My buddy Dave did a favorite concerts list as part of his Top Albums of the Year list recently which made me re-think my own list (mostly because I had forgotten when some of the concerts that I went to had occurred).
So here is my updated Top 10 favorite concerts of 2018. Enjoy!
Here’s another end of year list. This one is of my top 10 favorite songs of the year. I have also included a link to Spotify for each song so that you will have the pleasure of listening to it as well.
Enjoy!
My 5 Favorite Concerts of 2018
1. @IronChicTheBand / @timesharesmusic / @dontmakeghosts
2. @ALLtheband / @descendents / @Drag_The_River / @scottwreynolds / The Last
3. @Descendents / @Radkey / #Hagfish
4. @smoking_popes
5. @AMDXKC— 🏴 Steve aka Otter 🏴 (@otter272) December 14, 2018
There was so much good music released this year. As I mentioned earlier this week in my 30 Records That May Have Fallen Under Your Radar This Year, there was so much that getting them on one list was a painful process. Like last year’s list, this year saw a lot of bands that I had not heard of before this year. Coming up with a top 20 this year but pretty difficult. When I first compiled the list and got to the point where I needed to narrow it down to a workable, postable list, I started with 40 but thought that was a little excessive so through painful reflection I got it narrowed down to 30. After looking over that list I began to wonder if I could get it down to 20. So after even more painful reflection, the gloves came off and the cuts started getting made. There were a lot of really great albums this year so this is by no means the only good albums that came out this year. Hell, you should see the number of albums that I started with before I started doing any cutting to begin with. It was enormous! Unfortunately, not everyone can make my top albums list.
What you see is the result of much internal deliberation.
So here it is, your favorite punk rocker’s end-of-year favorite albums list! Enjoy!
My Thirteen Favorite bands that hail from Chicago, Illinois. Listed here in alphabetical order.
1. ALKALINE TRIO
Formed in 1996 in the McHenry neighborhood, a suburb on the northwestern side of Chicago.
Links:
Official Website. MySpace page. Wiki article. Twitter page. Facebook page.
Essential Albums:
From Here to Infirmary (2000). Split with Hot Water Music (2002). Good Mourning (2003). Crimson (2005). This Addiction (2010).
2. BIG BLACK
Formed in 1981 in Evanston by singer/guitarist Steve Albini and former Naked
Raygun alumnus Santiago Durango and Jeff Pezzati.
Links:
Last.fm page. Wikipedia article.
Essential Albums:
Songs About Fucking (1987). Pigpile (1992).
3. DAN VAPID & THE CHEATS
Formed in 2011 by former Screeching Weasel guitarist/bassist Dan Vapid.
Links:
Official Website. Wikipedia article. Facebook page. Twitter page.
Essential Albums:
Dan Vapid and the Cheats. Two.
4. THE JESUS LIZARD
Technically, this shouldn’t be on this list as the band originally formed in
1987 in Austin but they did relocate to Chicago in 1989 and are pretty influential as far as Chicago rock goes.
Links:
MySpace page. Wikipedia article.
Essential Albums:
Pure (1989). Head (1990). Goat (1991).
5. THE METHADONES
Formed in 1993 by the aforementioned Dan Vapid.
Links:
MySpace page. Wikipedia article.
Essential Albums:
Ill At Ease (2001). The Methadones (2010).
6. MINISTRY
Formed in 1981, it was originally a synth pop band but quickly changed pace and turned into one of the pioneers of the American industrial music movement.
Links:
Official Website. Wikipedia article. Facebook page.
Essential Albums:
The Land of Rape and Honey (1988). The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste (1989). In Case You Didn’t Feel Like Showing Up (1990). Psalm 69 (1992).
7. NAKED RAYGUN
Highly influential punk rock band that formed in 1980.
Links:
Official website. MySpace. Last.fm. Facebook. Twitter. Wikipedia article.
Essential Albums:
Basement Sreams (1983). All Rise (1986). Jettison (1989). Raygun Naked Raygun (1990).
8. PEGBOY
Formed in 1990 by former Naked Raygun guitarist John Haggerty.
Links:
Facebook. Myspace. Last.fm. All Music. Wikipedia article.
Essential Albums:
Three-Chord Monte (1990). Strong Reaction (1991). Fore (1993).
9. RISE AGAINST
Punk rock band formed in 1999.
Links:
Official website. Facebook page. MySpace page. Twitter page. Last.fm page.
Wikipedia article.
Essential Albums:
Appeal to Reason (2008). Endgame (2011). Long Forgotten Songs (2013).
10. RIVERDALES
Punk rock band formed in 1994 by members of Screeching Weasel.
Links:
MySpace page. Wikipedia article. Facebook page. MySpace page.
Essential Albums:
Riverdales (1995). Phase 3 (2003).
11. SCREECHING WEASEL
Formed in 1986 in the Prospect Heights neighborhood.
Links:
Official website. Facebook page. Twitter page. Wikipedia article.
Essential Albums:
Boogadaboogadaboogada (1988). My Brain Hurts (1991). Anthem for a New Tomorrow (1993). Bark Like a Dog (1996).
12. SMOKING POPES
Formed in 1991 in the Lake of the Hills neighborhood of northwestern Chicago.
Links:
Official Website. Wiki article. Twitter page. Facebook page.
Essential Albums:
Get Fired (1993). Born to Quit (1995). Destination Failure (1997). Stay Down (2008). This Is Only a Test (2011).
13. VERUCA SALT
Alternative rock band that formed in 1993.
Links:
Official website. Facebook page. All Music page. Wikipedia article.
Essential Albums:
American Thighs (1994). Blow It Out Your Ass It’s Veruca Salt (1996). Eight Arms to Hold You (1997).
My favorite Xmas album is Duvall’s O Holy Night.
Tuesday, July 26, the Conservatory was graced by the presence of Chicago’s Smoking Popes. The Popes are currently on a short break from their tour with Alkaline Trio and on their way back home to Chicago to meet up with the Trio again.
This show was absolutely outstanding and I can say without a doubt in my mind that this is the best concert I have ever been to.
You see, I have been listening to the Popes for a long time. A really long time. I was in Chicago in the summer of 1993 when their debut album Get Fired was released. I was browsing around in the Wax Trax Records store there in Chicago and came across the CD in the local bands bin. I have to admit that I bought it primarily because I thought the name was cool but ever since my first listen of that CD I have been hooked.
This was the first time since I started listening to the Popes that I have been able to see them in concert and I am really glad that I was able to get off work to go check this show out because I was certainly not disappointed (aside from the low turn out that is).
Local band They Stay Dead opened up the night for us, playing a pretty healthy opening set of great songs that I’m sure we will all look forward to seeing on an upcoming intended full length album that they will recording soon. In fact, a little bird told me that they might be recording this album up in Tulsa with Stephen Egerton at his studio. That would be really awesome.
The next opening band was another local band called Fellowship Students. I’m not really going to say much about them. They are a little bit too experimental for my tastes. The crowd was into them though so I’ll give them that.
Then, the Popes finally took the stage. They were amazing. They were energetic and the song selection of their set list was just about perfect. I was told by another little bird that this set list is different from the set they play on the tour with the Trio because they were able to play a little bit longer here than on the tour.
They opened up with the 1st 2 songs from Destination Failure and then blasted into the 1st track from the new one This Is Only a Test. The show was a pretty good mixture of old and new songs and the crowd was into each and every one of the tunes they played. One of the highlights of the set was when the everyone from the band except Josh left the stage and Josh led the crowd in a low-key sing-a-long of the song “Pretty Pathetic” which is obviously a fan favorite (I have to admit that it is one of my favorites as well).
I wish there would have been more people at this show simply for the fact that I really wish more people could have experienced it for themselves. I can think of one person in particular that I really wish had been there. They know who they are, I don’t have to mention their name.
The music aside, the guys in the band are really some of the nicest guys you will ever meet. I got a chance to talk to them a little bit before the show at the record store next door and they are all really cool. I also got a chance to talk to them more in depth after the show. They were around for quite a while after the show to hang around and talk to people.
Quite frankly, all around, this show was a great experience for everyone that was there.
Here is a list of the songs that they played.
Star Struck One (from 1997’s Destination Failure)**
No More Smiles (from 1997’s Destination Failure)**
Wish We Were (from 2011s This Is Only A Test)**
Rubella (from 1994s Born to Quit)**
Can’t Find It (from 1997’s Destination Failure)
Paul (from 1997’s Destination Failure)
How Dangerous (from 2011s This is Only A Test)
Gotta Know Right Now (from 1994s Born to Quit)**
Let’s Hear It For Love (from 1993’s Born to Quit, also re-released on 1997s Destination Failure)
Writing a Letter (from the 1993 EP 2, also released on the 2010 compilation album It’s Been a Long Day)
Double Fisted Love (from 1993s Get Fired)
Punk Band (from 2011s This is Only A Test)**
Megan (from 1997’s Destination Failure)
First Time (from 2006s Stay Down)
Need You Around (from 1994s Born to Quit)**
Pretty Pathetic (from 1997’s Destination Failure)**
Brand New Hairstyle (from the 1991 EP Inoculator)**
I Know You Love Me (from 1997’s Destination Failure)
Last month, Dave (aka Lefty) reviewed the Smoking Pope’s album Born to Quit.
As I have mentioned several times in the past few days, the Chicago band, Smoking Popes are gracing Oklahoma City with their presence at the Conservatory on Tuesday, June 26.
This is my “dream” set list of their show. I know a couple of these won’t get played because in my interview with Josh earlier this week, he stated that the Pope’s don’t do Duvall songs. But one can dream, can’t he?
Brand New Hairstyle (from 1991s Inoculator)
Let’s Hear It For Love (from 1993s Get Fired)
Let Them Die (from 1993s Get Fired)
Not That Kind of Girlfriend (from 1993s Get Fired)
Rubella (from 1994s Born to Quit)
Need You Around (from 1994s Born to Quit)
Star Struck One/No More Smiles (from 1997s Destination Failure)
Before I’m Gone (from 1997s Destination Failure)
Pretty Pathetic (from 1997s Destination Failure)
Seven Lonely Days (from 2001s The Party’s Over)
The Moon Looks Like a Tomato (from 2001s Standing At the Door)
Racine (from 2003s Volume and Density)
Welcome to Janesville (from 2008s Stay Down)
If You Don’t Care (from 2008s Stay Down)
Wish You Were (from 2011s Wish We Were)
Punk Band (from 2011s Wish We Were)
Otter Limits 