We're All Ears: The Year That Was.

So, 2009 is over already. If you blinked, you probably missed it. Maybe I’m just getting older, but it seems as each year goes by, they get shorter and shorter.

As is customary for this time of year, I’ve been asked to take a look back at Lincolnshire’s musical offerings over the last 12 months.

First of all, let me say, the majority of the year’s highlights took place at the Lincoln Engine Shed. But, rest assured, this is not from any kind of bias. From singer-songwriters in Ruskington, to Christian rock in Grantham, to the highly-anticipated S Club 3 reunion – if it’s been in Lincolnshire this year, I’ll probably have been there.

The relentless domination of the Engine Shed, if anything, tells us that Lincoln is crying out for a competing venue for contemporary music.

Nevertheless, let’s proceed. Here’s my list of the best live performances in Lincolnshire this year ...

White Lies, Lincoln Engine Shed.

February saw the return of the annual NME Awards Tour, viewed by many to be a benchmark of what’s going to be big in the year to come.

Despite sharing a bill with Florence And The Machine, Friendly Fires and Glasvegas, the night undoubtedly belonged to White Lies, who brought their brand of Joy Division-infused indie-rock gloom to Lincoln.

Highlights of the night included incendiary renditions of Death and Farewell To The Fairground, as well as an impassioned duet with Florence Welch on the heartbreaking anthem Unfinished Business.

Bloc Party, Lincoln Engine Shed.

In October, following a summer of high-profile festival slots, which were perceived by many to be under whelming at best, Bloc Party embarked on a massive nationwide tour, with rumours rife that this would be their last before a hiatus.

If this truly was the band’s final curtain call, at least they went out on a high. Bloc Party were confident, playing a set spanning their entire career. Songs like Positive Tension and Banquet sparked riotous scenes, with girls losing their shoes and bodies flying everywhere.

The Cribs, Lincoln Engine Shed.

Backed by ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, The Cribs returned to Lincoln, shredding through their staple rock and roll riot of a set, mixing the archetypical 1970s punk-grunge fuzz of their earlier tracks, such as Direction and Mirror Kissers, with their more rhythmic and textured material from their “matured” fourth album, including tracks such as We Were Aborted and Cheat On Me.

The Cribs’ set at the Engine Shed in the Autumn of this year further cemented their imminent dominance, demonstrating how they’ve flawlessly engineered themselves from lo-fi obscurity into the indie mainstream.
Unpredictable, inflammable, ferocious and unquestionably the stand-out live gig of the year.