Year in Review: Music Pt. 2 (aka: the life story)

2010 was a year for live shows...outside of the Midwest.  In spite of the fact that there weren't very many good shows in Kansas City, the live music year was quite good.  How, you ask?  It's this little thing called getting out of town.  While the only real good shows to hit town were the Slayer/Megadeth/Testament billing (which I did not go to, due to money issues) and now seemingly annual trek from North Carolina and Las Vegas, NV by the guys in Widow and Seventh Calling (respectively), the live music scene was full in Portland, OR.  Despite losing a couple of favorite places this year in the Satyricon and Berbati's Pan (the restaurant side of the latter will still be open), it can be argued that the times had in those places were great.  The Spring trip to Portland was to have Ludicra and Mayhem, but circumstances beyond Ludicra's control ended that and the rescheduled tour did not coincide with my time there.  In its stead would be Wolves in the Throne Room, which made everything come full circle, since they were the first band I interviewed.  The Swallow the Moon Troll show at the Satyricon was a big reason for my trip to the Rose City in April, and saw a first in a while: me in the middle of a pit.

In between the two Portland trips this year was the trek to New Mexico, where despite only seeing one show there, it was significant in that some band you may have heard of had a stop there, which meant not having to blow any unnecessary money on hotel.  You know this band as Iron Maiden, and despite playing most of their newer material in the set, it is still something to experience in its full glory.

The most recent Portland trip was deemed Agalloch weekend.  It began with a show on Thursday with some doom metal bands and Buzzov-en at Dante's.  If you want to know the difference between Kansas City and Portland, it takes major prodding for me to even think about going to a show here while it doesn't take too much to decide on a show in Portland.  What do I mean?  Well, consider that there is a show in Kansas City tomorrow that despite being only $5 to get in, it's in a not so good place for music.  Oh, and there's no real place near by to go get food.  Portland has a lot of good places for music, and since the show was at Dante's, which just so happens to be in the downtown area, there are many options for food, including Dante's, which serves pizza.  The only real reason for debating on going to the Buzzov-en show:  having to carry a large book bought from Powell's around, though that book is one of the best ever (for reference, it's Canucks at Forty). Friday was Agalloch in Portland, and that set was better than last year's Halloween show, if only for the sound.  Saturday was the Seattle road trip, which began even before leaving, with an impromptu piano version of "Tallulah" by Sonata Arctica.  Too bad I didn't video record the thing (Note: too bad...for you. :p). The road trip had off-key singing and other shenanigans that are the norm for road trips.  Once in Seattle, the pizza shop down the street from Neumo's was the order of the day, complete with the need for jalapeño pizza.  Before you say anything, it's no different from taco pizza or chicken alfredo pizza (my personal favorite).  The show in Seattle matched the Portland show, save for a song being cut from the set list due to time constraints.

2011 promises to be better, and maybe this coming year, I won't have to travel far for the best shows.