To round out 2016, WKDU DJs wrote about their music memories of the year. We’ll share some each day until New Year’s Eve. Here are the first two, and stay tuned for more tomorrow!
Allison Durham (Dial Error)
Although 2016 was a pretty terrible year overall, I was lucky enough to experience a number of unforgettable moments involving music that continue to remind me of what livin’s all about. I spent the spring and summer back home in St. Louis, where I had the fortune of catching one of several truly insane shows – in June, I went to see Waveless (Minneapolis), Warm Bodies (Kansas City), Chasm (KC), along with locals Swear Beam and Veil. It’s hard to put a show like this into words… but for me, there’s just nothing like being surrounded by so many true blue STL lords in a place where everyone is super into it, totally captivated, there to watch buds rip and maybe bring out the ol’ slow-and-low dance moves. I remember standing there watching Warm Bodies for the first time, freaking the hell out (this is a band you have to see to believe) and thinking about how I am hugely inspired by so many women involved in punk stuff around the Midwest, and especially those who’d played that night. I left feeling ready as ever to get out, play, and improve as a musician!!
Nick Manna (Roadrunner)
I went to Don Giovanni Record’s New Alternative Music Festival (NAMF) this year. Nearly all my favorite bands played – Screaming Females, Radiator Hospital, Outer Spaces, and even a P.S. Eliot reunion. But Tenement stole the show. The band, doubled in size thanks to tour mates Dusk, blew me away within seconds of starting their set. Lead by Amos Pitcsh, they had three tambourines, backup singers, and finished with everybody soloing, including a surprise saxophone and violin. The set was short, and still has me wanting more. The next day I was still at NAMF, but I got my roommate to go to see them in Philly. We spent the rest of 2016 listening to Tenement nearly every week and remembering those shows. Their self-titled album is an blitz of energy and empathy. We listened to Martha all the time too. They haven’t played the US in a few years, but their album, Blisters in the Pit of My Heart, was my favorite this year, and there was one night where we drank wine and watched every one of their videos. This was a strange year, Martha and Tenement made it better.