Knowledge Hoover

1. Porcupine Tree - Royal Albert Hall - 14th October

An almost 3-hour long, career-spanning set of amazingness, including new album ‘The Incident’ played in full, and punctuated by rarely-played gems from way back in the day. Instead of having a support act, the band played a half-hour acoustic set to kick the show off, and without all the usual effects  it was lovely to hear the intricate parts that each instrument plays.
Incredibly ambitious music on record and incredible to hear in live form, the RAH was the perfect venue to mark PT having reached new heights. Live recording (audio only) apparently to be released in 2011.

2. Janelle Monae - Shepherd’s Bush Empire - 5th December

Anyone who’s heard her incredible album ‘The Archandroid’ will have a fair idea of the fine line Janelle Monae treads between slightly unhinged and pure, unadulterated genius and the SBE show really showcased this. A seriously noisy crowd seemed enraptured by her performance, so loud throughout that at some points they drowned out the music. Changing up the order of album tracks JM delivered an impressively controlled and expressive vocal and exuded stage presence so strong that even as nuns and scary monsters danced around the stage, you couldn’t keep your eyes off her. A very close contender for gig of the year.

3. Rage Against the Machine - Finsbury Park - 6th June

RATM’s free ‘victory’ gig in Finsbury Park was everything you could hope for—loud, angry, proud and with a full-on festival vibe (though with far superior sound). With Gallows, Roots Manuva and Gogol Bordello supporting, the crowd were well and truly hyped up, and the snarling Simon Cowell cartoon that appeared on screens before the band came on had the crowd practically baying for blood. Those who had managed to get hold of the free tickets were not the only ones there though—halfway through, 200-odd people broke through the back gate and ran down into the crowd. The band breezed through all their biggest tracks leaving Xmas no.1 ‘Killing In The Name’ until last, the enitre crowd screaming the last refrain.

4. The Irrepressibles - The Scala - 30th September

The Irrepressibles are a strange sort of band to describe—a singer/guitarist with a ten-piece orchestra hardly seems to do them justice. Their album ‘Mirror Mirror’ is strange and beautiful but unfailingly theatrical—something that seems to make far more sense once you see them live. While not like an all-singing, all-dancing pop concert, the band are choreographed to precision in a way that completely complements, but never detracts from, the music. The ridiculous outfits make sense on stage, they are beautiful. A beautiful secret of a gig, unfortunately plagued by sound/electrical problems but that nonetheless, brought a whole new angle when re-listening to the album.

5. Anathema - Islington Academy - 21st May

Anathema played Islington Academy just before their album in ‘We’re Here Because We’re Here’ was released. All that had been heard of it was 5 short song clips on their website (and as it turned out, a few people had heard some tracks in full after they leaked), but it was a new, more positive band that emerged after the 7-year wait, looking confident and relaxed on stage and playing a long show with no support act which allowed them to dig out some fantastic tracks from their back catalogue. The new tracks sounded unmistakably like Anathema, but when played alongside older tracks, sounded full of hope and joy. Another gig that was unfortunately plagued by a few sound problems, the band dealt with it well and will be returning to London for another show in February.

Other honourable mentions:

Pearl Jam - Hyde Park - 25th June

Pearl Jam always put on an excellent show, and their 2009 show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire was the best I have ever been to. The Hyde Park show was everything you could want—with a career-spanning setlist and support from Ben Harper who later got up on stage with the band. However, this year, PJ don’t make the top 5 as it’s time for some new blood up there, and as PJ shows go, this didn’t stand out as much as SBE or their headliner at the Reading Festival.

Lissie - Heaven - 1st November

Relative newcomer Lissie has had a great year, with album ‘Catching A Tiger’ exceeding expectations. This gig showcased her formidable voice and marked her out as a talent to keep an eye on. Throwing the audience a curveball with a cover of Metallica’s ‘Nothing Else Matters’ was a nice touch too.

See also: Knowledge Hoover’s Top 5 Albums of 2010