2012 My Year In Gigs

So the facts and figures for 2012 look a bit like this;

35 gigs and 2 (mini) festivals

24 headline artists seen for the first time

11 headline artists seen previously.

21 support acts that I can remember

11 different venues

2 Artists seen more than once Danny and The Champions of the World & Karima Francis (3 times each)

6 different towns/cities

£420 spent on gig tickets (excluding booking fees)

Cheapest ticket £6.50 Ellen and the Escapades (excludes a couple of free gigs/guest lists)

Most expensive ticket £55 Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band

Average ticket price £12 (you see live music doesn’t have to be expensive!)

Headline Artists Seen   (In no particular order)

North Mississippi Allstars                                                             

The Big Dish

Dr John

Explosions In The Sky

Boo Hewedine

James Vincent McMorrow

Gravenhurst

King Creosote & Jon Hopkins

The Smoke Fairies

The Trews

We Are Augustines

Cherry Ghost

Newton Faulkner

The Leisure Society

Efterklang

Danny and the Champions of The World (3)

Michael Kiwanuka

Lambchop

The Lake Poets

Simone Felice Group

Ryan Adams

Chuck Prophet

Karima Francis (3)

Alabama Shakes

Admiral Fallow

Bruce Springsteen

Vintage Trouble

Ellen and the Escapades

Spiritualised

The Civil Wars

Jack Savoretti

Grizzly Bear

Alex Cornish

Father John Misty

Support Acts Seen

King Jim

Phantom Limb

Lanterns on The Lake

Prison Library

Bears Den

Colour The Atlas

John Grant

Billy Vincent

The Staves

Union Choir

Natasha Haws

Simi Stone

Jeb Loy Nichols

The Lumineers

Villagers

No

Favourite Gigs of the Year.

Danny and the Champions of the World The Central Pub Gateshead. One of my favourite bands in one of my favourite pubs, the last gig of the tour on a Saturday night sold out and sweat dripping off the walls. A great gig from a band I have seen many times but this seemed special, final encore of These Days had the support band dancing with locals down the front of the stage. Great night.

The Big Dish – Glasgow O2 Academy I missed seeing these guys 27 years ago when they supported Big Country as I was in the pub and have regretted it ever since. Reformed for a one off gig as part of Celtic Connections I was front and centre for this gig and it didn’t disappoint. Playing to a partisan audience it was worth the wait.

The Alabama Shakes – Manchester Methodist Hall A trip to Manchester to see a band is always a treat and this was a great gig, maybe not perfect but there was a real buzz about seeing this band as they started to break the UK.  The trip was also noticeable for winning tickets to see the Olympics but that’s another story all together....

James Vincent McMorrow – The Sage Gateshead (Hall 2) My favourite venue in the North East and I nearly forgot about this gig as it was so early in the year. JVM just gets better and better and live with a full band was truly amazing. Can’t wait for the new album.

Efterklang and North Sinfonia – The Sage Gateshead (Hall 1) bought on a whim this gig made me smile from start to finish, Efterklang’s Piramida album played with the backing of a full orchestra was just awe inspiring. The support was John Grant which says a lot about the quality of this gig.

.....And The Biggest Disappointments

Dr John I have seen him many times and sadly he this will be my last, a little bit tired to many band solo’s left me looking at my watch hoping it would finish.

King Creosote and Jon Hopkins they admitted they were badly hungover and it showed.

Grizzly Bear not for the gig (it was great) their on line comments afterwards ended up with my tweets on the NME website but let’s not get into that again....