1) I may be slightly biased but we've had some cracking gigs at the MoshPit this year, so rather than doing a 1 through 10 for MoshPit I'm combining them all here. 

Huge thanks to all the bands that have appeared on the MoshPit stage this year, too many to list all of them, but it'd be remiss of me not to mention our repeat bands who've continued to support us. Sorry if I do miss anyone:

Ernie O’s 2023 Top 10

10. River of Snakes live at Northcote Social Club (supporting Chris Masuak & Dog Soldier) on 26 May. It takes a lot to make my jaw drop, but this tight and gritty 3-piece achieved it flawlessly and with ease. Raul (Magic Dirt) on guitar and vocals, Elissa (The Loveless, RnRHS) on bass and vocals and Dave (Grindhouse, Drifter) on drums wove a tapestry of love, loss and lust that draws you in and leaves you wanting more. Check out their goodies here!

9. Stu Wilson – As Yet Untitled Mini-Album. Still a work in progress, but (Loose Pills, Aberration, New Christs, The Crisps and more) has gone next level with his solo material, taking advantage of his Stu Stu Studio to lay down some tracks that wouldn’t sound out of place on a 1980’s Citadel release. We’re having a lot of fun with this! Check out a teaser here.

Top Ten Time in Ten Town! Four gigs – five albums – one book – by Garry Gray 

The buzz.
Garry Gray is winging his way in like a true angel to deliver his Top Ten Commandments for the I-94 Bar for 2023 – formerly of Sacred Cowboys, Negatives and Garry Gray & The Sixth Circle – and recently with Ed Clayton – Jones – without G.G. there would be no Chainsaw President ….

’The truth is I never left you, All through my wild days, My mad existence, I kept my promise, So keep your distance.’’ – now read on!

Top Ten in no particular order

1. Iggy Pop – Every Loser
After the WTF-was-that-all-about of 2019’s “Free”, Iggy is back doing what Iggy does best – fronting a small combo and letting it rip.

We get a taste of most of Iggy’s personas, including the punk god to the dodgy philosopher to the Sinatra-influenced sleazebag. Standout tracks, well, pretty much all of them, but “Strung Out Johnny” turned into an earworm that went for weeks.

At 76, he still shows that he’s got plenty to offer and plenty to say and this would be a fitting record for him to go out on. Compare it to the doggerel the Stones put out recently. Sir Michael sounds like he’s singing through a vocoder FFS. 

Another year of almost zero fun in Sin City (if not the rest of Oz/the rest of this mortal coil/earth) for most of us/those in the lower/working class, some relief could be found through the following Top 10...

Margo Price - "Strays" album

Lucinda Williams - "Stories from a Rock-n-Roll Heart" album

Eilen Jewell - "Get Behind The Wheel" album

Lydia Loveless - "Nothing's Gonna Stand In My Way Again" album

Cable Ties - "All Her Plans" album

Leah Senior - "The Music That I Make" album

Pat Todd / Mad Macka @ Golden Barley Hotel, Sydney 

The Mezcaltones (CD launch) @ Marrickville Bowling Club, Sydney

 
_{Sean St Leone. Keith Claringbold photo.}

10 things that made me hoppy this year (in no particular order) 

Mudhoney at Wollongong Uni
A band I’ve wanted to see for many, many years and every time I’ve been close to seeing them, something has gone wrong, so I was stoked just to make it to this show. I was even more stoked when they played an amazing set, chock full of classics. Not showing their age in the slightest. 

Descendants at the Metro, Sydney
Another band I’d always wanted to see but always missed - been a fan ever since someone put "Everything Sux" in my hand sometime in the late ‘90s. Didn’t know what to expect given Milo had a heart attack less than two months before the gig, but i needn’t have worried. They started and just kept going till the end - pretty much no breaks - just one killer song after another. Tight and more than alright. 

The Mark of Cain at the Metro, Sydney
Playing their album "Ill At Ease" from start to finish (and throwing in a few from “Battlesick” and “This Is This” to close out the night). Tight as a fishes arsehole. One of the best things I’ve seen in years. crowd loved it and every song was spot on. Brutally good. If there was any justice in the world this band would have been huge.