Lopez, McGraw flop, Fulton 55 soars in '11 Fresno music scene

We've made lists, checked them twice, opened gifts and watched the ball drop -- now there's one last thing to do before moving on to 2012.

Let's look back at the year that was in the central San Joaquin Valley's music scene.

It's time to examine the facts and figures of 2011 concerts and dole out awards for the best of the local scene. (Note: All attendance figures are from Pollstar).

Top five attended concerts at Save Mart Center: Rock and Worship Road Show (14,462), George Strait and Reba (14,390), Prince (11,918), Journey (7,864) and Keith Urban (7,287).

Did you know? The Feb. 21 live-for-TV World Wrestling Entertainment event drew 10,975, which is more than Mötley Crüe (6,073), Michael Bublé (6,231) and the combined totals of Incubus (3,955), Yanni (3,496) and "Lord of the Rings" (1,888).

'Ouch' of the year: Not the lowest-attended events of the year, but a glaring departure from the big numbers these guys have drawn previously: George Lopez (4,907) and Tim McGraw (6,615).

Best arena show of the year: Prince. First, it's Prince. And second, the feverish, last-minute nature of the show (it was announced on only a week's notice) sent Fresno into a frenzy in May.

Best club show of the year: Foster the People, they of "Pumped Up Kicks" fame, played in front of half-full crowd at The Cellar Door in Visalia a few months before they broke out into mainstream success. Watching their set, you could just tell they were destined for the charts.

Local show of the year: Fierce Creatures' South by Southwest send-off show at Fulton 55 in March. A local band selling out Fulton 55 set a standard for all the other bands in town.

Venue of the year: No question this year. Fulton 55 not only brought a lot of excitement when it opened its doors in January, it gave a new energy to Fresno's Mural District and re-energized the local music scene. Its 500-capacity, swanky atmosphere and two levels are unlike any other music club in the 559.

Local artist of the year: Strange Vine. This young classic rock and blues-influenced duo didn't release a record in 2011, but it seemed to be everywhere -- playing countless gigs in town and around the West Coast. Strange Vine scored a gig opening for The Black Keys and had a big run at South by Southwest. Along the way, it made a good case that it's Fresno's new favorite band. Honorable mentions: Fierce Creatures, Rademacher, Fay Wrays, Motel Drive and Fashawn.

Best new artist: Vocalist Sahab released one of the best local albums of the year with "Scarecrow." His style -- indie pop with electronic and hip-hop undertones -- fit the current national music trends and he did it well enough to anticipate national attention for him in the future.