2014 Concert Year in Review
I'd like to tell you that my 2014 Concert Year in Review is coming so late because I wanted to give my thoughts time to marinade, but honestly, back in January I posted my last two concert capsules for 2014 "In preparation for my 2014 Concert Year in Review". I don't recall my exact thought process, but I suspect that my 'marinade' mindset was invented after the fact.
In any event, here are 30 concerts (53 bands) that I saw in 2014. As with 2013, I managed to do concert capsules throughout the year, which means this summary is mostly just the links to those capsules. After all, do you trust me more when I wrote something a few weeks after a gig or more than a year after the show? Yeah, that's what I thought.
Capsule #1
Galactic - T 2/11 - Beachland Ballroom
Capsules #2 through #5
Lydia Loveless - Beachland Tavern - R 2/27
Stanley Clarke - Beachland Ballroom - S 3/01
We Were Promised Jetpacks w/Honeyblood - Grog Shop - M 3/03
CityMusic Cleveland: with James Feddeck and Shane Shanahan - R 3/14 - Trinity Lutheran Church
Capsules #6 through #15
Bela Fleck & Chick Corea - Finney Chapel - W 4/02
The Julie Ruin w/Screaming Females - Beachland Ballroom - M 4/07
Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires w/Wesley Bright & The Hi-Lites - Beachland Ballroom - T 4/22
Eternal Summers - Beachland Tavern - T 5/06
Silencio - Beachland Tavern - F 5/09
Neko Case w/The Dodos - Beachland Ballroom - Su 5/11
The Cleveland Orchestra: The Cunning Little Vixen - S 5/17 - Severance Hall
Turkuaz - Beachland Ballroom - R 5/29
Jeremy Messersmith - Beachland Tavern - W 6/04
The Old 97's w/Lydia Loveless - Beachland Ballroom - R 6/05
Capsules #16 through #19
Foxy Shazam - Grog Shop - F 6/27
Phil Ajjarapu - My Living Room! - Su 7/13
Mojo Big Band - Brothers Lounge - M 7/14
Mokoomba - Cleveland Museum of Art Transformer Station - W 7/30
Capsules #20 through #24
The Cleveland Orchestra: with Yo-Yo Ma and Jahja Ling - S 8/16 - Blossom
Studio-A-Rama 2014 - S 9/06
- Likenesses, Archie and the Bunkers, Cruelster, Bwak Dwagon, Blackgrass Baptism, Murderedman, Black Puddle Noise, Kill the Hippies, New Planet Trampoline, Tacocat, Bleached
Nikki Hill w/Sanctified Grumblers - Music Box Supper Club - Su 9/07
Man... or Astro-Man? - Grog Shop - M 9/08
Bob Mould w/Cymbals Eat Guitars - Beachland Ballroom - M 9/15
Capsules #25 through #28
St. Vincent w/Sondre Lerche - House of Blues - T 9/30
Pete Yorn - Beachland Ballroom - F 10/03
Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express w/John Murry - Beachland Ballroom - S 11/08
The New Pornographers w/The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - HOB - S 11/15
Capsules #29 & #30
Nick Lowe w/Los Straitjackets - Beachland Ballroom - W 12/10
Alvvays w/Sun Club & Likenesses - Beachland Tavern - S 12/13
There were no outright terrible shows. Some were pretty average like Eternal Summers, Lydia Loveless (both as a headliner and an opener), Turkuaz and Fleck/Corea. Only the New Pornographers descended to the level of disappointing, and that was in part because I had really high expectations for that show. On balance though, most of the headliners I saw were pretty damn good, or at least the gap between expectations and reality was not overwhelming.
The top shows of 2014 to me were as follows:
[1] St. Vincent at the House of Blues (sponsored by the Beachland Ballroom) was fantastic. Sondra Lerche put together a credible opening set and then St. Vincent destroyed the room with crazy out of control rock and roll. Having seen her in 2013 with David Byrne, I can say with some authority that she is great live.
[2] Neko Case at the Beachland Ballroom was the antithesis of the New Pornographers show later in the year. The latter felt phoned in and forced; the former felt like a force of nature. Neko has been great every time I've seen her solo, and will continue to be a "buy as soon they go on sale" artist for me.
[3] Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express at the Beachland Ballroom was just plain fun. Chuck was touring for the Temple Beautiful album (which is fantastic) and the whole vibe was happy. Chuck is for people who like lyrics with pop hooks. Or at least this album was; his back catalog is deep and varied and worth checking out.
Best of the rest:
Bob Mould
Phil Ajjarapu
We Were Promised Jetpacks
Silencio
Man... or Astro-Man?
Foxy Shazam (second set only)
It was a sparse year for opening acts, but Archie & the Bunkers were, in my mind, the best band at Studio-A-Rama, and Sondre Lerche was pretty good.
I'd be amiss if I didn't take the chance to reference a few music-related activities I did that weren't actually concerts. First off, I saw the Motown Musical, which uses the plot to perform some or all of every great Motown song and quite a few of the second tier songs as well. I also took a trip to Memphis and hit up Graceland, Sun Studio and the Stax Museum. Of those, I'd call Sun Studio essential to every rock fan. As much as I loved Graceland, if you don't love Elvis it may not provide much value to you, and although the Stax Museum is certainly fun, the presentation and exhibits aren't nearly as good as the smaller, more concise one at Sun Studio.
In any event, here are 30 concerts (53 bands) that I saw in 2014. As with 2013, I managed to do concert capsules throughout the year, which means this summary is mostly just the links to those capsules. After all, do you trust me more when I wrote something a few weeks after a gig or more than a year after the show? Yeah, that's what I thought.
Capsule #1
Galactic - T 2/11 - Beachland Ballroom
Capsules #2 through #5
Lydia Loveless - Beachland Tavern - R 2/27
Stanley Clarke - Beachland Ballroom - S 3/01
We Were Promised Jetpacks w/Honeyblood - Grog Shop - M 3/03
CityMusic Cleveland: with James Feddeck and Shane Shanahan - R 3/14 - Trinity Lutheran Church
Capsules #6 through #15
Bela Fleck & Chick Corea - Finney Chapel - W 4/02
The Julie Ruin w/Screaming Females - Beachland Ballroom - M 4/07
Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires w/Wesley Bright & The Hi-Lites - Beachland Ballroom - T 4/22
Eternal Summers - Beachland Tavern - T 5/06
Silencio - Beachland Tavern - F 5/09
Neko Case w/The Dodos - Beachland Ballroom - Su 5/11
The Cleveland Orchestra: The Cunning Little Vixen - S 5/17 - Severance Hall
Turkuaz - Beachland Ballroom - R 5/29
Jeremy Messersmith - Beachland Tavern - W 6/04
The Old 97's w/Lydia Loveless - Beachland Ballroom - R 6/05
Capsules #16 through #19
Foxy Shazam - Grog Shop - F 6/27
Phil Ajjarapu - My Living Room! - Su 7/13
Mojo Big Band - Brothers Lounge - M 7/14
Mokoomba - Cleveland Museum of Art Transformer Station - W 7/30
Capsules #20 through #24
The Cleveland Orchestra: with Yo-Yo Ma and Jahja Ling - S 8/16 - Blossom
Studio-A-Rama 2014 - S 9/06
- Likenesses, Archie and the Bunkers, Cruelster, Bwak Dwagon, Blackgrass Baptism, Murderedman, Black Puddle Noise, Kill the Hippies, New Planet Trampoline, Tacocat, Bleached
Nikki Hill w/Sanctified Grumblers - Music Box Supper Club - Su 9/07
Man... or Astro-Man? - Grog Shop - M 9/08
Bob Mould w/Cymbals Eat Guitars - Beachland Ballroom - M 9/15
Capsules #25 through #28
St. Vincent w/Sondre Lerche - House of Blues - T 9/30
Pete Yorn - Beachland Ballroom - F 10/03
Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express w/John Murry - Beachland Ballroom - S 11/08
The New Pornographers w/The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - HOB - S 11/15
Capsules #29 & #30
Nick Lowe w/Los Straitjackets - Beachland Ballroom - W 12/10
Alvvays w/Sun Club & Likenesses - Beachland Tavern - S 12/13
There were no outright terrible shows. Some were pretty average like Eternal Summers, Lydia Loveless (both as a headliner and an opener), Turkuaz and Fleck/Corea. Only the New Pornographers descended to the level of disappointing, and that was in part because I had really high expectations for that show. On balance though, most of the headliners I saw were pretty damn good, or at least the gap between expectations and reality was not overwhelming.
The top shows of 2014 to me were as follows:
[1] St. Vincent at the House of Blues (sponsored by the Beachland Ballroom) was fantastic. Sondra Lerche put together a credible opening set and then St. Vincent destroyed the room with crazy out of control rock and roll. Having seen her in 2013 with David Byrne, I can say with some authority that she is great live.
[2] Neko Case at the Beachland Ballroom was the antithesis of the New Pornographers show later in the year. The latter felt phoned in and forced; the former felt like a force of nature. Neko has been great every time I've seen her solo, and will continue to be a "buy as soon they go on sale" artist for me.
[3] Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express at the Beachland Ballroom was just plain fun. Chuck was touring for the Temple Beautiful album (which is fantastic) and the whole vibe was happy. Chuck is for people who like lyrics with pop hooks. Or at least this album was; his back catalog is deep and varied and worth checking out.
Best of the rest:
Bob Mould
Phil Ajjarapu
We Were Promised Jetpacks
Silencio
Man... or Astro-Man?
Foxy Shazam (second set only)
It was a sparse year for opening acts, but Archie & the Bunkers were, in my mind, the best band at Studio-A-Rama, and Sondre Lerche was pretty good.
I'd be amiss if I didn't take the chance to reference a few music-related activities I did that weren't actually concerts. First off, I saw the Motown Musical, which uses the plot to perform some or all of every great Motown song and quite a few of the second tier songs as well. I also took a trip to Memphis and hit up Graceland, Sun Studio and the Stax Museum. Of those, I'd call Sun Studio essential to every rock fan. As much as I loved Graceland, if you don't love Elvis it may not provide much value to you, and although the Stax Museum is certainly fun, the presentation and exhibits aren't nearly as good as the smaller, more concise one at Sun Studio.