2013 Year in Review: The Year In Live Music

Kipp Whittaker | Dec 28, 2013 1:00 pm | Add a comment | 1463 reads

It's that time of year again, where we must say goodbye to the old and hello to new. Time has a way of forcing these things, and he isn't very flexible on the matter. But, despite how much I hate goodbyes, there have been lots of memorable shows over the past year.

This is just my little way of giving thanks to all of the interesting music that finds its way to our little corner of the globe, and all of the people who work super hard to make it happen. Here is a quick look at some of my favorite acts to visit Beijing this year.

5. Bob Log III (pictured above): Temple Bar

His one man band redneck sleaze made me chicken walk like Foghorn Leghorn for about two hours, which probably isn't a pretty sight. I especially enjoyed how he would coerce ladies to sit on his lap as he played. I use to listen to him when he was called Doo Rag, and would sing through a vacuum cleaner and use a mic'ed piece of cardboard as a kick drum. He has definitely evolved since then, but the original craft and aesthetic is ever present. Here is a video from that night at Temple Bar.

4. Stre4m: School Bar

These guys from Melbourne were near perfect, and looked like a bunch of pagan hillbilly lumberjacks. They played very interesting improvised music. The sounds floated around the bar like a soundtrack to the cigarette smoke that filled the bar. It was a mixture of elegantly effected guitar, bowed and plucked violins, and a distorted Casio keyboard to dense it up a bit. I really would like them to come back.

3. Jeans Team: Yugong Yishan

I think their jammer for the evening was a song affectionately titled Scheiss Drauf. These guys were pretty goofy and wimpy in a way that I really enjoy and a lot of people love to hate, but they seriously know how to freak things up. Their stage presence was undeniable and they play a demented blend of circus music with a Kraftwerk, Neue Deutsche Welle edge. I loved their LED sign displaying hundreds of weird, sexual words at random.

2. NHK'Koyxem: Yugong Yishan

The Japanese are known for their extreme, sometimes sinister love for technology. NHK'Koyxem is no exception. His sound is experimental, noisy and flexible. His skill for breaking the rhythmic conventions often associated with techno and EDM, brought to mind his musical associations with the Japanese underground. This along with the other acts on the Hula Honeys label, were nothing short of amazing.

1. Ceephax acid Crew: Dada

This fellow is the younger brother of Squarepusher, but where I’ve always found Squarepusher to be really serious and kind of academic, Ceephax Acid Crew is fun and hilariously crafted. There isn’t a laptop in sight, he is completely live and very hands on. I am kind of an electronic music gear nerd, so this was heavenly to watch. Check out this funny music video he made:

To give you a better appreciation of this past year in music, here are some samples to let you have a listen to these great acts:

5. Bob Log III