Ben Chapman
What was your top gig of 2015?
Apologies for dragging them back in again, but rather obsessively, it has to be Delta Sleep rearing their head. In a tiny upstairs venue we managed to watch the band play their complex indie-rock just as tight as they can on record, nestled with a pint and sitting low of the crowd from the best vantage point in the bar, tucked in a comfortable awe on a couple of steps adjoining directly left of the stage. Delta Sleep set about revitalising math-rock with their tendency for off-rhythm riffs and bright tropical melodies full of scalic sweeps and tapping. To see this level of technicality live, alongside one of the busiest drummers keeping it all together, and a gain-heavy bass somehow figuring out counterpoint lines to the obscene melodies, was something else.
What was your worst music-related experience of 2015?
The worst experience was probably at Late Summer Skank 2015, an event held in Bristol's Fleece, though through no fault of any of its twelve bands providing the entertainment during the eleven-hour day festival of ska and punk. As Random Hand were performing a suitably energetic set to end the evening, with much of the of the audience already leaping from the stage monitors both sides of the stage, and having already helped catch multiple punters out of the air, I saw it fit to get involved and try my first stage dive.
Climbing up, looking down, conditions couldn't have been better. So I jumped. Whilst in mid-air I saw the diver that had just landed safely on my left sway under several hands into my straight ahead. When we collided we went straight to the floor, taking a third person (unnecessarily) with us. Was it bad timing? It was certainly mortifying. The shame, the reckless guilt that went through me as we all picked each other up.
Looking back, stage diving is great fun. But take care. Luckily no one was hurt, the band continued to smash through their set, and the victims and I moshed on gladly: but you still can't help feeling like a complete life-endangering knob.
What are you most looking forward to in 2016?
David Bowie: Backstair. It won't always be pretty, but you can't say that Bowie's ever made a boring album. With the previewed title track already showing off a vast range of influences, as well as already being an improvement on previous release The Next Day, Bowie's latest ten-minute journey (complete with nightmarish music video) swaps around a simultaneously haunting and relaxing feel with an edgy middle section and a menacing funk. Divisive it is, Ziggy Stardust it's certainly not, it's enough of an intrigue-building tease to make me want to know how the rest will turn out.
Jamie Kerr
What was your top gig of 2015?
It will have to be Enter Shikari headling Wolves Civic earlier in the year and closing the Zippo Stage on the Sunday at Download. Wolves Civic was particularly special because not only was it a fearsome live show, it also rekindled my love for them which had dwindled the past few years. Their set at Download also showed just how good they are even when Rou probably wasn't well enough to be on stage but found the energy to make ES the band of the weekend for me. Roll on Ally Pally in 2016!
What was your worst music-related experience of 2015?
Tom Delonge leaving blink-182 again sucked. The 'he said she said' nature of it all was reminiscent of when it happened in 2005 and it's still just as ridiculous. The only thing that makes it less painful than when it first happened is that they aren't the band they used to be but still, the way that one person seemingly ends up arguing with his band mates is just a bit of a joke. And even though I'm a fan of Matt Skiba, I'm barely fussed at the prospect of him being involved on their new album...
What are you most looking forward to in 2016?
Enter Shikari supported by The Wonder Years at Ally Pally. It's not the most orthodox pairing but hell, I love both these bands and can't wait to see them on the same stage.
Dan Stoten
What was your top gig of 2015?
That's a basically impossible question, but for me it would have to be a close-run thing between the Islington Academy New Found Glory show, where they were warming up for Reading Festival, and the whole of Fest 14. Both incredible for different reasons, but both certainly reminded me every second why I love live music...
What was your worst music-related experience of 2015?
Probably The Fest 14 ending.
What are you most looking forward to in 2016?
Loads of things to look forward to next year! Festival line-ups are already looking absolutely shit-hot, the European ones in particular. There's also going to be some really exciting developments with The Punk Archive, which is hugely exciting for me!
Lee Morton
There were plenty of great gigs to see this year, with a few highlights for me being Ghouls, Imperial Leisure, Random Hand, Frank Turner (album release show) and the recent Skindred/Crossfaith tour. However, for pure enjoyment of all the bands the best gig for me was seeing Hollie Cook, The Skints and Jaya The Cat in Amsterdam early this year. Well worth the trip with added benefit of going with my brother and best mate.
So those were the best bits of the year for me but what was the worst? Obviously not getting invited to cover The Fest over in America (cheers Editor Dan, great coverage by the way) took a long time to get over but the number of bands calling it quits this year was especially disappointing. We really need to get behind our scene and support the bands in it so that they can continue making the music we love otherwise more great bands are going to fall by the wayside. Special mention to The Swellers who are just one of the bands to split, who I've supported for many years and deserved greatness.
As we say farewell to 2015 we also look forward to 2016 and I'm especially looking forward to some new music from Riskee and The Ridicule. Long championed by The Punk Archive and with a great debut under their belt, I can't wait to hear what they've been coming up with.
Adam DT
What was your top gig of 2015?
Godspeed You! Black Emperor, The Roundhouse, 30th June, supported by Helm. A genuinely transcendent performance for me. Layer after layer of feedback, violin, guitars and Christ knows what else weaved their way around each other to create the most hypnotic, epic wall of noise that I've ever heard in my life. Truly magical.
What was your worst music-related experience of 2015?
I’m not big on music being "bad", I just figure I don't like it. But honestly being forced to listen to Bound 2 by Kanye West loudly in a car on the way to Cornwall, and then again even louder in a pub in Cornwall (because my friend wanted to punish me I assume) was just awful. I'm not joking, that was the worst. I'll take a shit gig or disappointing album over that song and that guy any day. It's not that I'm jumping on the "I Hate Kanye" bandwagon, it's just that I really, honestly don't understand what the appeal is. His lyrics and beats just seem so lazy nowadays, and he unquestionably behaves like a massive tool most of the time.
What are you most looking forward to in 2016?
Getting one step closer to a new Tool record. I understand that they recently won a long legal battle, and that has been a big factor in delaying any new material, and the word is that they are now working on a new record in earnest. Fuck knows when it will actually come out, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some time in 2016.
Homer Kelly
What was your top gig of 2015?
Brand New at Alexandra Palace. Shortly followed by the Wu-Tang Clan at Brixton Academy and Dirt Royal at the Prince Albert in Brighton.
What was your worst music-related experience of 2015?
The hype around Juniorland and then the…meh…of it all.
What are you most looking forward to in 2016?
Moving house and making a boss home studio!
Toby Walkley
What was your top gig of 2015?
I genuinely can't decide between Father John Misty and Mclusky as they were both so different and yet so brilliant in their own ways. Misty brought a warmth to the two thousand capacity Shepherd's Bush Empire that's hard to beat, making every person in the room feel his music without ever coming across as pretentious or cocky. Mclusky did the same at their sell-out show at The Garage, playing all the fan favourites with the healthy sarcasm and disdain that was demanded, and leaving the audience in no doubt that they were one of the most criminally underrated bands of their time.
What was your worst music-related experience of 2015?
Less a singular event, and more the usual gripes coming from those on the road. Traffic jams, dodgy promoters, bad food, bad acoustics, meltdowns, breakdowns, faulty wiring and stress. On the flipside, road trips, great promoters, good food, great sound, new friends, fun and getting to do what I've always loved. If these first world problems are my worst experiences when they're an everyday element of working in music, 2015 must have been a pretty damn good year. Heres to 2016, people.
What are you most looking forward to in 2016?
Without a doubt, I'm most looking forward to the new album from Future Of The Left. Having formed after the demise of Mclusky in 2005, their 2009 album Travels With Myself And Another is up there in my favourite albums of all time, full of biting, angry social commentary and dry humour that's perfectly formed. After playing charity shows with a partially reformed Mclusky this year, front man Andrew Falkous and Million Dead's Julia Ruzika look set to deliver us Future Of The Left's best offering yet, and I can't wait.
Will Bright
What was your top gig of 2015?
I do regret not seeing enough live music this year. There are a few bigger bands who I'd have liked to see but not been able: most of the time it's been smaller gigs for underground bands, which are still good fun. There's a few I've really enjoyed, but one band stands out as generating an amazing live energy in a small venue. Dirt Royal playing the Prince Albert in October was great to see, even if had a dodgy start: the sound guy from the previous night nicked a bunch of gear, and the whole place was put in lockdown until he came back to return it. I'd recommend checking these guys live any day of the week.
What was your worst music-related experience of 2015?
I'll be honest, it's been a good year for music. Even playing: I've finally got back into it with a good mate, and I've not whacked myself in the eye while changing a bass string unlike someone else I know. Still, though, as so much of my year of music has been focused on writing, that's where I can find my worst experience. Pretty easily as well: it happened last Friday, reviewing a band for another website. With luck, most of my reviews are pretty well balanced, but there comes a point when you've been shouting "fuck off" at the noise coming out your speakers that you don't have much of a choice but to be negative. Kerrang! gave the fuckers 3/5 as well...
What are you most looking forward to in 2016?
Playing music. Easy. It's like Goodfellas: "As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be in a punk rock band."
Rania Watts
What was your top gig of 2015?
As a mother of three, being able to attend the occasional gig is a very difficult task. However, I've been able to pseudo-attend numerous due to modern technology, via live streaming. Now, that being said... my top gig from 2015 was streamed from the UK at The Bedford of Balham. I relished this performance for numerous reasons, for one this is an artist that I've literally adored for decades... now, that being said Tony Moore (one of the earlier members of Iron Maiden) had a release event for a song called Dear Me, this was to be his first release in like a decade. The minute Tony's lips hit that microphone, not only, did the tears come streaming down but also laughter and such appreciation for the moment. His performance was not only expressive but insanely natural... I have to admire the way that Tony just goes along with the flow... and, the music, forget about it... I've been listening to his songs for more than half my life... it was nice to listen and remember to myself "I'd completely forgotten that he'd written that..."
What was your worst music-related experience of 2015?
I wish I could say that the worst thing that happened to me this year was missing my cue or falling off the stage while singing... nevertheless, it was being so critical of a band that I completely missed the positives they had brought. It taught me to be more constructive and not just on the attack because, I did not like the way something was written or the manner in which it sounded. I can be quite critical but there is something to be said about not being a dream killer either.
What are you most looking forward to in 2016?
The continued adventure, of the possibility, of a new favourite band waiting for me in my inbox to review...and of course writing... I would not be able to function without it!
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