Fishpork’s 10 Favorite Shows of 2009

It was another full year of remarkable live shows in 2009, which was also not immune to a few train wrecks (Enon, Dan Deacon). Whether it was a cold and rainy night in Philly to see White Lies overcome a historically shitty venue to play a show for the ages or a late night train ride to the East Village to see Karin Dreijer Andersson’s Fever Ray outfit put on a visually stunning performance, this past year reinforced our music fandom. Here’s a list of our favorite shows of 2009:

1. White Lies @ First Unitarian Church
2. Grizzly Bear @ Trocadero
3. Fever Ray @ Webster Hall
4. Tapes N’ Tapes @ Johnny Brenda’s
5. Animal Collective @ Bowery Ballroom
6. Morrissey @ Carnegie Hall
7. Vic Chestnutt & Elf Power @ Bowery Ballroom
8. Autolux @ Johnny Brenda’s
9. Built to Spill @ SIREN Festival
10. Monsters of Folk @ United Palace
    

Least Favorite:

• Enon @ Johnny Brenda’s
• Dan Deacon/Deerhunter/No Age @ Fly W Airport
• NIN/JA @ PNC Bank Arts Center

Fishpork’s 50 Favorite Tracks of 2009

This year really didn’t end up being that “greatest of the decade” as January-March may have suggested. With that said, our favorite tracks list became very album-heavy as it evolved throughout the year. With seven tracks from Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear in the top 20, you kinda get the point. Here is our very biased list of favorite tracks from 2009:

1. HEALTH - “Die Slow”
2. Grizzly Bear - “While You Wait for the Others“
3. Animal Collective - “Summertime Clothes”
4. Fuck Buttons - “Olympians”
5. Built to Spill - “Things Fall Apart”
6. Animal Collective - “My Girls”
7. Fever Ray - “Concrete Walls”
8. Grizzly Bear - “Ready, Able“
9. White Lies - “Farewell to the Foreground”
10. Moderat - “New Error”
11. Atlas Sound - “Attic Lights”
12. Grizzly Bear - “Two Weeks“
13. Animal Collective - “Guy’s Eyes”
14. Fuck Buttons - “The Lisbon Maru”
15. Atlas Sound - “Walkabout”
16. Animal Collective - “What Would I Want? Sky”
17. Dredg - “Information”
18. White Lies - “Death”
19. Fever Ray - “Coconut”
20. Animal Collective - “Brothersport”
21. Built to Spill - “Good Ol’ Boredom”
22. MC Rut - “I Don’t Really Know”
23. The Mars Volta - “Since We’ve Been Wrong”
24. Modest Mouse - “The Whale Song”
25. Dirty Projectors - “Cannibal Resource”
26. Deerhunter - “Game of Diamonds”
27. Morrissey - “It’s Not Your Birthday Anymore”
28. Animal Collective - “I Think I Can”
29. HEALTH - “We Are Water”
30. Dredg - “Mourning This Morning”
31. Sufjan Stevens - “You Are the Blood”
32. Fuck Buttons - “Surf Solar”
33. Phoenix - “Girlfriend”
34. The Flaming Lips - “Silver Trembling Hands”
35. White Rabbits - “Rudie Fails”
36. The Mars Volta - “With Twilight As Our Guide”
37. Radiohead - “These Are My Twisted Words”
38. Great Northern - “Fingers”
39. Royksopp - “Tricky, Tricky”
40. Dirty Projectors - “Useful Chamber”
41. St. Vincent - “The Party”
42. YACHT - “Ring The Bell”
43. Bat For Lashes - “Sleep Alone”
44. Atlas Sound - “Sheila”
45. Washed Out - “Feel It All Around”
46. Das Racist - “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell”
47. Dirty Projectors - “Stillness Is The Move”
48. Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs - “Skeletons”
49. Great Northern - “Driveway”
50. Morrissey - “I’m OK By Myself”

The Fishpork 20: Favorite Albums of 2009

2009 started off as one of the strongest years for music in the decade but then slipped into a summer that left us scratching our heads and yearning for more. An impressive set of Fall releases surprised their way onto our Favorites List and cemented 2009 as a year that will impress music lovers in retrospect. These are our favorite albums from the past year:

1. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

2. Fever Ray - Fever Ray

3. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

4. Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport

5. Built to Spill - There Is No Enemy

6. Atlas Sound - Logos

7. Morrissey - Years of Refusal

8. Dredg - The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion

9. White Lies - To Lose Your Life

10. Moderat - Moderat

11. The Mars Volta - Octahedron

12. MC Rut - Middle Class Rut

13. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

14. Great Northern - Remind Me Where The Light Is

15. HEALTH - Get Color

16. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

17. The Flaming Lips - Embyronic

18. Bat For Lashes - Two Suns

19. Isis - Wavering Radiant

20. Royksopp - Junior

Most Disappointing Albums:

• Lotus Plaza - The Floodlight Collective
• Wilco - Wilco (The Album)

Fishpork’s 100 Favorite Tracks of the 2000s

This is an attempt at the impossible. Here are our 100 favorite songs of the past decade (featuring multiple tracks from Animal Collective, The Knife, Radiohead, and Elliott Smith). Our top two choices are more like 1a and 1b. Be patient, as the page needs to load the embedded songs.

1. Panda Bear - “Bros” (2007)

2. The Knife - “We Share Our Mother’s Health” (2006)

3. Animal Collective - “For Reverend Green” (2007)

4. Grizzly Bear - “While You Wait For The Others” (2009)

5. The Knife - “Heartbeats” (2003)

6. Grizzly Bear - “The Knife” (2005)

7. LCD Soundsystem - “Someone Great” (2007)

8. TV on the Radio - “Staring at the Sun” (2003)

9. Crystal Castles - “Crimewave” (2008)

10. Beirut - “Ciloqut” (2007)

11. Thom Yorke - “Harrowdown Hill

12. Animal Collective - “Derek” (2007)

13. Nine Inch Nails - “Me, I’m Not” (2007)

14. Beck - “Lonesome Tears” (2002)

15. At The Drive-in - “One Armed Scissor” (2004)

16. Animal Collective - “Grass” (2005)

17. Deerhunter - “Nothing Ever Happened” (2008)

18. Atlas Sound - “Recent Bedroom” (2008)

19. Panda Bear - “Comfy in Nautica” (2007)

20. System of a Down - “Chop Suey” (2001)

21. Animal Collective - “Peacebone” (2007)

22. Battles - “Atlas” (2007)

23. Error - “Jack the Ripper” (2004)

24. Enon - “Pleasure and the Privilege”

25. Elliott Smith - “Son of Sam” (2000)

26. Animal Collective - “Did You See the Words” (2005)

27. The Knife - “Marble House” (2006)

28. LCD Soundsystem - “All My Friends” (2007)

29. Thom Yorke - “Analyse” (2006)

30. The Flaming Lips - “Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell” (2002)

31. Girl Talk - “Smash Your Head” (2006)
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32. A Perfect Circle - “Judith” (2000)

33. Radiohead - “Idioteque” (2000)

34. Tapes N’ Tapes - “Manitoba” (2006)

35. TV On The Radio - “I Was A Lover” (2006)

36. Radiohead - “Reckoner” (2007)

37. Fever Ray - “Coconut” (2009)

38. Animal Collective - “My Girls” (2009)

39. Built to Spill - “Things Fall Apart” (2009)

40. Wilco - “I’m Trying to Break Your Heart” (2002)

41. Modest Mouse - “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes” (2000)

42. Animal Collective - “Leaf House” (2004)

43. Modeselektor - “Happy Birthday” (2007)

44. Arcade Fire - “Wake Up” (2004)

45. Autolux - “Blanket” (2004)

46. MGMT - “Time to Pretend” (2007)

47.  Built to Spill - “Conventional Wisdom” (2006)

48. Wilco - “Side With the Seeds” (2007)

49. Elliott Smith - “Happiness/The Gondola Man” (2000)

50. Avey Tare - “I’m Your Eagle Kisser” (2007)

51. Department of Eagles - “Waves of Rye” (2008)

52. Animal Collective - “Summertime Clothes” (2009)

53. Radiohead - “2+2 = 5″ (2003)

54. Dredg - “Sang Real” (2005)

55. While Lies - “Farewell to the Fairground” (2009)

56. Grizzly Bear - “Ready, Able” (2009)

57. Matisyahu - “King Without a Crown” (2005)

58. Modest Mouse - “Paper Thin Walls” (2000)

59. Dillinger Escape Plan - “When Good Dogs Do Bad Things” (2002)

60. Elliott Smith - “Twilight” (2004)

61. Deerhunter - “Flourescent Grey” (2007)

62. Holy Fuck - “Lovely Allen” (2007)

63. LCD Soundsystem - “Never As Tired As When I’m Waking Up” (2006)

64. The Notwist - “Boneless (Panda Bear Remix)” (2008)

65. Liars - “Nothing Is Ever Lost or Can Be Lost My Science Friend” (2004)

66. The Mars Volta - “Inertiatic E.S.P.” (2003)

67. The Notwist - “Solitaire” (2002)

68. Of Montreal - “The Past is a Grotesque Animal” (2007)

69. Queens of the Stone Age - “Tangled Up in Plaid” (2005)

70. Radiohead - “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” (2007)

71. Saul Williams - “Raised To Be Lowered” (2007)

72. Autolux - “Great Days for the Passenger Element” (2004)

73. Sigur Ros - “Untitled 8″ (2002)

74. Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs - “Maps” (2003)

75. Portishead - “Threads” (2008)

76. Sufjan Stevens - “Chicago” (2005)

77. Ugly Casanova - “Things I Don’t Remember” (2002)

78. Animal Collective - “Brothersport” (2009)

79. Radiohead - “Pyramid Song” (2001)

80. Nine Inch Nails - “Only” (2005)

81. El-P - “Flyentology” (2007)

82. Queens of the Stone Age - “No One Knows” (2002)

83. Ghostface Killah - “Shakey Dog” (2006)

84. Modest Mouse - “Missed the Boat” (2007)

85. UNKLE - “Persons and Machinery” (2007)

86. Amon Tobin - “Verbal” (2002)

87. The White Stripes - “Denial Twist” (2005)
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88. Tomahawk - “Captain Midnight” (2003)

89. Modest Mouse - “Bukowski” (2004)

90. Sigur Ros - “Hoppipolia” (2005)

92. Fuck Buttons - “Sweet Love For Planet Earth” (2008)

93. Bon Iver - “Skinny Love” (2008)

94. Built to Spill - “In Your Mind” (2001)

95. The White Stripes - “Icky Thump” (2007)

96. Does It Offend You, Yeah? - “We Are Rockstars” (2008)

97. Dub Trio - “Not Alone” (2006)

98. Modest Mouse - “The World At Large”

99. The Walkmen - “In the New Year” (2008)

100. Nine Inch Nails - “The Great Destroyer (Modwheelmood Remix)” (2007)

MP3s: “Good Ol’ Boredom” and “Life’s A Dream” by Built to Spill

2009 started off strong with a handful of epic releases. However, the last six months have seen a saturation of forgettable albums. Built To Spill quickly changes the mundane musical landscape of the summer with their seventh album, There Is No Enemy. “Hindsight” was the first song from the album to see daylight. The track was a standard BTS song that didn’t excite or disappoint. Next, Stereogum premiered “Things Fall Apart,” a devastatingly perfect track that instantly jumps near the top of the BTS catalog. Two more songs have made their way into cyberspace and confirm the anticipation for one of the year’s best releases. There Is No Enemy comes out 10/6. You can download “Good Ol’ Boredom” and “Life’s A Dream” or stream them below:

“Good Ol’ Boredom”

“Life’s A Dream”

Built To Spill @ The SIREN Festival

Built To Spill took the stage at 7:40pm on the West 10th Street main stage at the 9th annual SIREN Music Festival on Saturday and played a mind-blowing set that even the indie snobs could not complain about.  The free, all ages festival featured performances throughout the day on two outdoor stages in Coney Island.  The 10th Street Stage was right next to the world famous Cyclone, and it swirled over the heads of the crowd as Doug Martsch and company played for 90+ minutes.

The band opened with “Liar” and tore through their expansive catalog.  The last time I saw BTS they played Perfect From Now On from start to finish. Tt was a treat to hear classic tracks such as “Strange” and “Distopian Dream Girl” this time around.  Aside from some technical difficulties, the overall sound was excellent for a festival. BTS did have its share of guitar/sound problems, especially during “Goin’ Against Your Mind.” That performance was marred by Martsch’s  equipment failures to a point where the band almost stopped playing two minutes into the song.

Once they worked out their technical issues the band tore through a full set that had the crowd hanging from every surface available to catch a glimpse of the performance.  West 10th was packed all the way to Surf Avenue, and many chose to watch from the perimeter, which was lined with barbed wire fences and wooden barriers.  The band said little other than asking the audience to be patient as they focused on just playing the best they could instead of putting on some form of entertainment, sideshow banter.  As the sun set, the band closed their set with a inspiring and literally explosive performance of “Carry the Zero” with fireworks erupting in the sky behind the famous Wonder Wheel.

BTS are currently mixing the group’s seventh record titled There Is No Enemy in L.A.  The record is rumored to drop in early October. The always dismissive Martsch was recently asked about their new record and explained that there isn’t a need to rush and finish the record because “there are plenty of Built to Spill records– no one is in a hurry to hear something new.”  This is the same man that said their near flawless 2000 record Live “was not very good” as he promoted the album.  However, based on the adoring crowd that hung on barb wire fences, dodged the spinning rides more than 50 years old and watched from blocks away just to get a view of Martsch and company, there are plenty of fans awaiting the follow up to 2006’s You In Reverse.

Built to Spill will be back in NYC during the month of their new album release to play for more shows. Tickets will go on sale this Thursday. All tour dates and set list below:

2009 Tour Dates
Jul 25 - Capitol Hill Block Party Seattle, Washington
Aug 20 - Edge Field Troutdale, Oregon
Aug 23 - Sunset Junction Los Angeles, California
Aug 24 - The Casbah San Diego, California
Aug 25 - Galaxy Concert Theatre Santa Ana, California
Aug 26 - Belly UP Tavern Solana Beach, California
Aug 28 - Polo Field at Golden Gate Park San Francisco, California
Oct 12 - Webster Hall, NY, NY
Oct 13 - Webster Hall, NY, NY
Oct 14 - Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
Oct 15 - Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY

SIREN Set List:

Liar
Stab
Strange
Temporarily Blind
You Were Wrong
Goin’ Against Your Mind
Virginia Reel Around The Fountain
Distopian Dream Girl
Sidewalk
In Your Mind
Conventional Wisdom
Big Dipper
Carry The Zero

Fishpork’s Ten Favorite Shows of 2008

As a collective, Fishpork attended 15 live shows this year (and there are still two more: Of Montreal tomorrow and Crystal Castles on New Year’s Eve, both at the Music Hall of Williamsburg). Unfortunately, a band does not have complete control over how well received their live performance can be. This was the case with all bands that played in our least favorite venue of 2008: The Electric Factory in Philadelphia. Although Animal Collective managed to overcome the venue’s sound limitations the best, others were not so lucky (The Mars Volta, TV on the Radio, Of Montreal). Unless Jeff Mangum announces a show here, Fishpork will avoid it at all costs in 2009. Highlights of the year included an intoxicating performance by Deerhunter, a sweaty dance party curated by Girl Talk, and a 3am secret show by Modest Mouse. These were our favorite shows of 2008:

1. Deerhunter @ The Music Hall of Wiiliamsburg
2. Girl Talk @ Starlight Ballroom
3. Enon @ Hiro Ballroom
4. Modest Mouse @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
5. Built to Spill @ Terminal 5
6. Animal Collective @ Electric Factory
7. Nine Inch Nails @ Wachovia Center
8. Radiohead @ APW Festival
9. Saul Williams @ The Trocadero
10. Battles @ Johnny Brendas

Honorable Mention:

Holy Fuck @ Johnny Brendas
Crystal Castles @ Webster Hall
Health @ House of Blues
TV on the Radio @ Electric Factory
Of Montreal @ Electric Factory

Least Favorite Show of 2008

The Mars Volta @ Electric Factory

Favorite Live Venue of 2008

Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA

Least Favorite Venue of 2008

Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA

Built To Spill @ Terminal 5

The chance to hear a band perform arguably one of the best records ever written in its entirety does not come often.  For me, this was one of the most anticipated shows of the year.  Add on great line up of opening acts consisting of the Meat Puppets and Dinosaur Jr, and you just can’t miss.   Extensive touring is nothing new to Built to Spill and they decided to play a series of shows  in the middle of their current tour to play Perfect From Now On from start to finish. 

Built To Spill agreed to take part in the Don’t Look Back concert series which was started in 2005 and has featured Sonic Youth performing Daydream Nation and Girls Against Boys playing Venus Luxure No. 1 among others. However the first full fledged tour that I can remember in this genre was back in 2003 when Primus toured with a two set show.  The first set featured Sailing the Seas of Cheese in its entirety and the second a mix of new and old songs.  I saw this show at the Hammerstein Ballroom and it was a memorable show.  

When Built To Spill signed with Warner Bros. Martsch brokered a deal that allowed him to retain a large degree of creative control over future albums. Many artists that signed to major labels around that time were not able to pull that off.  BTS produced its first major label release which ended up being Perfect From Now On. The history of this album is near legendary.  The album was recorded three times.  Martsch played all instruments on the first try, but he did not like the sound so he invited Brett Nelson and Scott Plouf to help record.  This second attempt was finished save overdubs but a hot summer drive from Bosie to Seattle destroyed the tapes .  Left without any other options, the band continued to refine the album and recorded it a third time which was released to critical acclaim on January 28, 1997.   You can read more about the recording process here in a great archived interview with Martsch’s and PFNO producer Phil Ek.  

The show started right on time at 7:30.  The Meat Puppets put on a loud but decent set with their power chord garage sound.  Dinosaur Jr’s overall mix suffered a bit from the over-driven (and overdone) triple stack Marshall amps behind front man J. Mascis in this small venue.  I was actually concerned that BTS might suffer the same fate.  However, Martsch is known for his perfection tendencies and created a perfect sound for the set.  From the opening note of “Randy Describes Eternity” the band was crisp and replicated the album perfectly.  The crowd fervor was fueled with fire as Martsch sang the album mantra of ”I’m gonna be perfect from now on/I’m gonna be perfect starting now.” That moment put the show in proper perspective.  More than 11 years after its release, these songs sounded are relevant, important and perfect.

BTS only took breaks for a few technical difficulties.  After guitarist Jim Roth broke a string, Martsch apologized for the delay and joked that they “could not afford any roadies or guitar techs.”   At one point a cable from Martsch’s foot pedals died and he had to replace it mid-song.  Amazingly, despite the technical difficulties, they did not miss a beat throughout the entire recreation of PFNO.  The guitar intro to “Stop the Show” had a more brutal punch then on the record and had the crowd going crazy.   When asked about playing PFNO in its entirety Doug Martsch said:

“I’ve been enjoying playing it because I feel like we can do it live better than the record.  I listen to our record and the quality of my voice gives me shivers—bad shivers not good shivers—so being able to sing the songs a little bit more, the way I naturally sing, has been nice. And there are instrumental things that, live, I think we can make more intense.”

After finishing “Untrustable/Pt. 2 (About Someone Else),” the last track from PFNO, the band immediatly went into “Goin’ Against Your Mind” from You In Reverse before leaving the stage.  Martsch and company came back for two more songs, “Car” and “Virginia Reel Around The Fountain.” The latter turned into a exhilarating 15 minute jam with the Curt and Cris Kirkwood from the Meat Puppets and Dave Dreiwitz of Ween on bass.   I walked away on an emotional high and even more respect for Built To Spill.  Their performance was stellar and put this show in my top 10 of all time.  Doug Martsch and company are currently working on a new album which will hopefully see daylight by Spring 2009.