As Christmas approaches and another year draws to a close, we here at Stereoboard decided to take a look back over the past 12 months to figure out which of the many gigs, tours and festivals in 2011 were our favourites. Unfortunately, there were just too many to choose from, so we decided to stop scratching our heads and instead turned to Twitter to find out what you’ve all been up to during the past year and which live event was your pick of the bunch. OK, we cheated, but with so many huge artists on tour in 2011 and more summer festivals than you can shake a stick at, it seems that we can agree that this was far from an easy choice. But somehow, between us, we’ve been able to reach a final decision and pick out Stereoboard’s Top 10 live events of 2011. Let’s pat ourselves on the back. In no particular order, here they are…
Arctic Monkeys – Sheffield Don Valley Bowl
Five years on from the release of ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’, it appears that Arctic Monkeys are far from the independent internet heroes that they were when we first learned to love them back in 2005. Three albums later and Sheffield’s finest have become the international rock superstars that would have been difficult to imagine upon your first listen of ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor’. Shortly after the release of the band’s well-received fourth album ‘Suck It and See’ back in June, Arctic Monkeys performed two massive homecoming shows at Sheffield’s Don Valley Stadium and, rather unsurprisingly, they became two of the best gigs of the year.
Big Chill 2011
As previously mentioned, we certainly had no shortage of festivals this year, with some people even expressing a concern that there is now too many - although we would completely disagree, of course. One of the favourites among Stereoboard followers this year, it seems, was Big Chill in Herefordshire. Boasting a line-up that included Kanye West, The Chemical Brothers, Jesse J, Robert Plant and Example, it would appear that Big Chill, now in its 17th year, is finally stepping out to join the big boys of the summer festival circuit. With no Glastonbury next year, Big Chill will surely be looking to help fill the hole in the season and, as tickets for their 2012 event are already on sale, there’s no reason why you can’t get in on the fun.
Download 2011
With such a stunning line-up from their biggest heavy rock rival Sonisphere, Donington’s Download Festival had to do something pretty special this year in order to fight off the competition. So how did they do? Well, a reformed System Of A Down and a reformed Darkness, among a host of other great bands, certainly helped to secure Download’s place as the original and best UK rock fest. Also, not content with producing one of the best live events of 2011, the Donington rock festival has already started to raise the bar for 2012 by lining up three awesome headliners. The Prodigy, Metallica and - who was that other one again? – oh yes, Black Sabbath. Say no more.
Foo Fighters – Milton Keynes National Bowl
2011, of course, has been something of a big year for Dave Grohl. Not only did it mark the release of the seventh Foo Fighters album ‘Wasting Light’, but it was also the anniversary of the album that first launched his career as a rock and roll superstar exactly 20 years ago, Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’. What better time could there be to bring in a couple of old friends to help celebrate such a monumental occasion? Legendary rock producer Butch Vig, who last worked with Grohl two decades ago on ‘Nevermind’ itself, was drafted in to produce the new Foos album. Even his old Nirvana bandmate Krist Novoselic popped his head round the door to make a brief appearance on ‘Wasting Light’. Following the album’s release, Foo Fighters visited the UK for two star-studded performances at Milton Keynes National Bowl. In addition to support sets from Biffy Clyro, Jimmy Eat World and Death Cab for Cutie, the two headlining shows featured live contributions from the likes of Alice Cooper, Queen drummer Roger Taylor, Husker Du’s Bob Mould, Seasick Steve and Dave Grohl’s Them Crooked Vultures bandmate John Paul Jones. Without a doubt, two of the best gigs of the year.
Glastonbury 2011
As most people will surely be aware by now, Worthy Farm is taking a much-needed break in 2012 to recover from the goings-on of the past few years. Michael Eavis and co. did a fairly impressive job of ensuring that people wouldn’t forget about them over the next two years by putting together a typically memorable event before signing off. Finally making their debut at the festival after being forced to cancel last year were arguably the biggest band in the world, U2. Joining them on the list of Pyramid Stage headliners were Coldplay who, despite having only performed there five years earlier, were warmly welcomed back. Topping off the weekend was pop megastar Beyonce, who was clearly eager to make her first Glastonbury appearance a worthy one after witnessing her husband Jay-Z accomplish the same feat three years before. We’re certain she’d be pleased to hear that her efforts weren’t wasted.
Katy Perry – The California Dreams Tour
Katy Perry is another person for whom 2011 was a rather big year. After marrying Russell Brand and releasing her Grammy-nominated second album ‘Teenage Dream’ during 2012, the honeymoon was over and it was time to head out on the road for her biggest tour to date. Following her previous declaration that the UK was like her “second home”, Perry was kind enough to make two visits here during The California Dreams Tour in 2011. These sold-out dates were predictably well-received and earned the singer Best Live Act at November’s MTV Europe Music Awards in Belfast, beating competition from the likes of Lady Gaga, Foo Fighers and Coldplay.
Rihanna – The Loud Tour
…which takes us from one pop superstar to another. And of course, how could we ever forget this one? Multi Grammy-winning artist Rihanna finally brought her Loud Tour to a close this week at London’s O2 Arena, where she has performed on no less than 11 occasions over the past year. And what a year it has been for the young singer. In spite of her hectic touring schedule, Rihanna somehow managed to find the time to release her sixth album in seven years, ‘Talk That Talk’, which is already on its way to catching up with the success of her previous effort ‘Loud’. Not only that, but the album’s lead single ‘We Found Love’ made Rihanna the first female solo artist to top the UK Singles Chart six times in five consecutive years. Impressive stuff.
Sonisphere 2011
Let’s face it, following the previously-mentioned Download Festival was never going to an easy task and, to be honest, the jury’s still out on which of these came out on top. Securing Slipknot for their only UK festival appearance was certainly a commendable achievement, but what really seems to have done it for Sonisphere was the billing of The Big Four for the first time in the UK. For those that don’t understand, this refers to The Big Four of Thrash Metal – Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax – the four bands that were credited with creating and popularising the genre way back in the early ‘80s. Difficult to top? Maybe. But Sonisphere are going to have to come up with something even more impressive to beat Black Sabbath in 2012. Good luck to them.
Take That – Progress Live
Katy Perry? Rihanna? Who else? As you will have no doubt noticed, 2011 has been a pretty big year for major tours. One of the most successful on this side of the pond, of course, was Take That’s Progress Live, which saw them perform with Robbie Williams for the first time in 16 years. Progress Live quickly became the most successful UK tour to date after tickets for the group’s eight-night Wembley Stadium residency disappeared in record time. Certainly a difficult one to follow and definitely one of the best tours of 2011.
The Vaccines – O2 Brixton Academy
Arctic Monkeys, Foo Fighters, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Take That. There was clearly no shortage of pop and rock superstars in this year’s Top 10, but what about the rest? Let’s end with a group of newcomers who have had a fantastic welcome to the music industry in 2011 and, hopefully, a start to a career that will be as fruitful as those of the Foos and the Arctics. The year began surprisingly well for London’s The Vaccines with a number of praising reviews throughout the UK’s unforgiving music press. Fortunately for them, things continued to get better as the band headed out on the road with the NME Awards Tour alongside Crystal Castles, Everything Everything and Magnetic Man. When their suitably-titled debut album ‘What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?’ reached Number Four in the UK Albums Chart in March, earning the band yet more attention in the process, it was obvious that they had been blessed with an enviably good start. Earlier this month, The Vaccines ended their year on a high with a two-night residency at London’s O2 Brixton Academy and we’re pleased to announce that they’ve made it onto Stereoboard’s Top 10. But then again, what did you expect?
Going to a gig or festival in 2012? Let us know your top tips for the coming year…
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