Top Performances of 2024

3. Bring Me The Horizon: Utilita Arena, Birmingham

In the last decade, Bring Me The Horizon have established themselves as archetypal trailblazers and a truly modern band who continually set out the boundaries of heavy music before smashing them to pieces again. This forward-thinking approach extends to their live shows which grow continually more and more insane with each tour. Shaking off the departure of prolific producer and keyboard player Jordan Fish as well as indefinite delays to the follow up to 2020’s Post-Human: Survival Horror, the band’s NX_GN Tour performance in Birmingham was another mad spectacle, falling somewhere between a 3D horror film and a post-apocalyptic computer game. Driven along by interventions from demonic character E.V.E, the show was a barrage of colour, vivid graphics, other-worldly sounds and thunderous riffs, reflecting the maximalism of the singles that had been released at the time, and the album which was released in May. Fish’s vocal parts were taken on by touring guitarist Jon Jones who had a raw and powerful voice perfectly suited to BMTH’s old and new material, which especially shone during an acoustic rendition of ‘Strangers’. Although the performance was not any worse for Post-Human: Nex Gen not having been released, Oli Sykes made light of this fact during an amusing segment where E.V.E teased most of the unreleased songs before recording some group vocals from the crowd which appeared on ‘n/A’ when the album came out in May. There seem to be more and more bands who are playing arenas today but there can be no question as to whether Bring Me The Horizon are deserving of this status. As well as their music continuing to redefine hard-rock as a genre and straddling the boundary between alternative and accessible, the way it is presented is all-encompassing, complimenting the extravagance of the songs and embracing all that their venues and current technology has to offer.

2. Wunderhorse: Manchester Academy

In a large crop of hugely talented British and Irish bands around today, Wunderhorse have quickly established themselves as one of the most exciting and magnetic. In August, they released their second critically acclaimed record Midas which marked a change in approach for the group who aimed for a less polished sound, embracing its rough edges and unintentional sounds like feedback. This, in combination with the emotionality which runs deeply through all of their material and the unrelenting energy of the band’s performances, created an incredibly intense and consuming live experience. With little time for breaks or speaking to the crowd, they exploded through 14 songs, captivating the audience as they sang every word and jump to every beat. High-energy is a common and crucial component of rock music but just as much of the passion that Wunderhorse manage to ignite on stage stems from the poetic and powerful writing of Jacob Slater. His lyrics, which detail deeply personal stories or the experiences of the people he has encountered in life, are what seems to have enthralled the band’s growing fanbase and left them deeply connected to and engaged with every song in a way which goes beyond most audience-artist interactions. This gave rise to a very unique and special feeling of communion in the audience as everyone clearly had their own relationship with every song but shared the collective experience of seeing them played live. The show was an incredible thing to witness, especially as the group are still playing relatively small venues, although their next UK tour in will be in front of bigger capacity crowds. With their fanbase growing continually thanks to the relatability of their lyrics as well as the irresistible riffs, melodies and passion, the secret shared by Wunderhorse fans is unsurprisingly and deservedly spreading to more and more people.

1. Liam Gallagher: Reading Festival

Before the biggest music news of the year, Liam Gallagher finished his UK shows celebrating the 30th anniversary of Oasis’ record-breaking debut album Definitely Maybe by playing the closing headline slot at Reading Festival. This tour could be said to be the culmination of his solo career which has seen him release three albums, return to Knebworth for two sold out nights in 2022 and collaborate with Stone Roses guitarist John Squire, as well as seeing a revitalisation of his singing voice. While Noel has continued to display and hone his mastery of songwriting, Liam has embraced a role of keeping the music and spirit of Oasis alive and this was certainly a show for Oasis fans, featuring an assortment of uniquely exciting and bewildering moments. Alongside the album’s beloved classics like ‘Supersonic’ and ‘Live Forever’, the audience was treated to rarely heard tracks like the surrealist psychedelia of ‘Shakermaker’ and the humorous everyday mundanities of ‘Married With Children’ and ‘Digsy’s Dinner’. On top of this there was a unique rendition of ‘Half The World Away’ and the inclusion of further B-sides ‘Fade Away’ and ‘(It’s Good) To Be Free’, demonstrating even further the sheer quality of the band's catalogue of songs (not that it was in doubt). Having always balanced his solo material with the Oasis songs that the crowd are always itching to hear, this show was a fully distilled celebration of the band’s career. A further testament to the individuality and pure nostalgia of this tour was the stage setup featuring the flamingos, globe and photos of Rodney Marsh and Burt Bacharach that feature on the album’s cover. Liam’s vocal performance was also particularly strong, which it needed to be as sound issues had plagued the weekend and festival goers complained that the main stage acts were at times drowned out by the electronic Chevron Stage. This was a gig that had everything, enough to distract from some rumours that had emerged in the day. But when you couldn’t imagine there being anymore to enjoy, a mysterious date flashed onto the screens. What more could you ask from what may be Liam’s last solo gig?