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:
- White Lies @ First Unitarian Church
- Grizzly Bear @ Trocadero
- Fever Ray @ Webster Hall
- Tapes N’ Tapes @ Johnny Brenda’s
- Animal Collective @ Bowery Ballroom
- Morrissey @ Carnegie Hall
- Vic Chestnutt & Elf Power @ Bowery Ballroom
- Autolux @ Johnny Brenda’s
- Built to Spill @ SIREN Festival
- Monsters of Folk @ United Palace
Least Favorite:
Dan Deacon/Deerhunter/No Age @ Flying W Airport and Pool
As the crowds at All Points West waited in endless lines for a subpar bill, a few hundred lucky fans were treated to the down home amenities of the Flying W Airport and Pool Resort in the ultra-suburban town of Medford, NJ. The weather was perfect, the pool was blue and the tiki bar served ‘em up cold. The stars were aligned, and everything was in place for this to be the show of 2009 . . . then the music started. As a concept, the idea of a round robin concert where bands take turns playing their own songs seemed exciting. Rumors were swirling, and many were under the impression that the bands would collaborate on each other’s songs. R5 Productions, the promoters of the show, even advertised it as such.
We called Deerhunter’s performance last year at the Music Hall in Williamsburg, as well as the astonishing Microcastle LP, as our favorites in 2008. As huge fans of Deerhunter, it was a no-brainer that Fishpork would attend the festivities in Medford, especially after last year’s debacle at All Points West. In all fairness, APW did feature a breathtaking performance by Radiohead. This year’s lineup featured the geriatric-fied Beastie Boys (later replaced by Jay-Z), Tool and Cold Play, and we weren’t ready to spend $100 on a 20-minute Crystal Castles set.
At the Flying W, the problems arose with the incompatibility of the bands’ setlists and discographies, as well as the inaudible and raucous noise by the overrated and overweighted Dan Deacon, who seemed lost without his backing band. Unfortunately, this will most likely go down as the worst show of 2009. A good show exhibits a sense of flow and chemistry. Developing an effective set list is a skill. Songs need to fit together and feed off one another. Three distinctively different bands taking turns playing tracks from three distinctively different music vaults felt forced and unnatural. Upon experiencing the mellow sound of Deerhunter’s title track from Microcastle, the head-pounding, cocaine-induced “Snookered” by Dan Deacon broke down that previous exaltation and had me feeling confused and uncomfortable.
The bands also lacked chemistry with their verbal communication throughout the show. In between a double shot of Deerhunter tracks, Bradford Cox began telling a background story but was interupted by both bands. “This is the part of the show that only the artists enjoy,” joked Dan Deacon. “This is where you play a song, Bradford” was shouted from the No Age stage. At that point, I felt lucky to have only paid $12 for my ticket. It wasn’t until Dan Deacon decided to command his drug-induced followers to march to the parking lot in a single file line that we decided the gimmick was overpowering the music. At that point, I wondered if APW was still serving Longhammer or if Tool would be playing anything new. We left early.
Atlas Sound to Play New York/Philly in October
Bradford Cox (Deerhunter) will bring his solo act back to our area with October shows at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg and Philadelphia’s First Unitarian Church. Each show will be a co-headlining gig with UK electronic artists Broadcast. It’s been a busy year so far for Cox, who released Deerhunter’s Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP a few weeks ago and will release Logos, his second solo record in as many years this Fall. Deerhunter plays the Flying W Airport Resort in Medford, NJ this Saturday with Dan Deacon and No Age. Tickets are still available through TicketWeb here. Cox will also play with his band and as Atlas Sound at the Flaming Lips curated ATP New York show in September. Links to the Atlas Sound points of sale below:
Atlas Sound/Broadcast – First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, NY – October 18, 2009 (on sale now)
Atlas Sound/Broadcast – Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY – October 21, 2009 (on sale July 31 @ noon)
“Walkabout” by Atlas Sound (feat. Panda Bear)