Now, when I said that 2012 was
the holy grail of music gigs, what I really meant was the next concert I had
the luxury of being a part of was the epitome of 2012, and whilst we have
survived the Mayan predictions, I would have died quite happily knowing I had
attended this. Yes, I am talking about the ultimate collaboration of rap
royalty that is Watch The Throne. Wow. This was a concert like no other, it has
been a childhood dream to see any form of Kanye West perform live but to have
his musical talents intertwined with someone as influential as Jay-Z was the
cherry (or icing) on top of the cake. The performance itself was incredible, a
minimalist set of on-screen graphics and fire was all that was needed and both
Jay-Z and Kanye West had a stage presence and energy that complete captured the
audience. They also featured an amazing set list mainly consisted on WTT tracks
but also some classics such as Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind, 99 Problems and On
To The Next One etc as well as Kanye’s Runaway, Diamonds are Forever and All
Falls Down etc. No Church in the Wild was an absolute favourite and the brief appearance
of Rihanna for Run this Town and All of The Lights really sealed the deal. But
nothing could beat the highly anticipated Niggas in Paris which was looped a grand
total of 7 times. This was my ultimate
concert to top all concerts and so far, nothing has come close to beating it
proving that despite all the added extras, the talent and passion of the artist
prevails through any show.
Whilst I had so far had an
extremely successful run of music, I was becoming slightly penniless so when I
received an email allocating tickets to Radio1’s Big Weekend situated in
Hackey, I was ecstatic to say the least. I have always wanted to go to a
festival, because let’s face it, what doesn’t beat a whole days’ worth of
endless music acts? And this £2.50 (ticket shipping costs) festival was the perfect
crash course however I did have a couple of complications (having to switch
days and then losing the tickets etc). I went to the Sunday event and this is
just a brief summary (as far as my memory serves me) of the day…
The day kicked off with Labrinth,
we then ran due to torrential rain into the nearest tent which happened to be
Zane Lowe whose DJ turn-table skills were incredible, then we had a brief montage of
Plan B and one song from Santigold (we arrived at the exact moment of my favourite
song – Disparate Youth) before we hopped into Ben Howard's soothing and
peacefully beautiful set. We then made our way towards the main stage (started
off at the back and ending the night roughly 4 rows from the front) to find
Tinie Tempah who completely got the crowd high on energy which then transcended
into the absolute goddess which is Florence & The Machine (who was also our
reason for swapping our tickets). The mysterious and unknown guest performance
then revealed himself as Dizzee Rascal who seemed to be at every possible event
that entire summer and the night finished with Rihanna who put on an amazing
show which definitely exceeded my expectations of her. Yeah, you can tell that
after all these acts, I felt like my iTunes had come to life and completely
overwhelmed me with music.
My final instalment of music for
2012 passed on the 12th of December when I returned to the 02 arena
for a very different act than what I had seen there before. The tickets were a
spontaneous buy but for a band that I had really developed an increasing love
for just at the end of the previous year. The Black Keys played pretty much
every favourite of mine, there best performances being Ten Cent Pistol and
Little Black Submarines. They offered a very laid back simplistic performance
that really focused on the band whilst graphics to match their most recent
album, El Camino, flickered in the background. The encore had a pretty
unexpected style to it as giant disco balls were lowered down from the ceiling
and an array of spotlights shone over the audience during Everlasting Light
which was another highlight of the night. Initially, I had not actually been
particularly excited about the supporting act, The Maccabees as my memory of
their previous material of years ago told me that I wasn't really a fan but by
the end of even the first song, my perception had done a complete 180. They
started on Feel to Follow, which you might have seen me feature as No1 on my
latest playlist, which showed had the band has matured and taken a more relaxed
style that is less indie-pop and is more soft subtle rock whilst keeping their
distinctiveness.
For each performance, I was able
to be satisfyingly close to the front (a good balance of pure luck and hours
queuing) which whilst it adds to the experience a great deal, the artists
themselves were enough to fully certify my love of each of them and their
songs. Its safe to say, 2012 was a vastly successful year music-wise and I hope
to have a similar post next year of 2013’s concerts. This, as it stands are the
artists whom I am determined to see…
Florence & The Machine, Portugal.
The Man, Frank Ocean, Lupe Fiasco, and (if they finally release an album this
year) The Neighbourhood. On a further note, I will be constantly checking Ticketmaster
for Watch The Throne II which I am guessing will show itself up the summer of
2014.
