Top Gigs of 2024

This year saw a proper return to attending gigs for me. I've been to a couple over the past few years but for some reason it felt weird and uncomfortable. Almost like a weird Covid-hangover. But this year I managed to get to a few - and here's my shortlist of my favourites.

1. Wayfarer - Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

It will come as no surprise that in a year when Wayfarer were touring my favourite gig that year was going to be Wayfarer. I've been obsessed with these guys for over a decade and last year when I finally got to see them live was amazing.

This year they were back with another album and a much extended touring schedule.

As we were queueing to get in I noticed that some of the band were getting changed in a van right next to us. It sheds a light on how unglamourous an industry this can be that these guys from Denver, Colorado who are touring Europe basically live out of the back of a Transit van for the duration.

I chatted with Jamie (bass, vocals) and Joey (lead guitar) for a few minutes before their set - given the pedestal I hold these guys up on, it still amazes me to this day that they're just chilling at the back of the venue and I can wander up and say hi.

The sound mix at Brudenell was incredible. My favourite sound set-up by a long-shot. Wayfarer played a relatively short set (opening for Svalbard and Enslaved) but covered a lot of ground from their new record. 

It was at this gig that I really came to realise just how much work Joey is putting in on lead throughout the songs. On the surface the songs have a nice set of riffs and breaks, but when you get the mix right (and you can see him playing it!) you realise that the texture beneath those riffs is a rich tapestry.

Afterwards I was waiting for my mate Paul in the corridor and Shane (guitar, vocals) came walking out and recognised me from the previous year in Manchester! We chatted for a while and he was joined by Joey before they headed out for some food. Last year I was a bit deer-in-the-headlights starstruck when I met them, but this year I almost managed to come across as a normal human.

Great gig. Great band. Great venue.

2. Tool - AO Arena, Manchester

I'd given up hope of getting tickets for the show when I'd logged on and seen that they were going for £300+ each. I like Tool a lot, but I also like paying my mortgage. Eventually though, for some reason, a batch of more reasonably priced tickets came available - albeit sat up in the Gods - and I managed to snag a couple of me and Marc.

We knew how high up the arena we were so I don't think we were expecting too much but incredibly the seats were pretty much perfect. More or less central at the back, we got a great spot for the spectacular light show that accompanied the gig.

Tool were tight and machine-like as you'd expect. Given the complexity of what they do musically they alwasys amaze me.

It seemed like there were two different entities on stage though - Maynard James Keenan, and then the band. Whilst this had no discernable impact on the music they played, save for a perfunctory coming-together at the end of the set they seemed comfortable in being separate. The band all hugged it out and thanked the crowd whereas MJK thanked everyone and left the band to enjoy their applause.

This gig helped me towards the realisation that I'm not really a 'stadium tour' kind of concert go-er anymore. Amazing as they were, being one of 50,000 or so just seems a bit empty. I don't begrudge them (or anyone else) their success at being able to fill venues like this, but I don't think they're for me anymore.

Still, amazing band, clinical execution, and a fantastic gig.

3. Lacuna Coil - Academy, Manchester

I was never a part of the goth scene back in the day. I was more traditional metal - jeans and t-shirt kind of guy, whereas the goth scene seemed a bit higher maintenance, fashion-wise. We used to pop in to the 'goth room' in Jilly's occasionally and whilst you'd occasionally get some real bangers in there, it always felt like it was someone else's room and you should get back to the warm beer and moshing in the main room.

Lacuna Coil were one of the bands that did enter fairly regular rotation for me back then, and Comalies in particular (their breakthrough album) became a solid favourite for me.

Weirdly in all the time since then I'd never seen them live, which is a bit weird when I think about it, so when the opportunity came to go see them with Russell I jumped at it.

And what a gig it was too. The band were tight and heavy and Andrea and Cristina were absolutely incredible. I'm pretty sure Cristina is in her fifties now but she was absolutely belting out the tunes and made it look effortless.

With the re-issue of Comalies as the heavier, slightly re-imagined, Comalies XX their sound has taken on a more modern metal edge and it works.

A really high energy gig with really big nostalgia value for me. I'm looking forward to seeing them again next year when they drop their new album.

4. Wayfarer - Club Academy, Manchester

Back in the day, Club Academy was my venue of choice. I saw post-metal masters Isis there a long time ago and the sound was unrivaled. So I was really looking forward to catching Wayfarer here to bring it home.

Phil came with me to this one - fair to say that he wasn't 'a fan' going into the gig but was pretty impressed and enjoyed it.

Whilst the band played another great set (Leeds was the night before!) I felt like the venue let them down a bit. Joey was hidden in the mix and the clean vocals from Shane were too low as well.

Ultimately it didn't make a jot of difference for me as I was in my element rocking out nonetheless!

It was much more apparent when listening to Enslaved later on. Whereas at Brudenell their rhythm section was clear and tight, here it was muddy and ill-defined. A shame really.

Phil and I bumped into the guys from Wode and had a chat with them. They were putting up Wayfarer for the past couple of nights in the area. They'd opened for Wayfarer last yeat at the Star and Garter. Turns out - which I'd totally forgotten - that when we, Omens, played our gig a decade earlier we were actually opening for Wode! Small world and I'm officially just 1 degree of separation away from Wayfarer!

5. Torpor - Peer Hat, Manchester

I'd not heard of Torpor before this gig and I was invited along by Phil. It's weird because having listened to them now, they fit nicely in my post-metal / sludge tastes, and I think I would have enjoyed them a lot.

I'm writing in the past tense because this was the 'farewell' tour of the Bristol trio.

The Peer Hat is a venue I'd never heard of either. A tiny pub with a basement in the back of the Northern Quarter. It didn't look like it could really hold a crowd.

As we left the gig we talked about the reality of the metal scene, particularly with bands playing in niche genres like Torpor. For their farewell tour, after a decade or more at it, they only turned out about 30 people in Manchester. But I guess that is the gig - if you're playing for money and fame then you're probably best not focusing on 'existential sludge/post doom' and maybe looking at weddings and parties instead.

These guys were clearly doing it for the love of the magnificent noise they were creating. And to be honest, if I could turn out 30 people interested in listening to me play the noise I'd created then I'd be pretty chuffed too. Even if it meant I had to get up for work the next morning.