photo credit: weworemasks

We may not have covered as many shows for weworemasks, but I’m positive that I attended more shows in 2014 than any year since I graduated college. And that’s a-ok with me. So below the jump, you’ll find my first year-end list of 2014 – with only a few more to come.

-grizzly


photo credit: Matthew Cooper

Honorable Mentions:

Arcade Fire – Reflektour
April 10, 2014
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, The Woodlands, Texas

Justin Timberlake
December 1, 2014
Toyota Center, Houston, Texas

Chromeo – Come Alive Tour
April 6, 2014
House of Blues, Houston, Texas
[REVIEW]

The first two of these three would’ve made my top 10 any other year, but the fact that I had seen both Arcade Fire and Justin Timberlake play nearly the same tour a year prior kept them out of the créme. Having “Wake Up” drown the Woodlands Pavilion in confetti was incredible, and seeing Timberlake perform across a stadium-wide platform that hovered over the crowd are two of the best live moments of this past year. Chromeo didn’t make it for any other reason other than it being at House of Blues.

photo credit: Rolling Stone

10. Outkast – Austin City Limits
October 10, 2014
Zilker Park, Austin, Texas

I knew going in to this show that Outkast (namely Andre 3k) was doing this show for all the wrong reasons, but there was no possible way that I would be missing a show of one of the best rap duos I’ve ever been a fan of, on what is my last possible chance. Yes, the show was subpar. Yes, the setlist could’ve been a little better. Yes, Andre could’ve been more enthusiastic. No, I couldn’t care less. It was great. I even spent $40 on a t-shirt.

photo credit: Matthew Cooper

9. Portugal. The Man / Grouplove – Honda Civic Tour
August 30, 2014
Southside Ballroom, Dallas, Texas

This is a sentimental entry on this list. It wasn’t by any stretch one of the “best” shows I saw all year. But my good homie Dan, who plays in Grouplove, set us up for an irresponsible night in Dallas, where we could enjoy the company of each other, (this is the only show we saw all year with our Dallas counterpart – you know, Panda – who used to write for this site) a shit ton of booze, the great NBA debates and yelling at ravers in our apartment complex. [PHOTO REVIEW]

photo credit: grizzly/weworemasks

8. Jimmy Eat World – Damages US Tour
May 16, 2014
House of Blues, Houston, Texas

Back when Futures came out, I caught the flu and never got the chance to see JEW in a club. I caught them at Bamboozle a few years back, but I missed any semblance of an intimate setting. But those Mesa, AZ boys had Houston as the first stop on their tour, and we gathered up our friends, sewed the hearts on our sleeves and had a grand old time.

photo credit: grizzly/weworemasks

7. Disclosure / Vic Mensa
January 30, 2014
Warehouse Live, Houston, Texas

Vic Mensa had an awesome year. How he ended up on a tour with Disclosure? I’m not sure. But I met him at the bar, bought him a drink and welcomed him to Houston. Then I forgot his set and partied too hard on a Monday night to a Disclosure set, long before the “Latch” blow-up. The lack of memory of this one is what sets it apart. Disclosure were (allegedly) fantastic.

photo credit: Justin Yee for livemusicblog

6. Tycho – Awake US Tour
April 29, 2014
Fitzgeralds, Houston, Texas

I’m not sure what it is about Tycho (an AOTY candidate for me), but the music just resonates well with me. Instrumental or not, Scott Hansen and co. took me on a visual and aural journey for an hour and a half, as they played nearly all of Awake and Dive. If this band ever comes to your town, go. It’ll be the best $15-20 you’ll spend.

photo credit: grizzly/weworemasks

5. Every Time I Die – Violent Gentleman Tour
November 26, 2014
House of Blues, Houston, Texas

From all the moshing and drinking, I’m not sure how I managed to get a coherent review out of this one. ETID prefaced this with the fact that it’s “on the biggest party night” of the year, and our Thanksgiving Eve was spent in Buffalo’s hands. Keep on keepin’ on. [REVIEW]

photo credit: grizzly/weworemasks

4. Manchester Orchestra / Balance and Composure / Kevin Devine
April 21, 2014
Warehouse Live, Houston, Texas

B&C touring with other rock bands is always a good thing, especially when the other rock band just released their best album in years, COPE, and are out headlining a tour. Add to the fact that long time buddy Kevin Devine joined the pair on tour with the Goddamn Band? There is too much to be enjoying here. Easily one of the best shows of the year. [REVIEW]

photo credit: Kyle Gaddo for HeavyBlogisHeavy

3. Coheed and Cambria – Neverender: In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth 3 September 13, 2014
The Fillmore, Denver, Colorado

So many reasons for this show being this “high” on my list. Hey, that was a pun, because please note the location of the show. Ok, enough stupidity. This is hands down mine (and Sunbear’s) favorite Coheed album. We were in Denver visiting a long-time friend for her wedding, and we just happened to run into this show at the right time. So we decided to forego the show in Houston a few weeks later (it was sold out, anyway) to enjoy a change of scenery for a ten-year reunion type show.

photo credit: Consequence of Sound

2. Drake vs. Lil Wayne
September 27, 2014
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, The Woodlands, Texas

It was hard to get a grip on how big the starpower of both Drake and Wayne are. The two collaborated on heaters for years, but putting them on the same stage at the same time was a fantastic idea. My entire group of friends had a mob out on the grassy lawn, as we realized the depth and longevity of Wayne’s catalog, and how much of a modern radio king Drake truly is.

photo credit: grizzly/weworemasks

1. Brand New
October 18, 2018
Bayou Music Center, Houston, Texas

Realistically, this show shouldn’t have happened. We had a very good friend’s wedding and reception to attend. But hey, we’re gonna do what we do. We took an über (Sorry, it should’ve been a Lyft) to the show, eventually to return from whence we came. But in that two-hour break, I caught an immense and stadium-sized Brand New show. The kind that I forgot they knew how to play, in a venue that might’ve been a little too big to begin with. But yes, memories.

photo credit: weworemasks

Best Festival:

Fun Fun Fun Fest 9 – It’s unfair to include festivals in the list, especially when Fun Fun Fun Fest put together the lineup that they did. When we did the review for the festival, we had a hard time discussing and deciding on our top five acts from the festival, but here are a few highlights:

• King Diamond put on one of the most theatrically entertaining and musically stunning festival sets I’ve ever seen
• The Black Stage was a godsend. I mean, there aren’t many festivals that have the above mentioned, Glassjaw, a f’n Blood Brothers reunion, Deafheaven in the daytime (much better than you’d think) and much much more in the midst of a 3 day festival.
• Run The Jewels, who led a “Sun Kil Moon, suck my dick!” chant at 4 p.m.
• A hallucination-filled Flying Lotus set
• Nas performing ‘Illmatic’ in its entirety
• DFA1979, headlining after they’ve released a new album

Hope 2015’s half as good as 2014.

-grizzly