My 20 best gigs of the decade: digging it

Everyone loves a list, right? So by the same token, everyone loves a list based on other lists - yes? Er, whatever. Here, anyway, is something I was threatening to unleash on a poor defenceless world the other week. It's a list of my favourite gigs compiled from my famous/infamous/totally unknown 20 best gigs of the year lists. Having done these during 2010-19, it was - I decided - absolutely necessary to do a best of the best, a best of the decade. (Groan). Yeah, it's utterly childish (not to mention horribly self-indulgent). But hey, it's my blog and I'll do as I please. So yes, if you have the faintest urge to do so, check out the years in question (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019) for potted write-ups for each of these choices, plus many other gig mini-reviews (a mere 200 in total) featuring lots of bands/artists you've probably never heard of and probably don't want to hear of. By my reckoning and within my worldview (largely London, but a few other places as well), these were all excellent years for live music (sorry 2011, not sure why I left you out). But these 20 gigs have somehow lodged in my mind more than most. Given a few moments to gather my thoughts, I can almost transport myself back there - younger but still stressed, spattered by the sweat/spittle of the lead singer, jostled by the moshers, but still ... digging it. Yep, a decade of digging it. You noble Diggers all, stand up now, stand up now / You noble Diggers all, stand up now!

The Rent Boys: Stag's Head, London, 29 January 2010

The Sundae Kups: Camden Head, London, 28 March 2010

Fat White Family: The Social, London, 20 March 2012

Shopping: Power Lunches, London, 8 August 2013

Diaphram Failure: Stag's Head, London, 31 October 2013

Good Throb: Power Lunches, London, 26 May 2014

Irshad Ali Qawwali Party: Tin Music And Arts, Coventry, 9 October 2014

Self Deconstruction: Pit Bar, Tokyo, 31 July 2015

Black Tambourines: Old Blue Last, London, 23 October 2015

Han-earl Park, Dominic Lash, Mark Sanders and Caroline Pugh: Lamp Tavern, Birmingham, 1 December 2015

Fickle Twin/No Form: Studio With No Name, Nottingham, 5 February 2016

Radical Boy: Sebright Arms, London, 25 February 2016

Pale Kids: JT Soar, Nottingham, 30 January 2017

Black Mekon: Shacklewell Arms, London, 22 April 2017

Anna McLellan: Silent Barn, New York, 7 May 2017

The Rebel: Windmill, London, 7, 14, 21 and 28 June 2017 (plus similar month-long Windmill residencies in 2018 and 2019)

Hamer/Sleep Terminal: Audacious Art Experiment, Sheffield, 15 September 2017

Dark Thoughts: Delicious Clam, Sheffield, 13 October 2018

Leather.head: Windmill, London, 5 July 2019

Bad Idea/Leggy: Chunk, Leeds, 8 September 2019

The Rent Boys: a decade ago - where did all the time go?