My Top 10 Concerts

I love live music. I love it hard. From packed out stadiums to cramped pubs, there's no better way to spend a day/evening than dancing like a loon and singing along so loudly you can't talk afterwards. I've been to many, many gigs and have had some of the best experiences of my life at many of them. Picking my 10 favorite shows isn't easy, but there are a handful that stand out from the rest for one reason or another. Here they are (along with some extras I couldn't go without mentioning).

Honorable Mentions: Truckfighters, The Underworld, London,  08/03/14 

Weezer, Brixton Academy, London, 06/07/11

The Hives, Roundhouse, London, 14/12/12

Sandrider, Easy Street Records, Seattle, 05/12/14

Metallica, Download Festival, Donnington, 09/06/12

Chris Cornell, The Palladium, London 18/06/12

10. Stereophonics, HMV Hammersmith Apollo, London, 18/10/10 – I’ve seen the Stereophonics 8 times. They’re always great but, sadly, the crowds are usually the worst kind. Fussy, miserable, and completely silent until the band plays Dakota. That wasn’t the case for the band’s playthrough of 90’s hit Perfomance and Cocktails. Not only was the crowd energetic and enthusiastic but the band played one of its best setlists ever.

Best tracks: Roll Up and Shine/Stopped To Fill My Car Up

9. Vista Chino, Roundhouse, London 02/11/13 – The band formelly known as Kyuss Lives! And Kyuss before that always delivers a powerhouse show, but this return to London post-rebranding was especially potent. A solid new album but welcome stopgaps between immortal stoner ballads. The band knows how to pace a setlist, with its Thumb/Green Machine/Freedom Run closing out the first set in style. It speaks volumes about Welcome to Sky Valley that the band simply need pick any song from it for a rousing finisher.

Best tracks: Thumb/Green Machine/Odyssey

8. Soundgarden, Hyde Park, London, 13/07/12 – For most outdoor shows, you dream of perfect weather to compliment some happy-go-lucky tunes. In Soundgarden’s case you want torrential downpour, and that’s what we got. Chris Cornell bravely stepping into the weather to sing Outshined with a crowd of muddy, energetic fans was one of the coolest things a front man has done.

Best tracks: Outshined/Beyond the Wheel/4^th of July

7. Mudhoney, The Forum, London, 08/06/13 – There is no sense to make of a Mudhoney show. It is an explosion of chaotic, exhausting thrashing and the most insane amount of fun someone can have when going to a concert. The Forum show was no exception.

Best tracks: Touch Me I’m Sick/Suck You Dry

6. Wolfmother, HMV Forum, London, 01/06/11 – Sometimes a show can really be enhanced by knowing that you’re showing the band how it’s done. Wolfmother were floored by the reaction to their 2011 London show, and it only pushed them to play all the harder. It was a show that featured the best setlist the band’s ever put on, including a little Stairway to Heaven improvisation, Baba O’Riley cover, last-minute Love Train request and a healthy amount of their excellent second album, Cosmic Egg.

Best tracks: White Unicorn/Baba O'Riley/Apple Tree

5. Pearl Jam, Manchester Arena, Manchester, 21/06/12 – Pearl Jam’s two-show stunner in Manchester in 2012 meant a lot to me. It was the first time I was going to see the band after they’d changed my life years ago. I’d been dreaming of this moment for two years and it didn’t disappoint. The first night was an incredible experience but it was the second of the two that won out, with an expertly paced string of hits and rarities that crossed off many of the songs I’d dreamt of hearing. Hearing Go ring out at the start of a concert is an immeadiate rush like no other.

Best tracks: Animal/Lukin/Off He Goes

4. Foo Fighters, Reading Festival, Reading, 26/08/12 – As a huge Foo Fighters fan, I’ve always felt a little let down by the band’s hit-heavy setlists. There’s not a bad song on their shows but they’re all the same and it ignores their extensive and excellent back catalogue. Reading 2012 changed all that, revisiting some of the band’s heaviest and best early material in a 3 hour marathon show that proved that they could put on some of the best gigs on the planet.

Best tracks: White Limo/Watershed/I'll Stick Around

3. Pearl Jam, Key Arena, Seattle 06/12/13 – Seeing my favourite band in their hometown on the last show of an extensive US tour after the release of an incredible new album? It was every bit what I wanted it to be and more. After an amazing week in Seattle I got to see a 37 track stunner with all the best cuts on the new album, cherry-picked hits and an incredible string of immortal Ten-era ballads.

Best tracks: Mind Your Manners/Spin The Black Circle/Chloe Dancer

2. Soundgarden, 02 Academy, Birmingham, 14/12/13 – Packed into a tiny room, Soundgarden brought a fast, fun show to a crowd of fans that were hungry to see a band that had been away for far, far too long. The featured some of the best renditions of the band’s staple material, including an incredible take on Slaves and Bulldozers that sent the entire venue into some sort of frenzy. Bassist Ben might not have been happy (he walked off during the first set closer) but the rest of the band was on form and delivered the best Soundgarden show they could.

Best tracks: Get On The Snake/Slaves And Bulldozers/Worse Dreams

1. Pearl Jam, Hyde Park, London, 25/06/10 – And this is where it all started. On June 25^th 2010 I casually trotted over to Hyde Park to waste the day at a festival I’d bought tickets for to see Wolfmother, who had pulled out a number of weeks before. Still, I’d heard these Pearl Jam guys were alright. Oh boy. What I was treated to was the most incredible experience in my life. The best came out and the enormous crowd was driven insane in the first few moments. The band gives all it can at every moment – throwing Even Flow out in the middle of a set. If you don’t know PJ concerts, then you assume its almost home time when they first walk off. The reality is that that’s just the half way point and you’ve got another hour or so before the whole of Hyde Park is roaring through Alive with as much energy as when the band first walked on. I left that day with my mind blown and my life changed.

Best tracks: Even Flow/Go/Alive