Favorite Live Performances of 2022
When I walked into The Mothlight on March 13, 2020 to catch a performance by Algiers, I had no idea that it’d be the last one I’d see in well over a year. The rest of 2020 was mostly spent indoors. 2021 wasn’t much different aside from a couple of shows late in the year. When 2022 began, I was hesitant to spend much time in crowded venues. Favorites such as Andy Shauf, Nick Cave and Iceage drew me out of the comfort of my living room. As the year progressed, I suddenly found myself spending more and more time at music venues, and back to photographing and writing about concerts. Out of the well over 60 music and comedy performances I was able to catch during the year, these are the 25 that I most enjoyed (in chronological order).
Andy Shauf @ The Grey Eagle
2/23/22
memorable moment: Setting foot back into The Grey Eagle for the first time since COVID struck wasn’t an easy feat mentally, but the opening moments of “Neon Skyline” provided instant comfort.
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis @ Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
3/1/22
memorable moment: Sure, seeing Cave sing “Into My Arms” sent shivers down my spine, but it was the ferocious performance of “Hand of God” that really stands out from one of the greatest sets I’ve ever witnessed.
Iceage @ The Grey Eagle
3/3/22
memorable moment: A woeful turnout didn’t hinder the Danish post-punk quintet from urgently ripping through a spectacular set, highlighted by the sleazy “The Lord’s Favorite.” .
The Amazing Acro-Cats @ Wortham Center for Performing Arts
5/7/22
memorable moment: There’s nothing quite like seeing a bunch of trained cats playing rock instruments on a stage.
Read my review for Asheville Stages
Moon Tooth @ The Odditorium
5/22/22
memorable moment: From start to finish the New York metal quartet brought stadium-level energy to Asheville dive The Odd, with the various band members frequently finding themselves in the pit for lively sing-a-longs. Nothing ripped harder than “Nymphaeaceae”
Belle & Sebastian @ The Orange Peel
5/24/22
memorable moment: The influential Scottish indie pop icons almost didn’t get to the venue in time, resulting in a delayed start, but once the band launched into opener “Another Sunny Day,” the rest of the evening was pure bliss.
Read my review for Asheville Stages
Circuit des Yeux @ The Grey Eagle
6/5/22
memorable moment: Haley Fohr’s voice is mesmerizing, and hearing it live, especially during the mind-blowing performance of “Vanishing” may be the closest I’ll ever get to hearing the voice of God.
Aldous Harding @ The Orange Peel
6/14/22
memorable moment: It’s not easy to command a large crowd with relatively quiet songs and sparse arrangements, but by the time Aldous Harding reached closing ballad “She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain,” she’d totally entranced the crowd with her unusual stage presence and shape-shifting vocals.
The Veldt @ Fleetwood’s
6/23/22
memorable moment: The reunited soul gaze luminaries pushed Fleetwood’s sound system to the brink, blasting tunes from both past and present, but nothing hit quite as hard as hearing them “Willow Tree,” a jam from the group’s 1992 release Marigolds.
Bon Iver @ Rabbit Rabbit
6/26/22
memorable moment: Closing out a pretty perfect set, Bon Iver invited out the members of Bonnie Light Horseman to join the group for an inspired rendition of Dylan’s “With God On Our Side.”
Read my review for Asheville Stages
Beach House @ Rabbit Rabbit
7/9/22
memorable moment: When photographers were advised to wait until the 7th song of the night to enter the pit, it was unusual, but when dream pop duo launched into “Dark Spring” immediately after I arrived with my camera, it made perfect sense. Victoria Legrand wildly spun her hair from behind her keyboards, and the once sunlit stage was finally under an appropriate cover of darkness.
Read my review for Asheville Stages
Vision Video @ The Grey Eagle
7/13/22
memorable moment: The Athens, GA goth rockers own songs sounded great, but a badass rendition of Siouxsie & The Banshees’ “Monitor” provided icing on the cake.
Sharon Van Etten @ Rabbit Rabbit
7/22/22
memorable moment: It’d been roughly a decade or more since I’d last seen Van Etten perform. Back then she was a quiet solo singer-songwriter. From the moment that she and her band opened with “Headspace” I was in awe of just how much her stage presence had evolved since those early Brooklyn days.
Angel Olsen @ Rabbit Rabbit
7/22/22
memorable moment: Asheville gathered en masse to commune at the altar of our melancholy queen, and she delivered, ending it all beautifully joined on stage by Sharon Van Etten for an emotional rendition of Badfinger’s “Without You.”
Blvck Hippie @ Fleetwood’s
8/18/22
memorable moment: There’s nothing quite like watching a young band kill it in a small, intimate venue. At Fleetwood’s on a weeknight, seeing the Memphis indie rockers give it their all during set highlight “If You Feel Alone At Parties” was well worth lack of sleep I’d get that night.
The Afghan Whigs @ The Grey Eagle
9/21/22
memorable moment: They opened with some new songs and they sounded incredible, but when the alt-rock legends played “Toy Automatic,” “Gentlemen” and “What Jail Is Like” back to back to back, it was pure ecstasy.
Secret Machines @ The Orange Peel
9/24/22
memorable moment: Unexpectedly announced as the opener for Metric’s tour, I had no idea what to expect from the New York trio’s first show in many years, but the instant “First Wave Intact” began, I was reminded of just how incredible a live band Secret Machines always was.
Metric @ The Orange Peel
9/24/22
memorable moment: In the middle of a set during which the energetic Toronto synth rock group had The Orange Peel bouncing, an acoustic rendition of the band’s early hit “Combat Baby” provided a nice break before quintet got back to rocking.
Fontaines D.C. @ The Orange Peel
9/29/22
memorable moment: Touting the title of “Best Band in the World” — bestowed upon them by NME — the Irish post-punk band presented a pretty solid case during its Asheville debut, never letting up until the very end of the night’s hazy closer “I Love You.”
Read my review for Asheville Stages
Mourning [A] BLKstar @ Isis Music Hall
10/5/22
memorable moment: Not content with just one incredible vocalist, the Cleveland soul collective showcased three during the group’s inspired performance at Isis Music Hall, peaking when during the powerful anthem “Hold Me.”
Sudan Archives @ The Grey Eagle
10/17/22
memorable moment: On stage at The Grey Eagle, the Los Angeles-based violinist and pop singer was magnetic, and no moment better displayed her command over the audience than when she led the crowd through a clap and sing-a-long to the wild “NBPQ (Topless).”
Read my review for Asheville Stages
Joe Pera @ The Orange Peel
11/13/22
memorable moment: For the bulk of his stand-up routine, Pera kept in line with the wholesome persona familiar to fans of his TV show, which only made his sex column bit all the more jarring and hilarious.
Chris Gethard @ The Grey Eagle
12/3/22
memorable moment: During the live taping of his Beautiful/Anonymous podcast, witnessing Gethard’s impeccable ability to navigate a phone call with a stranger while keeping the audience entertained was like watching Picasso paint a masterpiece. The caller spoke in excessive detail about his work as a film lighting engineer, and yet somehow it was totally engrossing.
Archers of Loaf @ The Grey Eagle
12/4/22
memorable moment: Back in Asheville for the first time in a decade, the indie rock titans delivered a sonic feast to a packed crowd filled with friends and family, and nothing hit harder than the scorching highlight “Wrong.”
Read my review for Asheville Stages
The Emotron @ The Grey Eagle
12/14/22
memorable moment: There may have been other sets that I enjoyed more musically, but none of those acts literally set their balls on fire.