The top five London live shows of 2011
London is a fantastic place for live music. With a gig happening almost every night of the week, there's always something to see. Metal is the genre I generally experience most in the live format, and with that in mind here's a rundown of five shows that made me feel that life would be nothing without the glory of live music.
1. Altar of Plagues - Borderline - December 4th
The most exhausting show seen in town this year, Altar of Plagues give catharsis in it's purest form.
2. Anathema - Scala - February 17th
Running through newest album We're Here Because We're Here in full, then enveloping the audience in an accomplished set of greats, Anathema kicked off my personal gig year on an incredible high.
3. VNV Nation - KOKO - October 9th.
This show was touch and go for a while, after having cancelled the previous nights gig due to illness. Ronan Harris pulled through and gave probably the best VNV show I've seen thus far. Not stopping for the entire two hours, audience and band included, it was euphoric.
4. 40 Watt Sun - Upstairs at The Garage - May 21st
40 Watt Sun's first UK show was an event to marvel at. Laden with doom and exquisite emotion, Patrick Walker and his band did enough to make even the hardest of hearts melt.
5. Negative Plane - Purple Turtle - August 5th
This exclusive UK show marked the first time Negative Plane deemed us worthy to witness their live event. And damn, it was spectacular.
Words: Cheryl
