And Pluck Your Strings

Not many bands can calmly walk onto stage and play two of my favourite ever songs within the first ten minutes of the show. But that’s exactly what Zach Condon and his band did a couple of nights ago at The Forum in Melbourne, with a casual nonchalance that contrasted with just how important their music obviously was to many of the adoring people packed into the sold out venue. And the night had only just begun.

Because this is a personal site there are bound to be a few great albums missing from this list that I probably love, I just don’t know it. What I can say however is that many of the albums I did listen to properly I absolutely loved. It may not have been the best year ever in terms of new albums, but it certainly was a pretty good one. Anyway, now that I’m feeling suitably defensive, here are my favourite albums of the year. Set to shit haiku. Because why not?

Musically speaking, I think my entire prior life had just been a warmup for this year. With only a few exceptions, you could pretty much name this list the ‘Best Gigs Of My Life’ and it would still be accurate. Many of these gigs have given me moments and memories that will stay with me forever, and more than anything they demonstrated just how powerful, important, and magical music can be.

Long-winded generic text about how it’s been a good year for music, Australian music in particular. Disclaimer that all lists such as this are inherently subjective and should be treated as opinion rather than fact. Media whore invite to please share this list with as many people as possible and/or to leave you opinion in the comments. Comparison to previous years. Snide joke at Pitchfork’s expense. Okay, that should just about cover it.

To say the shit hit the fan in the leadup to the Melbourne Harvest Festival would be an understatement. We witnessed timetabling problems, the promoter pissing off his headline act, transport dilemmas, sideshow inconsistencies, you name it. However the beauty of a great music festival is that, come the day itself, all the periphery stuff seems to just fade away and all that matters is the music.

Last night Okkervil River played one of the most powerful, intense, and captivating gigs I have ever witnessed to an enthralled sold-out crowd at Melbourne’s idyllic Forum venue. Quite simply, it’s hard to imagine a show much better.