Top Concerts 2017

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   Saw quite a lot of music in 2017, here are my favorites in no particular order:-

Nik Bartsch Mobile - Boston - played MIT as a free gig, seen them twice know and love their performances, small venues, set that grooves, band look like they are having fun.

Knifeworld - London - flew in to see 2 days of music also featuring Spratleys Japs, Guapo & Admirals Hard. Small gig in a pub in Islington, acoustic set. Wonderful stuff.

Jean Michel Jarre - Boston - played a surprisingly large venue that was only a third full, mix of vintage material & more EDM stuff. Superb light show.

Roger Waters - Boston - mainly later days Floyd set with really good support musicians, was more for the stage show that the performance though great to hear the Animals tracks live. Personally I was too far away in the gods of TD Garden but you need that size venue for that stage show.

King Crimson - Boston - This is probably the best live version of Crimson I've seen (been seeing them since 2001), great set list of vintage material, new stuff that works, really tight performances. Great night out.

North Sea Radio Orchestra - London - supported by William D Drake in a small church, chamber folk with ethereal vocals, gorgeous, sublime.

Claudia Quintet - Boston - tiny little venue in Cambridge sitting right next to the band. 

Sonar & David Torn - ProgDay - was pretty surprised how well this worked, been wanting to see Sonar for ages and they grooved and grooved, Torn really added another element to their music.

Cheer-Accident - RIO - mix of experimental, humor, performance art and recent album music, superb stuff

a.P.A.t.T.  - RIO - an experimental band from Liverpool featuring a rotating cast of characters, they had 7 people on stage playing guitars, keys, tuba, trumpet, clarinet, xylophone & drums. Everyone played multiple instruments and they swapped between tracks. They played a selection of wonky pop/cabaret/rock tracks that reminded me most of Chrome Hoof and Mirthkon.

In Love With - RIO - a minimalist brutal jazz trio featuring violin, cello & drums, extremely tight, high energy bonkers jazz. Wonderful stuff

Supersilent - Big Ears - dark visceral angry ambient, layer upon layer, along with Deathprod one of the highlights of the festival.

The Horse Lords - Big Ears - high energy minimalist punky stuff that really grooves.

There were a bunch of other really good concerts from the likes of Secret Chiefs 3, Chelsea Wolfe, Tortoise, Bent Knee, Ahleuchatistas, Alec K Redfearn & The Eyesores.

Edited by Nogbad_The_Bad - December 09 2017 at 08:52

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Nogbad_The_Bad Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum & Site Admin Group RIO/Avant/Zeuhl & Eclectic Team Joined: March 16 2007 Location: Boston Status: Offline Points: 20837	Topic: Top Concerts 2017 Posted: December 09 2017 at 08:51
	Saw quite a lot of music in 2017, here are my favorites in no particular order:- Nik Bartsch Mobile - Boston - played MIT as a free gig, seen them twice know and love their performances, small venues, set that grooves, band look like they are having fun. Knifeworld - London - flew in to see 2 days of music also featuring Spratleys Japs, Guapo & Admirals Hard. Small gig in a pub in Islington, acoustic set. Wonderful stuff. Jean Michel Jarre - Boston - played a surprisingly large venue that was only a third full, mix of vintage material & more EDM stuff. Superb light show. Roger Waters - Boston - mainly later days Floyd set with really good support musicians, was more for the stage show that the performance though great to hear the Animals tracks live. Personally I was too far away in the gods of TD Garden but you need that size venue for that stage show. King Crimson - Boston - This is probably the best live version of Crimson I've seen (been seeing them since 2001), great set list of vintage material, new stuff that works, really tight performances. Great night out. North Sea Radio Orchestra - London - supported by William D Drake in a small church, chamber folk with ethereal vocals, gorgeous, sublime. Claudia Quintet - Boston - tiny little venue in Cambridge sitting right next to the band. Sonar & David Torn - ProgDay - was pretty surprised how well this worked, been wanting to see Sonar for ages and they grooved and grooved, Torn really added another element to their music. Cheer-Accident - RIO - mix of experimental, humor, performance art and recent album music, superb stuff a.P.A.t.T. - RIO - an experimental band from Liverpool featuring a rotating cast of characters, they had 7 people on stage playing guitars, keys, tuba, trumpet, clarinet, xylophone & drums. Everyone played multiple instruments and they swapped between tracks. They played a selection of wonky pop/cabaret/rock tracks that reminded me most of Chrome Hoof and Mirthkon. In Love With - RIO - a minimalist brutal jazz trio featuring violin, cello & drums, extremely tight, high energy bonkers jazz. Wonderful stuff Supersilent - Big Ears - dark visceral angry ambient, layer upon layer, along with Deathprod one of the highlights of the festival. The Horse Lords - Big Ears - high energy minimalist punky stuff that really grooves. There were a bunch of other really good concerts from the likes of Secret Chiefs 3, Chelsea Wolfe, Tortoise, Bent Knee, Ahleuchatistas, Alec K Redfearn & The Eyesores. Edited by Nogbad_The_Bad - December 09 2017 at 08:52
	Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/

Rune2000 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: May 23 2004 Location: STHLM, Sweden Status: Offline Points: 1833	Posted: December 10 2017 at 12:39
	Thank you for sharing! I've see around 60 concerts this year, most of which were here in Stockholm, Sweden. Here are my top 10 favorites: 1. Magma - first time seeing them live and I was completely mesmerized by the performance! 2. Radiohead - first time and I really enjoyed the new material from A Moon Shaped Pool + the nostalgia encore featuring Street Spirit, Karma Police and Paranoid Android. 3. Russian Circles - my 5th time and it's always a blast. Too bad the weren't the headlining act this time and only played five compositions. 4. Meshuggah - 8th time seeing them live and first where I really felt old because of all they younger fans in the crowd. 5. Sparks - 4th time and it seems like the brothers never age. 6. Mastodon - 4th time live and 1st time as a headlining act. 7. Goblin - saw this gig on the same day as Radiohead and thus was really tired by the time the band got to their encore. Still, it was a blast to see the original lineup back together + all the classic tunes from Roller, Suspiria etc. 8. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - 1st time and it felt like a really intense gig due to the charisma that is projected from Nick Cave on stage. 9. Saga - 4th time and probably the last one since the band are planning on calling it a day. 10. Guns n Roses - 1st time and it was fun seeing 3/5 of the original lineup back together. Solid gig but I kind of wish that they played at a smaller venue.


Corcoranw687 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Newbie Joined: December 16 2016 Location: Ottawa Status: Offline Points: 18	Posted: December 11 2017 at 13:51
	I feel very lucky this year, Ottawa is between Toronto and Montreal so bands will often skip right over and hit the larger markets, but I only travelled to see one show this year and that was King Crimson in Montreal. Unbelievable show. Stick Men later came to Ottawa and I got to meet them all and had them sign my Roppongi. Just as good as KC! Surprise of the year was Guns N Roses, awesome 3+ hour show with interesting choices like Coma, Estranged, Yesterdays, Better, and Black Hole Sun. I couldn't believe how well they played! Got to see Kayo Dot, great show!! Ne Obliviscaris blew me away as well, they sounded just like the albums which is impressive given the density of their music. I became an instant fan of openers Allegaeon and The Aphelion as well. So far looking forward to Steve Hackett, Judas Priest and Santana next year, and a road trip to Quebec for Edensong!!

progmatic Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: August 22 2009 Location: Ohio Status: Offline Points: 1785	Posted: December 16 2017 at 19:34
	This year: Brand X, Strawbs, Stick Men, King freaking Crimson and dada, not prog but one of my favorite bands of all-time.
	PROGMATIC

The Bearded Bard Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: January 24 2012 Location: Behind the Sun Status: Offline Points: 12859	Posted: December 18 2017 at 03:15
	Bushman's Revenge@Café Mono, Oslo (Apr) Begynnelser (theater performance w/music by Motorpsycho)@Nationaltheatret, Oslo (Jun) Reflectons in Cosmo@Kafé Hærverk, Oslo (Jun) Motorpsycho@Oslo Concert Hall, Oslo (Sep)


King of Loss Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: April 21 2005 Location: Boston, MA Status: Offline Points: 16435	Posted: December 22 2017 at 23:22
	King Crimson - Boston. The 2nd time I've seen them. Just amazing.

amity62 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Groupie Joined: January 11 2012 Location: Russia Status: Offline Points: 67	Posted: January 03 2018 at 10:14
	my top-5 1. Pain of salvation - Helsinki 2. PMJ - Spb 3. Aranis - Riga 4. Riverside - Helsinki 5. Gleb Kolyadin - Spb

Meltdowner Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: June 25 2013 Location: Portugal Status: Offline Points: 10232	Posted: January 03 2018 at 11:39
	I didn't see as many concerts as usual this year, but the ones I saw were all memorable: Bruno Pernadas (Coimbra; Mar) - One of the best concerts I saw at the local Jazz club. Ghost/Zombi (Lisboa; Apr) - I went mostly to see Zombi, they played a tight 45 minute set including songs from most albums. The Ghost show was really fun too though. José Cid (Porto; May) - Second "10.000 Anos Depois..." concert I saw and it was much better. I think it has enough quality for an international Prog festival, if anyone was interested. Jorge Palma (Águeda; May) - An intimate show on a big stage. Sensible Soccers (Costa Nova; Jul) - The soundtrack of Summer played at the beach. Esfera (Coimbra; Jul) - Prog concert and barbecue in Coimbra's downtown. A very nice afternoon. SonicBlast 2017: Kikagaku Moyo, Colour Haze, Elder, Black Bombaim (Moledo do Minho; Aug) - I picked my favourite concerts, overall it was an amazing Psychedelic weekend. The Black Wizards (Figueira da Foz; Oct) - They got even better with their new album. Anaquim (Coimbra; Dec) - A very special 10th anniversary 2h30 concert with all the records' guests. Black Bombaim (Porto; Dec) - They played the whole second album. It was great because I missed a concert of theirs from back then.

omphaloskepsis Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: October 19 2011 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 6339	Posted: January 03 2018 at 11:45
	Best concert I saw in 2017....King Crimson

Squonk19 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: April 03 2015 Location: Darlington, UK Status: Offline Points: 4776	Posted: January 03 2018 at 16:59
	2017 was a bit thin on the prog concert scene for me up here in the North-East of the UK (do booking agents know we exist!) - Panic Room, Carl Palmer and Steve Hackett delivered the goods, although it was Genesis tributes The Musical Box and Los Endos who left the warmest impression on me (very unadventurous, I know). 2018 looks much better, with Yes, Marillion and Jethro Tull in quick succession in the next few months. A word of praise for the summer's Keith Emerson Celebration Concert in Birmingham - grandiose, moving and although ultimately rather chaotic - a great evening. Martin Barre put a nice little show together, while tribute band 'Nearly Dan' flew the flag very well for us fans missing Walter! More 'classic rock' bands made it up here this year. Iron Maiden, Shinedown, Black Star Riders, Inglorious, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Snakecharmer etc. all kept my less celebral side happy! UK melodic band Vega were probably my favourite concert in that style. Pleased to see Chris Rea a few weeks ago on his home patch in the North-East - surprisingly good blues guitar given his health - hopefully he'll bounce back from his latest health scare. Very envious of any posters living near London, or who can take time outside of school holidays to see the various weekend festivals around the country. I'd be out every night! Is that the case for any who are close to Boerderij in the Netherlands? Must be like heaven!
	“Living in their pools, they soon forget about the sea.”

ProfPanglos Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: July 25 2017 Location: Austin, Texas Status: Offline Points: 624	Posted: March 15 2018 at 20:18
	My 2017 shows: Stick Men Jean-Michel Jarre King Crimson Ludovico Einaudi All 4 shows were superb, but Jarre was transcendent.

Walkscore Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: February 16 2017 Location: Toronto, Canada Status: Offline Points: 231	Posted: March 15 2018 at 22:07
	Saw a bunch of shows in 2017. The best by far was from Canadian singer Tanya Tagaq. She improvised for 90 minutes one single piece with her 4-piece band, which consisted of herself (voice), guitar, drums, and theremin. First time I had seen her, and I wasn't sure what to expect (one can see her perform on youtube, and while unique, it is not clear from those youtube shorts what a full concert might be like). Well, it was some of the most beautiful dynamic music, from soft and peaceful, to harsh and dissonant (aka the most harsh Crimson), to soaring and uplifting. And really progressive. Perhaps they were just really on that night, but I have rarely seen improvisation create something that musical. Different from her studio albums too. In my top 10 concerts ever. Tanya Tagaq is not on this site, but I would recommend adding her here. Not sure which category - if there were to be a 'prog-world' category then surely that, but otherwise perhaps RIO/Avant or fusion (though she is not jazz).