Top Concerts of 2011

These are my top five concerts of 2011:

1. Arcade Fire with The National – April 28 at Pepsi Coliseum

Regine Chassagne with streamers (photo by my sister, see her flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/foxrf88)

This was not only the best concert I went to in 2011, it is the best concert I’ve ever been to. I can’t even begin to describe how magical it was. I’m a big fan of The National and Arcade Fire, so it was great to see them together. The National put on an awesome opening set, and Win Butler sang with Matt Berninger on Start A War, which was really cool. Then Arcade Fire came on, and they were amazing! They played a good mix of songs off all three albums, and it was just so much fun. After they played “Rebellion (Lies)” the crowd kept singing the ‘ooh ooh’ part even after the band left the stage, until they came back out for the encore, which was awesome. It was just overall a really, really great performance and I highly recommend you go see either band if you get the chance.

2. Florence & The Machine with Hanni El Katib – July 4 at The Lawn at White River

 

Florence Welch (photo by my sister)

This was an amazing concert. Best 4^th of July ever! I posted about it back in July, so please read that entry if you’re interested.

 

3. Arctic Monkeys with Smith Westerns – Oct 3 at The Murat Theatre

Alex Turner (photo by me)

 

When I saw an ad in the newspaper that Arctic Monkeys were coming for a concert, I was super excited! When I got there, there weren’t many people in line, and I managed to get on the barricade, which is always awesome! Smith Westerns were pretty good, though I was only familiar with one of their songs, which was the last song they played and I was really happy they did. Arctic Monkeys were fantastic! They played all my favorite songs, and it was really fun. On a side note, I’d never really seen a picture of the lead singer, Alex Turner, before, and I must say he is very attractive.

 

4. Blind Pilot with Gregory Alan Isakov– Nov 12 at The Earth House Collective

I'd never really listened to them before, but they are fantastic! They put on a great fun show, and I got to meet them afterwards. For the very last song they played, everybody sat down, and they came down onto the floor and did a beautiful acoustic song. Everyone was super quiet and it was really magical. The opening act, Gregory Alan Isakov, was great too!

5. Hotfox with Slothpop and Bonesetters – July 29 at The Earth House Collective

Hotfox, Slothpop, and Bonesetters are three local Indianapolis-based bands, and Hotfox was having a release show for their new album You, Me, and The Monster, which is very good. I hadn’t heard of them before the concert announcement was made, but I thought they had a cool name so I listened to some of their music and really liked it. All three bands were awesome, and what made the show even more fun was when we got in there, the floor was covered in orange and white balloons, which everybody tossed around during the show.

Thanks for reading! What was your favorite concert you went to this year? Comment please! :)

Thanks for reading! What good concerts did you see this year? Comment please! :)