Best of Live Music 2022
Live music came back big in 2022, and I couldn’t get enough of it.
By my count, I saw one hundred and ten shows, give or take, in venues across New York City, Austin, Pennsylvania, and the great state of New Jersey. My live music year kicked off with War On Drugs at Madison Square Garden in January, and wrapped up with one of Yo La Tengo’s Hanukkah shows at the Bowery in December.
For me, there is nothing like live music. This past year, I started to write about it. Armed with a crappy cellphone camera, very limited writing skills, and even more limited social media capabilities, I created a blog at jeffrey-farin.medium.com, where you can read about (and sometimes see and hear excerpts from) my concert experiences. It’s not about me, though, it’s about the music and the musicians, and the skills and talent and the passion they bring to every show. I’m just trying to get the word out about them. Try some of the embedded links below if you’d like to get a taste.
Anyway, here’s what I got out of Live Music 2022.
South By Southwest is the treasure hunt that keeps on giving.
It’s such a great formula. Every year in mid-March, 3,000 or so bands from all over world coverage on Austin, Texas for a week-long set of shows across 50 or so small venues. Fifty thousand live music fans spend the week asking each other, “Who did you see who was awesome?”, and sampling the smorgasbord. For me, every year is a treasure trove. This year’s best included Nova Twins, Yard Act, Wet Leg, Horsegirl, Los Bitchos, Bass Drum of Death, and Cuffed Up, and when they each came to New York, I went to see them play.
In years prior, I added Pip Blom, Black Angels, Black Pistol Fire, Spoon, The Joy Formidable, The Beths, and Fontaines DC to my must-see list, and I got to see all of them live this year, too. I’m planning to attend SWSX 2023, and am toying with “Who did you see who was dope?” as my line to show how young and cool I am.
Here’s a playlist of material from the bands I saw at SXSW 2022.
(Some) Geezers Still Rock!
This year, it seemed that every band that ever put out an album was on the road doing shows and selling merch. At least, the ones that still had one or two guys still alive enough to play. I got to hear several bands from my younger days in trips down memory lane, reminding me why my kids dreaded/loved riding in the car with me and my cd-changer: The Offspring, The Lemonheads, Goldfinger, The Smithereens, Dropkick Murphys, Nada Surf, Anberlin, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, DEVO, Built to Spill, and She Wants Revenge were all in that category.
Top longevity honors went to Blue Oyster Cult, who celebrated fifty(Jesus!) years as a group, and The Damned, whom I had never heard of, also hitting the fifty-year mark. And right behind them, The Violent Femmes, who have been cranking out folk punk and attitude since 1979. Some have aged better than others, but I was overall astounded at how good they all sounded live.
Ten Years Went By Quick!
Several bands celebrated ten-year anniversaries. They couldn’t believe it was ten years. Neither could I. DIIV’s 10-year show for “Oshin” was one of the best concerts of the year. Cloud Nothing’s 10-year “Attack On Memory” show was deafening, but excellent. The Joy Formidable, Wolf Alice, Rise Against, and Spoon all used their time on this planet to put out fresh material and give their shows some extra punch. Others like Interpol continued to belt out their well-known stuff to audiences who still want to hear it.
New Jersey’s SeaHearNow festival delivers the goods every year.
Two days of sand, surf and music in Asbury Park in September has been a winner for each of the four years it’s been held, and 2022 was no exception. This year’s truly outstanding lineup included IDLES, Wet Leg, Cage The Elephant, Courtney Barnett, The Backseat Lovers, My Morning Jacket, Stevie Nicks, and Green Day. And those were just the acts that I saw. My brother opted for Billy Strings, Boy George & Culture Club, and Skip Marley, but I can’t be everywhere!
It’s worth showing up early to catch the warm-up acts.
If nothing else, the early birds get closer to the stage. And sometimes the warm-up act is better than the headliner. Madi Diaz was way more enjoyable than Waxahatchee at Asbury Lanes. The Chameleons were more talented and more genuine than She Wants Revenge at White Eagle Hall. Los Bitchos overshadowed Belle and Sebastian at Central Park. ’68 was a hilarious and fun warm-up for Anberlin at House of Independents. And Baby Shakes did a helluva job opening for The Damned at The Stone Pony.
What are friends for?
My buddy Tracey, whom I haven’t seen in about 20 years, put me in front of Tropical Fuck Storm in Williamsburg. I had no clue, but they were amazing. Next February he has me taking in Otoboke Beaver at Elsewhere, and I’m already scared and excited based on the YouTube links he’s shared.
And God Bless Spotify, and the 50 billion virtual friends I now have globally, so we can all populate the algorithms with our personal preferences that somehow magically introduce me to songs and bands I need to see. Spotify put me in front of Parquet Courts, the Linda Lindas, Cloud Nothings, Shame, Viagra Boys, Rolling Blackouts, Amyl and the Sniffers, Dry Cleaning, and DIIV, for some of the best shows of 2022. Sometimes, one good song was enough to get me there.
Sometimes, you just get lucky.
On any given night, BandsInTown will display over 300 shows you can see in the greater New York area. If you get the urge to go, I guarantee there are great shows to see. If I get antsy, and don’t want to hike into New York City or over to Brooklyn, Asbury Park has been more than able to fill the need. The Stone Pony and its Summer Stage continues to be Ground Zero for great shows all year round. Last minute trips to The House of Independents paid off with shows from Anberlin, Cali surf punks Destroy Boys, and local NJ talent like Pollyanna. Even Asbury Lanes, a legit bowling alley, was able to attract talent like Waxahatchee and, all they way from New Zealand, The Beths.
Some wise guy once said, “Ninety percent of success is just showing up.” I’m with him. Every single show I saw was great. Some were way better than others, but I never came away disappointed, or that I wasted my time. Not once out of eighty-eight.
Here’s a playlist of songs from each of the bands I saw live this past year.
Buy the merch.
Seriously. Even if you already have a closet full of hundreds of concert t-shirts (which I guess I do), buy another one, every time you see a show you love. It’s such a great way to show your support for the team, helps get the word out on great bands new and old, and they probably make more money on the merch than on the show ticket sales.
Happy New Year, and already booking concerts and events for the next several months. Rock on, 2023!