The Archies

The Extremely Bloody Confusing Archies 2000
Having not established a clear set of categories prior to seeking nominations here are the extremely bloody confusing Archies for Y2K (you could say we jammed them). New boy Gareth who escaped the initiation ceremony by promising to pass the lap dancer and then didn't has added a decidedly prog-metal edge to the proceedings. Any reference to any person or persons living, dead or somewhere in between is entirely deliberate.

I guess that on balance the only clear winners are as follows:

Band - The Flower Kings
Album - 'L' by moe.

Band of the year

Ian: The Flower Kings

David: Phish - based upon live MP3s or possibly Gong based upon actually being there

Martin: The Flower Kings

Gareth: 1. Pain of Salvation, 2. Transatlantic, 3. Discipline

Album(s) of the Year

Ian: 1. Space Revolver - The Flower Kings, 2. Shaming Of The True - Kevin Gilbert, 3. SMPTe - TransAtlantic, 4. The Perfect Element Pt1 - Pain Of Salvation, 5. V - Spocks Beard

David: Farmhouse - Phish, L - moe., V - Spocks Beard, Zero to Infinity - Gong, Kid A - Radiohead

Martin: 1. Space Revolver - The Flower Kings / V - Spock's Beard (Sorry, just can't choose between them - my favourite is whichever one I happen to be listening to at the time), 3. L - moe. 4. SMPTe - TransAtlantic, 5. The Perfect Element Pt1 - Pain of Salvation

Gareth: 1. Transatlantic 'SMPTe', 2. Pain of Salvation 'The Perfect Element', 3. Spocks Beard 'V'. Also rans: Flower Kings 'Space Revolver', Salem Hill 'Not Everybody's Gold', Grandaddy 'The Sophtware Slump'

Track(s) Of the Year

Ian: The Great Nothing - Spocks

David: Spocks Beard - Great Nothing, Gong - Wise Man In Your Heart / Infinitea, Radiohead - The National Anthem. Phish - First Tube

Gareth: He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot - Grandaddy

Jam Band Album of the Year

Ian: L - moe.

David: L - moe.

Live album

Ian: L - moe.

David: L - moe.

Martin: L - moe.

Gareth: Roger Waters - In the Flesh

'Solo' album of the year

Ian: Shaming Of the True - Kevin Gilbert

David: Trey Anastasio - Farmhouse

Gareth: Neil Morse 'Christmas album' !!!!

Gig / Live Band of the year

Ian: The Flower Kings - Utrecht November 2000/ Spocks Beard London October 2000 - Tie for completely different reasons

David: Gong Hammersmith Palais and / or Hackney Empire

Martin: The Flower kings, runner up Spocks Beard, gigs - The Flower Kings, Utrecht Tivoli, 22 November 2000, Spock's Beard, London LA2, 28 October 2000, Roger Hodgson, Talk of London 10 August 2000

Gareth: Dream Theatre - Shepherds Bush, other bands Re-Genesis and Spocks Beard

Venue of the year

Ian: LA2

Gareth: Hammersmith Apollo

UK Album of the year

Ian: Unbranded - Parallel or 90 degrees

David: Gong - Zero To Infinity (although Ian questions their collective nationality)

Gareth: Porcupine Tree - Lightbulb Sun

UK band of the year

Ian: Parallel or 90 degrees

David: Gong

Gareth: IQ

Reunion of the year

Ian: Gong

David: none and I don't count Gong as a reunion

Festival

Ian: Canterbury

Discoveries

Ian: Dave Mathews Band

David: Marvin Gaye - 'What's Going On'

Martin: Echolyn

Gareth: Country beer from France (8.6%!), Anna Kournakova, Melania Knauss, Franz Marc, The Glitzy Cape(!) and the joys of dating a lap-dancer for 2 months (phew!)

Most Totally Cosmic Being(s)

Ian : Roine Stolt

David: Mike Howlett, Mike Gordon

Martin: Roine Stolt

Gareth: Roine Stolt

Shiver-down-the-spine moment of the year

Ian: The Flower Kings covering 'Soon' by Yes at the LA2

David: Achieving lift off 10 minutes into the Gong Hammersmith Palais gig / the guitar led jam during Garden of Dreams by The Flower Kings at London's LA2.

Martin: The Flower Kings covering 'Soon' by Yes at the LA2

Gareth: Hearing 'Suppers' Ready live (ok I know it was Re-Genesis!) and witnessing several 'private' shows from my lap-dancer girlie in a suite at the London Hilton!

Diamond Geezers

Martin: Tomas Bodin / Jonas Reingold

Gareth: Rick Wakeman / Fish

Most Promising New Band

Ian: Transatlantic / Box Of Rain (gee thanks Ian)

Gareth: Transatlantic

Best Overseas Band (non US/Sweden)

Ian: Too bloody many - Com on you Brits!

Gareth: White Willow (Norway), Deux Ex Machina (Italy)

Best Swedish Band

Gareth: Pain of Salvation

Ian: TFK

Biggest Bummer Of 2000

Ian : Ann Widdicombe (Sorry I may have miss read that), Overdraft / re mortgage incurred trying to keep up with all the Neal Morse related releases

David: Not seeing Phish or moe!!!

Gareth: The failure of original Genesis to reform despite persistent rumours, The failure of original Marillion ditto

'In a tent' album of the Year

Ian: The Disco Biscuits - Bisco Lives

David: The Disco Biscuits - Bisco Lives

Gareth: Grandaddy 'The Sophtware Slump'

Complete and Utter Bastard(s) of the Year

Ian : Anne Robinson, Tony Blair (Well just a complete and utter two faced coward really)

David: The entire Tory party, all the fascist violent bastard types in the world, Ann Robinson

Gareth: Neil Morse, Steve Hogarth

Fruit(s) or vegetable(s) of the year

Ian : Ann Widdicombe / George W Bush/ Neal Morse 'Christmas album' (isn't that strictly speaking a turkey and so not fruit or veg?)

David: Banana smoothies

Gareth: Steve Hogarth (see above), Cucumber (see discoveries of the year re: dancer).

1999

Band
DW: Phish
IO: Spock's Beard
MN: Disco Biscuits

Gig
DW: Flower Kings/Spock's Beard, The Paradiso, Amsterdam (OR all the Phish ones I wasn't at!)
IO: Flower Kings/Spock's Beard, The Paradiso, Amsterdam
MN: Flower Kings/Spock's Beard, The Paradiso, Amsterdam

Albums (Top three voted by all BOA)
Spock's Beard - Day for Night
The Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream
moe. - Tin Cans and Car Tires

Album (UK)
DW: Moom - Bone Idol / Gomez - Liquid Skin
IO/MN: The Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream

Live Album
Phish - Hampton Comes Alive (haven't heard it yet but for my money it's gonna be a knockout for sure - DW).

Also-rans
DW: Phish - The Siket Disk / Disco Biscuits - Uncivilised Area
IO: Mostly Autumn - The Spirit of Autumn Past / The Flower Kings - Flower Power
MN: Disco Biscuits - Uncivilised Area

Live Bands (Current)
Phish, The Flower Kings, Spock's Beard, moe., Disco Biscuits

Discoveries
Disco Biscuits, moe., Smokin' Granny, Mostly Autumn, MP3 downloads, a small green lump of putty under my armpit one summers eve (DW)

Best UK Band
DW: Moom / Gomez
IO: Mostly Autumn
MN: The Porcupine Tree, sadly

Best Overseas Band
Take a wild stab

Best Swedish Band
The Flower Kings (Runner-up: Abba)

Best Venue
Paradiso, Amsterdam

Best Welsh Band
Man (runner up - Tom Jones(Is he a band? MN))

Biggest Bummer of 1999
Phish not touring Europe (runner up - arriving at a Flower kings gig 9/10's of the way through)

'In-a-tent' album of the year
Disco Biscuits - Uncivilised Area
Smokin' Granny - Sirius Matter
Phish - The Siket Disk
Moom - Bone Idol

All-round Cosmic Being of the year
Roine Stolt
(Runner-up - The Dear Leader and Teacher, His Holiness the Dalai Llama (taboot taboot!) - DW)
(Runner-up - The Dear Leader and Teacher, His Holiness Tony Blair - MN)

Complete and Utter Bastard of the year
Slobodan Milosevic (Runner-up - Jeffery Archer)

Fruit or vegetable of the year
DW: Pear, Potato
IO: Raspberry
MN: Chocolate