The Best Concerts of 2013

As you’ll read below, it was another banner year for concerts.  The one minor weakness, however, was in the local club/bar scene.  Club Mercy and others did their best to bring in bands (though Club Mercy is clearly So-Cal focused these days while doing their best to bring shows to SB and Ventura), but it seems that many of the artists (and their booking agents/labels) are skipping the “smaller market” venues (such as the clubs/bars in Santa Barbara) in favor of the big cities and festivals. Here’s to hoping this short-sighted trend will quickly reverse itself. While the festivals may provide the artists a good and certain payday (we completely get the thrall thereof), because of shortened sets, off-peak slots and disinterested-crowds, neither bands (particularly nascent bands), nor fans nor newbies arguably benefit from the festivals. The best exposure for new bands remains more complete sets for fans and the curious in small venues at peak hours.  Recognizing that the times they have a-changed, we can’t fault the artists or their assistants, but question the long-term success of this strategy. Coachella continues to corrupt the concert scene in and around Southern and Central California because of its blackout edict.  May Coachella go the way of the Cabezon dinosaurs. Below were our favorite concerts of 2013, listed in order of preference.

In contrast to prior years, we’ve decided to limit our list to the best three shows of the year.  Check ’em out below.

1. The National at Hollywood Forever Cemetery/Greek Theater

In October we managed to piece together back-to-back concerts by The National at LA’s Greek Theater and the Hollywood Forever Cemetery the next night. As we had anticipated (given prior shows by the band), the latter proved to be the Concert of the Year, with the Greek Theater show a close second. The National are simply the best live band on the planet right now (we reserve judgment on the comparative status of the only other contender–Radiohead–until we catch them again). Singer Matt Berninger (with his omnipresent wine, baritone balladry and bent-yowl), the guitar-chiming Dessner Twins, and the Devendorf rhythm brothers (perfectly augmented by horns/keys/vocals/utility players Ben Lanz and Kyle Resnick) co-mingled with and gathered energy from the crowds both nights, ultimately playing each night as if it might be their last.  This felt especially the case on Sunday given the grave(yard) environs and the perfect audience. Rumors continue to swirl that The National might play our hallowed Santa Barbara Bowl in 2014.  If this comes to fruition, it will without question be THE Best Concert of 2014.

2. Atoms For Peace at Santa Barbara Bowl

Speaking of Radiohead…having caught Atoms for Peace’s Best Concert of 2010 at the Santa Barbara Bowl, our expectations for their October 2013 show at the Bowl were incredibly high, particularly in the wake of their scintillating debut album, Amok.  The band (Thom Yorke, Flea, Nigel Godrich, Joey Warnonker and  Mauro Refosco) again took the Bowl by storm in October with their non-stop kinetic energy and drive.  Yorke’s sinuous, ever-captivating vocals and Flea’s percolating basslines, coupled with their kilt-aided dancing, were particular riveting, along with the 1-2 rhythm section of Waronker and Refosco (possibly the best percussion duo we have ever heard live) and the MVP-on-stage, Nigel Godrich.  Between the light show and the sounds, it was a sonic phantasmagoria.  In the end, though (as great as they were) AFP couldn’t match the intensity and emotional-impact of the The National.  As much as we loved Amok, we hope that next time around AFP will be performing songs that grab hold of us more and better engage our hearts (in addition to our feet and eyes).

3. Iron & Wine at First Unitarian Church

The great Sam Beam brought his Iron & Wine in all it’s transformed, 13-member glory to Los Angeles to play an intimate show on Sunday at the First Unitarian Church in MacArthur Park and to perform last night on the Jimmy Kimmel Show, all in support of the band’s superb new album, Ghost On Ghost.  Suffice it to say that this incarnation of Iron & Wine is the best yet, and they gave one of the most soulful, rocking concerts we’ve seen in recent memory.  Iron & Wine has dramatically evolved from Beam’s solo guitar origins into a species of a whole different order.  While there are plenty who lament the more intimate side of Beam’s confessional songs, at the Church Show there were hallelujahs all around.  The First Unitarian Church was an ideal place to see Iron & Wine in all its manifold glory.  Though the sound took some continuous dialing, the intimate venue was perfect for this band.  The large band consisted of Beam and four threes (three backup singers, string trio, three strutting, scatting horn players, and a rhythm section consisting of bass, drums and keys).  And great joy was had by Beam and the beaming crowd.  The singers and horn players danced most of the night when they weren’t getting serious, and Beam paid tribute to his father by explaining how his dad contributed mightily to the Motown-Stax sounds emanating from the stage.  It’s obviously no coincidence that most of the songs from the new album also reflect the band’s large look and feel, with its big band sound and bountiful production.