Best of 2011 by Ben Trogdon

I’m not so good at keeping up with current bands’ recordings, so this
is a list of some of my favorite performances of 2011.

Nicki Minaj
Oracle Arena - Oakland, CA
Rick Ross and Lil Wayne played too, but I’m a huge Nicki fan and she
totally killed it! Special thanks to my buddy Jaime who won the
tickets on the radio and invited me to come along.

Crazy Spirit
Holy Mountain - Seattle
I was so excited to see this band I stage dove off the PA speaker, hit
my face on the floor and got a fat lip.

Russian Tsarlag / SHV
Stud Mansion - Olympia
Dang, maybe I was stoned but this night was hypnotic. Intense. I was
under the spell.

Ratas Del Vaticano
Monterrey, MX
The show was in a shell of a building in downtown Monterrey. It had no
roof and inside was a half pipe and a bar. Ratas were sick! It was so
cool to see them in their hometown. Afterwards they took us to a house
party where everyone sung along to Eskorbuto until 4 AM. I was so
tired from the long drive and everything, I fell asleep in the middle
of it all.

The Creamers
Club 1808 - Austin
This band is so cool. When they played that night they owned that room
and that city.

Transfix / Forced Laugh / Living Eyes
Quince and State St. House - Olympia
Transfix is my new favorite Olympia band. Their demo tape and Living
Eyes’ new 7” were two of my fave recordings of 2011.

Brilliant Colors
Grandma’s House - Olympia
It was like seeing The Beatles!

Vile Gash
Old School Pizzeria - Olympia
Violent feeling, totally awesome. Gotta even out that karma.

HPP
Le Voyeur - Olympia
Even though this was HPP’s last show it was super fun. Everyone was in
a great mood. RIP HPP

White Wards / Hysterics / Christian Mistress
I saw these bands many times in 2011. They are continually inspiring
as people, friends, and bands.