2013 Concert Year in Review
In 2013 I saw 38 concerts with 65 total bands. This was only one show less than 2012, and I missed two shows I had tickets for due to unexpected work travel (Bill Callahan) and a rare illness (Johnny Marr). I take my continued concert attendance as proof that I'm living well.
Roughly 3/4 of those bands were groups I had not seen before. Oh sure, I saw Cyrille Aimee two more times, and Mike Doughty, the Cleveland Orchestra, Esperanza Spaulding and others all reappeared, but they were far outnumbered by the bands I caught for the first time. I also saw a number of bands multiple times in 2013: The Cleveland Orchestra, Marnie Stern and Chuck Prophet.
As a special bonus, this year I actually wrote up capsules for each of the concerts I saw in my concert calendars, so if you want to know what I thought about any of the shows I saw on the dates closest to when I actually saw them, you just have to click the correct capsule!
First Four Capsules
The Cleveland Orchestra: with Joshua Bell and Franz Welser-Möst - R 1/17 - Severance Hall
Kronos Quartet - R 1/18 - Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art
Morrissey w/Kristeen Young - M 1/21 - Heinz Hall
Flogging Molly w/Skinny Lister - T 1/29 - House of Blues
Next Six Capsules
Cyrille Aimee & The Guitar Heroes - S 2/09 - Nighttown
Retribution Gospel Choir w/Relaxer - F 2/16 - Beachland Tavern
The Hives w/Ohio Civil War - Su 3/10 - House of Blues
Veronica Falls w/Cold Showers - W 3/13 - Beachland Tavern
Ana Moura - F 3/22 - Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art
Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band w/Jimbo Mathus, Alvin Youngblood Hart - S 3/23 - Beachland Ballroom
Next Five Capsules
Esperanza Spalding - Su 4/07 - Ohio Theater at Playhouse Square
Marnie Stern w/Meat - T 4/09 - Dionysus Disco
The Cleveland Orchestra: with James Feddeck: Carmina Burana - R 4/11 - Severance Hall
Silencio - S 4/27 - Beachland Ballroom
MIXup: Composition: John Cage: HPSCHD - F 5/03 - Cleveland Museum of Art
Next Eight Capsules
Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express w/Welshly Arms - W 5/15 - Beachland Ballroom
JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound - R 5/16 - Grog Shop
Buddy Guy - Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica - Su 5/26
Cyrille Aimee & The Guitar Heroes - R 6/06 - Nighttown
Rebirth Brass Band - S 6/08 - Beachland Ballroom
EMEFE w/Revolution Brass Band - T 6/25 - Beachland Tavern
Mingo Fishtrap - Su 6/30 - Beachland Tavern
Amadou & Mariam - W 7/03 - Cleveland Museum of Art Transformer Station
Next Three Capsules
David Byrne & St. Vincent - M 7/08 - Michigan Theater (Ann Arbor)
Belle and Sebastian w/Yo La Tengo - Stage AE (Pittsburgh) - S 7/13
Toro Y Moi - Grog Shop - T 7/16
Next Six Capsules
Wesley Bright & The Hi-Lites w/The Vallures - F 8/30 - Beachland Ballroom
The Cleveland Orchestra: Pixar in Concert - S 8/31 - Blossom
Studio-A-Rama 2013 - S 9/07
- Wingtones, Ma Holos, Tuk Peenersen & His Weinermen, Shitbox Jimmy, Smooth Brain, Blaka Watra, Home & Garden, Goldmines, Obnox, Mirrors, Mikal Cronin
Deerhunter w/Marnie Stern - W 9/11 - Beachland Ballroom
Pere Ubu w/Gagarin, This Moment in Black History - R 9/19 - Beachland Ballroom
Stars w/Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - R 9/26 - Beachland Ballroom
Last Seven Capsules
Robert Randolph & the Family Band - W 10/16 - Beachland Ballroom
Mike Doughty - T 10/22 - Beachland Ballroom
Mark O'Connor String Quartet - W 10/30 - Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art
Kate Nash - Su 11/03 - Beachland Ballroom
Chuck Prophet - W 11/06 - Beachland Tavern
Bela Fleck & Brooklyn Rider - T 11/12 - EJ Thomas
Yo-Yo Ma & Kathryn Stott - W 11/20 - Finney Chapel
This was a fantastic concert year for me. Only 4-5 shows weren't very good, and most of those were "disappointing" or "met expectations", not terrible. The only two headliners that descended to that depth of suckitude were Robert Randolph & the Family Band and Mingo Fishtrap; I'll give precedence to Randolph as worst show of the year because they've been around much longer, have a big following, and quite frankly shouldn't suck so badly. Honorable mention goes to Veronica Falls for phoning in what should have been a good show.
As far as the best shows go, it's a tough call. Here are the honorable mentions, which are all shows that were really great that I'll remember for a long time.
Cyrille Aimee & The Guitar Heroes (June show)
David Byrne & St. Vincent
Silencio
Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express
Pere Ubu
Stars w/Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Kronos Quartet
My top three shows are as follows:
[1] Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott at Finney Chapel is the unquestioned show of the year. I'll probably never sit that close to the stage for Yo-Yo Ma again, and even if I do I doubt he'll have the chemistry he did with Stott. I'll certainly go see him again to find out!
[2] Toro Y Moi at the Grog Shop was fantastic as well. As I've said before, their gig was as close to living in a beer commercial as I'll ever get; packed club, screaming fans, tight set, dancing.
[3] EMEFE takes the third slot with an incredibly intimate joyous show at the Beachland Tavern. The members of the band may have outnumbered the attendees, but they didn't care. They came to rock, and they did, concluding with a beautiful subdued number as they intermingled with the guests on the floor of the Tavern.
As far as openers go, Marnie Stern was much better as the opener for Deerhunter than she was as a headliner earlier in the year. Gagarin opened for Peru Ubu, but it was really just a different Dave Thomas band that was just as fun. The Vallures opened for Wesley Bright & the Hi-Lites and looked and sounded fantastic. Worst opener? Yo La Tengo. Ok, maybe they weren't the worst, but they certainly had the biggest gap between reputation and performance.
So that's 2013. May 2014 be just as awesome musically, and may you all join me at a show or two or five.
Roughly 3/4 of those bands were groups I had not seen before. Oh sure, I saw Cyrille Aimee two more times, and Mike Doughty, the Cleveland Orchestra, Esperanza Spaulding and others all reappeared, but they were far outnumbered by the bands I caught for the first time. I also saw a number of bands multiple times in 2013: The Cleveland Orchestra, Marnie Stern and Chuck Prophet.
As a special bonus, this year I actually wrote up capsules for each of the concerts I saw in my concert calendars, so if you want to know what I thought about any of the shows I saw on the dates closest to when I actually saw them, you just have to click the correct capsule!
First Four Capsules
The Cleveland Orchestra: with Joshua Bell and Franz Welser-Möst - R 1/17 - Severance Hall
Kronos Quartet - R 1/18 - Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art
Morrissey w/Kristeen Young - M 1/21 - Heinz Hall
Flogging Molly w/Skinny Lister - T 1/29 - House of Blues
Next Six Capsules
Cyrille Aimee & The Guitar Heroes - S 2/09 - Nighttown
Retribution Gospel Choir w/Relaxer - F 2/16 - Beachland Tavern
The Hives w/Ohio Civil War - Su 3/10 - House of Blues
Veronica Falls w/Cold Showers - W 3/13 - Beachland Tavern
Ana Moura - F 3/22 - Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art
Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band w/Jimbo Mathus, Alvin Youngblood Hart - S 3/23 - Beachland Ballroom
Next Five Capsules
Esperanza Spalding - Su 4/07 - Ohio Theater at Playhouse Square
Marnie Stern w/Meat - T 4/09 - Dionysus Disco
The Cleveland Orchestra: with James Feddeck: Carmina Burana - R 4/11 - Severance Hall
Silencio - S 4/27 - Beachland Ballroom
MIXup: Composition: John Cage: HPSCHD - F 5/03 - Cleveland Museum of Art
Next Eight Capsules
Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express w/Welshly Arms - W 5/15 - Beachland Ballroom
JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound - R 5/16 - Grog Shop
Buddy Guy - Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica - Su 5/26
Cyrille Aimee & The Guitar Heroes - R 6/06 - Nighttown
Rebirth Brass Band - S 6/08 - Beachland Ballroom
EMEFE w/Revolution Brass Band - T 6/25 - Beachland Tavern
Mingo Fishtrap - Su 6/30 - Beachland Tavern
Amadou & Mariam - W 7/03 - Cleveland Museum of Art Transformer Station
Next Three Capsules
David Byrne & St. Vincent - M 7/08 - Michigan Theater (Ann Arbor)
Belle and Sebastian w/Yo La Tengo - Stage AE (Pittsburgh) - S 7/13
Toro Y Moi - Grog Shop - T 7/16
Next Six Capsules
Wesley Bright & The Hi-Lites w/The Vallures - F 8/30 - Beachland Ballroom
The Cleveland Orchestra: Pixar in Concert - S 8/31 - Blossom
Studio-A-Rama 2013 - S 9/07
- Wingtones, Ma Holos, Tuk Peenersen & His Weinermen, Shitbox Jimmy, Smooth Brain, Blaka Watra, Home & Garden, Goldmines, Obnox, Mirrors, Mikal Cronin
Deerhunter w/Marnie Stern - W 9/11 - Beachland Ballroom
Pere Ubu w/Gagarin, This Moment in Black History - R 9/19 - Beachland Ballroom
Stars w/Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - R 9/26 - Beachland Ballroom
Last Seven Capsules
Robert Randolph & the Family Band - W 10/16 - Beachland Ballroom
Mike Doughty - T 10/22 - Beachland Ballroom
Mark O'Connor String Quartet - W 10/30 - Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art
Kate Nash - Su 11/03 - Beachland Ballroom
Chuck Prophet - W 11/06 - Beachland Tavern
Bela Fleck & Brooklyn Rider - T 11/12 - EJ Thomas
Yo-Yo Ma & Kathryn Stott - W 11/20 - Finney Chapel
This was a fantastic concert year for me. Only 4-5 shows weren't very good, and most of those were "disappointing" or "met expectations", not terrible. The only two headliners that descended to that depth of suckitude were Robert Randolph & the Family Band and Mingo Fishtrap; I'll give precedence to Randolph as worst show of the year because they've been around much longer, have a big following, and quite frankly shouldn't suck so badly. Honorable mention goes to Veronica Falls for phoning in what should have been a good show.
As far as the best shows go, it's a tough call. Here are the honorable mentions, which are all shows that were really great that I'll remember for a long time.
Cyrille Aimee & The Guitar Heroes (June show)
David Byrne & St. Vincent
Silencio
Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express
Pere Ubu
Stars w/Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Kronos Quartet
My top three shows are as follows:
[1] Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott at Finney Chapel is the unquestioned show of the year. I'll probably never sit that close to the stage for Yo-Yo Ma again, and even if I do I doubt he'll have the chemistry he did with Stott. I'll certainly go see him again to find out!
[2] Toro Y Moi at the Grog Shop was fantastic as well. As I've said before, their gig was as close to living in a beer commercial as I'll ever get; packed club, screaming fans, tight set, dancing.
[3] EMEFE takes the third slot with an incredibly intimate joyous show at the Beachland Tavern. The members of the band may have outnumbered the attendees, but they didn't care. They came to rock, and they did, concluding with a beautiful subdued number as they intermingled with the guests on the floor of the Tavern.
As far as openers go, Marnie Stern was much better as the opener for Deerhunter than she was as a headliner earlier in the year. Gagarin opened for Peru Ubu, but it was really just a different Dave Thomas band that was just as fun. The Vallures opened for Wesley Bright & the Hi-Lites and looked and sounded fantastic. Worst opener? Yo La Tengo. Ok, maybe they weren't the worst, but they certainly had the biggest gap between reputation and performance.
So that's 2013. May 2014 be just as awesome musically, and may you all join me at a show or two or five.