More Muc Than You Can Handle

Music of 2024

Last year’s post was fun to write and I like the journalling component of this exercise. Let’s see if I can continue and make it a routine.

A Bumper Crop of Concerts

2024 was an exceptional year for great concerts. 27 of them to be precise! This was a year where my appetite for live music was huge. I made efforts to ensure that my life had space for these shows.

There were many highlights:

  • Dan Mangen, Mother Mother, Great Lake Swimmers: A noteworthy contingent of Canadian bands I have fond memories of getting into when I was working at CBC Radio 3.
  • Yard Act - This was such an energetic and entertaining performance.
  • Florigin - You may notice I saw this band multiple times. That’s because my friend, Pip, is the drummer! It’s a joy to see them play live and gain more and more experience. Check them out!
  • Air - This was the band that first got me into music with a touch of electronic in it. They played in a beautiful outdoor venue that amplified the experience.
  • The Nits - A band that I’ve known and enjoyed since my old roommate in Vancouver played them for me. The concert was in an old church and despite not knowing much of their catalogue, there wasn’t a song I didn’t enjoy.
  • Lizzard - My friend Pip was adamant that I check out this band. I was floored by how good of a show they put on for what was probably a crowd of 50 people.

Music Discovery

Music discovery transformed a lot in 2024. The podcast that had been the source of discovery for nearly a decade, All Songs Considered, changed direction with the retirement of Bob Boilen. Therefore I don’t have much of a journal on how or where I learnt about some bands.

The being said, some of the concerts I went to were for bands I discovered through the podcast, so the spirit still lives on:

Looking at the list of concerts, I think I owe a thank you to my old Vancouver roommate, Doug Mason (aka The Newf). He introduced me to the following bands:

  • Calexico
  • The Lemon Twigs (an email from 2017)
  • Air
  • The Nits
  • Floating Points (an email from 2018)

Over the last few years, a new form of music discovery has entered my life. It’s called Music Church and how it works warrants its own post. There are so many bands that I’m into now as a result of this.

Concerts I attended by bands I discovered via Music Church:

  • Altin Gün
  • Sleep Token
  • Baroness

Summary

Live music is still awesome as is the album listening experience. I’m also growing an appreciation for my organic music discovery channels. Algorithmic music discovery has never appealed to me. It turns out just a handful of humans can enrich your music journey beyond your music consumption capacity.

This post took 4 pomodoros