We shall see JP, we shall see.
I've done a top 50 gigs. Just included 1 per artist. JP, I can't believe Nick Cave @ Latitude was 2009, it feels not that long ago. Still probably my fav gig of all time tbh
01: Pixies @ The Troxy 2010Still with Kim in the band, nothing to promote. Incredible energy in the room that night, tons of hits. Perfection
02: The Stone Roses @ Razzmatazz Barcelona 2012Could have never dreamed they would reform and I'd see them in a tiny venue. It was such a magical night. Wish they had DIED after that gig so nobody could witness the pathetic decline.
03: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds @ the 02 Arena 2017How Nick manages to make a fucking arena feel intimate I'll never know. Any of the top 3 could have been number 1.Jubilee Street was probably the greatest song I've ever seen performed live. Get shivers thinking about it.
04: Kamasi Washington @ The Barbican 2015My Jaw dropped about 300 times during the show. I've never been so impressed watching a group of musicians in my life
05: Janelle Monae @ Glastonbury 2019She fucking killed it. I always knew she was great, but this was her putting on one of the greatest shows I've ever seen.
06: Guided by Voices @ Village Underground 2019I SAW GUIDED BY VOICES! Was it perfect? Probably not, but they performed 8000 songs and I jumped around like a total cunt. It'll stay with me forever
07: Beck @ Omeara 2017I know Beck has turned total shit but the 3 times I saw him in recent years were all great. This was a surprise gig announced on the day, I rushed up there expecting it to be mostly all new material but instead he performed 2 new songs and a full set of hits in a tiny room. The best nights are often the unexpected ones
08: The Sun Ra Arkestra @ The Lexington 2018A must see band. I can't believe I can't convince Kevin to see them in a few months time. See them before they DIE
09: Odd Future @ Camden Crawl 2011This is a case of catching a band when the hype is mental. It was a gig in the street, absolute chaos. I was convinced they was the greatest act in the world then I slowly lost interest in the collective until Tyler's record last year
10: Supergrass @ Oslo 2019Supergrass comeback gig, hadn't listened to them in years, they did all the hits & I sung my heart out.
11: Ride @ The Roundhouse 2015Like Stone Roses, another band I never thought I'd see. This was before they had new material so it was just all the hits. The sound in the roundhouse was spot on. TBH this was even better than I'd imagined it would ever be.
12: Primal Scream performing Screamadelica @ The Olympia 2010Saw Primal Scream do the Screamadelica tour I think 3 times & each time was fucking MAGIC. I've picked this because it was the 1st time basically. What a celebration & probably the last hurrah for Primal Scream as an essential act. I know this was a nostalgia tour but fuck me, what a tour.
13: Black Midi @ Rough Trade East 2019I'd seen them a couple of times prior to this & could see there was something there but was not overly impressed. Here it all came together, jaw-dropping stuff
14: GZA/Genius @ the Jazz Cafe 2010Hip hop can be hit or miss live I've found. This was spot on. The DJ set before was killer, set the mood then GZA came on & nailed it. Incredible atmosphere, Jazz Cafe is perfect for hip hop.
15: PJ Harvey @ Brixton Academy 2016Best time I've seen her hands down. Her band for that tour were dynamite & her voice was sensational.
16: The Thurston Moore Group @ The ULU 2019Thurston & band performing 2 lengthy jams for 2 hours. Was worried it would be self indulgent, it was anything but that. Powerful shit
17: Super Furry Animals @ Brixton Academy 2015What can I say? My favourite band returning to do some gigs. I will love them forever even if they only now tour when they need a few quid
18: Morrissey @ Brixton Academy 2011Fucking hell this was so good
HE TOUCHED MY FUCKING HAND. Setlist was killer. I would have NEVER believed you had you told me he'd turn into a turbo cunt back then. Thank god I hate tattoos as if I was into that I no doubt would have got some sort of Morrissey tattoo around that time
19: Nile Rodgers & Chic @ Glastonbury 2013Headlining the west holts (or jazz world whatever it was called then). All my friends wanted to go see Arctic Monkeys & I wasn't feeling it. Made sure everybody got fucking wasted so they'd forget the time & then said hey lets see Nile Rogers he has loads of hits. I was so fucked I couldn't remember any yet somehow managed to convince everyone to stay for him & fuck the atmosphere was just incredible. People sharing drinks/drugs, it was one huge party. I've seen him since and it was a little embarrassing but whatever, gigs are often the moments & this was special.
20: Josh T. Pearson @ The Barbican 2011Could have picked any of the times I've seen him. This was the 1st and where I fell in love with him. I'd let that man enter me.
21: Jack White @ Ally Pally 2012Went along to this as it was a Saturday night but wasn't expecting much. Fuck me it was good. Great varied set of his entire career & his band were magnificent. Probably the biggest surprise of the decade as I've always been a casual fan tbh
22: Charles Bradley @ The Kentish Town Forum 2016Only got to see him twice, man his voice was just beautiful
He always seemed to grateful to be up on that stage. For a few hours I really felt like I was watching one of the soul greats. RIP
23: Prince @ Koko 2014It's hard to rank this. It was announced the night before so we ran down to Camden 1st thing in the morning and queued all day. The atmosphere in the queue was great, everybody had a great day on the street before we got in there. We got in he decided to do 3 gigs cos the queues were so long which meant I only got 1 hour of Prince. However, he smashed out an hour of hits. Wish I had got into him when he did that run at the 02 but still, this'll stay with me forever.
24: Melt Yourself Down @ Latitude 2013This gig was so good JP fell asleep whilst standing up
I fucking loved it, incredible energy. Funnily enough I still haven't seen them since that day
25: Dry Cleaning @ The Waiting Room 2019Another I could have included pretty much any good, they're always great. My favourite band discovery in bloody years
26: Wild Billy Childish & CTMF @ The Lexington 2016Saw him play Friday nights at the Boston Rooms in the 2000s plenty of times but since then he's become a respected artist and can't be arsed with music anymore. This was the 1st TCOTU gig in years & fuck I loved every minute of it. as sloppy as ever, garage rock KING.
27: Action Bronson @ The Barfly 2012Bronson in a tiny venue with half the population of the soapbox in attendance. Still never seen him again & I doubt I will, it'll never top that. Plus Rhino wiping out the table of drinks, unforgettable.
28: Jenny Lewis @ Koko 2018Had waited forever to see her, everytime she'd gig I'd be on holiday or at another gig. Was worth the wait, was surprised how confident and full of life she is on stage plus her voice was stronger than it is on record. So much better than I'd imagined she'd be
29: The Lemonheads @ The Academy 2 Birmingham 2019My love of Lemonheads will never die, this was the best time seeing Evan in the 10s. Evan gigs are either him fucked up, him looking bored or him looking like he's having a blast, this was the later.
30: Bruce Springsteen @ Wembley Stadium 20131st time seeing BRUUUUCE. Played for 17 hours. It was everything I'd imagined it'd be
31: King Salami @ The Cumberland 3 @ The Shacklewell Arms 2013This was a support slot for the 5678s (who were really disappointing) had only heard of these by name but fuck it was so much fun. I remember me and Baz having a blast, the frontman is dynamite.
32: Stevie Wonder @ Glastonbury 2010I stood 30000 miles back by a speaker, couldn't see a thing, he did hit after hit after hit. So much fun. I've watched it back on TV and it wasn't exactly great but fuck it, at the time I loved every second of it.
33: Ty Segall @ The Kentish Town Forum 2016The day of Brexit, Ty cheered me up a ton. I can't believe I've hated the 3 times I've seen him since. I don't understand how I could have loved this one so much and then hated the rest but that's what happened.
34: Andrew W.K @ The Laundry 2014 I don't remember smiling & laughing so much during a gig. It was a riot (literally). Another I hope I never see again as I want to keep the memory
35: The Flaming Lips @ Glastonbury 20102010 I still considered the Lips the greatest live act on earth. I drank a bottle of Jack Daniels before they came on, I thought it was incredible but tbh I can't remember shit about it. Enjoyed it at the time
36: The Streets @ Glastonbury 2011Lovely end to that years festvial. short set, banged out the hits great energy.
37: Sleaford Mods @ Glastonbury 2019I'm a proper johnny come lately with Sleaford mods, my 1st and only time seeing them.
38: Gruff Rhys @ The Soho Theatre 2014This was his American Interior show, we had front row seats which were proper awkward as we were so close my feet were literally on his guitar pedals. I'd had a few pints before and needed a piss from about the second song onwards and felt like my bladder would explode. Anyway, great to watch one of my all-time favs so close plus that show as funny as fuck
39: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ The Electric Ballroom 2010Probably my last hurrah with BRMC. A band I was obsessed with in the 2000s. I probably saw them a couple of times after this but my interest had kinda died by then. This one was banging
40: King Gizzard & The Wizard Lizard @ Latitude 2015a band I don't even like THAT much tbh but fuck this set was pretty damn good
41: John Cale @ The Barbican 2018An honour to watch the great man, also the fact he did a career retrospective (this is what artsy people call THE HITS) was perfect for me
42: Suede @ Hammersmith Apollo 2018Was never big on Suede back in the day minus a few of the big singles. Got into them over the past few years and was shocked how good they were live. Bret Anderson really is one of the great frontmen
43: David Byrne @ The 02 2018What a fucking tour, really want to see him do those hits again
44: Dustins Bar Mitzvah @ The Lexington 2011Just pure chaos, I feel this was the night I turned from Mahoney to Old_Man_Mahoney. I think I realised I was too old for this shit the morning after.
45: Grandaddy @ The Roundhouse 2017Maybe not one of the best gigs but another band I never thought I'd see. Performed almost everything I wanted to hear. Lovely gig
46: Terry @ The Moth Club 2018One of my favourite bands of recent years, this being prob my fav time
47: John Carpenter @ The Troxy 2016Again, prob not a top 50 but I've been a fan of him since I was about 6, he was the 1st Director I was ever aware of (basically because he insisted on having his name appear before the titles of all his films). Hearing those scores with the great man up on stage was a real pleasure.
48: The Cure @ Wembley Arena 2016Played for almost as long a Bruce.
49: Kunt & the Gang @ The new cross In 2016I've never laughed so much in my life, glad I got to see him before his weird retirement.
50: The Strokes @ Victoria Park 2019Not sure this was high on my 2019 gigs, the sound was shit, was pissed up & they could have been shit for all I know. However, for 2 hours Old Man Mahoney felt like 18 year old Mahoney. It was nostalgia at its very best.