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This has been a difficult year for music in Chicago. Electronic music particularly took a hit with Sonotheque closing it’s doors and the recent announcement that Lava Lounge would transition from a DJ-centric venue into a cocktail lounge in the new year. Nightlife by and large felt at a standstill and I personally chose to spend the year away from the club lights, checking out touring acts and the annual music festivals. I reviewed many of the shows you’ll find mentioned below for Chicagoist and I’ve included links to the full reviews where applicable. If I learned anything this year, it was to embrace everything.

M.O.P. :: Packed around an outdoor stage in the heat of summer M.O.P. lived up to my every hope and expectation. They opened their set with a healthy greeting of, “What’s up motherfuckers?” and ended with a performance of Ante Up so riotous I half expected the jacked up crowd to take flight en masse and loot the snack kiosks.

KURT VILE :: Rarely did you catch a glimpse of the face behind the hair as Kurt Vile re-imagined folk and classic rock through lo-fi lenses. Emotional and introspective, Kurt Vile was, as bryanb stated yesterday, impossible to take your eyes off, an outsider filled with talent and promise, yet uncomfortable in his own skin.

MIIKE SNOW :: Spoiler alert. Miike Snow does not place in my Top 100 list. In fact, I’d go as far as to label the Swedish band’s self-titled debut one of the year’s biggest disappointments, an incohesive effort with standout singles and a whole lot of filler. Regardless, I highly recommend you see Miike Snow live. The band commands the stage with style and charm, transforming dull album takes into a full-bodied live spectacle of aural glitz.

GHOSTLY INTERNATIONAL’S 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY :: Michigan-based niche label Ghostly International put on THE curated event of the year proving that a welcoming audience will always be there for those that dare to challenge the expected, and inject vision and creativity into the ordinary.

THE XX :: It was appropriately cold and pitch black in the cavernous venue for the XX’s Chicago debut. I’m not one to latch onto hype, but the young band’s chill-inducing, distant but oh so familiar tracks left me awestruck. The band’s opening slot set was short, but impressive.

THE RAVEONETTES :: In the timespan of a single set, The Raveonettes re-won my heart, burying me in noise, freezing me in icy pop and then melting the entire mess with a beacon of white light that beamed from darkness.

CLASSIXX :: Classixx’s set at Smart Bar was the most criminally underattended electronic event of the year, but it didn’t matter. Those of us who were there danced our hearts out and took solace in knowing we were part of a secret VIP club invited to the best disco gig of the year. Classixx return to Smart Bar on January 9th and if you miss out again you are just stupid and should probably stop reading this blog.

DEVENDRA BANHART ::  There was never a dull moment as the animated Banhart shimmied across the stage, enveloped into his own music like a cult member ascending the confines of earthly existence on Doomsday. Don’t doubt for a second that Banhart is anything but the true original that his albums suggest.

Q-TIP :: It may have been a free show sponsored by Bacardi, but if you kept your eyes focused on the peformance, the branding completely disappeared from sight. Q-Tip’s jazz-influenced hip-hop was classy and his stage demeanor, unparalleled.

THE VERY BEST :: Playing headliner on a smaller stage during the same time slot as the beloved Flaming Lips, The Very Best had the challenge of entertaining a few diehard fans and a whole of people who had no idea who they were but wanted nothing to do with The Flaming Lips. The Very Best were the biggest surprise of Pitchfork, turning an initially apathetic audience into a massive rhythmic dance party in the dark.

GANG GANG DANCE :: I danced like I was on peyote to their tribal breakdowns, and praised the nature gods with my hands raised to the heavens. Sweaty and outdoors was a perfect way to experience the music of Gang Gang Dance live for the first time. I eagerly await the day I can again see Gang Gang Dance live.

FEVER RAY :: The music was merely one element at play in a multi-layered, skillfully executed journey through the deepest recesses of Karin Andersson’s imagination.

MOBY :: Offering the audience the full span of his career in a single show, Moby brought together a crowd whose ages and musical tastes spanned decades. A string of unforgettable moments and a performance of raw passion proved Moby one of the most innovative and important talents in electronic music’s historical timeline.

ECCENTRIC SOUL REVUE ::  Reuniting and chronicling the often overlooked history of Chicago soul music, local label the Numero Group presented the city’s hidden music history to a new generation. The Eccentric Soul Revue was akin to a trunk of your parent’s sealed attic treasures come to life through song, dance and documentarian photography.

ANTONY AND THE JOHNSONS :: Sad, beautiful, surreal. Heartbreaking and perfect. The show of the year for sure. The show of the decade, perhaps.

Antony and the Johnsons – Another World (320 kbps)

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