2005 Live Music Review

I went to more gigs in 2005 than any year I can remember, double the number in 2004. By all accounts 2005 was a good year for live music, whatever genre you prefer. I managed to see the following:

• Rammstein
• Asia/Barclay James Harvest
• Porcupine Tree (twice)
• Mostly Autumn (twice)
• Fish
• Marillion
• Paradise Lost
• Van der Graaf Generator

I'm not even go to try to rank these in order. High spots were the pyrotechnic sturm und drang of Rammstein at the beginning of the year, the awesome sonic maelstrom of Van der Graaf Generator, and by complete contrast, the imtimate atmosphere of the two Mostly Autumn shows, including the Christmas show in London. Who else can combine Floydian epics, celtic jigs and a traditional Christmas hymn without any of them sounding out of place?

The only real disappointments were the cancellation of The Mars Volta, a band I'd very much like to have seen live, and the quite awful performance the pseudo Barclay James Harvest supporting Asia. Even Fish, whose live performances can sometimes be decidedly patchy, put in a good performance on his 'Return to Childhood' tour.

So far, I don't know what 2006 will bring, gig-wise. There's nothing on the immediate horizon.