Wonder Showzen 2012 > was absolutely remarkable and just like every other year in live music for me this series of concerts, parties, festivals and such, each had an identity of its own. Artists have continued to develop, galas have grown and newly discovered bands have come into fruition, making all events and even the most familiar of productions a whole new experience.
I didn't quite get to 100 shows like I've done in each of the last several years but I confidently state that the quality of this year's collections has been the best yet. From the valley to Cali and from here to there I experienced many an artist for the first time [Childish Gambino, Neon Indian], 13th time [311], long-awaited [Justice, Yeasayer], and some I haven't seen in nearly 10 years [Goldfinger].
This year I basked in festivals across state lines like Outside Lands, experienced local classics like Soundwave take the next step in grandioseness and even marveled in the Identity Fest tour expansion's debut in Phoenix this year. While staples like The Clubhouse were put to rest, newer venues like Crescent Ballroom asserted their presence into the scene and old ones arose from the dead and reinvigorated from dormancy [welcome back, Nile Theater].
Net net 2012 was a superb year and once again I got to wander a music lover’s paradise. As always I had the blastest blast with my best friends, made a shit ton of new ones and even partook some of these gigs on the solo tip. It's far too difficult to decipher the best of 2012 because each were unique from the performance aspect, my variety of company and each experience was distinct for one reason or another. Thus, in lieu of choosing, I’ll salute all of the artists that took part in my phenomenal 2012 in a Flickr tribute and healthy shout-out list. Happy 2013, my friends!
311 Above & Beyond Adrian Lux Adventure Club x 2 The Ataris Beck Benny Benassi Bingo Players Bloc Party Buck-O-Nine Calvin Harris Chasing Kings Childish Gambino CONGOROCK Daedelus Danny Brown Designer Drugs Digitalism DJ Craze DJ Noah Wylie x ? Doctor P Dry River Yacht Club Face To Face Factories Flying Scorpion Friends Goldfinger Grouplove Guttermouth Japandroids Justice Kerli The Kills Ladylike Le Castle Vania Metallica Metric Mourning Maxwell MSTRKRFT Neon Indian Onuinu Passion Pit Paul Van Dyk Pennywise Pink is Punk Pretty Lights Reggie Watts x 2 Santigold x 2 Seven Lions Skrillex Slightly Stoopid x 2 Slowpoke Snake Burner x ? Starfucker Strung Out Toro Y Moi Tranzit x ? Turner & Heit x ? Voodoo Glow Skulls Washed Out Wolfgang Gartner YACHT x 2 Yeasayer Z-Trip x 2
marc
