A look at my favorite live sets from the year that just was
By Las Vegas Weekly’s music editor Spencer Patterson
10. Dead Meadow, Bunkhouse, March 9: Seeing BJM’s Frankie “Teardrop” Emerson play with opening band Spindrift is fun; seeing Dead Meadow guitarist Jason Simon and bassist Steve Kille descend into the crowd during one of their band’s heavy psych jams is epic.
9. Liars, The Joint, October 25: Somewhere out there, well-dressed Interpol fans still have nightmares about Angus Andrews’ deviant stage persona and his group’s confrontational art-rock noise.
8. Deer Tick, Denny & Lee’s Magic Shop, June 21: A folk-rocker from Rhode Island outshines more celebrated billmates Castanets and Jana Hunter, with hardly anyone there to witness it.
7. Screaming Females, Bunkhouse, August 6: Chilling outside, I’m inescapably drawn to the bad-ass guitar playing and scathing singing indoors, which I soon discover both emanate from the incongruous body of tiny frontwoman Marissa Paternoster.
6. Daft Punk, Vegoose, October 27: Would have been much higher had I not already been mind-f--ked by the robot pair’s pyramid show at Coachella ’06.
5. Justice, Beauty Bar, September 9: Don’t tell me the post-VMAs afterparty is “only” a DJ set. Gaspard and Xavier—along with Ed Banger pals Busy P and So Me—keep the outdoor stage bouncing into the wee-est of hours, mostly with wildly remixed Justice originals.
4. A Place to Bury Strangers, Bunkhouse, December 1: Despite earplugs, my ears ring for the next two days. “I've Lived My Life to Stand in the Shadow of Your Heart” paired with downhill ski footage is the peak moment of an ultra-intense experience.
3. The Hold Steady, Beauty Bar, June 3: BBQ, PBR and group sing-alongs to Craig Finn’s gritty American anthems. What could say “Downtown” any better?
2. Björk, The Pearl, December 15: The Icelandic goddess’ Vegas debut is the perfect marriage of venue and performer, culminating a strong first concert year for the Palms’ imperial theater.
1. Roger Waters, MGM Grand Garden Arena, June 16: I’d never have expected to place an arena show in my pole position, but Waters earns the crown with a Floyd-filled night that maintains its high level of musicianship and energy throughout. He earned 4.5 stars from me at the time. He was robbed.
Honorable mention: The Berg Sans Nipple, House of Blues, June 7; Gogol Bordello, Vegoose, October 27; A Crowd of Small Adventures, Freakin’ Frog, September 29; Morrissey, The Pearl, September 21; Of Montreal, Art Bar, February 13; Prince, 3121, March 24; Rage Against the Machine, Vegoose, October 28; The Rapture, House of Blues, April 25; The Shins, The Joint, October 28; Silversun Pickups, The Joint, May 18; Justin Timberlake, MGM Grand Garden Arena, January 19.
Spencer Patterson is the music editor for Las Vegas Weekly. He can be reached at [email protected]