Marc Brubaker:
Free Press Summer Fest, Eleanor Tinsley Park, June: Duh. There was nothing comparable to experiencing the thrill of the entire weekend, culminated by watching Wayne Coyne roll around the crowd with the Houston skyline serving as a backdrop.
Warpaint/Buxton, Walter's on Washington, February: Technically, this bill was headlined by Akron/Family. It was one of those magical moments in Buxton history - an important show for the locals, who were on a mission to impress some folks from New West. And impress they did, rolling out their new material to the delight of the crowd. Warpaint stole this show, turning Akron/Family into a mere afterthought. The California female foursome brought an impressive array of songs that had a serious groove, and led to myself spinning their debut EP on repeat for hours. It began what has become a quite amiable relationship between the band and our city - something that's been rather delightful to witness.
The Appleseed Cast, Rudyard's, February: This show was a full-on geek out session, as the noted post-rock band was playing their epic two-volume Low Level Owl albums in their entirety. After a middling opening set by Dreamend, The Appleseed Cast took the stage and plowed through Vol. I before taking a ten-minute beer/piss break, and then rolled right through Vol. II. It was two hours of swirling, soaring guitars building and crashing upon excellent and artful drums. My Rocks Off/Prairie Cadets comrade Adam P. Newton and I spent the entire time blissfully bouncing along while gazing at our shoes.
John Seaborn Gray:
Frightened Rabbit, Walter's on Washington, October: The way they bonded with the audience was nothing short of incredible, and the set list they played was absolutely perfect with no filler and no crucial songs omitted.
