The Big Snow Show is an annual two-day concert hosted by 102.1 FM. Since 2006, Cage the Elephant, OK GO and other notables have headlined in the past. With Bastille, Grouplove, Alt-J, Phoenix, NONONO, Foals and the Arctic Monkeys, this year’s line-up was beyond impressive.Phoenix is having a huge year, having headlined Coachella this past summer and played a 4,000 seat venue courtesy of WULM.  The Rave on hosted on Dec. 12 and 13 and many Marquette students were in attendance as a way to wind down finals week. 

Headliner Phoenix was joined by Bastille, Grouplove and Alt-J for the first evening. Grouplove was quirky, poppy and brilliant, making the crowd move and sing along to their hits “Tongue Tied” and “Ways to Go.” Their energy on stage was undeniably contagious.

Alt- J followed, a popular but very different sound. With a alternative vibe and limited stage experience, I considered this band a wildcard. Whatever I was expecting from Alt-J, they exceeded it. There was no stage diving, hair flipping or wild dancing, but they managed to entrance the crowd regardless. The layered harmonies and the focus on the musical part of the performance was done tastefully.

If you have never seen Phoenix live, I would add them to your concert bucket list. Most people are familiar with their 2009 hit Lisztomania, but their newer music is every bit as good, especially live. Their lights were on point and their tunes created the perfect dance environment, their concert was inevitably a good time. Lead singer Thom Mars even crowed surfed. What more could you want?

The Swedish synth pop trio, NONONO opened the second evening with the crowd whistling along to their most recent radio it Pumping Blood. Their set lacked a pulse, however, as they opened the show without a drummer. The Oxford bred Indie Rock band, Foals, was loud, lively and rock heavy-a perfect segway into The Arctic Monkeys killer set.

The Arctic Monkeys were easily the best performers of the evening. They opened with Do I Wanna Know and closed with R U Mine, two singles from their new album AM.  Lead singer Alex Turner walks the line between confidence and arrogance, but his energy level was incredible. He event apologized for a lack of stage banter, but they audience was satisfied with the timing of their playing 17 songs in a 75 minute set. Their set list focused on songs from the new album, which was every bit as good as their older material.

With two back to back nights of stellar shows, the Milwaukee music scene never ceases to amaze me. Big Snow Show 8 was a huge success for 102.1 FM, and I can’t wait to see what next year will bring.