Yo La Tengo- Murdering The Classics 2016

photo: Carlie Armstrong (Pitchfork)

 Every March, WFMU holds their annual two week fundraising marathon. WFMU is a listener-supported independent community radio station in Jersey City, NJ. and the funds raised go towards keeping the station alive and the fundraising marathon relies on pledges and donations from it's listeners. Listeners are rewarded with prize giveaways and special surprise guests. It's become an annual tradition to have guests such as Yo La Tengo, who returned to play cover song requests for $100 /per pledge. I'm not exactly how many years YLT have performed during the fundraising drive, I'd estimate maybe 20 years(?) and it's definitely a show I hope surfaces each year somewhere. If you're not familiar with this format or Yo La Tengo's cover versions, have a listen to the officially release, Yo La Tengo Is Murdering The Classics released in 2006. It compiles highlights from past WFMU fundraiser performances from 1996-2003.

The setlist for the 2016 request show is conveniently split into six sets editing the banter, so it's an hour and a half of loose, sloppy fun, and not too serious covers of many classic songs. Part of the appeal is these off-the-cuff performances from Yo La Tengo is the challenge to improv their way through even the most obscure requests. Good humor and amazing musicianship from this always interesting band.

I pulled this recording from Dime and it's just too good not to share here. Thanks to the original poster, beatpop! The request from the original poster: "Please do not trade this in lossy format. Convert to lossy for personal use only". I'm posting this in it's original format (FLAC), so please respect the posters request.
Enjoy!!

YO LA TENGO
Murdering The Classics 2016

Live on Todd-o-phonic 
Todd's Request-a-Thon with Gaylord Fields
WFMU-FM's Monty Hall
Jersey City, NJ, USA
March 12, 2016
(6 sets from 3-6pm)

Broadcast by 91.1 WFMU-FM, Jersey City, NJ USA.
Lineage:
WFMU-FM > Sony XDR-F1HD > Edirol R-09HR (44.1/16) >
Sony Soundforge 10 > FLAC level 6 aligned on SB

Yo La Tengo Murders The Classics, Set 1:

01 - Dead Flowers (Jagger/Richards)  (3:05)
02 - Tears Of A Clown (Wonder/Cosby/Robinson)  (2:07)   
03 - Train Kept a Rollin' (Bradshaw/Mann)  (2:06)
04 - Don't Bring Me Down (Jeff Lynne)  (2:13)
05 - Beast Of Burden (Jagger/Richards)   (2:11)
06 - American Squirm (Nick Lowe)  (2:15)

Yo La Tengo Murders The Classics, Set 2:

07 - She Loves You (Lennon/McCartney)  (2:34)
08 - Stir It Up (Bob Marley)  (1:32)
09 - That's Entertainment (Paul Weller)  (2:03)
10 - Accident (Brian McMahon - The Electric Eels)  (2:38)
11 - Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere (Daltrey/Townshend)  (2:05)

Yo La Tengo Murders The Classics, Set 3:

12 - Those Were The Days (Adams/Strouse) > Those Were The Days (Fomin/Raskin)  (1:44)
13 - I'm A Little Dinosaur (Jonathan Richman)  (2:03)
14 - Tell Me Something Good (Stevie Wonder)  (3:18)
15 - Nobody But Me (Ronald Isley/Rudolph Isley/O'Kelly Isley, Jr.) (2:53)

Yo La Tengo Murders The Classics, Set 4:

16 - Queen of Eyes (Robyn Hitchcock)  (2:22)
17 - Hybrid Moments (Glenn Danzig)  (1:41)
18 - My Heart's Not In It (Yo La Tengo)  (2:45)
19 - Spirit In The Sky (Norman Greenbaum)  (2:08)
20 - Walk Away Renee (Brown/Calilli/Sansone)  (2:50)
21 - Surfin' Bird (Frazier/White/Harris/Wilson Jr.) (2:46)

Yo La Tengo Murders The Classics, Set 5:

22 - Dance This Mess Around (Pierson/Schneider/Strickland/Wilson/Wilson)  (4:04)
23 - Totally Wired (Smith/Hanley/Riley/Scanlan)  (2:30)
24 - Riding In My Car (Al Anderson)  (3:35)
25 - Ziggy Stardust (David Bowie)  (2:57) 
26 - Slow Death (Jordan/Loney)  (4:24)

Yo La Tengo Murders The Classics, Set 6:

27 - Thus Spake Zarathustra  (1:03)
28 - Time  (2:58)
29 - Holy Cow (Allen Toussaint)  (3:42)
30 - Love Potion No. 9 (Leiber/Stoller)  ( (1:37)
31 - (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding (Nick Lowe)  (4:03)
32 - You Tell Us (Bryan Ferry)  (4:22)
33 - It's All Too Much (George Harrison)  (13:01)
      With references to:
    Rebel Yell
    White Wedding
    Sorrow
    I will Dare
    Paint Your Wagon
    That Summer Feeling
    I Don't Wanna Play House
    I've Been Bitten By a Love Bug
    Let's Go Surfin'
    El Paso
    Call Me Maybe
    There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
    The End
    It's All Too Much
    Yellow Submarine   

Total Running Time: 1hr 37min 50sec

Personnel:
Georgia Hubley - drums, vocals
Ira Kaplan - guitar, vocals
James McNew - bass
Bruce Bennett - guitar, vocals

YO LA TENGO- 2016-03-12, WFMU-FM FLAC. rar

Elvis Costello- The Complete Flip City Demos

One of my favourite things about listening to music and following favourite artists is to get the full  picture of the artist. Apart from the released discography available on LP, tape, CD and digital formats, there is a whole world of other versions, alternative tracks and demos that for whatever reason hasn't been officially released to the public. Live recordings are similar because when a band or performer performs songs in concert, it is never the same (at least shouldn't be exactly) as the studio version of the song and artists sometimes test out new material which may or may not be released later. To me, live and demo tracks are interesting, not only because "I can't get enough of their music", but because I want to hear the good and bad with all their hits and misses.

Elvis Costello is no exception, many of his alternative tracks, demos and b-sides have appeared on compilations (Taking Liberties comes to mind) and as bonus tracks on deluxe reissues of his earlier albums. Before Elvis's first album, 1977's My Aim Is True, Elvis, then known as Declan P. MacManus was in a band called Flip City. The band played the pub rock circuit in England, much like bands like Ducks Deluxe and Brinsley Schwarz, and though they never officially released anything, they did record three sessions worth of original and cover songs. These songs are interesting not only because of their historical significance, but also it gives a preview of some songs that would later appear on Costello albums in different, rewritten versions. Pay It Back and a early version of Miracle Man (Baseball Heroes) re-emerges on My Aim, while Living In Paradise and a revamped version of Radio Radio (Radio Soul) appears on This Year's Model. These Flip City demos have been around in bootleg form for years and I have the mp3 version of these tracks downloaded on the web.

The Flip City Demos version I have here, I also found posted online and I'm sure the original poster wouldn't mind it being shared here. This version is the complete demos with even more versions of certain songs and some songs not included on earlier available versions. This is truly worth a listen for all you hardcore Elvis Costello fans! The sound quality is excellent and this is the first time I've seen the uncompressed version of the demos in WAV and FLAC format. Get this now!!

Thanks to hungrypirate, the original poster for making this recording available!
Enjoy!


ELVIS COSTELLO
(The Complete) Flip City Demos 
BBC's Maida Vale Studios, 1974
Hope and Anchor Pub, Attic Studio, Islington, early 1975
Hope and Anchor Pub, Attic Studio, Islington, 1975
(studio soundboard)
FLAC

01. Exiles Road (version 1)
02. Baseball Heroes
03. Radio Soul (1)
04. Third Rate Romance (1)
05. Living In Paradise
06. Radio Soul (2)
07. Radio Soul (3)
08. Pay It Back
09. Imagination Is A Powerful Deceiver (1)
10. Imagination Is A Powerful Deceiver (2)
11. Imagination Is A Powerful Deceiver (3)
12. Third Rate Romance (2)
13. Knockin' On Heaven's Door
14. I'm Packing Up (1)
15. I'm Packing Up (2)
16. (Please Mister) Don't Stop The Band
17. Exiles Road (2)
18. Wreck On The Slide
19. On The Road
20. You Win Again
21. Sweet Revival

Flip City:
Declan P. MacManus - guitar, lead vocals
Mich Kent - bass, vocals
Steve Hazelhurst - guitar, vocals, keyboards, sax
Malcolm Dennis - drums (early session only)
Ian Powling - drums (last sessions)
Dickie Faulkner - percussion, vocals (last sessions)

ELVIS COSTELLO- The Complete Flip City Demos (1974-1975) FLAC. rar

The Weakerthans- Table Of Contents

Last July, according to drummer, Jason Tait the beloved Winnipeg band, The Weakerthans were officially "done". It's hard to believe, but the band was together for 18 years. They hadn't played a live show together in over two years and their last studio album, The Reunion Tour was released back in 2007 and their last release was 2010's, Live At Burton Cummings Theatre, so really it's no surprise they would call it quits. There is always the hope for a "reunion tour" and the members are still in the "biz", so this isn't beyond the realm of possibility. John K. Samson continues with his solo career and operating Arbeiter Ring Publishing, Stephen Carroll works at Manitoba Film & Music and Jason Tait currently drums for Bahamas.

According to Songkick, the Weakerthans last official show was in Edmonton, August 31, 2013. If this isn't correct let me know and if any live recordings from their final shows (including Riot Fest) are floating around, I would be interested. The last time I saw the Weakerthans live was back in December 2010 when they performed 4 shows at 4 different venues playing each album in chronological order each night. I attended 3 of the 4 shows. For the final night at the Burton Cummings Theatre, the band performed all four of their records from the most recent back to their debut. This amazing feat was recorded in it's entirety (almost) by myself and posted here. It's posted in mp3 format (I wasn't posting in FLAC yet), but I have it also in FLAC format and if there's an interest I can re-post (please let me know in the comments).

I'll get together more Weakerthans live recordings to post in the future, but for now here's an interesting collection of B-sides and rarities that include live tracks, alternate versions and covers. I saw this on the Besides Asides blog, but it is now unavailable for download, so I thought I should share this here. Unfortunately, I only have this version in mp3, so it'll fit nicely on your iPod or pad or smartiPhone. I always love compilations like this and some tracks would work well as bonus tracks if their albums ever get reissued and get the special edition treatment. An enjoyable listen and great memories from this well accomplished and important band of the past two decades.
Enjoy!!

THE WEAKERTHANS
Table Of Contents (B-Sides & Rarities)

1. My Favourite Power Chords
2. Ringing of Revolution [Phil Ochs cover]
3. Bad Time To Be Poor [Rheostatics cover]
4. Past Due [Alternate Version]
5. Confessions Of A Futon-Revolutionist (Country Style)
6. Everything Must Go [Alternate Version]
7. Utilities [Alternate Version]
8. Illustrated Bible Stories For Children [Live on CKUW]
9. The Last Last One [Live on CKUW]
10. Left and Leaving [CBC Version]
11. The Reasons [CBC Version]
12. Psalm for the Elks Lodge Last Call [CBC Version]
13. One Great City [CBC Version]
14. Reconstruction Site [CBC Version]
15. Utilities [CBC Version]
16. Judy G [Sarah Harmer cover]
17. Swingin' Party [Replacements cover]

    Track 1 originally appeared on Take Penacilin Now. G7 Welcoming Committee Records 2005.
    Track 2 originally appeared on Return of the Read Menace. G7 Welcoming Committee Records1999.
    Track 3 originally appeared on The Secret Sessions. Zunior 2007.
    Track 4 originally appeared on Hopelessly Devoted to You Vol. 4. Hopeless Records 2002.
    Track 5 originally appeared on Hopelessly Devoted to You Vol. 3. Hopeless Records 2000.
    Track 6 originally appeared on Sub City: Take Action sampler. Hopeless/Subcity 1999.
    Track 7 originally appeared on Help: A Day in the Life. Sony/BMG Recordings 2006.
    Tracks 8 & 9 originally appeared on the Watermark CD Single. G7 Welcoming Committee Records 2001.
    Tracks 10-14 are not commercially available. Recorded live in-studio at the CBC.
    Track 15 originally appeared on CBC Radio 3 Sessions, Vol. 1. 2004. It is credited on the CD to John K. Samson only because at that point the song had not been recorded by the full-band on any commercial releases.
    Tracks 16-17 are Not commercially available. Recorded live at Glenn Gould Studio, Toronto, Ontario on November 18, 2005. Sarah Harmer assists on "Swingin' Party".

WEAKERTHANS- Table Of Contents (B-sides & Rarities) mp3. rar

David Bowie- Hemel Hempstead 1972 R.I.P.

It's been almost 2 months since the untimely passing of David Bowie. During that time, many reminisced, remembered and listened to his music. There were tribute concerts, tribute albums and cover versions of his songs performed. For me, it was an opportunity to rediscover his music and though I listen his music frequently, especially the early 70's Ziggy-era, I thought I should branch off and deluge deeper into his vast discography. I actually only have a handful of his live recordings (which I will seek out more of), and I had the opportunity of seeing Mr. Bowie live during the Serious Moonlight Tour and the Glass Spider tour.

One of the shows I had before Bowie's death was this fine sounding recording from 1972. The sound is a little rough to start, but improves soon after. I downloaded this from Dime many years ago. I meant to post this a couple days after Bowie's passing, but never completed this post until now. I've included the text from the original upload for a little more background on this recording. Enjoy!

 Here is the text of the original upload:
This show is one of the most sought after. It was rumoured to be around in "certain circles" for quite a long time and only one song was open to a wider public until now: Gotta Get A Job. So I was really excited when I got it in a trade not so long ago. There will follow a remaster which will be uploaded later. 

The show itself is really great and soundwise it is close to the Kingston Polytechnic from one day earlier. It is a bit annoying that there are cuts between the songs but there always things to complain about. It's simply another great document of the early Ziggy phase with powerful versions of Moonage Daydream (David shouting all his passion out) or Waiting For The Man with a mind-blowing guitar solo of Mick Ronson.

I have attached a really nice cover I found on the Bowiesleeveart web page. Unfortunately no longer publically accessible. 

Also he performs some tracks only present in the early Ziggy phase like I Feel Free or Gotta Get A Job/Hot Pants.

DAVID BOWIE
Pavilion, Hemel Hempstead, UK
May - 07 - 1972
setlist (length 75:14):

01 Hang On To Yourself
02 Ziggy Stardust
03 Superman
04 Queen Bitch
05 Song For Bob Dylan
06 Changes
07 Starman
08 Five Years
09 Space Oddity
10 Andy Warhol
11 Amsterdam
12 I Feel Free
13 Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud
14 Moonage Daydream
15 Whit Light, White Heat
16 Got Get A Job – Hot Pants
17 Suffragette City
18 Waiting For The Man

The band:
David Bowie – vocals, guitar, harmonica
Mick Ronson – guitar, vocals
Trevor Bolder – bass
Mick "Woody" Woodmansey – drums
Matthew Fisher – piano

DAVID BOWIE- 1975-05-07 Hemel Hempstead FLAC. rar

Jenny Lewis- Winnipeg Folk Festival, July 12, 2015

 Wow, it's been quite a while since my last post! The last time I posted it was still summer, the leaves were on the trees and I was wearing shorts. As a matter of fact, fall has also (almost) passed and now there is  snow on the ground, I switched to winter tires on my car, the Grey Cup (was here) is done and I'm wearing a tuque (for all you non-Canadians, a knit hat), scarf and down-filled jacket. Yes, summer is a distant memory and I'm already dreaming of the days warm enough to ride my scooter again!

To take you back to a sunny warm summer day, I'm reliving a great concert from this year's Winnipeg Folk Festival with Jenny Lewis. Lewis performed on the final night of the festival preceded by the band, Dawes and followed by the headliners for the weekend, Wilco. Dawes was great, but I didn't have my recording gear setup yet because I had to eat sometime that day, so I didn't record them. The Wilco set was marred by a serious thunderstorm that postponed and eventually cancelled the rest of the show only a few songs into their set. Very disappointed!! What I wasn't disappointed in was the amazing set for the former Rilo Kiley co-founder, Jenny Lewis. Though I hadn't been as impressed with her solo albums than her work with Rilo, she worked it well live and proved she is very capable fronting her own solo band. Her set was heavy on her solo albums especially her latest, The Voyager, but I had a smile on my face when she performed a couple of Rilo Kiley songs. I left feeling a reacquainted love for Lewis and was happy the evening wasn't a complete washout.

Despite being outside, the recording sounded pretty good. There's the usual chatter from neighbouring tarp sitters, but the sound is loud and clear with no real issue with wind. With Wilco it was a different story, the wind and pelting rain was crazy! I won't bother posting their short set.
Enjoy!

JENNY LEWIS
Winnipeg Folk Festival
Birds Hill Park, MB
July 12, 2015
Audience MASTER
 
Sony ECM-DS70P mic> Tascam DR-07> SD > 16 bit Wav>
Direct Wave MP3 splitter> FLAC> rar

01. Silver Lining
02. Head Underwater
03. The Moneymaker
04. The Next Messiah
05. With Arms Outstretched
06. Just One Of The Guys
07. You Are What You Love
08. Rise Up With Fists!!
09. She's Not Me
10. Portions For Foxes
11. A Better Son/Daughter
12. Acid Tongue

JENNY LEWIS- 2015-07-12 Winnipeg Folk Festival, Birds Hill, MB FLAC. rar

The Soft Boys- TLA, Philadelphia, PA March 20, 2001

This year, I only took in one day at the annual Winnipeg Folk Festival and I opted for the Sunday (last day of the four day festival) because there were a couple performers that I wanted to see. The evening featured Jenny Lewis and Wilco as final mainstage headliner acts (more on them next post) which was enough for me to shell out over $80 dollars for the one day.

One of the acts I was looking forward to was Robyn Hitchcock who I hadn't seen live yet. Unfortunately, his daytime hour long solo concert conflicted with two other daytime stage concerts I also wanted to see. I opted for the other two, but beforehand attended a multi performer set featuring Robyn, Dan Mangan and The Weather Station, titled "I Get A Kick Out Of You". While each person took turns trading off songs, it was apparent this wasn't the ideal way to get a real feel for Robyn's music live, as it was more of a sampler, but at least I was able to see him perform 4 of his songs. I recorded the whole set (except maybe the last song from TWS) and I may eventually post it.

Personally for me, my favourite Robyn Hitchcock's songs are from his time with his band, The Soft Boys. Robyn fronted this band from the mid-70's to 1980 with a couple of critically acclaimed albums, though they were somewhat underappreciated at the time. Hitchcock filled the following decades, 80's and 90's with his band, The Egyptians, as well as solo albums and touring. The Soft Boys reformed in 2001 with a reunion tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Underwater Moonlight, probably their best known album. As a companion piece to the Young Fresh Fellows TLA recording I posted last month, here's the headlining set by the reunited Soft Boys from 2001. It's an amazing set of their "hits" and the sound is fabulous!
Enjoy!!

THE SOFT BOYS
Theatre Of The Living Arts
Philadelphia, PA
March 20, 2001

DISC 1
01. Intro
02. You'll Have To Go Sideways
03. He's A Reptile
04. (talk)   
05. Queen Of Eyes
06. Old Pervert
07. Gimme A Part Of Rock'n'Roll
08. Underwater Moonlight
09. (talk)  
10. I Wanna Destroy You
11. Kingdom Of Love
12. Evil Guy
13. The Face Of Death
14. Leppo And The Jooves
15. Sudden Town
16. Insanely Jealous

DISC 2
First Encore:
01. Intro   
02. Airscape
03. The Pulse Of My Heart
04. Only The Stomes Remain
05. Mr. Kennedy

Second Encore:
06. Each Of Her Silver Wands
07. The Bells Of Rhymney
08. Where Are The Prawns?

THE SOFT BOYS- 2001-03-20 TLA, Philadelphia, PA, FLAC part 1. rar 
THE SOFT BOYS- 2001-03-20 TLA, Philadelphia, PA, FLAC part 2. rar

Mojo Nixon- Winnipeg Folk Festival 1990

Photo credit- Jace Hagen

Going to Winnipeg Folk Festival on Sunday for my annual one day walkabout to hopefully check out some good music. I'll attempt some live recordings as long as the weather cooperates and my fellow tarp-sitters cooperate and don't talk too much during the music (!)

A memorable Folk Festival memory is from 1990 with the always entertaining Mojo Nixon. I had seen him previously at the festival a few years earlier with Skid and it was definitely a highlight. He performed on the main stage as well as the smaller stages during the daytime workshops. He debuted a couple of his classics, Don Henley Must Die and Destroy All Lawyers, as well as jamming out with fellow workshop performer Loudon Wainwright III. A nice little sample that was fortunately recorded (not by me) and posted on Mojo's music sharing site that I downloaded years ago. You can access many more great shows from the audio vault at the Mojo Nixon World Empire.

The song Destroy All Lawyers is especially relevant if you've read the news in Winnipeg recently. It's in bad taste given the circumstances, but you can't help but agree with Mojo's opinion on lawyers..."There's a plague on the planet and they went to law school..."
Enjoy!

MOJO NIXON
Winnipeg Folk Festival
Birds Hill Park, MB
July 7, 1990
Audience Recording
(in lossy mp3 format- sorry!)

01. Destroy All Lawyers
02. Don Henley Must Die
03. Mojo Chatter
04. Louisiana Liplock
05. Mojo & Loudon Wainwright Jam!

MOJO NIXON- 1990-07-07 Winnipeg Folk Festival. Birds Hill, MB mp3. rar

Young Fresh Fellows- TLA, Philadelphia, PA March 20, 2001

Since it's my birthday today (or yesterday, depending when this gets published), I thought I would treat myself and fellow Fellows fans itching to hear more live recordings. I acquired this recording through an old fashioned trade about 14 years ago, but instead of trading disc for disc, I send an assortment of candy and snacks unique to my hometown. Seems strange, but my trade partner who had the master recording proposed this idea and I took up the challenge. I can't remember exactly what I sent in the over-stuffed padded envelope, but it included packs of Clodhoppers, Mordon's chocolates, some seeds and probably some Old Dutch products. If we were in the age of instagram and selfies, I'm sure I would have taken a photo, but of course I didn't think of it at the time. I ended up spending much much more than the value of a blank cdr and the shipping alone was close to ten dollars. For a rare Young Fresh Fellows live recording it was well worth it!

This is a great sounding show that sees the Fellows opening for Robyn Hitchcock and the Soft Boys during an all too brief tour of the U.S. East Coast. It was wonderful to hear the Fellows playing live outside of the Seattle area during a time when they hadn't played much live. At the time they were touring in support of the double CD split, Young Fresh Fellows, Because We Hate You and the Minus 5's, Let The War Against Music Begin. I have some other recordings from that tour, so 2001 was a very good year (and a comeback of sorts) for the Fellows. As far as I know, this recording hasn't been widely shared, though I may have included it in a trade of two since. The recording is an audience, but it sounds better and the Fellows in a jovial mood so it's a must-hear for fans.
Enjoy!

YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS
Theatre of the Living Arts
Philadelphia, PA
March 20, 2001

Audience DAT> cdr> received in a trade>
Nero Startsmart Rip> wav> FLAC> rar
01. Intro (Robyn Hitchcock)
02. Universal Trendsetter
03. Barky's Spiritual Store
04. Lonely Spartenburg Flower Stall
05. When The Girls Get Here
06. Good Times Rock'n'Roll
07. Mamie Dunn, Employee Of The Month
08. Down By The Pharmacy
09. How Much About Last Night Do You Remember?
10. ...All My Clothes Are Hanging In The Bank
11. I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite
12. 76 Trombones
13. Little Teen Thing
14. Worthless
15. ...My Love Is Gonna Lay You In The Ground
16. Hank, Karen And Ringo
17. ...A Toast
18. Rock'n'Roll Pest Control
19. Give It To the Soft Boys
20. Topsy Turvy Theme

YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS- 2001-03-20, TLA, Philadelphia, PA FLAC. rar

The Minus 5- First Ever Show, Seattle 1993

I've had numerous requests to post more Young Fresh Fellows shows and thank you for your response. I'll have some up soon, but in the meanwhile here's the very first performance from Scott McCaughey's "other band", The Minus 5. Scott formed the band with Peter Buck in 1993 as a pop collective with a revolving lineup of friends and musicians. The band is still going strong as Scott continues to divide his recording and touring time most frequently between the Baseball Project, The Minus 5, Young Fresh Fellows and as a solo artist with a recent tour of Spain.

For this show at the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle, the Minus 5 opened for The Silos. Scott and Peter performed together for the first five songs and were joined by members of The Silos for the last three. This show is also notable because a couple of days after this show The Silos were involved in a van crash in Wyoming that took the life of guitarist Manuel Versoza.
Enjoy!

THE MINUS 5
Crocodile Cafe
Seattle, WA
November 9, 1993

01. Emperor Of The Bathroom
02. I Still Miss Someone
03. No More Glory
04. Odds & Ends
05. Loser So Supreme
06. Find A Finger *
07. Story *
08. Barstool Blues *

Scott McCaughey- Vocals, guitar
Peter Buck- Mandolin, 12-string guitar, Bass
*Walter Salas-Humara- Drums
*Manuel Versoza- Guitar
*Tom Freund- Bass

MINUS 5- 1993-11-09 Crocodile Cafe, Seattle, WA FLAC. rar

Young Fresh Fellows- Seattle April 9, 2015

As promised, here's the opening set by Seattle legends, the Young Fresh Fellows. The Fellows opened for the Replacements for the first two shows in Seattle and Portland for their "Back By Unpopular Demand" tour. The Replacements tour concluded in Philadelphia just over a week ago, pending rescheduling for the postponed (cancelled?) dates in Pittsburgh and Columbus due to Westerburg's sickness.

Once again, this recording comes courtesy of Tapeboy who shared this show on Dime. YFF shows are hard to come by, so it's a pleasure to be able to share this with Fellows fans who aren't on Dime. If there's a demand, I'll post some other YFF shows I have.
Enjoy!

Young Fresh Fellows
Paramount Theater
Seattle, WA
April 9, 2015

Nak 700 mics>Olympus LS-7 @9624---->44/16 Flac
Opening for The Replacements

Setlist
01. Taco Wagon
02. Picture Book
03. How Much About Last Night Do You Remember
04. Hillbilly Drummer Girl
05. Why I Oughta
06. Lamp Industries
07. 99 Girls
08. Whole Lotta Pappys
09. Fan Club
10. Rock 'n' Roll Pest Control
11. Go Blue Angels Go
12. My Friend Ringo
13. Talking
14. Tobacco Road
15. No Particular Place to Go
16. The Guilty Ones
17. Strychnine
18. Topsy Turvy Theme

Note from the taper:
A great set by the Young Fresh Fellows, who opened the first three dates of The Replacements 'Back By Unpopular Demand' tour.   Highlights were The Kinks cover 'Picture Book' and The Sonics cover 'Strychnine' and 'Whole Lotta Pappys' which was dedicated to Chris Mars.

YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS- 2015-04-09 Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA FLAC. rar

Replacements- Seattle April 9, 2015

If I was able to take a time machine back in time to any time or place, I wouldn't waste my time trying to be part of a historic event or triumphant sporting event, but instead would go back to 1987 to catch some West Coast dates featuring the Replacements and the Young Fresh Fellows. The events of this pairing and their time together is beautifully documented by the Fellows Scott McCaughey, "A Match Made In Heaven" written last month prior to Portland/Seattle shows with the reunited Replacements and YFF. I could have saved time and money building my time machine if I had just flown to Seattle and/or Portland in 2015 for a concert I never thought would happen a couple of years ago. This is THE dream gig I would love to have seen because it featured my two favourite bands, but unfortunately the show was sold out long before it was announced the Fellows would open.

I saw the Replacements last fall in St. Paul and though the show was everything I had hoped for from the band, I wondered how different the band would sound during their current tour playing mostly theatres and halls instead of outdoor festival shows. The reviews have been mixed so far indicating a much looser, more sloppier performances than the somewhat tighter sets last year. As a hardcore fan, I can appreciate the sloppiness (isn't this what attracts us to the Mats?) and it would be unlike Westerberg to be pigeonholed into another nostalgic hit-playing reunited band, so their antics are much appreciated. I can watch and listen to this band over and over without getting bored and tired of them. The expanded "deeper tracks" setlist is refreshing and if they continue to add more "new" songs as the tour proceeds, that would be a bonus.

A number of live recordings from the tour have been posted on Dime, but for the non-members a good source for Mats recording is the Replacements Live Archive for mp3 downloads. The site also has a lossless FLAC version of the Hollywood Palladium concert from April 16. Get it!

For the benefit of FLAC fans, I'm posting a lossless version of the first show of the tour in Seattle. I originally downloaded it from Dime and have permission from Tapeboy to share it here. I'm thrilled this show can be shared with fans that, like me, wish they could have been there. If you close your eyes and crank it up, it's almost like you're there...well almost...
Enjoy!
p.s. YFF opening set coming next!

The Replacements
Paramount Theater
Seattle, WA
April 9, 2015
JEMS Master

Nakamichi 700 mics > Olympus LS-7 (24/96 capture) > Wavelab (master and convert to 44.1) > FLAC

Setlist:
01. Seen Your Video
02. Color Me Impressed
03. Never Mind
04. I Will Dare
05. Kiss Me On The Bus
06. Nobody
07. 20th Century Boy > Bang a Gong (Get It On) > All Shook Down
08. Anywhere s Better Than Here
09. Treatment Bound
10. Androgynous
11. I'll Be You
12. Take Me Down To The Hospital
13. Sixteen Blue
14. The Ledge
15. Maybellene (snippet)
16. Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out
17. I’m In Trouble
18. Kissin  In Action > Iron Man
19. Left Of The Dial
20. Valentine
21. Waitress In The Sky
22. Within Your Reach
23. Can t Hardly Wait
24. Bastards of Young > My Boy Lollipop
25. If Only You Were Lonely (snippet)
Encore:
26. Ghost On The Canvas - Suzanne
27. Skyway
28. Alex Chilton


Note from taper:
A great set by The Replacements on the first night of their “Back By Unpopular Demand” tour at a theater they last played in June of 1991 (which we also taped). The Mats played the first minute and 40 seconds of the show behind a curtain, which they raised as the vocals began for “Seen Your Video.” This setlist was much heavier on deep cuts than the festival appearances they've made over the last two years and at least a couple of songs appeared to be in response to requests from the audience.

A clear, punchy recording from a few rows up in the balcony, in line with the PA. Samples provided. The download includes several photos we took at the show.

Thanks to BLG for his help in getting this one posted.
Tapeboy for JEMS



THE REPLACEMENTS- 2015-04-09 Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA FLAC part 1. rar
THE REPLACEMENTS- 2015-04-09 Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA FLAC part 2. rar
(Sorry, I had to post in two parts. Having problems uploading large files)

R.E.M.- Live At Tyrones, October 4, 1980

First of all, I must apologize for the lack of updates and new posts in 2015. I decided a few months ago I should finally organize and catalogue all the boxes of live concert recordings I have stacked in Mandarin orange boxes lining my shelves in my mini art/music studio room. Back in my tape trading days, I kept up to date a list detailing artist, venue, date, time length and I rated the sound quality. My last update was 2003 and since then the majority of the recordings are downloaded and available through the good ol' (and how could we have lived without) world wide web. Yes, the internet really is a tape trader's dream with recordings much more accessible and shared amongst fans and completest. It really was a game changer and the amount of shows I've collected since 2003 has increased 100x, maybe even more. Cataloging has been a lot more time consuming than I anticipated. Many of the discs were labelled, some with setlists, but I have five boxes of semi-unmarked discs that are missing details such as venue or date that I'm still trying to figure out with the help of the internet. It's tedious, but it's a lot of fun and I've made many great discoveries I'd almost forgotten about. Right now, I'm going through the last of the external hard drives, so I'm close to finished. I'm excited to share some of these gems and I promise I'll have some up on the blog soon.

Last year, I started to slowly digitize my live cassette tapes. I had hoped to have more converted, especially since I have many masters that haven't been played in 15-20 years. I'll also be slowly posting them soon, but I'm starting with some non-masters (Sleater-Kinney from 1997 was one).

Last May, R.E.M. released two rarity collections, Complete Rarities: I.R.S. 1982-1987 and Complete Rarities: Warner Bros 1988-2011. To me, the first four R.E.M. albums are essential for anyone that wants to understand why I love music from the 80's. These albums are great and an excellent companion is the I.R.S. rarities collection. My other favourite R.E.M. album is the 1987 compilation, Dead Letter Office, which coincidentally is well represented in the collection. To be honest, I've always enjoyed the old days when R.E.M. played covers live, often unpredictable and off-beat, but well suited to the band. The Tyrones show from 1980 I'm posting is one of their earliest recorded shows, as they played their first live show as R.E.M. only six months earlier. This recording sounds fresh and crisp and their setlist of songs is unlike anything they did later. Lots of covers, unreleased songs and an early version of Rockville. Even if you're not a fan of R.E.M. or thought they sold out and sounded too commercial have a listen, this is where alternative-jangly indie rock began and it sounded oooh so good, back in 1980!
Enjoy!

R.E.M.
Tyrones
Athens, GA
October 4, 1980
SBD

Fuji Type I Cassette> Aiwa tape deck> ADS Instant music>
usb> Nero SoundTrax> WAV> Direct WAV splitter> FLAC> rar

01. Nervous Breakdown
02. A Girl Like You
03. Dangerous Times
04. There She Goes Again
05. I Can Only Give You Everything
06. All The Right Friends
07. Rockville
08. Body Count
09. Hippy Hippy Shake
10. Action
11. Narrator
12. Nadine
13. Gardening At Night
14. Scherezade
15. Lisa Says
16. Mystery To Me
17. Gloria- Shakin' All Over (cuts)
18. White Tornado

R.E.M.- 1980-10-04 Tyrones, Athens, GA FLAC. rar

The Juliana Hatfield Three- The Avalon, Boston, MA February 9, 1994

It's been twenty two years since the Juliana Hatfield Three released the album, Become What You Are and later this month, February 17th to be exact, they are releasing the long awaited follow-up, Whatever, My Love. Don't get me wrong, Juliana Hatfield has released many many fine records since 1993, but as a solo artist and with bands under her own name (just "Juliana Hatfield", to be exact). The line-up of the Juliana Hatfield Three was and still is, Dean Fisher (bass), Todd Philips (drums) and Juliana Hatfield (vocals, guitars) and it was this lineup that recorded Become What You Are and toured to support that album in 1993 and 1994. The reunited line-up will begin a tour in Portland, ME on February 26th which will take them across the States through most of March. So far, I see no Canadian dates, but they come as close as St. Paul, MN on March 8th, so who knows...a winter road trip? Hopefully someone records some of the shows, please let me know if you see any posted or if you want me to post any live recording here.

As with the last few Juliana Hatfield albums, Juliana reached out to her fans to help finance, Whatever, My Love on PledgeMusic. I've supported every one of her projects and I know it sounds corny, but I'm thrilled I can contribute and help her meet her goal. I benefited by receiving some cool and unique items in exchange for my $$ pledge and basically I'm pre-ordering the end product and get to hear album before the official release date. The album met 117% of it's goal (as of Feb. 8), so it has been recorded, produced and I've been informed the CD has been shipped and the digital download will available in the next day or so. The single and a couple of other songs have been available for listening, but I'm waiting until I can listen to all the tracks at once. I'll keep you posted.

The show I'm posting I found on Dime years ago and showcases the JH3 in their hometown exactly 21 years ago. Here are notes from the original poster (thanks for posting!!): "Very good audience recording of a hometown show in Boston capturing Juliana at the height of her popularity.  Great energy & performance from the trio with some lesser played gems in the setlist.  One of the best shows of the tour and probably her career.  The wacky tracking is the way I received it on CD, feel free to separate & rejoin as you wish.  All told, there are seventeen songs here". I agree, overall it's a very good show and I'm looking forward to hear some live recordings from the upcoming tour!
Enjoy!

JULIANA HATFIELD THREE
The Avalon
Boston, MA
February 9, 1994

Lineage: 2nd+ gen cass > CD > trade CD > WAV > Flac

1. Put It Away
2. Addicted
3. For the Birds / Spin the Bottle / Everybody Loves Me But You
4. Here Comes the Pain / Feelin' Massachusetts
5. President Garfield
6. My Sister
7. Supermodel
8. Supermodel (cont.)
9. This Is the Sound / The Lights
10. Nirvana
11. Dame With A Rod
12. I Got No Idols / Rider / Little Pieces

Juliana Hatfield: guitar, vocals
Dean Fisher: bass
Todd Phillips: drums

JULIANA HATFIELD THREE- 1994-02-09 Boston, MA FLAC. rar

Sleater-Kinney- Crocodile Cafe, Seattle 1997

If 2014 was considered the year of the reunion, 2015 may be even a better year for more anticipated reunions, at least for my fav bands I've followed through the years. Juliana Hatfield has reformed, the Juliana Hatfield Three group that recorded (under the "Juliana Hatfield Three" name) , Become What You Are, back in 1993, to record a new album and a tour that begins very shortly. I even contributed some PledgeMusic cash to help fund the new album, Whatever My Love and as much as I would like to see the JH3 live, I'm not up for a mid-winter road-trip to Minneapolis for a live tour date.

Also on tour (and hitting Minneapolis) is the reunited Sleater-Kinney who really didn't break-up, but we're on extended hiatus while the band members explored other projects. Drummer Janet Weiss performed on two Stephen Malkus and the Jicks albums and some tours, Corin Tucker released two solo albums and Carrie Brownstein formed Wild Flag who recorded an album in 2011. Carrie has been the most active, post-Kinney, writing an excellent column, Monitor Mix for NPR and has found much mainstream fame and received accolades for her work on the TV series, Portlandia, she co-created with Fred Armisen. Portlandia has just begun it's 5th season and while it's quirky and unconventional, it's also very smart and very very funny! I'm a huge fan of Carrie's, casually following her career since I first heard Sleater-Kinney and through her so-called acting career. I remember watching her and Armisen's internet sketch comedy videos as ThunderAnt (pre-Portlandia) and instantly thinking, she's a little raw and inexperienced, but she does have comic skills and is comfortable acting. I was very happy to see this lead to the more widely-known project, Portlandia.

Sleater-Kinney this week (January 20, 2015) will be releasing their first album in 9 years, No Cities To Love and from what I've heard through an advance listening, they haven't missed a beat. This could easily could have been a follow-up to The Woods, as the songs rock and though they are as accessible as their later albums, they are intense and relevant and definitely not just a nostalgic reunion album. The tour begins February 8th in Spokane and keeps the band on the road until a three show finale in Seattle, May 7-9. S-K plays Minneapolis, February 14th, and like many of the shows on the tour, it's sold out.

Any band that pays homage to the Kinks is cool with me.

The recording I'm posting is from a tape trade I received in the late 90's. I transferred it from cassette and to be honest, I hadn't played this tape since I got it. When the news of the reunion was announced, I dug up my S-L tapes and burned cdr live recordings and had a re-listen. I chose this show because the sound is pretty good (audience recording) and captures the band in a smaller venue, the Crocodile Cafe with enjoyable results. The first Sleater-Kinney album (CD) I bought was Dig Me Out, which remains my favourite S-L album and this show was from the tour for Dig Me Out, so for obvious reasons I like this. I'll try to post more S-L shows before the tour and if they come to your town...see them!
Enjoy!

SLEATER-KINNEY
Crocodile Cafe
Seattle, WA
June 8, 1997
AUD

Trade> Maxell XLII-90 Cassette> Aiwa tape deck> ADS Instant music>
usb> Nero SoundTrax> WAV> Direct WAV splitter> FLAC> rar

01. Intro Instrumental
02. Dig Me Out
03. Call The Doctor
04. Little Babies
05. The Drama You've Been Craving
06. I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone
07. One More Hour
08. Instrumental
09. Heart Factory
10. One Song For You
11. It's Enough
12. Jenny
13. Turn It On
14. Words & Guitar
15. I'm Not Waiting

Encore
16. Stay Where You Are
17. Be Yr Mama

SLEATER-KINNEY- 1997-06-08 Crocodile Cafe, Seattle, WA FLAC. rar

Duotang- Hometown Reunion, December 26, 2014

As we near the end of 2014, it's time to reflect on the past year. One of the things that stood out for me was it seemed like it was the year of the comebacks and reunions. Even CBC.ca agrees with me, 2014: The year of the Canadian indie-rock reunion. Bands such as Constantines, The Smalls, Moist, Bum and Winnipeg's, Duotang all reformed either for new recordings, gigs and even tours. For Duotang, they've been on indefinite hiatus (except for the Mint X-Mas party in November) since 2006, so the idea of playing together again must have been daunting. Singer/bassist, Rod Slaughter has been active since in other projects such as Novillero, who achieved moderate success releasing three excellent albums from 2002-2008 and The Shallow End, while drummer, Sean Allum stopped playing live after Duotang. A Duotang reunion was a much anticipated show especially for fans of Winnipeg indie-music in the 90's and early 2000's. I saw Duotang at least twice in the mid-90's and a memorable show opening for The Smugglers and Mr. T Experience at Wellingtons in 1996 was amazing!! I believe I recorded The Smugglers and Mr. T sets on my old tape recorder (in case you're interested?).

Some interesting pre-reunion show reads in the local papers:
Winnipeg Free Press- Winnipeg bass-and-drums duo having a blast revisiting the 90's
Winnipeg Sun- Spend Boxing Day with Duotang

For a band that hasn't played much in the past 10 years, Duotang sounded tight. The sound was good at the Good Will and the hometown crowd was enthusiastic and appreciative. Angus Kirkpatrick (Grand Theft Canoe), who toured with Duotang (as a second bassist), guested during the later part of the set and encore finale, as well as Robert Dempster (Transonic) on backing vocals for Toast To The Life-Long Friends. The band closed the show with an ambitious cover of The Who's, A Quick One. An incredible feat for any band, but especially a band with 2 bass players and a drummer...sloppy, messy and a lot of fun!
Enjoy!

Feel free to share, but please do NOT sell or convert to mp3!

DUOTANG
The Good Will
Winnipeg, MB
December 26, 2014
"Reunion show"
AUD Master

Sony ECM-DS70P mic> Tascam DR-07> USB> 16 bit Wav>
Direct Wave MP3 splitter> FLAC> rar file

01. Smash Ships And Raise The Beams
02. Present Blind
03. Message
04. Thomas Green
05. Disaffected
06. Witch-Hunters
07. Friends
08. Review
09. Slow Down
10. Ghosts
11. Call Your Side
12. Don't Give Up, Just Back Off A Bit
13. Toast To The Life-Long Friends
14. Far From Heart, Deep In Mind

Encore
15. 10:15 Saturday Night (Cure cover)
16. King Of Beliefs
17. A Quick One (The Who cover)

DUOTANG- 2014-12-26 The Good Will, Winnipeg, MB FLAC. rar

New Barbarians/The Rolling Stones- "Blind Date" Tribute to Ian McLagan and Bobby Keys

Last week, within a day of each other, rock lost two great sidemen, though not household names they were integral members of some of the greatest rock bands of our generation.

Ian McLagan was a founding member of the Small Faces and Faces and extensively joined The Rolling Stones both on tour and on record. He also lent his keyboard talents on sessions with Dylan, Westerberg, Springsteen, Browne and many others and he was a member of Billy Bragg's band, The Blokes. I own Ian's debut solo album, the excellent album, Troublemaker (1979) that I bought in the early 80's and featured appearances from Ron Wood, Keith Richards, Stanley Clarke and Bobby Keys, all of whom formed the New Barbarians. McLagan also played on Ron Wood's solo albums.

Bobby Keys was a much in-demand sideman who played with a who's who of classic rock. He famously played saxophone on John Lennon's, Whatever Gets You Through The Night and also worked with Harrison, Clapton, The Who and others, but he's best known for his work with the Stones. Since 1969, he was the main saxophone player in the band both on tour (most) and in the studio. His friendship with Keith Richards led to his association to fellow Stone, Ron Wood as he played on three of his solo albums and was also a member of the New Barbarians.

Both Ian McLagan and Bobby Keys crossed paths in Ron's project, The New Barbarians who toured the US and Canada in 1979. The New Barbarians debuted supporting the Stones for a pair of charity concerts in support of the CNIB. The concert was the result of fulfilling one of the plea conditions for Keith Richard's sentence for heroin possession. The concert took place at the Oshawa Civic Auditorium (near Toronto) on April 22, 1979. The New Barbarians played an opening set, followed by Keith and Mick performing Prodigal Son and then they were joined by the rest of The Rolling Stones.

This recording is an audience recording that was ripped from the vinyl version of the "bootleg", Blind Date. A more well-known version of the same show (Blind Date Revisited) is soundboard sourced, but having listened to both versions, I prefer this version. It's richer sounding and has more atmosphere as the soundboard version sounds more trebly and distorted sounding. The performances from both bands are loose and ragged with some bum notes and sloppy musicianship, but the show is fun and the band seems to having a blast...and besides the New Barbarians are introduced by the great John Belushi!
Enjoy!

NEW BARBARIANS / THE ROLLING STONES
"BLIND DATE" (vinyl rip)
"Canadian National Institute For The Blind Benefit Concerts"
Civic Auditorium
Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
April 22nd 1979 (2nd show)

Disc 1 
NEW BARBARIANS:
A01 . Intro
A02. Sweet Little Rock'n Roller
A03. F.U.C. Her
A04. Breathe On Me
A05. Infekshun
B01. I Can Feel The Fire
B02. Am I Grooving You
B03. Seven Days
B04. Before They Make Me Run
THE ROLLING STONES (Mick and Keith)
B05. Prodigal Son

Disc 2 
THE ROLLING STONES (cont.)
C01. Let It Rock
C02. Respectable
C03. Starfucker
C04. Beast Of Burden
C05. Just My Imagination
D01. When The Whip Comes Down
D02. Shattered
D03. Miss You
D04. Jumpin' Jack Flash

* NOTE: I downloaded this show from Dime a while back, so this is not my rip or upload. Sorry for the weird track listing. The A,B,C,D reflect the 4 sides of the double LP and the song tracks. The enclosed notes differ, but that's how the file was written. There's some sweet scans of the covers enclosed.

NEW BARBARIANS:

Ronnie Wood    guitar, vocals, harmonica, pedal steel
Keith Richards    guitar, vocals
Ian McLagan    piano, organ, back vocals
Stanley Clarke    bass
Bobby Keys    saxophone
Joseph ‘Ziggy’ Modeliste   drums

THE ROLLING STONES:

Mick Jagger    vocals, guitar
Keith Richards    guitar, back vocals
Bill Wyman    bass
Charlie Watts    drums
Ronnie Wood    guitar, back vocals
Ian McLagan    piano
Stanley Clarke    bass (on the last 1 and a half song of the show)

NEW BARBARIANS- 1979-04-22 Blind Date FLAC. rar (disc 1)
THE ROLLING STONES- 1979-04-22 Blind Date FLAC. rar (disc 2)

Jayhawks 1985 Demos

Jayhawks circa. 1986.  Photo by Daniel Corrigan

Saw these posted last week on Dime and I must admit I've have never actually heard these 1985 demos. The band formed in 1985, so I'm assuming they're some of the earliest recordings from Mark Olson, Gary Louris, Marc Perlman and Norm Rogers as the Jayhawks. None of these songs appeared on their first album, released by Bunkhouse Records in 1986. Their second release, Blue Earth took tracks from re-mixed demos recorded in 1986-89, and again, none of the songs from the 1985 demos appeared on Blue Earth. In otherwords, these songs remain officially unreleased. One song, Clouds Across The Sky does sound like an early working of Clouds from Hollywood Town Hall with a similar melody and different lyrics (except, the first line is the same).

If you're a fan of early Jayhawks, this is a curious, yet must-hear listen. It is similar in it's country-rock twang of the first record and it's fascinating to hear the progression of sound the band went through in the early days.
Enjoy!

(This is a repost of the link on Dime and thanks to lilpanda for the original post.)

JAYHAWKS
1985 demos

unknown cdr>eac>flac

1.  Jesus in the Drivers's Seat
2.  Pennies (From Heaven)
3.  Temptation
4.  My Marie
5.  Do-Dee-Oh
6.  Clouds Across the Sky
7.  Dirty Pontiac
8.  The Type of Man I Am
9.  Snow White Angel
10.  Grandma
11.  CC Club Rag (I Got High)
12.  Bullseye to Your Heart
13.  What's The Holdup

JAYHAWKS- 1985 Demos. rar

John K. Samson at The Good Will 2014

I was trying to recall the amount of times I have seen The Weakerthans/John K. Samson live in concert and just based on ticket stubs, I've seen The Weakerthans 10 times and JKS (& The Provincial Band) once. The venues have varied from the larger/medium-sized halls (Burton Cummings Theatre, Le Rendezvous, West End Cultural Centre) to bars (Pyramid, Royal Albert) and at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. I may have seen John and/or the band additional times, but none were as small and intimate as John K. Samson's show on Sunday night at The Good Will. This was the first time I've been to this somewhat new venue (opened officially last month) and I have to admit it isn't bad. The room is long and narrow which means good sight-lines and the music is well contained and directed nicely to the audience. It was perfect for a solo acoustic show, but I'm skeptical whether the sound will be half as good for a loud electric rock show. I'll have to check back later.

This is not meant to be a review of the show (Anthony's review for Exclaim is here), so I have nothing but good things to say about the show. John, of course played songs from his band, The Weakerthans, as well as his solo effort, Provincial, but the bonus for fans (especially for a taper) was two new songs, Fellow Traveller and Oldest Oak At Brookside. Promising and likable, it will be interesting to see if they appear on a project in the future. Hearing all these songs in their bare-bones versions really showcase Samson as a master lyricist and very competent musician. The solo acoustic format allows Samson to highlight the song, closer to poetry set to music, than in the full band format, powerful, but in a different way. It's been a while since I've seen John play and this was a real treat.

This Winnipeg solo show was a warm-up for an upcoming solo tour starting later this week, that will take Samson across the Atlantic to Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and the UK.

Unplugged! Not only is John hard to see, but he was also hard to hear.

The recording was recorded in the sweet spot, dead centre, near the back edge of the floor in front. The sound is near perfect, definitely one of the better sounding recordings I've done. Crowd noise wasn't an issue, though I did have a "singer" beside me that I tried to turn away from. I adjusted and lowered the levels during the second song, so you might want to turn up the volume after that one. It's always safer to set the levels lower than to have the sound distorted by heavy strumming and crowd clapping.
(Note: The last song (#19), Samson is at the edge of the stage, unplugged and off mic...turn it up!)
Enjoy!

JOHN K. SAMSON
The Good Will
Winnipeg, MB
November 23, 2014
AUD MASTER

solo acoustic

Sony ECM-DS70P mic> Tascam DR-07> USB> 16 bit Wav>
Direct Wave MP3 splitter> FLAC> rar file

01. Heart Of The Continent
02. Plea From A Cat Named Virtute
03. Reconstruction Site
04. Letter In Icelandic From The Ninette San
05. When I Write My Master's Thesis
06. Elegy For Gump Worsley
07. Pamphleteer
08. Time's Arrow
09. Fellow Traveller (new song)
10. Oldest Oak At Brookside (new song)
11. Relative Surplus Value
12. Hospital Vespers
13. One Great City!
14. Aside
15. Left And Leaving

Encore
16. Tournament Of Hearts
17. Bigfoot
18. My Favourite Chords
19. Virtute The Cat Explains Her Departure (off-mic/unplugged)

JOHN K. SAMSON- 2014-11-23 The Goodwill, Winnipeg, MB FLAC. rar

The Replacements at Midway Stadium- September 13, 2014

Back in late April, when it was announced the Replacements would play their first show in Minneapolis/St. Paul in over 23 years, I thought this was too good to be true. A while back I had written a blog post where I listed the reunions I would love to see. I think my #1 choice was to see the Replacements (...half the original band) get back together to play some shows. It's been a year since they first stepped back on the stage together in Toronto during Riotfest and sporatically since at multi-band music festivals. Not only would the show in the Twin Cities be a return to their hometown, but it would be their first true headlining non-festival full set concert.

The first time I heard the Replacements was back around 1986 (circa. Tim) when a friend gave me a mix tape of music he thought I might enjoy. I can't remember exactly was on the tape, but I think there were groups like, the Jazz Butcher and Beasts Of Bourbon, but the songs that stuck with me the most were the Replacements tracks. I know for sure, Kiss Me On The Bus, Waitress In The Sky and Lay It Down Clown were on the tape. I tracked down the album, Tim later that week and I bought Pleased To Meet Me at Record Baron as soon as it was released a year later. On my next trip to Minneapolis, I snagged copies of their first four albums (Sorry Ma, Stink, Hootenany and Let It Be) from the long gone, Northern Lights Records on Hennepin. Their final two albums, though slightly disappointing, still was better than anything else on the radio at the time. My interest in the Replacements was renewed a few years later when I read a series of articles in a magazine/fanzine I subscribed to, Tapers Quarterly about collecting the Replacements (video, live recordings and outtakes/demos). It was an excellent article that intrigued me because the band's live shows were unpredictable with setlists that were never the same, with unlikely covers and wonderful spontanious moments that would either fly high or flop badly. Since that article I have gone on to collect a large number of Replacements shows through tape trades and fellow fans that have shared their recordings. I definitely have more Mats shows than any other band in my collection of concert recordings and any one of them I could throw in the tape deck (or CD player) and experience a unique Replacements show that I would never tire of.

 

Yes, these are the clearest and least blurry of the dozens of photos I took.

When tickets went on presale on May 1, I was determined to one of the lucky 15,000 or so fans to get tickets. And I did! The presale and the following public ticket sales sold out almost intantly with many Twin Cities natives stunned tickets disappeared so quickly. A road trip to Minneapolis is always exciting especially with an event such as this as the highlight. My brother and his friends were also lucky enough to come through with tickets, but I travelled with my wife and daughter. Personally, this would probably have to be the most anticipated concert in my life. I've waited a long time for this moment and I feel bad I missed out the first time around in the 80's. Just as a whim on the week of the concert, I entered a "Pleased to meet and greet" contest on The Current (MPR) website after filling in my picks for their Top 30 Replacements songs poll. Imagine my surprise (or should I say shock!) when I received an email on Thursday saying I won. The prize included two tickets to the show and a special meet and greet with the band...HOLY CRAP!

I was able to sell my previously bought tickets (at list price) when I came to Minneapolis (thanks Helen! hope you enjoyed the concert!) and then it was off to Midway Stadium. We arrived just before doors opened and after collecting our VIP after-show passes and tickets we grabbed a spot on a massive tarp in front of the stage and between the sound tent. We shifted closer to middle and closer up during the first two bands (Lucero and The Hold Steady) and wound up in good position in the middle of the mass for the Replacements. It was increasingly frustrating to have more and more people shove their way towards the front and squeeze their bodies smack dab in front of my face. There was lots of shoving and pushing, jocking for position and I was stuck directly behind three of the tallest guys in the crowd, of course! This is not the ideal recording situation, first, it's an outdoor venue and sound can be affected by wind and secondly, I was surrounded on four sides by taller people so my mics were blocked and pushed into the back of the person in front of me. This resulted in muffled sound and it didn't help that the guy directly behind me sang along with almost every song directly in my ear (and mics). I swear during Skyway, I couldn't hear Westerberg at all, only the American Idol wannabe behind me. To top it off, my SD card in my recorder malfunctioned and I had to switch cards on the fly. I ended up missing 3 songs, ouch! Fortunately, I figured this show more than any other show on the tour would be recorded by other tapers and luck would have it there are at least three other recordings posted online. The band's extended setlist (compared to the festival shows) provided all the highlights I was hoping to hear. I've seen Paul Westerberg solo on two occasions and he's played a handful of Mats songs, but it was amazing to hear the Replacements live renditions of Bastards, Left Of the Dial, I Will Dare, Alex Chilton, Skyway...aw, too many great moments...and to close the show during the second encore, Unsatisfied. Westerberg and Stinson sounded and looked good and the support from Josh Freese on drums and Dave Minehan on guitar was stellar. The concert was crazy good, the sound was decent and I technically was close enough to see the band clearly (peeking between heads, bodies and foam fingers), so I feel very fortunate to have been there for this once in a lifetime moment.

Everything after the concert seemed surreal. My wife and I along with the other contest winners (I think 8 plus guests) were led past security behind the stadium fence and through the backstage area past a tent for family/friends and crew members to a building where we would meet the band. We lined up on the steps outside the building and in pairs met, shook hands (Tommy hugged/wrestled me), briefly chatted and posed for photos with Tommy and Paul. And for a gift we received an autographed poster from the show! I know bands probably have to go through this kind of fan interaction every show through promoter committments and whatever, but the guys were soft-spoken and seemed genuinely sincere to meet us. I can now say I've met three of my true music heroes (Scott McCaughey, the other) and it was a thrill and an experience I will never forget.

Pleased to meet and greet with Tommy and Paul!

Due to the sub-par quality of my recording, I've posted a recording I downloaded from Dime. Perks has given permission to post that recording here to share. The sound is really good and considering the conditions of an outdoor concert (listed above), this is an excellent document of the show. It really has that "just like being there" feel to the recording. Thanks Perks!
Enjoy!

The Replacements
September 13, 2014
Midway Stadium
St. Paul, MN

Source: Schopes MK41's > active cables > Nbox > Edirol R-05 @ 24/48.
Transfer: Emtec 16GB SDHC Card > Dell PC > 24bit WAV > Sony Sound Forge 9.0e > CDWave Editor > Trader's Little Helper > FLAC16.

Recorded and transferred by perks.

1. Crowd/Tuning
2. Favorite Thing
3. Takin' A Ride
4. I'm In Trouble
5. Don't Ask Why
6. I'll Be You
7. Valentine
8. Waitress In The Sky
9. Tommy Got His Tonsils Out > 3rd Stone From The Sun
10. Take Me Down To The Hospital
11. I Want You Back
12. Going To New York (with Tony "Little Sun" Glover)
13. Color Me Impressed
14. Nowhere Is My Home
15. If Only You Were Lonely
16. Achin' To Be
17. Kiss Me On The Bus
18. Androgynous
19. I Will Dare
20. Love You Till Friday > Maybelene
21. Merry Go Round
22. I Won't
23. Borstal Breakout
24. Swingin' Party
25. Love You In The Fall
26. Can't Hardly Wait
27. I Don't Know > Buck Hill
28. Bastards Of The Young
29. Skyway
30. Left of The Dial
31. Alex Chilton
32. Unsatisfied
33. Crowd

The Replacements- 2014-09-13, Midway Stadium, St. Paul, MN FLAC. rar

Arcade Fire- Live In Winnipeg 2014

I wasn't even planning to attend the Arcade Fire concert, we bought tickets back in December 2013 as Christmas presents for my daughter and my bro in-law and at the time didn't really have a great interest in going. I had seen them two previous times (both outstanding shows!!), but I wasn't crazy about their new album and I didn't think I needed to see them again. As faith would have it my daughter went to Europe for most of the summer and would miss the show, so I made sure the tickets didn't go to waste and I'm sure glad I did!

The tickets were in the 300 level which in price terms are the cheap seats, but they were first row and nicely in line with the stage that promised a clear, unobstructed view of the stage. I almost didn't bring my recording gear because I figured the sound would suck being up so high as the sound would get lost in the upper reaches of the sketchy acoustics of the MTS Centre ceiling. When we arrived at the arena, the 300 level was closed off and we were informed all the 300 level seats were being "up-graded" to lower sections. In one hand being lower is an upgrade, but our fear, being older and less energetic we would have to stand during the show. We were reassigned to seats in the second row of the 200 level directly below our original tickets. What this means is that sales apart from the floor and the main lower bowl (100 level) were very low considering the 200 level seats were only occupied about 4-5 rows up in most of the sections in the arena. The good news was a much closer view and better sound. I have to admit I'm impressed by how decent the sound for concerts is at the MTS Centre. The volume is loud and the clarity despite a band like Arcade Fire that boasts 12-13 band members on stage isn't muddled. It wasn't the case with the opening band, Tune-Yards which sounded like a rumble of noise that might have translated better in a smaller venue.

Everytime I have seen Arcade Fire they impressed me beyond my expectations. When I saw them in 2005, I was vaguely familiar with the band and was blown away by their energy and how they played every song like it was their last. At the time I confessed to someone, this was one of the most amazing concerts I had seen! My seats were first row balcony and they offered a perfect straight on view of the band and the sights and sounds of the band kept me focused all night. Their show at the MTS Centre for their Suburbs tour further impressed me. Situated on the floor it was a totally different experience moving shoulder to shoulder with the crowd, the visuals were even better and the music quality upped it's ante, as Arcade Fire was now more than an indie band.

This year's concert was a continued assault of sight and sound. The stage visuals, the state of art light show and creativity and artistry of their presentation has surpassed anything I've seen live (to be fair I usually skip the BIG name shows at the arena or stadium). The "tin-foil" man dancing on the b-stage, the large bobble-head characters during the opening processional march through the crowd to the stage and during the encore break "performing", These Eyes, the crowd dressed formally or in costume were just some of the visual highlights of the show. The music was good too, even the newer stuff sounded better live, but is there a need for 5 percussion players for some of the songs? The two full drum kits not enough? Overall, I was impressed and at times wondered how do you top this. It may be a while until I see something so original and mind-blowing as Arcade Fire and I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't until they come back to town during their next tour.

Note: The recording was pretty good despite not being in an ideal position in front of the stage, but the sound is loud and clear enough and less audience chatter/noise than if I was on the floor. Sorry if the track separation isn't perfect, it's hard to distinguish the end and start of songs because they like to segue to the next song without a break.
Enjoy!

Reviews and photos from the show-
 Winnipeg Free Press
Metro
Consequence Of Sound

ARCADE FIRE
MTS Centre
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
August 14, 2014
AUD Master

Sony ECM-DS70P mic> Tascam DR-07> USB> 16 bit Wav>
Direct Wave MP3 splitter> FLAC> rar file

01. Here Comes The Night Time
02. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
03. Flashbulb Eyes
04. Reflektor
05. Joan of Arc
06. Month of May
07. The Suburbs
08. Ready to Start
09. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
11. We Exist
11. No Cars Go
12. Haiti
13. Afterlife
14. It's Never Over (Regine on B-stage)
15. Sprawl II

ENCORE
16. These Eyes (fake band on B-stage)
17. Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown (Neil Young cover)
18. Normal Person
19. Rebellion (Lies)
20. Wake Up

ARCADE FIRE- 2014-08-14 MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB FLAC Master part 1. rar
ARCADE FIRE- 2014-08-14 MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB FLAC Master part 2. rar