Top 25 live shows of 2024: #’s 25 – 21

As always, it was a fun year for live music and there were plenty of great shows that I was lucky enough to catch in 2024. Who made the top 25? Let’s get started.

#25: Dry Cleaning – Far Out Lounge, Levitation Austin, November 01, 2024

It was a nice warm night in Austin, just a day after Halloween, when Dry Cleaning played a wild, fascinating set at Levitation Austin. They’re always intriguing, and they rock harder than most people realize.

#24: Mac Sabbath – Bell’s Eccentric Café, Kalamazoo, MI, August 27, 2024

This was part of Mac Sabbath‘s tenth anniversary tour, and the crowd was really into it. A lot of people at this gig hadn’t seen them before, and most of them were laughing the entire time.

#23: Death Valley Girls – Parish, Levitation Austin, November 02, 2024

This was my first time seeing Death Valley Girls‘ new guitar-less lineup, and the uplifting spooky music they now create is stellar. They were one of the most talked-about bands at the 2024 Levitation Music Festival.

#22: Grocery Bag – Hotel Vegas, Levitation Austin, November 02, 2024

These Austinites were a pleasant discover this year. They threw down a strong set, changing instruments multiple times, and fired up everyone at Hotel Vegas…and they did all of this opening for Osees no less. I hope they get out of Austin for a tour soon.

#21: Meatbodies – Far Out Lounge, Levitation Austin, November 01, 2024

This was the second time I saw Meatbodies in 2024, and this fun, loud set at Levitation was a blast and even had added bonus tracks I hadn’t heard in their first set.

Who’s in the top 20? Come back tomorrow to see!

Keep your mind open.

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Top 25 albums of 2024: #’s 25 – 21

It’s a new year, so that means it’s time to look back at my top picks of 2024. Let’s get started.

#25: Tropical Sludge – Astral Mind

This album by Rick Burke, the guitarist of Comacozer, is a psychedelic trip loaded with cool riffs and meditative synths that will take you out of the moment and drop you into some kind of spiritual temple that has Orange amps in it.

#24: Temporal Waves (self-titled)

Wait…You’re mixing stunning tabla work with synthwave music? I’m there. I’m there all day long.

#23: Blake Fleming – The Beat Fantastic

This is another wild percussion-driven record that adds synths for psychedelic effect and has so many amazing beats that it’s almost overwhelming.

#22: Goodbye Meteor – We Could Have Been Radiant

This album of French post-rock and psych is a stunning record that came to me almost out of nowhere and immediately caught my attention. The waves of it are both powerful and subtle.

#21: Doug Richards – Project 85 EP

This was a great return for a rave DJ from the 1990s who became a lawyer and then decided to get back into music after the COVID-19 pandemic and ended up dropping a stunning techno EP as a result.

Who makes the top twenty? Come back tomorrow to find out!

Keep your mind open.

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