2005 Year End Review: Live Show Highlights

What year-end review is complete without a look back at the great shows that I saw in 2005. Experiences range from fire alarms being tripped during performances to return-to-form comeback performances from mainstay alternative artists to irritating mosh-pit inducing harmonics from audience members falsing believing themselves to be great singers to partaking in a goofy rendition of "The Hokey-Pokey" and a game of "Limbo" during an encore, and just about everything inbetween. So, here it is, my favorite shows of the year (in no order of preference):

1. Frozen Rabbit, May 2005 at Capitol Hil Arts Center: Blissful ambience from experimental performer Phil Western (who collaborated with Cevin Key (Skinny Puppy) on Cevin's ongoing side project, Download). About 20 minutes into the set, Brian (who ran the now-defunct online label, Flesh Eating Ants) accidentally hit the fire alarm, causing a mere 20 people (including staff working the show) to exit prematurely out of the venue. Firetrucks arrived approximately 30 minutes later. After this minor delay, Frozen Rabbit finished their sonic journey without further trouble.

2. Dead Can Dance, Sept. 17th at Paramount Theatre: After 7 years apart, the magnificent duo of Brendan Perry and Oscar-nominated performer Lisa Gerrard graced their presence in Seattle. The eagerly anticipated return of DCD sold out every single show on their spring European tour. As walys, their music was incredibly gorgeous, almost like they never disbanded in the first place. Their 2-hour set included a few new songs (at least they were songs that I didn't recognize) like Crescent and Hymn for the Fallen, which further sealed their fate as being one of the greatest live experiences ever witnessed. The haunting How Fortunate The Man With None brought tears streaming down my face. This show is one of a few shows that I'll never forget. The performance was recorded and made into limited edition live recordings. Of course, I bought a copy. How could I not?

3. Bauhaus, Oct. 14th at Paramount Theatre: 80s Goth rockers returned for their second reunion tour. Their set contains all of my favorite classics, such as Kick in the Eye, Bela Lugosi is Dead, She's in Parties, Swing The Heartache, and more. Despite the fact that vocalist Peter Murphy was dealing with a bout of sickness, Bauhaus never ceased to disappoint throughout the entire show. Double Dare, to my disappointment, was not performed, but that didn't detract from their overall performance.

4. Bob Mould, October at Neumos: See Thurs. Dec. 29th @ 8:21 a.m. blog entry

5. Chicks on Speed, Nov. 14th at Chop Suey: The art electro-rock trio Chicks on Speed put on another fun performance at Chop Suey. Of course, they played their rendition of Cracker's Euro Trash Girl, which is my favorite song from CoS' repertoire. This particular contained one of the more interesting and fun encores I've ever eyewitnessed at an electro rock show. Vocalist Melissa led a rendition of the Hokey Pokey song, which brought an excited display of audience participation. A free-spirited game of Limbo soon followed.

6. Antony and the Johnsons, two shows - April at On The Boards, Seattle and Sept. at the TBA Festival, Portland, OR: Antony brought his charisma and beautiful voice to two incredible performances this year. The first performance was at On The Boards, where Coco Rosie, William Barinski, and Devendra Banhart opened (unfortunately, I missed the opening performances because I was dinking around downtown, losing track of time). All of them joined in for a song or two during Antony's set. Antony's hauntingly beautiful vocals mesmerized everyone in the room with a graceful sadness. Antony proved to this fan that he is genuinely gifted, a bright star gracing the dark clouds of the current musical landscape. The second performance was part of Portland's annual art festival sponsored by PICA (Portland Institute of Contemporary Arts), the TBA Festival, which also brought Diamanda Galas' two incredible performances in 2004. Unfortunately, Antony was struggling with being under the weather, which made this second performance a short, but equally powerful performance, ending the set with my 2nd favorite song of the year, the haunting and gorgeous Hope There's Someone. That show was also where I met a nice woman by the name of Mary, whose enthusiasm of seeing Antony made the evening a perfect affair.

7. Neurosis with Jarboe, January at Neumos: The beginning of 2005 finally brought me my first Neurosis musical experience. In support of their Eye of Every Storm release and their collaboration with ex-SWANS vocalist, Jarboe, the ferocious sonic performance of Neurosis was one of the more powerful performances of the year. Jarboe joined in midway through the main set, starting with the incredible song Within. Jarboe's intense vocals added a new dimension to the Neurosis sound, while holding her own with the noise rock titans.

8. Wooden Octupus Skull experimental music festival, Sept. at ReBar and The Baltic Room: Review forthcoming

9. Adult., Nov. 16th at Chop Suey: In support of their newest release, Gimmie Trouble, Adult. (with the addition of newest member, Sam) rocked the crowd at Chop Suey with Nicola Kuperus's snarling vocal stylings and synth punk rock hooks. Sam proved to be a much welcomed addition to the Adult. sound, while Nicola displayed her best Siouxsie Sioux impression on new and old Adult. tracks. When their electroclash hit Hand To Phone was requested, Nicola politely declined, which didn't remotely surprise me. She engaged the audience with her mesmerizing vocals while whipping around on the floor with her diehard fans. Adult. never ceases to please their audiences with their unique brand of electro punk.

10. An Evening of Improv with Bill Rieflin, Peter Buck, Robert Fripp, Hector Zazou, Matt Chamberlain, November at Crocodile Cafe: This unique improvisational supergroup entertained its audience members with three long ambient soundscapes, lasting between 25 and 40 minutes a piece. I never thought that I would see these phenomenal musicians all together in one place. This performance was one of my favorites of the year. The grooves and atmospherics created were slumber-inducing and mesmerizing in scope.