Sunday 22 December 2013

The JLMA's 2013

It's time for the JLMA's 2013.

Wait, what?


Yes, the Jamie Live Music Awards.

Okay so every year on Twitter I liked to list my favorite live songs I've seen that year and then announce a winner. It's usually a huge task that drowns out my twitter feed for a lot of people that quite rightly don't care. So this year I'm doing it in a blogger post, complete with a little big about each track.

The rules are simple, only one song per show can be entered, although multiple tracks from one band can be entered if seen across different shows. Entrants are in date order.

So let's so this mothertruckers.

Brad - Screen, O2 Academy Islington, 10/2



Playing in London for the first time in the tiny O2 Academy, Brad's haunting 'Screen' slowly turned an audience of howling fans into stone cold silence with a hard-hitting performance that sent guitarist Stone Gossard into a frenzy

Bloc Party - Ares, London Olympia, 22/2



Bloc Party mainly seemed to be happy to be at the end of a long tour at their London show earlier this year, but that didn't stop a lively crowd from having the time of their lives. The best example of that was the burst of pure energy that is Ares.

The Gaslight Anthem - Keepsake, London Troxy, 29/3



Gaslight's second UK tour since the release of the fantastic Handwritten had them playing their latest material as if they were their biggest hits. Keepsake stole the show on this first night as it closed out the first set.

Biffy Clyro - Different People, O2 Arena, 3/4

 

Biffy's 26-track setlist for its Opposite tour was packed with powerhouse highlights, but its modest, innovative opener in Different People is a fantastic kick off and singalong.

Unida - Thorn, DesertFest, 27/4

 

The return of John Garcia's 'other' band to London this year must have gone about as well as the band had hoped for. The instantly-recognizable riff on Thorn sent a surge through the crowd that kept up through the rest of the set.

Mudhoney - Touch Me I'm Sick, The Forum 8/6



Finding much footage of Mudhoney's roof-raising show in London this year is a tough job, but these precious few seconds of Touch Me I'm Sick show why - the crowd has absolutely lost it.

The Hives - Hate To Say I Told You So, Download 2013, 15/6

 

 Just watch the video. No one else does it like The Hives.

 Biffy Clyro - Stingin' Belle, Reading Festival, 25/8

 

 Back on the Biff! The band's storming headliner to close Reading this year held this brain-ruining version of their best track off of Opposites. I was in pain by the end of this. Glorious pain.

 Soundgarden - Get On The Snake, Birmingham O2 Academy, 14/9

 

 Of the six times I've seen Cornell and co, this was easily the best. It's hard not to choose the thunderous versions of Rusty Cage and Slaves and Bulldozers here, but the head-thrashing riff behind the rarely-played Get On The Snake tops it all.

 Soundgarden - New Damage, Brixton Academy, 18/9

 

 Sadly all I can find of the incredible New Damage is posted in the last minute of this Black Hole Sun video (in which you can see my brother acting like an idiot as usual). Still, drony, powerful, engulfing. Soundgarden, basically.

 Soundgarden - Beyond The Wheel, Brixton Academy, 19/9

 

 Closing out their UK tour with the blurry, atmospheric delights of Beyond The Wheel was the perfect way to bid farewell to Soundgarden for another little while until Hellfest 2014 (!!!)

 Vista Chino - Thumb, Roundhouse, 2/11

 

 You might worry that after a name change from the original Kyuss, John Garcia and co would be a bit deflated. The above video proves exactly the opposite. This was one of the best gigs of the year and it's clear to see why.

 Alice In Chains - Rooster, Alexandra Palace, 9/11

 

 From the stomping Check My Brain to a brilliant surprise in Rotten Apple, it was nearly impossible to pick a winner from Alice In Chain's only London gig. So I went easy on myself and went for the immortal Rooster, which joined everyone in unison.

Queens of the Stone Age - Sick, Sick, Sick, Wembley Arena, 22/11

 

 Another tough one to pick, but Queens of The Stone Age took the first of their Wembley dates from incredible to out of this world with the last few songs that started with the violence that is Sick Sick Sick.

 Queens of the Stone Age - Better Living Through Chemistry, Wembley Arena 23/11

 

...and this did the same for the second night. BLTC's hypnotising melodies will steal your thoughts throughout its 10-minute guitarathon.

 Stereophonics - Stopped To Fill My Car Up, O2 Arena, 28/11

 

 Their latest album and string of live shows continued to prove that Stereophonics are a criminally underrated band. This performance of a true classic kicks in with a solo of epic proportions at the end.

 Pearl Jam - Spin The Black Circle, Seattle Key Arena, 6/12

 

I'm choosing this like a band aid and ripping it off otherwise I'll be here all day deciding. I totally and utterly lost my mind during this performance of one of my favorite songs on my favorite album. But also Kick Out The Jams.

 And so, finally.

The winner?

 Uh... UH... UHM...

 

 No wait!

 

 Oh... alright just chose a Pearl Jam song.

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