As I get older, this awards gets trickier every year, because I have to be able to dig back into my memory and recall which shows I actually went to in the last year. My calendar has become a fairly reliable source of verifying that it was indeed in 2018, however, given that I'm not always even following my calendar's orders and getting a healthy dose of rock n roll at least once a week, even some of those entries are suspect.
However, fortunately, there is usually at least one or two stand-outs that jump to mind quite quickly, and this year was no different. A great find of a band from a few years back - Unknown Mortal Orchestra - finally came to Toronto this year to play the Danforth Music Hall in support of their new album, Sex & Food. While previous years of this award have found me headbanging along to epic riffs, what drew me into the UMO show this year was how infectious their tunes were and the uncontrollable urge by me, and everyone in the audience, to want to dance. I recall bumping and grinding to the melodies of Ruban Nielson, all set to a strange backdrop of their stage setup that seemed to involve actual living plants.
Perhaps most beautifully about the show, when I searched YouTube, I was only able to find 3 videos that were published. My hope (and belief for my enjoyment) was that this meant that maybe, for once, a group of people simply lost themselves in the music and were having such a good time that they forgot to pull out their fucking phones. :-)
-So I'll give you more than I got; try so hard and refuse to stop
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