Andrew Dodderidge picks his favorite live, local rock sets of 2023

Chat Pile. // photo by Andrew Dodderidge

If you have been following some of my concert coverage this fall, you may know a little about my taste. Post-2000s emo/pop-punk, a heavy dose of indie rock, and any other style you can find relating to guitars and drums (prog, noise, post).

The second half of 2023 saw a handful of very high-esteemed bands within the 2010s emo realm make their way to Kansas City, some for the first time in a very long time. There were others that are just making their mark now in various rock subgenres, like Black Country, New Road, who sold out The Bottleneck in Lawrence so far in advance that they had to move the show to The Granada.

Through everything, there were some disappointments, including a sketchily-mixed opening set from The Almost in early December at recordBar, where they played a large portion of debut record Southern Weather while singer Aaron Gillespie lacked a varied stage presence. And even Taking Back Sunday, who I gave a little praise to earlier this year, paled in comparison to almost every other set I saw from September on. The balance in covering most of their discography worked to the group’s disadvantage compared to the number of legendary album anniversaries in the coming months. And don’t even get me started on NEEDTOBREATHE openers Judah & The Lion.

Throughout, you’ll be able to see how my palette came to be from a younger age, with some nostalgia picks along the way. But here are my 10 favorite sets I saw from the last 12 months. For reference it wasn’t until late May where I started consistently making the treks, so most of these selections are from the summer and on. Who knows if I had attended Angel Olsen or Wednesday’s first visit to town? To begin, the two openers that stuck with me the most.

Mircowave. // photo by Andrew Dodderidge

Microwave (Dec. 14, Liberty Hall)

Maybe it’s recency bias, but this three-for-three emo band from Atlanta, GA stole a three-for-three night at Liberty Hall a few weeks back. Without a new LP for over four years now, Microwave spiced up the night after a wild first set from the Cleveland-based Cloud Nothings as a perfect middle ground for punk headliners The Menzingers. Interwoven were a few new cuts, “Straw Hat” and “Circling the Drain”, in a breezy, yet intensifying nine-song stretch. Vocalist Nathan Hardy claims most of the praise, seemingly winded between each and every song, just to come back and surprise with overwhelming energy for a singer/guitarist combo.

Nina Nastasia (Oct. 25, Midland Theatre)

I regretfully inform everybody that I failed to mention indie folk singer Nina Nastasia’s first half-hour before the lengthy, full-scope 22-song set from Wilco at The Midland. With everybody still finding their seats for a weeknight excursion at the legendary theater, Nastasia’s pleasant and simple opening set a high mark on a night with one of Americana’s greatest to follow. The LA native, around since 1999, has released two albums in the last 18 months, one under the moniker Jolie Laide. But her 2007 collaboration with Jim White, You Follow Me, is the one to look out for if you are unfamiliar with her work.

And these are the eight full-length sets that I felt compelled to talk about.

8. Chat Pile (Sep. 30, The Bottleneck)

One of the more intense evenings of the year, the relatively new noise rockers from Oklahoma City exploded enough eardrums to fill The Granada on the last Saturday of September. Over a year removed from first LP God’s Country (an album I talked about in-depth with vocalist Raygun Busch), it was just about the perfect showcase for the genre-defying gentlemen, playing seven of the nine tracks from the touted record. Busch regularly name-dropped Kansas movie trivia throughout the night, while wearing a Friday the 13th mask and constantly breaking down (quite literally) on stage, mid-song. The hilarity combined with the certifiable doom their music is known for mixed together for a very unique act, at least in my more grounded regard. The night was also a nice showcase for local openers Nightosphere and Nerver, the former of which received a ‘Best Album of the Year’ nod from Pile just recently.

Foxing. // photo by Andrew Dodderidge

7. Foxing (Nov. 5, The Bottleneck)

Although preceded by an artist I will discuss below, with most of the crowd thinning out by the time the 12-year old emo greats took the stage, there was still treasure to be found at the end of the tunnel. Foxing played through their first (and possibly best?) album The Albatross, celebrating the almost 10-year anniversary (Nov. 12, 2013) of their coming-out record. Frontman Conor Murphy was up to his usual shenanigans (I saw his side-project Smidley open for mewithoutYou back in 2018 at the same venue), interacting with vocal audience members, discussing his recent marriage, and even jokingly telling a guy to leave for having never listened to any of their other music. After the very short 32-minute album was up, the guys played four more, including three from the acclaimed Nearer My God. “Bit by a Dead Bee, Pt. 1” was the highlight of the night.

Queens of the Stone Age. // photo by Russ Fischer

6. Queens of the Stone Age (Sep. 20, Starlight Theatre)

Discussed in detail earlier this fall on the site, I can concur that this was indeed a strange set. Singer Josh Homme constantly made some questionable remarks to the crowd, even telling the security “I am your boss tonight,” followed by saying “I have survived death six times. I cannot die.” The brief interlude certainly pumped up the adrenaline in the atmosphere, which followed for some ensuing chaos and hordes of people running up to the front aisles for closer examination. I have no comment on the right or wrong on the situation, but I must confess this was an infectious set and something I can now check off my bucket list. Seven songs on their two most memorable LPs …Like Clockwork and Songs for the Dead was a favorable ratio for the 18-track, but ultimately very lengthy weeknight outing.

5. Holy Fawn (Oct. 17, recordBar)

Speaking of weeknight outings, this was the surprise of the fall for me. Always on the lookout for recent new emo success stories, Philadelphia gents Caracara recently fell into my lap earlier this year, just around the time when their planned trip to Kansas City made its way into the airwaves. The Pianos Become the Teeth-esque sound to their first two records make for a promising future for the young guys, as second album New Preoccupations dealt with singer Will Lindsay’s newfound course for sobriety. Their short opening set (for maybe….30 people?) certainly flew under the radar, but headliners Holy Fawn threw the roof off the building, possibly echoing into the concourse of the T-Mobile Center. Unaware of the band? Genre is hard to define, but the track formations were a pattern of quiet, shoegaze verses followed by vigorous eruptions and hardcore moshing (that I was not a part of). Let’s call it psychedelic post-metal. The only group mentioned here that I had no prior listening experience with, the four-piece band from Arizona opened for Deafheaven at The Granada in early 2022 and have 2 LPs and 2 EPs, their most esteemed being 2018’s Death Spells.

4. Emery (Dec. 11, recordBar)

Another surprise for me that I was not prepared to include on a list like this was the late announcement of another group anniversary tour between post-hardcore legends Emery and alternative rock Aaron Gillespie side project The Almost. Having seen (and grown up with) the longtime South Carolina band open for As Cities Burn at The Bottleneck back in 2015, I knew what the set would encompass. What I was not prepared for was the ratio of energy to age presented from a bunch of guys that have graying hair and tout themselves as a “Badass Dads Band”. The electric atmosphere of the crisp 16-song set reminded me of Anberlin’s comeback tour at The Truman in 2019, another longtime alt rock, fringe-Christian group. Frontman Toby Morrell and gang kept it loose while drinking beers between tracks…which possibly led to Morrell falling down and knocking over a cymbal on Dave Powell’s drum set in the middle of “Butcher’s Mouth”. After running through the acclaimed ‘09 album …In Shallow Seas We Sail, they closed with three dated cuts, including “Walls”, which sprouted many to run to the front and mosh. These fellows were certainly a gateway for me into more extreme music.

The Mars Volta. // photo by Brock Wilbur

3. The Mars Volta (Oct. 8, Uptown Theater)

Frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s first trip to Kansas City in 14 years resulted in a very special all-play, no-talk night at Uptown Theater. It was a 13-song set, but if you know Volta, these tracks are long on the studio albums…which means they are even more drawn out in-person. The gents from El Paso, TX played “Drunkship of Lanterns” twice (two of their seven selections off freshman record Deloused in the Comatorium) and even covered Julian Cope’s “Up-Wards at 45°” during a possibly 20-minute rendition of “Cicatriz ESP”. Everyone showed out to the fall Sunday night show and Bixler-Zavala was more than satisfied with it. “I’ve seen you singing along to every word. It’s people like you that get me out of bed in the morning, so thank you,” he said, before the band closed with “Inertiatic ESP”. I cannot do justice to our editor-in-chief Brock Wilbur’s coverage of the show that night.

The Hotelier. // photo by Andrew Dodderidge

2. The Hotelier (Nov. 5, The Bottleneck)

I must admit, when opener Emperor X announced that emo revival group The Hotelier would come out before Foxing on Nov. 5 at The Bottleneck, a wave of disappointment coursed through my veins. How could I recover for a set after the Massachusetts natives played their all-so important Home Like NoPlace is There? Foxing ended up entertaining, as stated above, so no worries there, but yes, this play-through was everything the Lawrence-area was expecting and then some. Vocalist Christian Holden and gang even made everybody wait for the accomplished “An Introduction to the Album” to come through the speakers, as the band played five cuts from It Never Goes Out and Goodness before blazing through the nine-song triumph. Holden’s commentary on a sign held up by a fan saying “Your music saved my life” was the most memorable thing I’ve heard at a show all year. The guys had not played a headlining set in the KC-area since 2014, when the Jackpot Saloon was still around. My brother claims the place was very sparse with people that night. Not the case in 2023.

1. The Wonder Years (Oct. 6, The Truman)

“Local. Man. Ruins. Everything,” said frontman Dan Campbell before the Lansdale, PA pop punk band The Wonder Years jumped into hit “Local Man Ruins Everything”. Campbell’s slam poetry-esque style as the commander of the squad was unexpected, but the perfect complement to his nearly un-boxable lyrical style, which I would argue puts him in a genre of his own.

I would be lying if I did not say this was my favorite show of the year. Leaving a very demanding job recently that took out three years of my life, for better or worse, Campbell’s words consume most of what the job encapsulated. The fear of getting older, not knowing your place in your existence, learning to love unconditionally. That is something that I will always hold close.

And yet again, another anniversary tour. I enjoy The Hotelier’s Home more than The Wonder Years’ The Greatest Generation as a whole, but the brevity of the set (21 songs versus 14), size of the venue, and build-up to the opening number play a large role in this ranking. Maybe this wouldn’t be the case if I saw Campbell perform back in March (also at The Truman), but I just can’t see how this night could have been improved, if at all. Set number one was a complete play-through of 2013 record Generation, while set two was an eight-song greatest hits compilation, with some songs off the newly released The Hum Goes on Forever. When Campbell came out and said that Hum was the band’s best record to-date, you really did believe it.