Monday, January 18, 2010

Best and Worst 2009

My annual look back over the year from a "best of" and "worst of" perspective of the 31 gigs seen during 2009

Best Gig 2009
1: AC/DC- O2
Classic set and a great view on the first night

2: Quireboys - Sheffield O2 Academy
Great band playing a great album in its entirety.

3: Per Gessle - Islington O2 Academy
No, O2 aren't sponsoring this! Classic set with all the hits you could ask for.

Honourable mentions to Thunder and Mott The Hoople at Hammersmith and Quo at Brighton.

Most Disappointing Gig 2009
1: The Answer - Dingwalls
By no means awful, just not as entertaining as most of the other shows this year, hence the reason I decided to skip their December date

I can't really describe any of the others as disappointing - Again , the quality has been really good. That's probably down to me being very selective and refusing to pay ridiculous money for the likes of Bon Jovi, Tina Turner, The Eagles etc

Best Venue 2009
1: Hammersmith Apollo
2: Indigo2
Same as last year then!

Worst Venue 2009
1: O2 Arena
2: Wembley Arena

Good in 2009
1: Another decline in drunks at gigs. Maybe the recession is kicking in on people's drinking habits.
2: Small gigs - this year has re-affirmed that there is fun to be had seeing less well known artists in smaller (and cheaper!) intimate venues.
3: Quality. Pretty much all the gigs have been enjoyable this year.

Bad In 2009
1: Prices for some major artists still over £100 for a decent seat. No thanks!
2: Tfl / Tubelines incompetance on the Jubilee Line meaning regular no trains to the O2.
3: Drink prices at venues. Outrageous in many cases (Yes, Hammersmith & O2 - that's you)
4: Merchandise. Besides a programme for Bryan Adams and "show-only" Thunder, Mott The Hoople and Quireboys CDs, I can't remember buying any again this year. Prices are too high and the quality just isn't tempting enough.
5: Support bands. Once upon a time, I would always make the point of seeing the support band. Now I rarely bother unless it's a name I know and like. That's probably my loss, but there's a lot of very average acts out there.

Enjoy 2010 and get out there and listen to some live music!