What a year in music 2017 was! From the mountains of Asheville to the clubs of Nashville, the Dead Audio Team saw some of our favorite, biggest and most eclectic acts on the circuit. Here’s a list of our top shows, highlights and where we caught them. What were YOUR favorite shows of 2017?
Radiohead – Philips Arena – Atlanta, GA
Radiohead extended their A Moon Shaped Pool Tour into early 2017 with a second US leg. Playing nearly every song off their new album and all their trademark tracks such as “Paranoid Android” and “Everything In It’s Right Place,” they ended the set with a third (!!) encore, closing out the show with an acoustic guitar-driven singalong of “Karma Police” as the crowd sang “for a minute there, I lost myself” into the night.
Roger Waters – KFC Yum! Arena – Lousiville, KY
Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters took his political, post-Trump message and Nigel Goodrich-produced new album “Is This The Life We Really Want” across the world, marking his first new album in 25 years. While only playing four songs off the new album they fit in perfectly with Water’s extensive catalog which included hits off nearly all of Pink Floyd’s studio records. A few set highlights included the sister duo Lucious doing vocals during “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” and a massive pig drone circling the inside of the Yum! Center.
Gorillaz – The Forum – Los Angeles, CA
While on a trip in LA the Dead Audio Team decided to see what shows were happening. Having never seen Gorillaz before, they were definitely a bucket list band for us. After a rowdy opening set by Vince Staples, the band led a cameo-heavy set that included verses from Pusha T, D.R.A.M., De La Soul, Del the Funky Homosapien, Kilo Kish and Little Simz. Damon Albarn’s once cartoon-only show is now a full on celebration of the genre-spanning band’s music and imaginative artwork in which it takes place.
LCD Soundsystem – Forecastle Festival – Louisville, KY
Headlining the Mast Stage on Saturday evening at Forecastle was recently-united disco-electro superstars LCD Soundsystem. After a three year hiatus the Brooklyn-based band got back together, quickly headlining dozens of the largest festivals around the world. With a handful of new singles and a back catalogue to cherry pick hit after hit, James Murphy and crew put on the best set of the weekend. The stage was highlighted by a huge, illuminated disco ball that pierced light onto the crowd all the way to the back of the lawn . They also added a massive LED screen as their backdrop, making the stage infinitely more colorful than the previous leg of the tour. The band tore apart the album versions of their songs, turning “Movement” into a punk rock headbanger and “You Wanted a Hit” into a wild, theremin-led electronic jam. The band left the stage only after closing their set with the nostalgic “All My Friends.”
My Morning Jacket – Electric Forest – Rothbury MI
My Morning Jacket was a stark contrast from the almost all-electronic music that dominates the stages of Electric Forest. The Kentucky rockers tore down the Ranch Arena stage in front of a massive crowd with little flash, not utilizing the state-of-the-art lighting system that was behind them and allowing their music to take center stage. Jim James crooned the audience as the band played some god-honest, guitar-shredding rock and roll in the hardest set of the weekend.
Kamasi Washington – Marathon Music Works – Nashville, TN
It was a frigid December evening in Nashville, but Kamasi Washington’s set at Marathon Music Works felt like anything but. The jazz juggernaut, touring off of his latest release, the excellent Harmony of Difference EP, played selected songs from The Epic while working his way through his latest six-song EP. Toward the end of his set, he performed “Truth”, the last song on the album that combines the previous five songs into a lengthy suite. This was when Washington demonstrated the meaning of his album: As Americans, our differences give us a chance to come together, learn from each other, and make something beautiful. I can’t think of a more relevant message to wrap up 2017. – Written by Ben Hayes
Odesza – Forecastle Festival – Louisville, KY
Odesza‘s Friday headlining performance at Forecastle proved that the duo’s ability to both draw and energize a crowd is transcendent. The crowd of Louisville attendees danced and swayed their way through the entire 90 minute set, as the pair bounced between the already-classics of their established material as well as some the first singles (“Meridian”and “Late Night”) from their upcoming third studio album A Moment Apart due out in a little over a month.
As the sunlight waned over the skyline of the Ohio River behind the stage, the twosome adapted to the mood by breaking out one their few lyrical tracks; the Zhu-collaborative fan favorite “Faded” and the crowd sang every word with the passion a festival day well spent. -Written by Matt Keith
Ween – US Cellular Center – Asheville, NC
It really was a year of reunion shows, and Ween capitalized on ending their hiatus as well, selling out arenas all over the US with no trouble at all. With no recent new music to draw from, it was a nostalgic return for the punk/comedy/rock duo in which every song played was a tribute to itself. Asheville was a perfect city to catch the band in, as it may be one of the places in the country that is even more weird than Ween.
Be sure to let us know what YOUR favorite shows of the year were by tagging @deadaudioblog on all your social networks.
