Top 5 Concerts of 2015

The Top 5 Concerts that I attended in 2015: Part 1 (5-4)

Although I didn't attend a ton of concerts in 2015, I went to enough to warrant a solid top 5 list. I should note that I did not include any of the shows I saw at festivals last year (Pemberton). If you're interested to check those out here's my top 5 in terms of musical performance: (5-3) http://epiclyunreal.blogspot.ca/2015/08/pemberton-music-festival-review-part-2.html (2-1) http://epiclyunreal.blogspot.ca/2015/08/pemberton-music-festival-review-part-2_13.html and top 5 in terms of fun: http://epiclyunreal.blogspot.ca/2015/07/pemberton-music-festival-review-part-1.html

So without any further adieu here are my top 5 Concerts of 2015:

5) A$AP Rocky, Tyler, the Creator, Danny Brown & Vince Staples - Rogers Arena - Nov. 10

A$AP Rocky - "L$D"

The night started at my friends' place, aka The Party Pad, a five minute walk from the stadium. With such a stellar lineup, and knowing that Rogers Arena doesn't mess around with set times, we decided to have a powerful power hour. About 75 minutes later we were ready to rumble and off to the show. While I was purchasing an alcoholic beverage I heard the roar of the crowd as Vince Staples began his opening set. I arrived at my seat to see a massive crowd had already gathered; insane for this early and the first act. But this goes to show the strength of this lineup. Rocky always gets the boys to come out for his tours and this one did not disappoint. Vince played a short, high energy set that was highlighted by his hit "Norf Norf" and the Future-sampling "Senorita" which was the first of many moments that the floor crowd went berserk throughout the night. He didn't play my favourite song, "Jump Off The Roof", which became somewhat of a theme throughout the night. But definitely an okay theme; I'll explain more later.

Up next was the toothless oddball Danny Brown and his wacky rapping voice. I really like Danny Brown (his 2014 album Old was number 5 in my countdown from that year for those keeping score at home) and have been wanting to see him for quite some time. He impressed me as he sounded just like he does on record and was very easy to understand. The crazy and fun set featured party songs such as "Side B (Dope Song)" and "Dubstep" as well as one of my faves "25 Bucks." He closed with "Dip" and my friends and I could only laugh at the ridiculously awesomeness of this. 

The crowd was buzzing after this great performance as well as waiting in great anticipation for the next act, Tyler, the Creator. Going into this show, Tyler was definitely the artist that I was least excited about. His music came off as too aggressive and heavy at times for my liking and I have never been able to get into his group, Odd Future. Although I must say that his most recent album Cherry Bomb has some solid jams and more chill and soulful beats. From the moment he started I knew that I was watching a superstar. This guy was born to be on stage and absolutely blew me away with his charisma and stage presence. He was wearing blue overalls and a white sweater underneath and moved about in an incredibly animated way. The only thing that I kept thinking of that night was how much he reminded me of old school Mickey Mouse with the overalls and cartoony movements. I mean this in a very good way as it was highly entertaining to watch. He played a much more subdued set than I had anticipated (which was a very good thing) with songs such as "F*****G YOUNG/PERFECT" and "KEEP DA O'S" creating a nice and relaxed atmosphere. Although he definitely did bring out the bangers as well with tracks such as "CHERRY BOMB" and one of my faves "Yonkers" with its heavy, industrial beat sounding even better live. He was really great with the crowd too, leading chants of "Golf, Wang!" and telling a few stories in between songs. He left it all out on the stage and had the crowd buzing even more before the final act of the night.

The curtain at the back of the stage came down to reveal a two story tower full of lights just as A$AP Rocky took the stage. Once again it was clear that a superstar was on stage as the entire crowd was hanging on his every word. From the moment I heard the opening track "Palace" from his first mixtape, 2011's Live.Love.A$AP, I have been a fan of Rocky, and this being the first time seeing him live it felt like a long time coming. A$AP Rocky did not disappoint as he played a rowdy, high-energy set with songs from his entire catalog. Highlights included the Skrillex-featuring party anthem "Wild For The Night," the druggy banger "Goldie," and a cover of A$AP Ferg's "Shabba." My personal favourite song in his set was my chosen song, "L$D" in which he scaled the tower and sang his heart out; a great emotional peak in the show. So although I definitely got to hear a few of my favourite songs on this night I missed a whole lot of them as well. However, I knew that this was coming as for the most part I like the more chilled out tracks by these artists and knew that they wouldn't play them to a large arena crowd like this. There was a moment when Rocky teased my favourite song "Palace," playing a second of its opening and shouting "Are y'all ready to go crazy?" I was quite excited for this except instead of playing it he launched into "I got Hella Hoes." All I could do was laugh because it was so A$AP Rocky to do something like that. Plus the fact that he killed that song certainly helped. Seeing four great rappers on the same bill was a great bucket list moment and I only expect bigger and better things from them in the future.

4) Vieux Farka Touré - The Rickshaw Theatre - Oct. 6

Vieux Farka Touré - "Ai Du"

 

One night when I was bored and going through my e-mails I noticed one from the Rickshaw Theatre advertising an upcoming show of Malian singer/guitarist Vieux Farka Touré. I have been a fan of his and the whole Desert Blues genre for a little while now and thought it was cool that he was coming but I wasn't planning to go as I doubted I could find someone else to pay for a $30 ticket. Plus I knew he was touring with Julia Easterlin, a British vocalist who is alright but I really would only want to see just Vieux. The e-mail went on to mention a contest through the Rickshaw's Facebook page. All I had to do was share the event and make a comment on the page so I figured easy enough, why not? Then comes the day of the show and I have a message from the Rickshaw saying that I have won 2 free tickets to the show as well as his newest CD! Holy shit! I never win anything so this was quite amazing. I called up a good friend and offered him an early birthday present. After a bit of convincing and playing him the song "Diaraby Magni (Yossi Fine As Radiks Remix)" he was in and we were off (I strongly encourage you to listen to this song, found below, especially if you dig the one above).

When we walked into the theatre it became obvious that this would not be a typical night of music. The normally standing-room-only section in front of the stage was replaced by chairs and tables with candles on them. The crowd was sparse and much older than I expected. Nonetheless I was excited to see what Touré had to offer and we snagged 2 of the last seats on the side which provided a great view. The promoter then came out to introduce the band but he had bad news: Julia Easterlin had a family emergency and was therefore not able to perform. Instead we'd just be seeing the Vieux Farka Touré Trio. Perfect. This is exactly what I wanted to see; Vieux shredding on that guitar and rocking out. He began the set seated with a hat covering most of his face and playing an acoustic guitar. His frantic, fast-paced finger picking impressed me right away and his backing band of a bass player and percussionist were very tight. After a few mellow and beautiful songs Vieux ditched the chair, hat and acoustic and stood up with his electric guitar and really started to let it all out. His voice was booming and powerful as he sang with intensity and urgency. But the real star of this night was that guitar. Man oh man can this dude play! There's a reason he has the nickname of the Hendrix of the Sahara. Without a doubt he is the best guitarist that I have ever seen live. And I've seen some of the best such as Keith Richards, Slash, The Edge, and Santana. You couldn't take your eyes off of his hands as they went up and down, back and forth along the neck; I was mesmerized. 

After being blown away for about an hour, Vieux played the opening chords of "Ai Du" my chosen song and favourite from this show. This song is a cover made famous by his father, Ali Farka Touré, who recorded it with legendary British guitarist Ry Cooder. If you like Vieux then definitely check out his Dad's stuff, the albums Talking Timbuktu (with Ry Cooder) and The River for starters. The crowd roared upon recognition and we were in for a treat. Almost ten minutes of intense guitar wizardry with a brooding backbeat followed. "Ai Du" leaps from slow-paced, chill picking to frantic and furious riffing. If you love the electric guitar then you must listen to this song. When the song was finally over Vieux and the band left the stage to thunderous applause. After a few minutes they came back for an encore and then after that the unprecedented second encore. You could tell that Vieux was having a blast up there, doing what he loves. It's pretty amazing that a guy from a war-torn, far away country like Mali can wind up playing a concert in Vancouver. He's come a long way and I hope he continues to amaze crowds all over the world with his music of peace and hope. And that guitar, oh man that guitar.

Stay tuned for numbers 3-1...