Best live act you've seen this year?

"The Bad Plus" highlight being their horn-section augmented version of excerpts from Ornette Coleman's "Science Fiction". Intensely and beautifully sour.

Runner Up:

Dave Douglas Septet, '70s Miles + electronica played by world class players. Would not have believed it possible to enjoy this style of music so much in 2003.

Best pop/rock:

Ladytron. Surprisingly great. The addition of "real" bass and drums gave them a much ballsier sound than on record. Cause of troubling introspection about why pretty but not especially glamorous women in boiler suits pretending to be robots could seem so damn sexy. Maybe it was the floor-shaking bass.

Misfits

Venetian Snares

Aphex Twin

Katastrophy Wife

Public Enemy

Sunn0)))

-Crooked Fingers, especially when they covered "Age of Consent"

-Captured by Robots-- because it's not everyday that you see robots rocking out while arguing with their human slave.

other than that, i'm having a hard time coming up with any truly stand out show since seeing Mission of Burma late last year.

(="best live act" as in "musically the most exciting". i mean, they didn't exactly jump around a lot or anything like that :-)

It's hard finding a stand-out show, for me, because virtually all the gigs I've been to this year have been fantastic.

Also gd: No Neck Blues Band, Sunny Murray, Bernard Parmegiani/Jim O'Rourke/Pita/EL-P all at ATP

The demo got them their deal with Arena Rock...

Have you seen the 'sonics play as Crosby, Stills, Hash & Young? I sang with them at a party last summer during one of those shows.

lcd soundsystem

lou donaldson with doctor lonnie smith

all three left me speechless and smiling like a goon.

Other good ones: Grand Buffet, Blonde Redhead, Angels of Light/Devendra Banhart, Q and Not U, Buck 65.

mmm... one could still say that, i guess.
it was a festival gig (Jazzkaar 2003, Tallinn) and Previte anyway had a v.good band: Mat Maneri, Steve Swallow, Wayne Horvitz, Brandon Ross.

Lightning Bolt are always amazing; The Coachwhips were a dance party of fun;
Rotten Piece was great;
Hair Police looked like a rock and roll band and sounded like Merzbow;
The Chinese Stars' first show made me miss Arab on Radar even more, but I think in time the Stars will give me the same kind of rush;
Deerhoof were amazing live, especially the drummer. The second guitar adds a lot;
The first time I saw It's A Fucking Trap I thought I was going to die;
I was really high when I saw The Intima and they were very intense/mathy--their volume was also incredible.

But then, i'm seeing Broadcast tonight in London and the new material rocks hard on record, so who knows?

and in conclusion, Ninetynine.

Ian Johnson writes:
Hair Police looked like a rock and roll band and sounded like Merzbow;

they must have improved significantly in the last year and a half.

Mr. Quintron rocked at the Bulb Records 10th Anniversary party at the Magic Stick, too.

i may put a mini-review up on nyplm later

What?

They weren't even the best band that _night_!

nick, the carlsonics news is very good. aside from the first song, the record is great. one track ("ice people") sounds like a marquee moon outtake!