Fishpork’s 10 Favorite Shows of 2010
2010 will be remembered as the year we saw Jeff Mangum play five songs. It’s hard to compare that experience even in a year that was loaded with unforgettable performances. Deerhunter solidified themselves as Fishpork elite, Arcade Fire showed why some consider them the best band on the planet, and James Murphy all but burned down NYC. Here’s is our very biased list of our favorite shows of 2010:
1. Jeff Mangum @ Le Poisson Rouge
2. Deerhunter @ Starlight Ballroom
4. LCD Soundsystem @ Terminal 5
5. Arcade Fire/Spoon @ The Mann Center
6. Tobacco @ First Unitarian Church
7. Atoms For Peace @ Roseland Ballroom
8. Owen Pallett @ Bowery Ballroom
9. Modest Mouse @ Williamsburg Waterfront
10. Faith No More @ Williamsburg Waterfront
The Fishpork 20: Favorite Albums of 2010
We’re wondering if the end-of-the-year list makers have actually listened to Sufjan’s Steven’s The Age of Adz more than once (or even at all). It’s truly and unquestionably our favorite release for 2010. While we enjoyed some of the popular choices (This Is Happening, Halcyon Digest, The Suburbs, etc.) just as much as the next guy, there were some less popular albums that we really appreciated over the past 12 months (Down There, DISCO2, Shame, Shame). And is there any reason why a soundtrack cannot get some love? Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross may be the reason why The Social Network wins a Best Picture Oscar this year! Here are our favorite 20 albums of a tremendous year for music:
1. Sufjan Stevens – The Age of Adz
2. LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening
3. Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles II
4. Caribou – Swim
5. The National – High Violet
6. Avey Tare – Down There
7. Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
8. Owen Pallett – Heartland
9. HEALTH – DISCO2
10. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
11. Yeasayer – Odd Blood
12. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – The Social Network
13. Jonsi – Go
14. Dr. Dog – Shame, Shame
15. Girl Talk – All Day
16. Vampire Weekend – Contra
17. The Magnetic Fields – Realism
18. Holy Fuck – Latin
19. The Walkmen – Lisbon
20. Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
Honorable Mention:
Seven Fields of Aphelion – Periphery
Most Disappointing Albums of 2010:
Elf Power – Elf Power
MGMT – Congratulations
Of Montreal – False Priest
Fishpork’s 50 Favorite Tracks of 2010
2010 started off strong, producing some of our favorite tracks off the summer playlist. As the weather heated up, things fell into a summer doldrum. Now, as we develop our end-of-the-year lists, we’re finding the year coming to a conspicuous end. Similar to 2009, the list is somewhat album-heavy, as we were drawn to several stand-out records among our favorite artists. Here is our very biased list of our 50 favorite tracks from 2010 (give the page a minute to load the SoundClouds):
1. LCD Soundsystem – “Dance Yrself Clean”
2. Caribou – “Odessa”
3. Sufjan Stevens – “I Walked”
4. Deerhunter – “Helicopter”
5. HEALTH – “USA Boys”
6. LCD Soundsystem – “I Can Change”
7. Crystal Castles – “Empathy”
8. Avey Tare – “Laughing Hieroglyphic”
9. Broken Social Scene – ‘World Sick”
10. Owen Pallett – “Lewis Takes Off His Shirt”
11. The National – “Afraid of Everyone”
12. Autolux – “Transit, Transit”
13. Sufjan Stevens – “Impossible Soul”
14. Jonsi – “Boy Lilikoi”
15. Arcade Fire – “The Suburbs”
16. Sufjan Stevens – “Vesuvius”
17. Caribou – “Jamelia”
18. Crystal Castles – “Not In Love (feat. Robert Smith)”
19. Beach House – “Norway”
20. Arcade Fire – “We Used To Wait”
21. The Black Keys – Tighten Up
22. Yeasayer – “Mondegreen”
23. Deerhunter – “He Would Have Laughed”
24. Owen Pallett – “Midnight Directives”
25. The National – “Bloodbuzz Ohio”
26. Crystal Castles – “Vietnam”
27. How To Destroy Angels – “Fur-Lined”
28. The National – “Terrible Love”
29. Sufjan Stevens – “Too Much”
30. White Lies – “Bigger Than Us”
31. Panda Bear – “Slow Motion”
32. Avey Tare – “Lucky 1″
33. Liars – “Scarecrows on a Killer Slant”
34. Dr. Dog – “Jackie Wants A Black Eye”
35. Ratatat – “Party With Children”
36. Tobacco – “Lamborghini Meltdown”
37. The Walkmen – “Angela Surf City”
38. Middle Class Rut – “New Low”
39. HEALTH – “Before Tigers (Gold Panda Remix)”
40. Four Tet – “Plastic People”
41. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – “Bright Lit Blue Skies”
42. Jonsi – “Tornado”
43. Menomena – “Five Little Rooms”
44. Yeasayer – “ONE”
45. Of Montreal – “Like a Tourist”
46. Matthew Dear – “You Put a Smell On Me”
47. Delta Spirit – “Bushwick Blues”
48. Avey Tare – “Oliver Twist”
49. MGMT – “Flash Delirium”
50. Flying Lotus – “…And The World Laughs With You (Ft. Thom Yorke)”
Owen Pallett @ Bowery Ballroom
Most of what has been written in the past about a Final Fantasy show was straightforward and void of expectation. However, after the now famous video of Pallett playing “Lewis Takes Off His Shirt” at the Canadian Hillside Festival during a torrential thunderstorm as the stage crew desperately tries to pull him from the stage mid-song, raised the bar through the roof. His defiance and passion to continue the emotional performance as the rain pours down, is powerful enough to lift up the hair on your arms.
With last week’s release of his new concept record Heartland, Owen Pallett left his former moniker behind and now brings this new level of musical complexity and narrative storytelling to the stage. His performance is usually a one man show with Pallett playing violin and keyboards through a loop petal while singing to construct a live symphony. This time around he is joined by Thomas Gill, rounding out the sound with percussion, guitar and backing vocal harmonies. His Bowery Ballroom performance this past Monday left no room for doubt that Owen Pallet is a brilliant performer and only affirms the excellence put forth in his records. They feature compositions mixing classical music with tastefully constructed pop hooks and vocal melodies.
If you closed your eyes for a moment you could imagine a symphony of performers before you at any point of the show, while after each song Pallett softly thanked the crowd. The sheer simplicity mixed with the complex nature of recreating his arrangements stunned the Bowery crowd. Pallet’s vocals stood out in the live setting. Combining these elements, Pallet put on a 60-minute set with songs pleasing to new and old fans alike. His performance of “This is a The Dream of Emma & Cam” from 2006′s Young Canadian Mothers 7″ and the aforementioned “Lewis Takes Action” from his latest record were standouts.
Owen Pallet effortlessly recreated his complex arrangements from his impressive discography. Whether it’s the pizzicato plucking or the deep bellow of low string bass lines, down to the classical drawing of the bow over the violin strings tuned to their perfect fifths — the sound is resonant and unabridged and is complemented by the perfect key of his vocals. The charm and allure of his performance is inescapable. This was one of only three U.S. stops as part of a seven-show ”Heartland CD release tour” before a full tour of his native Canada. With so much buzz surrounding his new record, Pallett is sure to be back in the States later this year. Below are a few videos posted from the show: