Publishing my annual best album list has gotten a wee bit complicated in the last few years what with my day job at the Polaris Music Prize and the fact that a record or two that are “in competition” always end up making the grade. So I’ve decided to pivot a wee bit and focus on the best shows I’ve been to this year instead. This list overlaps, but isn’t pulled exclusively from my Before They Die™ list (which, if you don’t know what I’m referring to, next time you see me at a show you’ll have to pull me aside for a detailed explanation).
Here are the best concerts I attended in 2023:
10) The Boo Radleys @ Reds, Shiiine On Weekender, Butlin’s Minehead, UK, November 17, 2023
Getting to see the Boos was one of the main reasons why we crossed a continent to attend a weird regional music festival in an off-season amusement park. They played the bulk of their biggest hits, including “Barney (… And Me),” “Lazarus,” “Wake Up Boo,” “Upon 9th and Fairchild” and “Wish I Was Skinny” and almost single-handedly justified our trip.
9) Lee Reed @ Bovine Sex Club, October 14, 2023
Opening for B.A. Johnston. This was absolutely amazing, uncompromised revolution rap from an old white guy from Hamilton. There were songs about eating landlords, fucking up cops, death to gentrification, and anti-capitalism. I was completely inspired by his set and remain inspired weeks later.
8) Nico Paulo @ The Baby G, July 31, 2023
Beautiful voice, beautiful songs. Paulo was great, even though she didn’t actually focus on her very charming self-titled album. In recent years I’ve low-key chased a certain sort of ’60s & 70s-style pop vocalist (think Carole King, Carpenters, Petula Clark, Lesley Gore, etc) and Paulo gets closer to capturing that elusive time period magic than most.
7) Stereo MCs @ Centre Stage, Shiiine On Weekender, Butlin’s Minehead, UK, November 19, 2023
This was an absolute throwdown. They sounded spectacular, they looked spectacular and the beats and the music felt just updated enough to feel seriously heavy, effectively executed and both contemporary and still retro. I was not expecting to come out of Shiiine On fest going, “Holy shit, the Stereo MCs…” and yet here we are.
6) Jairus Sharif @ Polaris Music Prize @ Massey Hall, September 19, 2023
This was one of my favourite actions of the Polaris year. We got Jairus to play his solo freak jazz in front of a bunch of VIPs before the Polaris Gala. It was 15 minutes of wondrous, deviant and challenging noise — exactly the sort of thing we’re meant to celebrate.
5) Inspiral Carpets @ Skyline Pavilion, Shiiine On Weekender, Butlin’s Minehead, UK, November 18, 2023
Besides the Boos, getting to see the Inspiral Carpets was one of the central pillars of our recent U.K. trip and it was entirely worth it. I almost cried like three times and the 1-2-3 of “She Comes In The Fall,” “This Is How It Feels” and “Two Worlds Collide” was beautiful and perfect. I was completely shocked that their closer was a theatrified “Saturn 5” complete with confetti canons, bouncing balls and a whole heap of flourish. But we won’t hold that against them.
4) The Hives @ Lee’s Palace, November 3, 2023
This was hot, sweaty, relentless, perfect rock ‘n’ roll with the band fucking giving it. It also helped that their new album — and in particular the “Rigor Mortis Radio” song — are absolutely deadly. This was probably the only show this year where I lined up for “doors open” instead of cruising in to the joint three minutes before set start and that commitment (and the very good sightline by the Lee’s guardrails overlooking the floor) made for an epic evening.
3) Dayglo Abortions @ Hard Luck Bar, May 20, 2023
The background for this show was that Murray “Cretin” Acton, the band leader for this 40+ year old pack of punk legends, was touring across Canada while he had colon cancer and was basically, “I could sit at home and be depressed, or go out and see all my friends…” It was a remarkable message with remarkable resolve. The first song the band played was some sort of noisy Fuck Cancer ad-lib, but beyond a few funny stage quips about it, the Dayglos played a straight-ahead greatest hits set and the audience treated it like a proper punk show… which is probably the best way to go about it. Cretin made multiple mentions of “community” and supporting the scene and one couldn’t help but feel swept up. The highlight was probably a very hardcore “Drugged And Driving,” which really landed. I was kinda shocked this Dayglos tour hasn’t received more attention in the straight world. Perhaps it’s because they’re punk and old and messy, but whatever, it was an incredibly inspiring, life-affirming, shake-your-fist-at-death set from punk rock masters.
2) BIG|BRAVE @ The Garrison, June 11, 2023
I’m not exactly sure how to describe BIG|BRAVE seeing how “screamy pagan folk doom” sounds a bit reductive for a trio of absolute players who take you on a journey through their dark, dizzying jazz metal world.
1) B.A. Johnston @ Bovine Sex Club, October 14, 2023
I’ve been waiting years to see B.A. and he did not disappoint. Johnston is an absolutely brilliant showman and possibly the best iteration of what a one-man band could be. His crowd work was superb — he poured Hawkins Cheezies bits down my throat, crawled through my legs at one point, played outside on top of a parked car at another point, served bar, sang on the bar, did about 15 costume changes (he just had 15 shirts of his on his body that he systematically took off) and generally ruled the entire evening. The “We’re All Going To Jail (Except Pete, He’s Gonna Die)” Van Halen song as set closer was perfect. This wasn’t just one of the best sets I saw this year, this was one of the best sets I’ve ever seen.
Risky Fuel 