FIBLAR's Best Live Acts of 2013

Of course the intimacy and personal feel of listening to your favourite album on the bus, in your bedroom, in the background whilst you revise or just generally during a dance party for one, is that of a highly emotional and exciting experience. however nothing beats seeing those very songs animated in front of your eyes, as you dance in a slightly embarrassing and very clumsy manner surrounded by like minded teenagers shouting the lyrics at the musicians on stage feeling some sort of euphoric connection with everyone in the room. 2013 was monumental year musically, especially in regards to live music, with the return of Glastonbury after a year off, as well as some of the most sought after gigs (arcade fire YES); here is our pick of the best live acts of 2013. ~ Rohanie

Rohanie:
The Horrors, the Parklife weekender, Manchester Heaton Park, 10th June - Seeing your favourite band live is always a thrilling experience, and sometimes just being in the same room as the utter heartthrob you're madly in love with makes the night perfect. Seeing my favourite band The Horrors was one of those experiences. They played the second tent closing on the Sunday night, and whilst Example played the main stage complete with the neon face painted teenagers and fireworks - the drug sellers, the swaggering guys in leather jackets and the indie kids stood in the packed tent to see music's favourite skinny legged shoe gazers. Many factors contributed to the serenity and utter beauty that was seeing The Horrors perform that night; the milky purple colour of the sky, the odd and soft mild warmth of the air, the fact I was at my first festival without ~parents~ and had finished my exams about a week before. Or that fact we were at the barrier, and about 5ft from the every charming Faris. highlights of the set include dancing with a very excitable 17 year old boy who repeatedly shouted "DON'T TELL MY PARENTS I FEEL SO HIGH OFF MY FACE YEAH" and man, who looked suspiciously like a 50 year old Faris, who leant into various peoples ears whispering "this is the best song ever" about every song that was played. Despite the large and packed crowd, there was no violent and unnecessary elbows in the face and a mouthful of someone else's hair, instead everybody danced and swayed and generally acted like a desperate character from Skins, being high and totally teenage and cool. Seeing everything everything abut 45 minutes before The Horrors took to the stage should've resulted in apathetic head nodding due to the crippling exhausted in out calves, alas the hypnotising magic that is cast upon the crowd by the band dismissed any and all reluctance; complete with the knee wobbling dance move of Faris and the flicky leg dance love move of Josh. "Apologies for being rusty, this is the first time we've played live in about 9 months" - lo and behold no apology was necessary, as they concluded a perfect weekend with an even more perfect set. A close second would have to be British Sea Power, Moseley folk festival, Birmingham, 31st August.

Amy:
I'm not a gig person. I dislike the experience immensely. Is this unfortunate? Probably. It's not so much the actual gig that I dislike, it's all the waiting, getting there, getting back, the day after etc. Having anxiety is an explanation as to why I dislike gigs. Also, living in London, where thousands of people get on and off the tube everyday, is also quite off putting. I've only been to 3 proper gigs this year (technically only 2 were actual 'gigs'; if by gigs you mean indoors) which doesn't really come as a surprise. I'm stuck between three of my favourite live acts this year. All were absolutely fabulous. The first is Mumford and Sons. I went to see them earlier this year at the Summer Stampede in Stratford which is conveniently, only a few stops on the tube away from me. Now, I'm actually not a huge Mumford and Sons fan but seeing them live was brilliant. The amount of 'aaaaah's, knee slapping and sunburn was perfect. It was an extremely hot day but luckily Mumford and Sons came on about 4 acts after the first at 7:30, when it had cooled down a bit. Being around thousands of drunk 30 year olds in an astro-turf field in East London was a bit strange but all part of the experience. The second is Ben Howard, who I saw as a support act for Mumford and Sons. I have been in love with Ben Howard for longer than I have been with any other artist. I was gutted when I didn't get tickets to his own tour so saw the Summer Stampede as a great opportunity to finally see him. He was also the act I was most excited for. He came on after Haim, in a black cap, black shirt and black jeans on a 25 degrees day. Very brave of him. It was around 4:30 when he came on and everyone around me seemed pretty tired. Obviously, being a Ben Howard fan, I got up and danced mindlessly in a little circle by myself. No 'favourite gig post' would be complete without Peace. I can honestly say that it was one of the best music-related experiences I have ever had. I saw them at Shepherds Bush in London which took an hour to get to but was definitely worth it. We had to get seating tickets as I would probably have been sick on everyone if I were in standing. I hope you appreciate my decision if you went to the same gig. I was slightly bored by the first two acts but couldn't contain myself during Peace. I'd wanted to see Peace for over a year but couldn't because of age restrictions. When they came on, everyone around me gradually stood up and soon enough, my entire view of the stage was blocked by a tall girl in front of me. There was a space next to her in the row in front so I left my friends in the row behind me to stand in between two extremely tall girls and two extremely tall guys. At first, they seemed a little confused as to how I got there and kept themselves to themselves for most of it. I danced like crazy and kept on looking back, noticing the still faces of many people around me. Peace ended with Bloodshake and all my feelings for them swirled around in my brain. It was truly magical and I wish I could re-live it.

Paige:
MGMT 12th October - O2 ABC Glasgow My favourite live act this year goes to MGMT. The psychedelic tendencies their music often has seems even more perfect live because its natural progressive nature is far more explicit in an intimate setting when you're very close to the band. Their lightshows are renowned for being fantastic and I was truly blown away by the visuals that backed up their sound for the entire show. There was a good mix of songs from their three albums - new and old - including a personal favourite of mine Siberian Breaks. Other gigs that also deserve a round of screaming applause are Arctic Monkeys (22/10/13 Metro radio Arena, Newcastle), Peace (1/12/13 Digital, Newcastle) and Swim Deep (14/09/13 The Other Rooms, Newcastle)

Georgie:
I've seen a LOT of great bands this year, but best gig of the year? That's such an easy one. The Jacky P house party in October. Not only did the night consist of three great bands in someone's living room, but it was also my birthday. Curb, Youth Man and The Mighty Young all played and I spent a large portion of the night stood on the drum kit with a tambourine whilst this mental crowd screamed/sang Happy Birthday to me. I'd seen both Curb and Youth Man before and they never fail to impress, but nothing compares to this gig. It was chilled out in the craziest kind of way and was pretty much the best night of my life. Never before have I experienced such energy and excitement from a crowd and to see the bands so relaxed in their surroundings was really great too. It's impossible to put in to words just how amazing this gig was. I'm desperately waiting for the next Jack Parker extravaganza but something tells me nothing will ever beat this gig. Ever.

Calum:
The best live band I've seen this year are New York City's finest shoegazers; DIIV. I saw DIIV play the "sub-headline" slot on Latitude's "i Arena" stage, which is the stage that showcased a range of indie and psychedelic bands. DIIV played a setlist something similar to this; (Druun), Past Lives, Air Conditioning, Untitled, Wait, Sometime, Oshin, Dust, Doused. The band started with the beautiful instrumental that is (Druun). At this point the crowd were swaying gently to the melodic rays of the song. After this, they broke immediately into Past Lives, which was perfect as it's even more melodic, yet lyrically brilliant and got the crowd dancing. It was then that DIIV launched themselves into the set's highlight (possibly): Air Conditioning. Air Conditioning on record is one of the better tracks, yet slightly unspectacular. Live however, Cole Smith's favourite song is a different affair. Live, the song is a seven minute long medley which infuses the already brilliant song with a dream pop style All Apologies-inspired segment, and a cheeky Patti Smith tribute. OVer the seven minutes, the Suffolk crowd stopped dancing and the i Tent turned into a full blown mosh pit. The rest of DIIV's set was full of what you'd expect; the world's best new band, well in their element. New songs "Untitled" and Dust gave the punters reason to look forward to 2014's sophomore album, and Oshin and Wait showcased DIIV's fantastic sound in a way that blew the crowd away, but it was not until DIIV played their final song that the crowd went over the top, as the final song was Doused. Doused closed the set in a way that no other song ever written would be able to do- probably because it sounds like it's about to end for three and a half minutes. The crowd knew it and everyone went mental. The perfect closer to the perfect set. I was blown away by it, and so they should have been; it was STUNNING. Over the course of the year I've seen (amongst others) Peace, Temples and Foals; none of which remotely compare to DIIV and their Latitude set.

Laura: 
1. Peace with support from Drenge 1/12/2013, Digital, Newcastle I went to Newcastle that day not feeling ready for the show and suffering from laryngitis but after spending some of the day with the Peace lads I felt ready for it. After a last minute panic of possibly not being allowed in because the show was apparently 21+ and tweeting Sam Koisser for help we were all allowed in. After about half an hour Drenge came on and well, I wasn’t impressed. I found them boring and me and my friend just looked at each other sighing for most of their performance. Once they’d came off we waited 15 minutes and Peace came on and I don’t think I’ve screamed louder in my life. The energy those four boys have is unreal and they really showed it. Throughout the show I had some interaction with Harrison and Douglas which made me smile even more then I already was. The lads played a new song Money which was one of the highlights of the show, it had the full crowd dancing and everyone singing the choruses after the first. Secondly Float Forever, I adore this song and hearing it live a second time was wonderful, I admit to crying during it but it means a lot to me and finally the third highlight had to be Last Christmas, it was the song’s first live play; the crowd chanted for it and we got it. This one had everyone jumping and singing along and included some very groovy dance moves from the legend that is Doug Castle. 2. Spector with support from JAWS 12/10/2013, Think Tank, Newcastle 3. Peace with support from Superfood 14/4/2013, The Cluny, Newcastle

Molly:
2013 was the year of the gig for me. I went to so many, but my favourite would have to be Biffy Clyro's headline set at Leeds festival on the 23rd of August. It was my first festival, and one of my favourite bands just happened to be headlining. The whole thing was astounding; the band, the crowd, the pyrotechnics - I was in awe the entire time. Actually it may seem a little sad but I cried three times during the set! They were brilliant, almost faultless, and I really hope I can see them again at some point in the future. I'd definitely recommend their live show to anyone.
Close seconds would be The Vaccines, Leeds Millenium Square, 5th of May.