is precious when you're spending so much time in the sun and there's a good chance that many people in the crowd have no clue who you are, so you're going to have to really bring it to generate any sort of notable reaction. By putting together a setlist driven by abrasive material ("Ultimate", "SUMO", several cuts from the then-unreleased ZUU) that showcased the overwhelming fire/technical ability he brings to the mic, Curry won the crowd over immediately and went onto get such an impassioned response that you could've easily mistook this set for a headlining gig. It was a beautiful moment in the rapid ascent of an exceptional young talent that is easily among the most exciting artists in hip-hop right now.
5.Banks: Another headlining tour, another show-stopping performance from the pop world's most unsung artist. With her powerful vocals free from the shackles of the somewhat uneven mixing that prevented the studio version from reaching its full potential, the material from her latest record III reached dizzying new heights live and her ability to create an immersive atmosphere that matches the mood of each song through lighting, choreography, etc. remains simply unreal.
4.Mastodon: Walking into a Mastodon show with any sort of expectations is a futile exercise. There's no way of knowing whether or not they're going to blow the roof off of the building or flood the venue with sloppy auditory excrement until about 10-15 seconds after they start playing. This consistent inconsistency makes the occasions like this where they do deliver particularly rewarding. Getting the majestic front-to-back performance of their 2009 prog epic masterpiece Crack the Skye that I was deprived off on the initial tour (thanks as always Brent Hinds!) they did in support of the record a decade ago was a spectacular gift I never expected to receive.
3.Dance Gavin Dance: Dance Gavin Dance is a no bullshit live act who wastes very little time doing crowdwork and just let's the music speak for itself. When that approach results in a performance that is so technically precise that it's damn near impossible to distinguish from their studio recordings, their lack of traditional engagement with the audience is not only forgivable, but welcome.
2.Vein: Nobody will ever be able to replicate the level of sheer chaos The Dillinger Escape Plan manufactured ever time they hit a stage, but Vein is easily the closest another act has come to harnessing their beautifully destructive aura. This hometown headlining show at the end of a lengthy tour was an exhilarating circus of carnage powered by the type of unrelenting intensity from both band and crowd that makes extreme metal shows such a distinctly visceral experience.
1.Coheed and Cambria: Seeing Coheed and Cambria perform with a few of my closest friends on a beautiful June evening on the Boston waterfront is about as good as life gets in my eyes. Outside of Between the Buried and Me, there isn't an act on the planet that consistently delivers from both a musical and entertainment standpoint than these New York-bred prog rock juggernauts. I hope to never see the day where even an ounce of their chill-inducing immensity and borderline inhuman skill as performers fades away.
Top Shows:
5.Banks/Kevin Garrett
4.Meshuggah/The Black Dahlia Murder
3.Periphery/Veil of Maya/Covet
2.Boston Calling
1.Coheed and Cambria/Mastodon/Every Time I Die
Biggest Surprises:
3.Silverstein
2.Tame Impala
1.Don Broco
Biggest Letdowns:
3.Anderson. Paak
2.August Burns Red
1.Periphery (4/14)
Artists I Hope to See in 2020:
5.Greyhaven
4.FKA twigs
3.SeeYouSpaceCowboy...
2.Allegaeon
1.Lana Del Rey
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