Ear of Newt's Top 10 Vancouver concerts of 2012

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      Whether it was a dedicated gaggle of Drive-By Truckers fans taking in the rootsy vibe of Patterson Hood at the Biltmore Cabaret or 40,000-plus peeps getting Fab floored by Paul McCartney at BC Place, Metro Vancouver offered up some mighty fine gigs in 2012. Here's 10 that Ear of Newt got totally psyched about.

      Metallica on Aug. 24 at Rogers Arena. "I don't know how Metallica does it, but every time I see them live they manage to sound amazingly clear at incredibly high volume."

      Steve Earle on June 8 at the Red Robinson Show Theatre. " 'This one goes out to Dubya and his fucking horse,' announced Earle before ['Little Emperor']..."

      Roger Waters on May 26 at BC Place. "Size does matter. Especially when it comes to the music of Pink Floyd."

      Patterson Hood on Sept. 29 at the Biltmore Cabaret. " 'Mitt Romney is a c***sucker,' he blurted out at one point in the show, drawing cheers of approval from the beardo-heavy crowd."

      The Darkness on Feb. 24 at the Commodore Ballroom. "I've gotta admit, I was not expecting anything nearly as stunning as what the British glam-rockers delivered on the Commodore's hallowed stage."

      Joe Walsh on Sept. 8 at Red Robinson Show Theatre. "...I'm not so sure that Rocky Mountain Way really is all that much better than the way we had." 

      The Tedeschi Trucks Band on June 19 at the Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts. I didn't actually write a review of this concert, just attended it on a pleasure-only basis. Shocking, I know.

      Paul McCartney on Nov. 25 at BC Place. "During his marathon three-hour set McCartney performed no fewer than 38 songs, the majority stone-cold Beatles classics. And you know that can’t be bad."

      Jonny Lang on Sept. 28 at the Red Robinson Show Theatre. "Blues legend Buddy Guy brought a taste of Chicago to the wilds of Coquitlam last night, but the verifiable guitar legend was outshone by a 'kid' 45 years younger than himself."

      Neil Young & Crazy Horse on Nov. 11 at Rogers Arena. LIAR ALERT: I didn't actually go this show, but it made my Top 10 anyway because I heard from several reliable sources that it was freakin' awesome. Sue me.

      Comments

      14 Comments

      rain

      Dec 30, 2012 at 12:40am

      Top 10 Concerts - if you have horrible horrible taste in music.

      Pat Crowe

      Dec 30, 2012 at 7:26am

      Happy New Year Stevie boy and you too Charlie! The party is at my place this New Years if your in Victoria and the new Led Zeppelin will be the main discs on Patricks big stero blammer.
      Lots of familiar faces will be here Charlie. Get on the boat.
      Paul McCartney was my number 1. Good fucking god! Let Me Roll It sludging into Foxey Lady then entering hyper space. It does not get any better than that!
      The Hives put on one of the best live acts I have seen since The Ramones.
      Deep Purple back in Feb. blew the roof off of the arena. The organ sound was equal to the sum total of the rest of the band. That was avery good show. They showed the younglings how it is done.
      The Wall was a sound and sight spectacular. But even with Roger's deep audio and dazzling video it was no match for a Beatle's put on in the same room.
      NoMeansNo back in February was mind boggling as they always are live in a club. That band would scare the shit out of most top notch acts like say...Metallica or the Chili's if they had to follow thse Wright kids on stage. A national treasure those boys.
      Finally. Death to all knob twiddling, no talent, wanker D.J.'s and a return of Feldman type circuitous bar bands. The kids these days haven't got a clue what they're missing. Or how they are being cheated out of great memories of their youth.
      But we know.

      Pat Crowe

      Dec 30, 2012 at 7:47am

      What...WHAT?!!
      Bullshit!!
      I saw this really awesome performer in a club. I can't remember his name but I think it started with M.C. or Deeee Jay and that cat left me with memories I will cherish forever.
      Such knob twiddling, intense headphoning and and...I think he looked up at the crowd, once. WoW!
      Paul McCartney, Roger Waters...phhht. Indeed.

      Matt

      Dec 30, 2012 at 9:05am

      Great list. I saw some of those and they were freakin' awesome. I have never seen anything like the McCartney show. I was wondering if it was a top 15 list if the Punch Brothers would have made the cut. That was a pretty spectacular evening.

      Croatiansensation

      Dec 30, 2012 at 9:39am

      No Springsteen? No opening act, sang for over 3 hours on a cold Monday night in Vancouver and had fans on their feet the whole time. What more does an act have to do to make your list?

      taseko

      Dec 30, 2012 at 11:40am

      wtf!

      They're almost all arena acts!

      Where's Bombino, Anna Calvi, Hot Chip ... ??

      Steve Newton

      Dec 30, 2012 at 12:11pm

      oh, now you're just trying to make me feel bad

      Chris Campbell

      Dec 30, 2012 at 6:30pm

      With apologies to Roger Waters and Paul McCartney who always deliver I think the 10 worst shows I saw in 2012 would be better than this list. Did you see any new and interesting artists at smaller venues in Vancouver this year?

      Steve Newton

      Dec 31, 2012 at 9:27am

      you mean "new and interesting" like the gangnam style? not into it

      Peter Parker

      Dec 31, 2012 at 3:33pm

      You're right, Newt. Neil Young and Crazy Horse were awesome, too bad you missed it.