my top 5, copied from another site where i write in normal caps.
1. Wire @ The Gaelic Club, 3/04
Their new material sounded unbelievably brutal, like the best 80's HC bands, and their perfect 'snotty art-school student' attitude was still intact. And they played about half of �*Pink Flag! Too damned good. Still a band that matter
2. Les Savy Fav @ The Gaelic Club, 11/04
Fucking awesome, as most who've seen them would attest. Theatrics and music were top notch, from the second that spine-tingling opening riff of "The Sweat Descends" started.
3. Hot Snakes @ Annandale hotel, 7/05
Great, tight set, but the encore where they played Drive Like Jehu's "Bullet Train to Vegas" and "Luau" elevated it to a purely religious experience.
4. Isis @ Annandale Hotel, 2/05
Excellent show, one of the few I've been to that felt like a real 'journey'.
5. Damo Suzuki @ Big Day Out, 1/04
Now THIS was unexpected. I was walking around the festival wondering if there were any other bands to see instead of The Black Eyed Peas. Not listed on the program I obtained before entering was DAMO FUCKING SUZUKI. I couldn't believe it. He was on a tiny stage backed by Australian band The Holy Soul, in front of a tiny audience of uni students and older Can fans, singing in his trademark stream of conciousness gibberish as his backing band played fairly standard krautrock mantras. I would've deemed the experience OK if I had paid to see it and knew about it in advance, but I was so pleasantly shocked by it that I still smile thinking about it today. Extra points because he stared directly at me for a good five minutes during the last song.