Dougy's Best of 2013: Concerts

Dougy's Best of 2013: Songs Countdown

Dougy's Best of 2013: Artists//Album Covers//Music Videos//Lyrics

Dougy's Best of 2013: Albums

Dougy's Best of 2013: Movies (Coming Soon)

Honorable Mention

A-Trak - Summerfest Day 5 (Milwaukee, WI)

Animal Collective - Bonnaroo Day 2 Late Night (Manchester, TN)

Beach House - Bonnaroo Day 3 (Manchester, TN)

Kendrick Lamar - Bonnaroo Day 4 (Manchester, TN) // Yeezus tour opener (Nashville, TN)

Killer Mike - Bonnaroo Day 1 Late Night (Manchester, TN)

Comedy
Michael Winslow - Bonnaroo Day 3 (Manchester, TN)

Best Concert of 2013 #10
Mumford & Sons - Marcus Ampitheater (Milwaukee, WI)

After cancelling their Bonnaroo appearance, I was able to catch Mumford & Sons on The Full English Tour's Milwaukee date. I've seen them a handful of times before but never in a venue this large.  Luckily their live show gets better as their venues get larger (and albums grow more boring). The set list was a perfect blend of both albums and the stage show was especially engaging for a folk rock band. The show culminated when the tour's opening bands The Bear's Den and The Vaccines came onstage for a rousing cover of The Beatles' "Come Together".  I must say this show greatly benefited from being held outdoors on one of summer's last evenings, as I'm not sure it would have been as enjoyable in an arena. You can watch their Lollapalooza performance here.


Best Concert of 2013 #9
FIDLAR - The Rave (Milwaukee, WI)

A concert is always more enjoyable when you're really into the band at the time of the show. That was the case when FIDLAR opened for Wavves on Easter eve. A fast thirty minutes of beer chugging, fist pumping anthems was exactly what I hoped to receive from these Southern California punks. You can watch their Reading set here.


Best Concert of 2013 #8
Frank Turner - Bonnaroo Day 3 (Manchester, TN)

There comes a time when you've seen an act so many times you've figured out most of their tricks. This is the case for me with Tom Petty, Atmosphere, Pretty Lights, Weezer, Mumford and Sons and I had thought Frank Turner. After seeing him five previous times, I didn't expect there was much left to see. The thing I'm forgetting, of course, is how seriously Frank Turner takes festival shows. He gives his all during every song, he interacts with the crowd, he runs across the stage. At one point he had everyone lying on the ground waiting for the song to build into a climax. It was a pleasant reminder of why Frank Turner is one of the best musicians touring today. You can watch his Reading set here.


Best Concerts of 2013 #7
Father John Misty - Bonnaroo Day 1 (Manchester, TN)

Father John Misty's live show is so enjoyable because he is as talented at storytelling as he is songwriting.  He really gives his all during his performance as he dances across the stage and interacts with the crowd.  One of the best showman I saw this year.   The end of "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings" was the most epic mic drop that I've ever seen.


Best Concerts of 2013 #6
Nine Inch Nails - Outside Lands Day 2 (San Francisco, CA)

When Trent Reznor walks onstage, there is only a microphone. The house lights are still on and it seems as if he has arrived to speak to the crowd before the show starts.  Yet starts singing.   After a while, a stage hand walks to the middle of the stage carrying a keyboard.  As soon as he places it, the keyboardist emerges from the other side, plugs in and joins the song.  The same routine happens with the guitarist and bassist.  Even though they're playing an unheard song, the crowd is in a fist-pumping frenzy as the song slowly builds toward it's climax. When the song explodes, the white sheet at the back of the stage drops and the drummer is pushed out, adding furious beats the song.   This was all in the first two minutes of the show.  The next two hours would be an engaging set littered with deep cuts, fan favorite and first listens of the unreleased Hesitation Marks.  It was a hard and loud reminder of why Nine Inch Nails is one of the biggest bands in the world.  You can watch their Lollapalooza set here.

Best Concerts of 2013 #5
Empire of the Sun - Bonnaroo Day 3 Late Night (Manchester, TN) // Summerfest Night 6 (Milwaukee, WI)

This stage show was ridiculous.  Colorful lights, costumes, dancers. The picture above does more to describe the show than I could ever say. You can watch their Made in America set here.


Best Concerts of 2013 #4
Chic - Oustide Lands Day 1 (San Francisco, CA)

Although Chic was a last minute replacement at Outside Lands, they ended up being the best set of the entire weekend.   The band's set was a greatest hits of disco as they covered David Bowie's "Let's Dance", Diana Ross' "I'm Coming Out" and Sister Sledge's "We Are Family" before closing out with their classics "Good Times" and "Le Freak".  An unexpected show that had absolutely everybody dancing.  You can watch their Glastonbury set here.


Best Concerts of 2013 #3
Kanye West - Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, TN)

By now you've probably read Yeezus plays on a massive mountain, is hunted by an abominal creature, sits on a throne of women while rapping "I Am A God" and wears a mask until the mountain parts and Jesus Christ arrives to remove it.  After performing all of Yeezus and a 25 minute version of "Runaway" (including a 15 minute rant against Nike), Kanye finished the show with the incredible run of: "Stronger" > "Through the Wire" > "Jesus Walks" > "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" > "Flashing Lights" > "All of the Lights" > "Good Life" > "Bound 2".  Kanye received a lot of criticism for saying he was the biggest rock star on the planet, but this show just supported his claim.  No other artist is putting on rock shows like this.

Best Concerts of 2013 #2
The xx - Bonnaroo Day 2 Late Night (Manchester, TN)

I first got into the xx after wandering into their 2010 Thursday night set.  They played with so much passion and sincerity and the lights perfectly matched the music.  I couldn't get over them and they quickly became one of my favorite bands.  I've seen them twice since then but neither show matched the Bonnaroo set.   They performed a late night set again this year and completely blew away all of their previous shows. The second half run of: Shelter >  VCR > Islands > Chained > Infinity > Intro > Angels was nothing short of overwhelming.  Their live show gets better with every year and I cannot wait to see what they do next.  Watch their Glastonbury set here.

Best Concerts of 2013 #1
Paul McCartney - Bonnaroo (Manchester, TN) // Miller Park (Milwaukee, WI) // Outside Lands (San Francisco, CA)

I'll always remember 2013 for the summer I spent listening to the Beatles and seeing Paul McCartney in three states.  His Bonnaroo performance is the best headlining set I've seen at a festival.  I was even lucky enough to catch part of his unannounced hour-long mic check on Thursday night.  I got to see the Sir Paul again at Miller Park, my favorite of the three shows.  Looking around the stadium as the crowd sang along to "Hey Jude" is a memory I'll revisit whenever I attend a Brewers' game.  Then in August, I traveled to San Francisco to see him one last time.  His show is nearly three hours in length.  In between playing your favorite Beatles and Wings songs, he tells stories about hanging out with Russian governments, Black Panther leaders and famous rock stars (Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton).  He dedicates a part of the show to John Lennon and performs "Something" on the ukelele as an ode to George Harrison.  This is one of the best shows I've ever seen and if you have any interest in The Fab Four or his solo output, make sure to see him while you still can.  Watch his Outside Lands set here.

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History

2002 - Incubus

2003 - Red Hot Chili Peppers

2004 - Metallica

2005 - U2

2006 - Motion City Soundtrack

2007 - Rage Against The Machine

2008 - Rage Against The Machine

2009 - Coldplay

2010 - Arcade Fire

2011 - KanYe West

2012 – Justice

2013 - Paul McCartney

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Dougy's Best of 2011: Concerts

Dougy's Best of 2012: Concerts