Top Albums, Shows and Songs of 2013

When I’m old, fat and (hopefully) happy, I will probably look back at 2013 as a pivotal blip in my life, where I lost one of the most important things to me—something I had been planning my entire adult existence around for some eight years—and was suddenly forced to forge a new path on a new map. Opposite directions, graduation, crumbling, cynicism, and the renouncing of my faith in what I thought was my home. Yes, more downs than ups this time around, but if everything was perfect, I’d never feel anything (the balance will allow). To my beautiful lady, supportive family and the following bands, albums and shows that consistently found a way to lift me up from wherever I had fallen this year, I am forever thankful.

Live Review: HRVRD, The Clubhouse (11/2/13)

Wow. What a tour package. I don’t really need to spend much time describing my excitement to attend A Lot Like Birds’ current run featuring HRVRD, My Iron Lung, and Night Verses, because I haven’t seen a bill this stacked all year and was more than willing to hand over ten dollars to secure my spot right in front of the stage on Saturday night. While each of these bands were great in their own respects (My Iron Lung’s wave-inspired brand of Touchè Amore flavored hardcore was certainly fun to see, and Night Verses delivered an insanely energetic performance, with the vocalist and drummer wildly flailing and jumping throughout the duration of their set), I was strictly attending as a HRVRD fanboy, and I definitely did not go home disappointed.