…or in short: the best things I saw in 2009. Lot’s of text, links to photos so be prepared! However, if you’re looking for reviews filled with professional comments, enlisting the best chords the guitarist played that day, naming all the genres the band has stepped into during the certain gig – don’t waste your time. This list is just about the sole love for live music. And all the photos and feeling that come with it.

- Faith No More during Heineken Open’er – The gig topped many “the-best-of-gigs” list this year. No wonder, because it was as awesome as this guy’s bootlegs.

- SUNN O))) during Unsound Festival – For the whole show I was wondering if the police were going to arrest every listener for participating in a pagan ritual. But apart from that, it was a performance (I still cannot label this event as a typical gig) that has been stuck with me from the moment the drones went quiet. What’s more, I can’t listen to SUNN O))) anymore as the recordings are nothing, compared to what happened in Kraków.

- Gaba Kulka in Ucho – It was the first of the 5 Gaba shows I’ve seen this year. It was the most intimate, with a great setlist. And the bootlegs from Gaba’s gigs became the soundtracks to many of my train voyages.

- The Ocean in Progresja – This was the second time I saw them. This was the second time my jaw dropped instantly. Without seeing them live in 2008, I don’t think I would get into sludge, doom or post-metal stuff at all.

- Chris Cunningham during Sacrum Profanum Festival – More of a performance but with all my love for Cunningham work and all he did in Kraków it could as well be put on the list. And, to my surprise, way better than Aphex Twin a week later.

- Karl Bartos during Free Form Festival – I missed Kraftwerk last year and it is still one of the things I can’t forgive myself. Karl Bartos concert was a little substitute for that, with all the great Kraftwerk songs and his solo stuff.

- Video Games Live in Torwar – Metal Gear Solid was released in 1998. It took me 11 years to finally listen to one of the greatest video game themes of all time live. But what happened in the end totally blew me away. Definitely a memorable event with very few people at the audience. Shame.

- Big Sexy Noise feat. Lydia Lunch during Globaltica Festival – who said you won’t create the atmosphere of a dim and crowded New York club in a beautiful forest clearing? In addition to this you can say “Fuck you” to Lou Reed.

- Mademoiselle Karen in Alchemia – It was a very special concert. It was a very special day. The songs were simple and beautiful. This may sound really cheesy, but it was like this, it was all about beauty and simplicity.

- The Dillinger Escape Plan during Knock Out Festival – Just one sentence – one day I want to shoot a DEP concert the way a DEP concert should be shot. The energy they have could easily be split and given to 20 other bands and still there would be some left!

- HEALTH during Off Festival – Hypnosis, energy, experimental and one of my favourite photos from the year 2009. And their single “Die Slow” is one of my three favourite singles from 2009.

- Leningrad in Stodoła – Rocked totally, just as they did a year before in Gdynia. For starters – it’s more vulgar and straightforward version of Gogol Bordello. More swearing, more sexy women and much more Russian language used on the stage. And less Madonna involved in the promotion of the band;)

- Fucked Up during Off Festival (plus their solo gig in Kraków) – because there is no such things as boundaries in the world of punk and hardcore. Because you can hug a bear-like man, shout to the mic he’s holding and feel like you’re best mates ever.

- Samael in Klub Studio – I’m not a big fan of their studio work, but supporting Paradise Lost, they proved who the real headliner was and how metal should sound.

- Tides From Nebula in Ucho – Post-rock at it’s best.

- Burst in Progresja – yes, you can mix alternative rock, sludge, metal, melodic vocals (minus the annoying part), metalcore, progressive hardcore and all the other weird sub-genes that music journalists think about all day. And you get such a beauty.

- The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble in Rotunda – like watching a movie with a disturbing soundtrack.

- Orbital during Selector Festival – sometimes you wait for years to hear this one particular song. Finally you have the chance, and realise that the rest of the set is also brilliant.

- Monotinx during Off Festival – I don’t think I have to add something else

- Daniel Lanois during rehearsal on Soundedit Festival – Liked the concert, loved the rehearsal. Both were really similar but the concert just lacked the magic the small rehearsal studio had.

- Gogol Bordello in Rotunda – Energy, energy, energy, gypsy punk, energy, energy and even more gypsy punk.

Other notable mentions include: Skinny Patrini in Hydrozagadka (I was finally convinced that that made a long way from “a-funny-thing-to-see” to a demonic and sexy electro duo), Orange Goblin during Globaltica Festival (stoner rock vs “the-people-who-came-here-to-listen-to-calm-sounds“), Maciej Maleńczuk in Stodoła, James during Coke Live Festival (“Sometimes, when I look deep in your eyes, I swear I can see your soul”), Pustki during Fryderyki (played a brilliant set to one of the most boring audiences I’ve ever seen), Fever Ray during Nowa Muzyka (I really don’t the like album but cannot resist the magic of “When I Grow Up” – hearing it live was just one of the most spiritual things in the 2009), Blindead in Ucho, Jason Webley during Globaltica Festival, Franz Ferdinand during Selector Festival, Birdy Nam Nam during Free Form Festival, The National during Off Festival (“You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends, when you pass them at night under the silvery, silvery citibank lights”), Wire during Off Festival, Pivot in Alchemia, Behemoth in Stodoła (if Satan was on Earth he’d buy a ticket for that gig!), Vive La Fete during Free Form Festival, Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby in Jazz Club Hipnoza.

And last, but not least – M83 during Heineken Open’er 2009 in Gdynia. The gig of the year. I wrote about it here but have to say it again: it may be the naive, youthful and pop tender beats that were born in Anthony Gonzalez‘s head, but at the same time all these elements are very frank. Since the 4th of July, “Sitting” and “Couleurs” have never sounded the same. And I just love the title of their 2008 album – “Saturdays = Youth”. It’s just so much more than meets the eye…

How could something like this top Faith No More or SUNN O))) you ask? I still don’t know…

New year will bring many, many changes and there are more and more plans being made. The only thing I can say right now is a quote from Current 93‘s album: “I Have a Special Plan For This World“.

I’m also happy that wherever I go I meet so many wonderful people who just love music. Hope 2010 will be a special year for you all.

Cheers from the M83‘s pit!

photo by Ania Margoszczyn

The line-up was a complete suprise as the festival went into a completly different direction. Less world typical music and rather presenting the artists who draw from other musical traiditions. So we had quite a mixture of folk, rock, instrumental improvisations, stoner metal and delicate singing. All in one place for as cheap as 60 zł for a two day ticket. I just can’t write more about the fest as it would sound like a sponsored commercial;) If only it hadn’t rained…

Best gigs? Orange Goblin (awesome stoner metal), Big Sexy Noise with Lydia Lunch (all those New York crazieness mixed with blues guitar and Lyndia singing – shivers all over my body), Jason Webley (a bit of a cabaret and lots of choral singing!) and Murder By Death (gotta love those alt-country folks! I almost forgot those guys existed but an entry on Maciej Stankiewicz’s blog reminded me of them), but the rest of the line-up wasn’t bad either. I was a bit dissapointed by Kyst – heard a lot about them and they just didn’t sound right. I hope to hear the band in a small club – perhaps the gig would be better.

Who I’d like to see next year? Without doubt, I’m waiting for my second favorite band, Woven Hand, to visit Poland and I think they would really fit into Globaltica’s new way of choosing the artists. Who else? Dropkick Murphys, Ben Harper, Nicola Conte, Dave Matthews Band, Tom Waits, Hevia…Lot’s of daydreaming here but hey, if they invited Orange Goblin to the fest, you can expect almost anything, not limiting yourself to folk or world music artists. The sky(or the money..) is the limit!

From a photographic point of view, this was the best event I’ve shoot this year. Great bands, awesome lights, nice security (yup, it happenes sometimes!) and no “three songs, no flash rule”, although the only band I’ve shot for more than three songs was Orange Goblin. There was too much going on, so leaving the pit after three firsts would be a big mistake. I only wish I’ve taken my photo-ladder – the scene wasn’t so high but a couple of additional centimetres really “does” make a differance.

If anyone is interested in buying any of the following photos, please contact me.