Saturday, December 30, 2017

Steve McLean’s favourite music of 2017


My favourite 10 albums
1. Guantanamo Baywatch - Desert Center
2. J.D. McPherson - Undivided Heart & Soul
3. Cowbell - Haunted Heart
4. Low Cut Connie - Dirty Pictures (Part 1)
5. The Orwells - Terrible Human Beings
6. Lowest of the Low - Do The Right Now
7. Fastball - Step Into Light
8. The Rubs - Impossible Dream
9. The Jesus and Mary Chain - Damage and Joy
10. The Len Price 3 - Kentish Longtails



The next 10 albums
11. The Discarded - The Discarded
12. Old 97’s - Graveyard Whistling
13. Hollerado - Born Yesterday
14. Dropkick Murphys - 11 Short Stories of Pain and Glory
15. Drew Beskin - Cha-Ching Machine
16. Chuck Prophet - Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins
17. Liam Gallagher - As You Were
18. Dan Auerbach - Waiting on a Song
19. Pokey LaFarge - Manic Revelations
20. Robyn Hitchcock - Robyn Hitchcock



The next 10 albums after that
21. White Reaper - The World’s Best American Band
22. Jon Langford - Four Lost Souls
23. The Strypes - Spitting Image
24. The Stanleys - The Stanleys
25. AJ Davila - El Futuro
26. Thelonius Hank - Walk Between the Raindrops
27. Wyldlife - Out On Your Block
28. The Mavericks - Brand New Day
29. Spiral Stairs - Doris and the Daggers
30. Mark Lanegan - Gargoyle




My favourite EPs
1. The Surfrajettes - The Surfrajettes
2. Lily Frost and the Gentlemen Callers - Rebound
3. Goodbye Honolulu - No Honey



My favourite compilations, reissues and live albums
1. Lydia Loveless - Boy Crazy and Single(s)
2. The Rolling Stones - On Air
3. Teenage Head - Fun Comes Fast
4. Frank Turner - Songbook
5. The Northern Pikes - Big Blue Sky (Super-Sized)
6. The Replacements - For Sale: Live at Maxwell’s 1986

My favourite concerts (chronological order)
The Sadies - Jan. 1, Horseshoe, Toronto
The Gabba Heys! - Jan. 21, Shacklands Brewing Co., Toronto
Handsome Ned tribute - Jan. 29, Horseshoe, Toronto
Dwayne Gretzky - Feb. 3, Horseshoe, Toronto
The Arc Sound - Feb. 4, Duggan’s Brewery Basement, Toronto
Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, Arkells - Feb. 10, First Ontario Centre, Hamilton
The Tailbreakers - Feb. 11, Cadillac Lounge, Toronto
Whiskey Jack’s tribute to Stompin’ Tom Connors - Feb. 12, Cadillac Lounge, Toronto
The Del Fi’s - Feb. 18, Cameron House, Toronto
Dead Souls, The Crooked Beat, The Gabba Heys!, Amy Gabba - Feb. 19, Horseshoe, Toronto
Locomotive 8, The Discarded - Feb. 25, Duggan’s Brewery Basement, Toronto
Ferraro - March 3, Cameron House, Toronto

Chuck Prophet and The Mission Express
Chuck Prophet and The Mission Express - March 21, Horseshoe, Toronto
The Screwed, Mr. Pharmacist - March 23, Horseshoe, Toronto
The Discarded, The Tailbreakers, The Sonics - March 25, Danforth Music Hall, Toronto
The Cliff Divers, The Millwinders - April 1, Cadillac Lounge, Toronto
Ferraro - April 3, Horseshoe, Toronto
The Harmoniums, The Slackers - April 8, Horseshoe, Toronto
KOLARS - April 18, The Rivoli, Toronto
Dentist - April 19, Monarch Tavern, Toronto
Early Hours - April 19, Nightowl, Toronto
Punchline 13 - April 20, Bovine Sex Club, Toronto
The Velveteins - April 20, Cherry Cola’s Rock ’n’ Rolla Cabaret & Lounge, Toronto
Bueller - April 21, The Silver Dollar, Toronto
Early Hours, Devin Cuddy Band - April 21, Cameron House, Toronto
Twist, Casper Skulls - April 22, Lee’s Palace, Toronto
Ferraro - April 22, Cameron House, Toronto
The Millwinders, Lilly Frost and the Gentlemen Callers - April 27, Lula Lounge, Toronto
Elliott Brood - May 20, Fort York, Toronto
Midnight Oil - May 20, Danforth Music Hall, Toronto
The Rheostatics - May 26, Horseshoe, Toronto
The Arc Sound, Simply Saucer - June 3, Duggan’s Brewery Basement, Toronto
The Calrizians, The Surfrajettes, Champions of Justice, Ninth Wave - June 3, Cadillac Lounge, Toronto

The Specials
The Specials - June 7, Danforth Music Hall, Toronto
Ethel and The Mermen, The Discarded - June 10, Duggan’s Brewery Basement, Toronto
The Inquisitors, Muck & The Mires - July 14, Trinity Common, Toronto
Lisa LeBlanc, TUNS - July 15, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto
Royal Headache - July 16, Horseshoe, Toronto
Elvis Costello & The Imposters - July 20, Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto
Cockney Rejects - July 21, Velvet Underground, Toronto
Sloan - July 29, Toronto’s Festival of Beer, Toronto
Dropkick Murphys, Rancid - July 29, Echo Beach, Toronto
The Abruptors - Aug. 12, May, Toronto
The Classy Wrecks, Skaface - Aug. 18, Lee’s Palace, Toronto
Scott H. Biram - Aug. 20, Horseshoe, Toronto
Robyn Hitchcock - Sept. 22, The Drake Underground, Toronto
Billy Bragg - Sept. 27, Horseshoe, Toronto

Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul - Oct. 9, Danforth Music Hall, Toronto
Max Weinberg’s Jukebox (with Marshall Crenshaw) - Oct. 10, Horseshoe, Toronto
The Arc Sound - Dec. 2, The Artful Dodger, Toronto
The Rheostatics - Dec. 8, Horseshoe, Toronto
C + C Surf Factory, The Surfrajettes - Dec. 21, Cameron House, Toronto
The Skydiggers - Dec. 22, Horseshoe, Toronto
Lowest of the Low - Dec. 28, Horseshoe, Toronto
Jon Langford, The Sadies - Dec. 31, Horseshoe, Toronto