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Favorite Concerts of 2012
Well, this year was once again good to the Pacific Northwest on the concert front… 366 days, 85 shows, 144 artists, many long nights driving home, and a lot of photos… my best albums lists will likely push off into mid-January (due to being busy & heading out on vacation), but here are my favorite concerts of 2012…
My favorite concerts of 2012:
- Secret Chiefs 3 :: WOW Hall :: Eugene, OR {6 Feb} [review with photos] – I saw them twice on this tour, and both shows were great. The Eugene show gets the nod mainly because it was first in the order. :)
- Roger Waters presents Pink Floyd’s The Wall:: Rose Garden :: Portland, OR {22 May} [review with photos] – Wow. I don’t even think The Wall is in my Top 5 of Pink Floyd albums, but holy cow, this was an amazing show. Truly stunning.
- Radiohead :: Key Arena :: Seattle, WA {9 Apr} [review with photos] – A phenomenal band that keeps making me drive multiple hours anytime I want to see them! I’ll gladly continue, though.
- Sufjan Stevens presents the Surfjohn Stevens Christmas Sing-A-Long: Seasonal Affective Disorder Yuletide Disaster Pageant On Ice :: Aladdin Theater :: Portland, OR {6 Dec} [review with photos] – I hate Christmas music, but this spectacle of wonderment warmed me over.
- Puscifer :: Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall :: Portland, OR {14 Mar} [review with photos] – A wine tasting and a concert from rock’s favorite frontman? Yes, please.
- Seun Kuti & the Egypt 80 :: WOW Hall :: Eugene, OR {18 Mar} [review with photos] – I love Nigerian music, and anyone with the last name of “Kuti” should come with a mandate that you go to the show.
- “Weird Al” Yankovic :: Lane County Fairgrounds :: Eugene, OR {18 Aug} [review with photos] – A long, many be-suited set of songs. Saying it was a “fun time” would be an understatement.
- Over the Rhine :: The Triple Door :: Seattle, WA {17 Nov} [review with photos] – It had been too long since seeing Over the Rhine (a year). I got spoiled when I lived in Cincinnati; so now Ive got to get my OTR fix when I can. This was a gorgeous night.
- Levi Weaver :: my house :: Eugene, OR {16 Jul} [review with photos] – Going to an intimate house concert is great. I recommend it. Hosting an intimate house concert – doubly so!
- Peter Mulvey & Kris Delmhorst :: 3 venues :: 3 Oregon cities {17-19 Oct} [recap with photos] – Story time from two stupendous singer-songwriters.
- Dan Deacon :: Hawthorne Theatre :: Portland, OR {25 Oct} [recap with photos] – Dancing some asses off.
- Sigur Rós :: Edgefield :: Portland, OR {9 Aug} [review] – This was my first time at Edgefield and also my first time seeing Sigur Rós in an outdoor venue. Plus side on a great venue, but a slight knock for loving how Sigur Rós works within a theater setting. A great show regardless of venue, though.
- Fiona Apple :: Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall :: Portland, OR {26 Jul} [review] – A bit spastic, but a phenomenal performer. A mix of her new and old tunes, truly great show!
- Nellie McKay :: The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts :: Eugene, OR {2 Mar} [review with photos] – I saw her four times this year, and they all rank well. I’ll see Nellie any time she comes through. She’s always a delight!
- Portland Cello Project plays Radiohead’s OK Computer :: The Majestic Theatre :: Corvallis, OR {21 Sep} [setlist] – While I would have gone a different route than a men chorus for the vocal aspect (i.e. the one song with a regular vocalist was the best one), this was a very special night.
Runners-Up: My Brightest Diamond in Tacoma (Sep) – only because it was a short set, Penn & Teller in Vegas (Jan), Cirque du Soleil’s Zumanity in Vegas (Jan), Trevor Dunn & Travis LaPlante at the Wandering Goat (Jan), and Skerik’s Bandalabra at Cozmic (Mar).
Disappointment: the absurd volume of Jack White at the Hult Center (May).
My favorite concert photos of 2012: (in chronological order)
(all images are free to use under a creative commons designation,
simply identify Daniel Temmesfeld with a
photo credit and link to pacificlectic.com.
Past Favorite Concerts Lists:
- Favorite Concerts 2011
- Favorite Concerts 2010
- Favorite Concerts 2009
- Favorite Concerts 2008
- Favorite Concerts 2007
Favorite music of 2012 will be coming in a few weeks (unless I can squeak them out sooner)… EPs/DVDs/etc, vocal albums, instrumental albums…
~Dan – np: George Hrab – Coelacanth
REVIEW: Roger Waters presents Pink Floyd’s The Wall Live @ Rose Garden (Portland, OR – 5/22/12)
Above Photos: Roger Waters ‘The Wall Live’ at the Rose Garden on 5/22/12
by Kevin Tomanka (more at Oregon Music News)
FYI… my PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
The spectacle, the brilliance that is Pink Floyd & The Wall Live… I sadly never got a chance to see Pink Floyd perform together, but seeing Roger Waters bring The Wall to us 30+ years later was still quite the treat. It’s not my favorite album of theirs… I love Wish You Were Here, Dark Side of the Moon and Meddle a bit better, and before the show you’d have caught me saying things like “The Wall is quite overrated.” Well, after the show, I still think the album is a bit overrated, but my opinion has definitely appreciated.
And the live show… holy smokes! Amazing!!!
There was no opener; so the show started fairly promptly (8:15pm). Wide stage with the start of the wall, a tape intro, then BANG… In the Flesh with fire, sparks, projected graffiti animation on the walls, an airplane flying in from mid-crowd ceiling crashing and bursting into flames just beyond the wall… whoa! We were in for a SHOW!
The show featured several other blow up accoutrements… an evil schoolmaster during the school children song (local school children were used), a war pig, and another creature. The imagery from the original The Wall movie was used in addition to a lot of modernized imagery and animations. For “Mother,” Roger played with himself… a 1980’s Earl’s Court version of himself, that is.
The Wall went up slowly as the band went on… the second set, the band was primarily behind the wall, with Roger coming out to sing for a few tunes. At the end… huge explosion and down it came! They played The Wall in its entirety, no encore.
Setlist: just shy of 2 hours total
- Set 1: Outside the Wall [Tape]
- In the Flesh?
- The Thin Ice
- Another Brick in the Wall Part 1
- The Happiest Days of Our Lives
- Another Brick in the Wall Part 2
- Mother
- Goodbye Blue Sky
- Empty Spaces
- What Shall We Do Now?
- Young Lust
- One of My Turns
- Don’t Leave Me Now
- Another Brick in the Wall Part 3
- The Last Few Bricks
- Goodbye Cruel World
<<25 minute intermission>> - Set 2: Hey You
- Is There Anybody Out There?
- Nobody Home
- Vera
- Bring the Boys Back Home
- Comfortably Numb
- The Show Must Go On
- In the Flesh
- Run Like Hell
- Waiting for the Worms
- Stop
- The Trial
- Outside the Wall
No Encore
Brilliant show! Go go go go if you get the chance! It’s a brilliant display of excess, but it also has good points about government overreach and the ills of war. It’s a paradox and dichotomy.
Portland 5/22 The Wall photos:
(iPhone + 2 of Kevin’s pro shots)
Go to OMN for Kevin Tomanka’s pro shots
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Roger Waters’ Site
- Pink Floyd’s Site
- Roger Waters & Pink Floyd’s Social Media Links (see below)
- Rose Garden’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
Next show for me… Beck @ Les Schwab (Bend) 5/27 and Jack White @ Hult (Eugene) 5/28.
~Dan – np: Beck – The Information
Sigur Rós’ “Ég anda” video & Radiohead’s ‘OK Computer’ & ‘Kid A’ 8-bit
Well, Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters plays The Wall in its entirety tonight (5/22) at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Oregon… I shall be there, and it shall be awesome. Review posted, um… maybe by Thursday? In the meantime, enjoy this…
Sigur Rós “Ég anda” video
pre-order Valtari here, and look out for the Mystery Film Experience
coming soon for the rest of the album’s videos
And this…
Radiohead – OK Computer and Kid A in 8-bit
~Dan – np: Beck – The Information
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
Amazon.com mp3 downloads
Creative Commons
This blog and concert photos therein are licensed under a Creative Commons License. Available with Attribution for Non-Commercial, Non-Derivative Use.
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