SWSL Top 20 Live Performances Of 2008

2008 - remember that? It was a mere 22 days ago...

After the live bonanza of 2007, 2008 turned out to be another bumper year for gig-going. I may have been restricted to just the one festival (no prizes for guessing which one...), but took advantage of once again living in a city to throw myself wholeheartedly into the local gigging fray at (nearly) every opportunity. There's not likely to be a repeat in 2009, what with a move back to Abingdon just over a week away, so all the more reason to celebrate last year's adventures.

As for 2007, I've been unable to limit myself to just ten. Click on the links if you want to read the reviews.

20. HREDA, Oxford Cellar, 10th January
(Also seen again at Oxford Cellar and Oxford Regal)

19. BLACK MOUNTAIN, Glastonbury Festival, 29th June

18. VESSELS, Oxford Cellar, 10th January

17. EX MODELS, Oxford Cellar, 15th May

16. LEONARD COHEN, Glastonbury Festival, 29th June

15. NEON NEON, Glastonbury Festival, 28th June

14. THE DUKE SPIRIT, Glastonbury Festival, 27th June

13. DIZZEE RASCAL, Glastonbury Festival, 27th June

12. 50FT PANDA, Oxford Cellar, 14th May

11. MALCOLM MIDDLETON, Oxford Jericho Tavern, 26th March

10. POLYSICS, Oxford Zodiac, 11th February

9. THE FUTUREHEADS, Glastonbury Festival, 28th June

8. BLOOD RED SHOES, Oxford Zodiac, 3rd April
(Also seen at Glastonbury Festival)

7. LOS CAMPESINOS!, Camden Electric Ballroom, 20th October
(Also seen at Glastonbury Festival)

6. BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE, Oxford Zodiac, 22nd May

5. SPIRITUALIZED, Oxford Zodiac, 13th October
(Also seen at Glastonbury Festival)

4. NO AGE, Camden Electric Ballroom, 20th October

3. HOLY FUCK, Oxford Zodiac, 17th October
(Also seen at Glastonbury Festival)

2. OXES, Oxford Cellar, 23rd October

1. MY BLOODY VALENTINE, Camden Roundhouse, 23rd June

Every other band / artist I've enjoyed (or, in some cases, endured) this year - every single one reviewed somewhere in the sidebar:

The Accidental / Alphabet Backwards / Autons / Band Of Horses / Battles / Bilge Pump / Bitches / The Black Lips / The Brian Jonestown Massacre / Broken Leaf / The Brunettes / John Cale / Clanky Robo Gob Jobs / Graham Coxon / Crystal Castles / CSS / Cutting Pink With Knives / Deguello / Pete Doherty / Don Caballero / Eduard Soundingblock (x2) / Emmy The Great / Elapse-O / Flicklisten / Foals / Franz Ferdinand / Future Of The Left / Gindrinker / Glasvegas (x2) / Gossamer Albatross / The Gutter Twins / The Half Rabbits / Ice, Sea, Dead People / International Jetsetters / Isis / Ivy's Itch / Jonquil / Kelpe / Lazarus Clamp / Little My / Load. Click. Shoot. / Lone Pine / John Mayer / MGMT / My Morning Jacket / The National / Nitkowski / Orcop / Palace Music / Peggy Sue & The Pirates / Prefontaine / The Puncture Repair Kit / The Raconteurs / The Rocket Summer / Rolo Tomassi / Carina Round / Seasick Steve / The School (x2) / Secondsmile / Shakin' Stevens / The Shortwave Set / Sons & Daughters / The Spencer McGarry Season (x2) / Stars / Stornoway / StrangeTime / Theo / These New Puritans / Times New Viking / Torche / Vampire Weekend / Vixens / Von Braun / The Young Knives

And lest we forget, last year's Top 20:

20. CLINIC, Green Man Festival
19. DEREK MEINS, Oxford Jericho Tavern
18. RUFUS WAINWRIGHT, Glastonbury Festival
17. CSS, Glastonbury Festival
16. PATTI PLINKO AND HER BOY, Covent Garden Rock Garden
15. THE FALL, Cardiff Point
14. FUCK BUTTONS, Supersonic Festival
13. GINDRINKER, Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach
12. DEAD MEADOW, Green Man Festival
11. HOWLING BELLS, Cardiff Point
10. MAXIMO PARK, Glastonbury Festival
9. ILL EASE, Cardiff Old Orleans
8. FRIDGE, Green Man Festival
7. !!!, Glastonbury Festival
6. LOS CAMPESINOS!, Cardiff Point
5. BLOOD RED SHOES, Cardiff Barfly
4. STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS, Green Man Festival
3. THE ARCADE FIRE, Glastonbury Festival
2. THE STOOGES, Glastonbury Festival
1. SONIC YOUTH, Camden Roundhouse