20 Best Live Performances Of 2011

By Andrew Bansal

The end of 2011 comes nearer, and compared to the two other list-based articles I’ve written, this one was most definitely the hardest. To choose 20 best live performances from the 175 shows I’ve seen till date this year, was quite a task to say the least. But I would be kicking myself if I didn’t do it. As you found out from the list I posted yesterday, I strongly believe that bands deserve flack for putting on bad shows. Well, they equally deserve accolades for devoting their whole-hearted effort into giving the paying fans their money’s worth. Here it is, in the order of #20 to #1, my picks for the best live performances of 2011.

#20. GWAR – Nov. 13th, Glass House, Pomona CA: Undoubtedly one of the greatest live bands on the planet, GWAR didn’t disappoint at this show and completely lived up to their reputation, even while they dealt with the tragic death of one of their guitarists Flattus Maximus. Although it was a highly fun-filled show, it doesn’t go higher than #20 on my list because the other bands on here did a lot more musically, in my opinion. It all comes down to personal taste, but for me the music is as important as the theatrics.

#19. Kyuss Lives – Nov. 18th, The Wiltern, Los Angeles CA: This was a very special show, and Kyuss Lives did just about everything right. They picked the perfect opening bands in The Shrine, Black Cobra and The Sword, and their own set was longer than 2 hours. There was no lack of effort or quality from their side, but the turnout for the show left a lot to be desired, and if there were more people in the audience, their energy would have surely rubbed off on the band and it could have helped them put on an even better show.

#18. Between The Buried And Me – Nov. 26th, House Of Blues, Hollywood CA: A truly mind-blowing display of musicianship from this incredibly talented group. They not only played their songs to perfection, but also did something unique by coming up with a seven-song medley of old rarities. They proved themselves as a band that will continue to make rapid progress with their music and will keep recreating the same magic on stage.

#17. Devin Townsend – Oct. 24th, The Troubadour, Hollywood CA: A ‘best live performances’ list is a failure without mention of Mr. Eccentric himself, Devin Townsend. He found this venue exactly to his liking, and was able to present his entire array of tunes and visuals. The small but packed Troubadour crowd was having a blast, as Devin was in his element, making the crowd follow each and every move of his. A lot of fun was had at this show.

#16. Dream Theater – Sep. 25th, Nokia Theatre, Los Angeles CA / Symphony X – May 10th, House Of Blues, Hollywood CA: After drummer and co-founder Mike Portnoy’s departure, detractors were ready to write off Dream Theater as a weak live band. But the band’s performance at the Nokia that night left the fans joyous and detractors grumpy, and I have to say, they seem to be doing better as a live band in the absence of Portnoy, because there are no more random changes to the set list. The band goes in with a set of songs they are most comfortable with, and keep that for the whole tour, sounding better as a result. New drummer Mike Mangini gelled together brilliantly with the rest of the line-up. A fantastic prog-metal treat. And as for the Symphony X show, Michael Romeo’s wizardry on guitar and Russell Allen’s Dio-esque job on vocals combined together to make my head explode. I simply could not believe that they pulled off the entire 25-minute long “Odyssey” with effortless precision. The song selection was nearly flawless, as they played a good portion of the new album “Iconoclast” and just about enough from the other albums. It was indeed a mind-boggling exhibition.

#15. Hirax – Jul. 9th, Key Club, Hollywood CA: I was extremely glad to finally see Hirax live for the first time, and I was completely floored by how amazing they were. It was without a doubt, one of the finest, true heavy metal performances I’ve seen this year. The veterans are still as good as ever, and frontman Katon De Pena’s vocals and stage presence thrilled everyone in attendance. The expression in his eyes alone was enough to make me head-bang like there was no tomorrow. Even though they were the support band at this gig, the crowd wanted more from them, which didn’t happen due to time restrictions, but it left me eagerly waiting for a Hirax headline show, and I’m still waiting.

#14. Forbidden – Jun. 9th, Whisky A Go-Go, Hollywood CA: I thoroughly enjoyed this Forbidden set, as the songs from “Omega Wave” sounded better than they did on the band’s December 2010 headline show at the same venue, plus I was that much more familiar with these tunes. The whole set list was very well picked. But, the Whisky is easily the worst sounding venue in the LA area, and is the least audience-friendly venue as well with its cramped floor, pillars that obstruct the view of the stage, and many other things. I felt it did not do justice to Forbidden’s capabilities as an amazing live band, and I’m more than certain that if they play somewhere else the next time, they will feature much higher on my ‘best of’ list.

#13. Exodus – Nov. 12th, The Roxy, Hollywood CA: Exodus didn’t do an LA area show this year, and never looked like doing one, but thanks to Scion A/V, they did this one-off show at the Roxy. They tore the place apart, and gave us an old school thrash metal show to remember for a long time. Unfortunately their set was cut short due to the curfew and they didn’t even play “Bonded By Blood”. Otherwise this performance might well have ended up in the top 5 on this list.

#12. Destruction – May 22nd, Key Club, Hollywood CA: Having seen them twice now at this venue, I am absolutely convinced that no band induces crowd surfing and stage diving more than Destruction does. There was just something about them. They truly represented the German thrash metal style by keeping things heavy, fast and aggressive, and all three elements transferred completely onto the audience. All hell broke loose. So many people stage dove that there came a point when even the security staff give up on trying to prevent it. Destruction really did cause destruction at the Key Club that night.

#11. Danava – Oct. 13th, The Satellite, Los Angeles CA: This Danava performance was like a trip through time. It was like going back to the late 60s. Their music created a very powerful retro blues rock kind of atmosphere, and I was loving it. I am completely shocked that this band isn’t talked about by more people, and I was a little upset at the poor turnout for this show. This was most certainly the best show nobody saw, and turned me into a huge, huge fan of the band. They were dead on accurate with the way they played the tunes, and the ones from “Hemisphere Of Shadows” were out of this world. I can’t wait for the next Danava show.

#10. Holy Grail – Apr. 15th, Viper Room, Hollywood CA / Skeletonwitch – Dec. 6th, Ruby Room, San Diego CA: These are two bands I love to death, and hence I can’t separate them to say which one is better than the other. In truth, both these shows were equally good. Finally, I had the pleasure of being part of a Holy Grail headline set, and the one single thing that makes this show better than their other shows this year, is “For All Eternity”. They played this rarity, a fan-favorite, at the Viper Room show, in addition to 10 songs from their one and only studio album. As for Skeletonwitch, they destroyed the Ruby Room and put on a furious performance filled with killer new tunes, and old tunes that sounded as epic as ever. My admiration for both these bands has grown tenfold this year, because they gave me a whole lot to cheer about.

#9. Amon Amarth – Aug. 31st, House Of Blues, Anaheim CA: A full set of Amon Amarth is brutal in itself, but two full sets? Yes, they gave their North American fans a double dose this year by putting together an ‘evening with’ show, playing the new album “Surtur Rising” in its entirety, followed by a set of older material. I loved every minute of it, and the band was totally spot on with everything they did. Johan Hegg sounded like a true beast, and besides Chance Garnette from Skeletonwitch, he has definitely become my favorite extreme metal vocalist over the course of the two Amon Amarth shows I saw this year. All in all, a show that was much more than worth the paying fans’ money.

#8. Accept – May 1st, Galaxy Theatre, Santa Ana CA: The year 2010 marked Accept’s triumphant return to the world of heavy metal, as they released a new album and did a small North American run of dates. But they returned soon in the early part of this year with a bigger and better show. The song selection left just about every Accept fan satisfied at the end of the night, and the German legends strongly signaled their return to the helm as one of the greatest metal bands on earth. They chose the perfect venue as well. Decently sized stage, great sound and an intimately packed crowd. It was a memorable performance.

#7. Slayer – Apr. 23rd, Empire Polo Fields, Indio CA: Slayer was the only saving grace in this otherwise mediocre show, and lived up to their reputation as a great live band. Fill-in guitarist Gary Holt from Exodus played a crucial role in making this a crushing Slayer performance, in my opinion. But of course, Araya, King and Lombardo did their bits to perfection. Jeff Hanneman also made a return to the stage for the last couple of songs, much to the delight of the fans. If not for the Metallica-level ticket price, enormous size of the GA area, and the bad sound system, this would have been higher than #6.

#6. Death Angel – Feb. 26th, Slim’s, San Francisco CA / Anthrax – Oct. 28th, South Side Music Hall, Dallas TX: These two shows gave me endless amounts of joy. Words can’t describe how amazing Death Angel are as a live band, and I found that out for myself multiple times this year, none more so than at this show in their hometown. They got the crowd response they completely deserve, something that was lacking in the other cities I saw them in. They seemed to feed off of the crowd’s energy and put on their best performance of the year. On the other hand, I was honestly not the biggest Anthrax fan before seeing them headline this year, but their Dallas show totally changed my opinion. They put on a spectacular show, with killer new tunes, classics, rarities, and even a Sepultura cover. Joey Belladonna was fantastic on vocals and his band mates complemented him to perfection. It was clear to me that they are at their best when they headline, and that makes me eagerly anticipate and await my next Anthrax headline experience in January 2012.

#5. Alice Cooper – Sep. 15th, Whisky A Go-Go, Hollywood CA: Alice Cooper performed at the Whisky. Yes, Alice Cooper performed at the Whisky. This was like a dream. I could not believe that it was actually happening, and that I was in the front row, a few feet away from the stage, to witness it all. The lack of theatrics in this performance actually meant that the music stood out more, and I’ve always loved the Coop for the music more than his theatrics. To add further to this incredible show, Robby Krieger stepped up to join the band on stage for two Doors covers. This was the single biggest surprise of the year, a completely unexpected event, an event that actually lived up to the hype.

#4. Motorhead – Jan. 31st, House Of Blues, San Diego CA: Motorhead never disappoint, and this show was no exception. The fact that I made a road trip for this one made it even more special for me. This is a band that truly knows how to put on a pure, loud, unadulterated rock ‘n roll show, and it’s something they’ll always be respected for. This Motorhead set was filled to the brim with old school metal awesomeness from start to finish, and I had an absolute blast. I’ve never been the kind of guy who says things like, “If you weren’t at this show, you missed out.” But if you call yourself a metal fan and haven’t invested in a Motorhead show yet, you really are missing out.

#3. Armored Saint – Jul. 9th, Key Club, Hollywood CA: This was their only LA area show of the year, and their first since May 2010. To say that they made it more than worth the wait, is already an understatement. Not only did they play a 2-hour set consisting of classics and deep cuts, they called three fans onto the stage to hand pick a song each from an additional list of ten songs. It was hugely refreshing to see a band put in such effort into their live show, and to get their fans truly involved. They were at the very top of their game that night, and seemed to be having a great time on stage. It was an unforgettable night of classic heavy metal performed with an almost unrivaled degree of passion and aplomb.

#2. Guns N’ Roses – Dec. 21st, The Forum, Los Angeles CA: I knew that this would be a great show, but I didn’t expect it to be as unbelievably amazing as it turned out to be. I would have waited till after this show to write this particular article in the first place because I had a feeling it might feature somewhere in this list. But I was honestly not expecting to be approved for a media pass to cover the show, and didn’t think I would be able to attend it. I am extremely glad I ended up making it after all, because it was dream-like performance from Axl Rose and his band. They played for three hours non-stop, and the set was filled with classics, new songs, solos, jams and cover tunes, and sounded fantastic while doing so. In terms of “getting your money’s worth”, there is no way you could have seen a better show than this, and hence this GNR performance is right up there with the best I saw in 2011.

#1. Judas Priest – Oct. 25th, Rabobank Arena, Bakersfield CA: And finally, Judas Priest’s performance in Bakersfield was the best of 2011, and took me to heavy metal heaven. They proved why the term ‘metal gods’ is not an exaggeration, and came up with a show worthy of that status. Simply put, it was Godly. They played for close to two-and-a-half hours, presenting a delightful selection of songs that pleased each and every Priest fan in the audience. Not only that, they employed the biggest stage production anyone has ever seen them use, with a healthy dose of lasers , pyrotechnics and giant backdrops. They left no stone unturned in giving their fans a show to remember. Rob Halford sounded better than he ever has. The ease with which he was hitting those high notes left me stunned, spellbound and speechless. New guitarist Richie Faulkner couldn’t have created a better first impression than he did that night. He was simply perfect. And to make it a complete Priest experience, Glen Tipton, Ian Hill and Scott Travis were relentlessly awesome on their respective instruments. Even though Priest announced this as their farewell tour, I am absolutely confident they will be back soon for more shows, because when it comes to live performance, they are currently at their peak.

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