The Posies celebrate 30 years In The Twin Cities

Last Saturday night, The Posies completed the first half of their 30th anniversary tour appropriately in Seattle, the city where the band started 30 years ago. The night before they played in Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer's hometown of Bellingham, Washington, the site of their first ever show (see the previous post). It's been a long one and a half months since the tour began in Victoria, B.C. (the only Canadian stop on the tour) as they traveled across North America. The band takes a summer break before continuing on with the second half of the tour when they travel to Europe for some of September, all of October and a bit of November. From all accounts that I have read about, heard and seen, the tour has been an overwhelming success with enthusiastic crowds and energetic shows.

I had the opportunity to see one of these concerts when I traveled to the Twin Cities to catch the Posies at the Turf Club in St. Paul, Minnesota. The last time I saw the band was in 2005 at the 400 Bar in Minneapolis. This time I bought the tickets back in March for my wife's birthday with a road trip in mind as part of the present. There are many bands we both mutually enjoy, but the Posies are special. We've been fans of their music for almost 30 years and a chance to see them a third time was too good to pass up. They did not disappoint!

Regrettably, we missed the opening set by Terra Lightfoot and band, which was a shame because I heard she was great and I should be supporting a fellow Canadian (more on that later). She has opened for the Posies for most of the North American tour dates. We arrived at the show during Porcupine's set, which is noteworthy because their bass player is Greg Norton (Husker Du) who will play a significant role later in the evening.

Greg Norton joins the Posies for the Posie Du encore.

Terra Lightfoot shreds alongside Jon and Ken during the evening's finale, Flood of Sunshine.

The only way to describe the Posies headline set is epic! They played for over two hours and my gaze on the stage never wavered or was distracted, almost trance-like for the entire set and I have a hunch I wasn't the only one feeling this way. Ken and Jon spoke from the heart with interesting stories about the music industry, keeping the band together and their genuine love for what they're doing. They know how to make a connection with their audience and the appreciation was mutual. There were so many highlights during the concert, here are a few:

• Terra Lightfoot bringing a round of shots on stage for the band and was coaxed into doing Loon impersonations. Also when Terra was quizzed where the Canadian Mint was located (she guessed Ottawa), us and a small group surrounding us reminded her it was in Winnipeg. Nice shout out for the Peg!
• The last four songs of the main set. Ontario, Flavor Of The Month and Solar Sister are personal favourites (along with Grant Hart) and Burn & Shine is the glorious song live.
• The encore, YES, the encore! "Posie Du" featuring Greg Norton (taking the place of bassist, Dave Fox) and the Posies ripping through four Husker Du classics, These Important Years, Green Eyes, Makes No Sense At All and Sorry Somehow. In my mind, this musical collaboration might be the closest I might get to hear Husker Du songs live, it was a great tribute. I soaked it in with a huge smile on my face, WOW!
• The rest of the encore. Before they played the song, Grant Hart, Ken remarked, "This is so metal". This is the best version of this song I've heard live. Fast and driving with Norton on bass this was another moment of euphoria. Flood of Sunshine with Ken on "the worst" keyboard, Dave back on bass and Terra on second guitar was an exercise of endurance with expansive dual guitar solos and general mayhem. Terra and Jon were on their knees trading riffs and guitar noodling to the extreme. Broken strings and a pile of well used guitars ended the song. A perfect way to end the show. Ken announced, "By the power of Greyskull, I declare this concert awesome". and it truly was!

I'm very happy I brought my recorder state-side, because I caught an amazing concert and the unique setlist made this very worthwhile. The show sounds incredible, the vocals are clear and the music sounds crisp and balanced. Not bad for standing in the middle of the floor fairly close to the stage. I would rank this is one of my better sounding recordings. Thanks for everyone around me for not talking. The best concerts are the ones that are so good there is no time to chatter and talk...and my wife did get to meet and get a record signed from Ken Stringfellow after the show, YES, it was a great night!
Enjoy!

There are some much better written reviews and articles about The Posies St. Paul show:
http://weheartmusic.typepad.com/blog/2018/06/the-posies-at-turf-club-st-paul-26-june-2018.html
https://twincitiesmedia.net/blog/the-posies-unleash-firepower-at-the-turf-club/
https://blog.thecurrent.org/2018/06/watch-greg-norton-join-the-posies-for-husker-du-covers-at-the-turf-club/
http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2018/06/28/posies-greg-norton-husker-du-st-paul/ (videos)

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THE POSIES
Turf Club
St. Paul, MN
June 26, 2018

Sony ECM-DS70P mic> Tascam DR-07> SD card > 16 bit Wav>
Direct Wave MP3 splitter> FLAC> rar file
AUD Master

01. Dream All Day
02. Love Letter Boxes
03. Apology
04. Any Other Way
05. I Am The Cosmos
06. Please Return It
07. Golden Blunders
08. Precious Moments
09. You're The Beautiful One
10. Suddenly Mary
11. Licenses To Hide (w/Terra Lightfoot)
12. The Glitter Prize (w/Terra Lightfoot)
13. Ontario
14. Flavor Of The Month
15. Burn & Shine
16. Solar Sister

Encore
17. These Important Years (w/Greg Norton)*
18. Green Eyes (w/Greg Norton)*
19. Makes No Sense At All (w/Greg Norton)*
20. Sorry Somehow (w/Greg Norton)*
21. Grant Hart (w/Greg Norton)
22. Flood Of Sunshine (w/Terra Lightfoot)

*Husker Du covers

THE POSIES- 2018-06-26 Turf Club, St. Paul, MN FLAC Master. rar

Happy Canada Day!! Neil Young- Omemee 2017

Nothing says Canada more than Neil Young! Well actually, maybe not. He doesn't even live in Canada, not for decades and he's been seen at San Jose hockey games wearing a Sharks cap and cheering for his "hometown" team. Conveniently, former Canadians (and Winnipeggers) such as Young and Burton Cummings make a timely appearance or comment on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube that reminds us they are still in touch with their Canadian past. This past NHL playoffs, Burton Cummings said he wanted to sing the anthem at a Winnipeg Jets playoff game, but unfortunately he was involved in a car accident in California that (thankfully!) prevented him from returning to his old hometown to sing. Young made a strange YouTube video a few years ago to express his love for the Jets. All kidding aside, Young has retained his Canadian citizenship, is an officer of the Order of Canada and was awarded the Order of Manitoba so he truly is proud of his achievements and his love for Canada is still very evident today.

On December 1st last year, Neil returned to his childhood hometown of Omemee, Ontario and performed a solo acoustic concert attended by invited guests and live streamed to fans around the world. I recall that the weeks leading up to the concert there was talk about where the concert would take place. Allegedly it would be a secret location somewhere in Canada and it would be some sort of homecoming to pay tribute to his Canadian roots. Of course, in my hometown there was a buzz that it would be Winnipeg because he spent a lot of his formative years here. He attended Kelvin High School and formed and performed with his first bands here. Most people assume he was born in Winnipeg, but in fact he was born in Toronto and shortly after he was born the family moved to Omemee. Later, he moved to Winnipeg, then Toronto and then back to Winnipeg with his mother after she divorced.

The concert was called "Home Town" for obvious reasons, but it was a look back to the past both musically and emotionally. The live stream began with a video with scenes of Omemee and photos of Neil from the years he lived there (he was 4-8 years old). Neil played almost two hours, just him on stage alternating between guitar, piano, harmonica, banjo, ukelele and pump organ. The setlist spanned his entire career and the intimacy of the setting and with the stripped down versions of the songs, this truly was an amazing unique moment. Neil had come full circle, coming home to Canada and treating fans from all across Canada and the rest of the world with his incredible talent. Happy (belated) Canada Day!!
Enjoy!

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Neil Young
Coronation Hall
Omemee,ON Canada
2017-12-01

This is the SBD audio from the CTV webcast video recently uploaded by schwinn: http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=607888

Audio source data: AAC 256 Kbps 48.0 KHz stereo

Lineage: Audio extracted from the video source using MAGIX Movie Edit Pro 17 > WAV > Audacity (amplify, tracking) > TLH > FLAC > foobar2000 (FLAC tags)
Length: 1:44:35

Setlist:
01 intro [prerecorded]
02 crowd noise
03 stage entrance
04 Comes a Time
05 Love is a Rose
06 Journey Through the Past
07 Long May You Run
08 I'm Glad I Found You
09 Tumbleweed
10 banter
11 Old Man
12 Old King
13 Someday
14 There's a World
15 Stand Tall
16 War of Man
17 Don't Be Denied
18 Helpless
19 Heart of Gold

Encore:
20 One of these Days
21 Mother Earth (Natural Anthem)
22 Sugar Mountain

NEIL YOUNG- 2017-12-01 Omemee, ON FLAC. rar

The Posies- First Live Performance

Yet another sign I am getting old way too fast is that The Posies are in the middle of  a 30th anniversary world (North America/Europe) tour. I still remember buying their debut album, Failure through mail order from Seattle's indie label, Popllama Records in the late 80's. I have the pleasure of seeing the Posies live on two occasions, 1995 in Winnipeg and 2005 in Minneapolis. The 1995 show was when they were at their height of "commercial" success after Frosting, just before the release of Amazing Disgrace. For the 2005 show, we specifically drove up to the Twin Cities to see The Posies at the 400 Bar which was a great intimate venue. I always prefer the smaller venues as you get a more up close and personal experience and even had a chance to chat with Jon after the concert. As luck would have it, I will once again make a trip to the Twin Cities next week, this time St. Paul, to see The Posies at the Turf Club, another smallish size club with good sound and decent sight lines. For a preview of the St. Paul show, here's a very interesting article/interview with Ken Stringfellow that is terrific on so many levels. I've been to the Turf Club previously once to see the Baseball Project (w/Scott McC, Buck, Wynn and Pitmon). Should be great, really looking forward to it and they are one of my wife's favourite bands, so what's not to love?

I had a few other early Posies show to choose from to post, but I thought in tribute to their 30th anniversary, why not start at the very beginning. This is the first live public performance by Ken and Jon, before they formed the band, playing some cool covers and an original on duo acoustic guitars. I acquired this recording along with other early shows in a trade many many years ago. They're sound kind of rough and definitely not too polished yet, but the spirit and energy is there. So, what's not to love?
Enjoy!

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THE POSIES
FOE Hall
Bellingham, WA
August 26th, 1987

01. Mrs. Robinson
02. I'm Looking Through You (Beatles cover)
03. Don't Look Away (?)
04. Promise (Violent Femmes cover)
05. Swinging Party (Replacements cover)
06. I've Just Seen A Face (Beatles cover)
07. Standing Still (R.E.M. cover)
08. That's Entertainment (The Jam cover)
09. The Killing Moon (Echo & The Bummymen cover)
10. I Can't Reach You (The Who cover)
11. English Rose (The Jam cover)
12. Stretch Out And Wait (The Smiths cover)
13. Separate Beds (Squeeze cover)
14. Greeting To The New Brunette (Billy Bragg cover)
15. Surely You Jest (?)
16. Superman (Troggs cover)
17. I May Hate You Sometimes
18. So Sad About Us (The Who cover)

THE POSIES- 1987-08-26 FOE Hall, Bellingham, WA FLAC. rar
Please let me know if the link doesn't work. Still trying to tweak the downloads. - Thanks!

Yo La Tengo- Murdering Even More Classics 2018

Sorry for the lack of posts in 2018. I've been caught up in my local NHL team's playoff run that just ended on Sunday afternoon. Really, the Jets aren't the real excuse since I follow the NHL playoffs regardless of what teams are in, but I pay special attention to (my favourite team) the Blackhawks and of course, the Jets. I've been busy! Work, eat, watch hockey, sleep...repeat. This has been going on pretty much everyday since April 11th, so you get the picture.

Just like the playoffs, a springtime tradition wouldn't be complete without the annual WFMU-FM's Request-a-Thon featuring the always amazing, Yo La Tengo. This year's radio event aired March 10th with Yo La Tengo fulfilling the requests of listeners that pledged money to hear the band bravely work their magic with their near perfect renditions of the hits as they remembered them. Actually, they sound pretty tight this year and yup, I think they're getting better each year! Though I don't live anywhere near the New Jersey area code, I look forward to hearing this set and it's definitely a highlight of my busy, unexciting life. Enough talk, there's lots of music to get to.
Enjoy!

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YO LA TENGO
Live on Todd-o-phonic Todd's
Request-a-Thon with Gaylord Fields
WFMU-FM's Monty Hall
Jersey City, NJ USA
2018-03-10
6 sets from 3-6pm

Broadcast live over 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

Set 1:

01 - I Wanna Be Your Dog (3:51)
02 - Have I The Right (2:08)
03 - These Days (1:35)
04 - Wall Of Death (3:12)
05 - Let The Sunshine In (1:36)

Set 2:

06 - Whip It (2:06)
07 - It's Your Thing (2:01)
08 - U.S. Blues (3:16)
09 - Yes It's True (2:14)
10 - Cinderella (2:51)
11 - Point That Thing Somewhere Else (4:39)

Set 3:

12 - Winterlong (3:16)
13 - Can't Help Falling in Love (2:12)
14 - I Can Hear the Grass Grow (2:18)
15 - Rebel Rebel (3:22)

Set 4:

16 - Shame Shame Shame (2:19)
17 - I'm Not Your Stepping Stone (3:17)
18 - Take Me Home, Country Roads (1:57)
19 - Dancing In The Dark (4:56)
20 - Down By The River (5:23)

Set 5:

21 - A Song From Sub Pop (1:40)
22 - I Think We're Alone Now  (2:31)
23 - Gimme Some Money (1:09)
24 - Venus In Furs (4:42)
25 - Bastards Of Young (2:48)

Set 6:

26 - Evil Woman (1:59)
27 - Rock Island Line (1:21)
28 - Goin' Back To Marlboro Country (2:31)
29 - Children Of The Revolution (2:16)  
30 - My Generation > Medley of Requests (11:25)

With references to:

Don't Change - INXS
Dead Moon Night - Dead Moon
It's The End Of The World As We Know It - REM
Free Fallin' - Tom Petty
Manic Depression - Jimi Hendrix
Second Cousin - Flamin' Groovies
Cruel To Be Kind - Nick Lowe
Talking Blues - Bob Marley
Helter Skelter - The Beatles
Look Through Any Window - The Hollies
Fox On The Run - The Sweet
Satellite of Love - Lou Reed
You're An All-Star - Smash Mouth
I Need To Know - Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
Baby Blue - Badfinger
My Generation - The Who

Total Running Time: 1hr 31min 05sec

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

WFMU-FM is a listener supported, independent community radio station.
It is the longest-running freeform radio station in the U.S.
Donations to the station can be made here:
https://pledge.wfmu.org/donate?step=landing
playlist:  http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/77816

YO LA TENGO- 2018-03-10 Monty Hall, Jersey City, NJ- WFMU-FM FLAC. rar 

I've been informed the RAR file may be corrupt and there has been trouble opening and playing the file. I'm posting an alternative WinZip link for the same show and please let me know either way if it works or not. If the WinZip works I will use this in the future. Thank you!

YO LA TENGO- 2018-03-10 Monty Hall, New Jersey, NJ- WFMU-FM FLAC. zip

New Duncan Imperials- The Albert, October 15, 1994

In mid-January of this year a local news story caught my attention, "New owner of Royal Albert isn't ruling out reviving famed music venue". The Royal Albert Arms hotel was up for auction a couple of months ago after failed attempts to reopen the once notorious hotel/bar/music venue. In 2007, pharmacist Daren Jorgenson purchased the Albert and intended to convert it to a boutique hotel. It has been closed since a water leak closed the restaurant and hotel along with many controversies surrounding the ownership and shady dealings related to the building. I thought perhaps the new owners might demolish the building to build condos or more parking for the area, so I was pleasantly surprised by the news the Albert could be back. It has since been announced Alycia's restaurant will open soon at the Albert. If you're from Winnipeg you would be familiar with Alycia's which was an institution in the North End for decades serving the city's best perogies and cabbage rolls.

The Royal Albert Arms Hotel, back in the day. photo: NDI fb

If you were a fan of loud indie-rock, punk or weird alt-music in the 1980's-early 2000's, you would be familiar with the Albert. It was a small grungy, decent place to see upcoming and touring alternative bands that weren't popular enough to fill the Pyramid or Spectrum or too alternative for the mainstream. When bands weren't playing the bar, it was a sketchy half empty joint except for old regulars, but was packed on draft night, bands or not. The next door bar, Wellington's had a similar vibe musically, but I always thought of Wellington's as the scarier version of the Albert, if that's possible. I've seen many great bands and shows at the Albert in the day. Green Day before they went major label, the Weakerthans, Nova Mob, Monsula, Liquor Giants, Plumtree, New Duncan Imperials and many other punk bands I can't remember well before I started taping bands. Unfortunately, I didn't see Soul Asylum or Husker Du when they played there in the mid-80's.

Poster from show at The Albert. (not from the 1994 show) Photo: NDI fb

The band that I most associate with the Albert was the always entertaining, New Duncan Imperials from Chicago.  i don't know why, but the band clearly had a love for the city and more specifically for the Albert. Before I even saw them live, I heard that they played annually at the Albert since their days when the three members of NDI were in the band, The Service. They traditionally, at least in the early days to the mid-90's, played three consecutive nights and played two sets a night. Back in the old days bands in bars played multiple sets instead of opening warmup bands. I've seen NDI at least four times, the first show in 1994 and I must say they were one of the best live bands I've ever seen. At least, dollar for dollar they were the best value for your entertainment dollar because I think the cover charge was only $5. The small crammed stage was filled with props, bras hung across the front and back of the stage and a big furry velour monster (complete with moving mouth and lit up eyes) that was terrifyingly cuddly. They tossed out lots of "free stuff" such as noise makers, confetti, silly string and they gave away a real velour shirt after the velour sex dance dance off. If your idea of a good time is watching 3 guys in straw hats and baby blue tuxedos rocking out to the White trash Boogie, the New Duncan Imperials are a must-see! A little politically incorrect at times (by today's standards), it's funny as hell non-stop action that must be seen to believed. They are amazing to see once or twice, but after the third or fourth time, their shtick does repeat itself, but who cares! They played their final show ever in 2011, but they have reunited since, so who knows maybe they'll be back to christen the "new" Royal Albert when it re-opens. Keep your fingers crossed!!

This live recording was my first ever recording on my Sony recording Walkman almost 24 years ago. The sound is actually pretty good considering I was squeezed tightly in the crowd on the small Albert dance floor. Lots of crowd noise, but it adds to the excitement and craziness of the show. Listening to it now really brings back a lot of great memories and it does have that "feels like you're there" sound. I converted my cassette master to FLAC for your listening pleasure. They play two sets, the break is between track 15 and 16, in case you're burning to disc.
Enjoy!

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NEW DUNCAN IMPERIALS
Royal Albert
Winnipeg, MB
September 15, 1994
AUD Master

Sony mic> Sony WM-GX35 Recording Walkman> Sony CDitII-100 Cassette> Aiwa tape deck> ADS Instant music> usb> Nero SoundTrax> WAV> Direct WAV splitter> FLAC> rar

01. Pitch A Fit
02. Mystery Date
03. Piss Me Off...
04. Queen Of The Road
05. Good Lovin'/6-Pack Of Love
06. Polka Pocahontas
07. Shut Up and Drive
08. Home Sweet Mobile Home
09. Pistol Packin' Mama
10. Turkey Neck
11. Gizzards, Scrapple & Tripe
12. Aah!
13. Pensacola 99
14. Shook Me All Night Long
15. Tilt-A-Whirl
16. Don't Hate Me Just Because I'm Beautiful
17. If I Like You
18. Oh My God, We're Fucking
19. Queen Of Venus
20. Evl Uncl Bud
21. Skipper & Prince
22. Female Voodoo
23. Velour! (Sex Dance)
24. Feelin' Sexy
25. Running With A Fork In My Mouth
26. I'm Schizophrenic (No, I'm Not)
27. Motel 666

Encore
28. String Of Pearls
29. (Fight For) Your Right To Party

NEW DUNCAN IMPERIALS- 1994-09-15 Royal Albert, Winnipeg, MB FLAC AUD Master. rar

Kathleen Edwards- Utrecht, Netherlands April 26, 2003

When some people walk away from a career in music, they may explore other endeavors in the arts such as art, film or writing. Others may want to stay connected with the music scene, manage bands, host a radio show or open a bar or pub to double as a small venue to play whenever they feel like it (I'm thinking maybe someone like Jeff Healey) and drink for free. Others want to settle down in their hometown away from the spotlight and the rigours of touring to open and run a cafe called, quite fittingly, Quitters Coffee. Quitters isn't just a cafe, it's also a place to eat for lunch with events in the evening (theme trivia nights, Sens games on the tube) and a cozy great place to hang out in the suburb of Ottawa, Stittsville. If I live in or around Ottawa, I would seriously be a regular customer. If there's anyone I would like to have barista the shit out of my latte, it would be Kathleen Edwards.

Always humble and always a proud ambassador for Canada, Kathleen Edwards has been of a favourite of mine since first hearing songs from her debut album, Failer. Who names their debut album, Failer? (well...the Posie's debut album, Failure, for one) Seems doomed from the beginning fight? But if you've followed Kathleen's career, you come to know her sense of humour and casual self deprivating personality that truly separates her from the pack. When you're at a Kathleen Edwards show you always feel welcome, entertained by her off-cuff comments and it's a pleasure to spend the next hour or so in her presence.

In reality, Edwards is only stepping back from music, just a bit. In the past year, she has played more than a handful of gigs in and around Ottawa and was noticeably visual during the Junos (see the video on the TDIT Facebook page) this past spring in Ottawa and more importantly (at least to me anyways) she performed during a visit from Rogers Hometown hockey on March 19th. Hearing that Kathleen has played more gigs this year than previous years, it's a good positive sign she is more interested in performing more and who knows, maybe recording a new album wouldn't be out of the question. Not being controlled by a record label or pr agencies much be a refreshing change when you've spend a majority of your adult life dedicated to music. It's like pressing the pause button, taking a look around you and discover what is really important in life and pressing the refresh button to pursue what feels right. There are many veteran artists that have bypassed record labels and independently released music with the help of crowd sourcing sites and their fans (Juliana Hatfield for one) and recording from their home studios (Paul Westerberg). I could see in the near future, Kathleen possibly pursuing this route that allows her to control the process so she can make music on her terms. Fingers crossed!

This summer when I was preparing (downloading/ripping) music for my annual roadtrip, I added Kathleen Edward's, Failer to my iPod. I've had this on CD for years, but since it wasn't on the pod I hadn't listened to it as much as her other albums that were previously ripped. I must admit I listened to that album more than anything else all summer and rediscovering it's brilliance was wonderful. I was recently digging around my live KE shows and found a number of shows from earlier in her career. The show I'm posting is her second ever show in Europe and it showcases songs from the Failer era and like most artists, songs that aren't performed regularly anymore. When someone in the crowd requests, Hockey Skates, she responds that this is probably the only song they know. Does she underestimate her fanbase or is she right? The "hit" single might in fact be the only song they would recognize. Anyways, the sound in this recording is remarkable and as the notes indicate, I'm not sure if this was a radio broadcast, soundboard or audience recording. It's a good one and if you like her early stuff, this is a must hear. As a bonus, there's an interview and in-studio performance of Independent Thief at the end.

I know Quitters is only the name of her cafe and it's all tongue n' cheek fun, but trust me she'll be back. If you're in or around Ottawa or better yet, Stittsville, drop into Quitters Coffee and say hi to Kathleen Edwards from TDIT.
Enjoy!

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KATHLEEN EDWARDS and Band
Muziekcentrum Vrendenberg
Utrecht, Netherlands
Blue Highway Festival
April 26, 2003
FM or AUD?

1. Independent Thief (solo acoustic)
2. National Steel
3. One More Song the Radio Won't Like
4. Westby
5. Copied Keys
6. Hockey Skates
7. The Lone Wolf
8. 12 Bellevue
9. Mercury
10. Six O'Clock News
11. Changes (Black Sabbath cover)
12. Maria
13. Interview
14. Independent Thief (live solo acoustic in studio)

KATHLEEN EDWARDS - 2003-04-26 Utrecht . rar

The Weakerthans- WECC, Winnipeg, MB Dec. 3, 1998

A couple weeks ago, the West End Cultural Centre (WECC) celebrated 30 years as a music venue in Winnipeg. The renovated church has since become an institution for music fans of all genres and musical styles. The WECC has endured many trials and tribulations dealing with financial difficulties as well as upgrades for much needed renovations about eight years ago that helped refresh this vital venue. An excellent well written article appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press: And The Bands Played On, detailing the history of the WECC and I was amazed about how many people were responsible for keeping this venue operating for so long. An interesting and informative read!

Personally, I have attended many many concerts, readings, plays and fundraisers there since the doors first opened. I honestly can not remember the first show I attended at the West End, but there were several talent /hootenanny nights I was at in the late 80's for sure. The earliest ticket stub I can find is from Moxy Fruvous in 1992, but there are numerous too many to count (or remember) shows from the late 80's, 90's, 2000's and right up to present that I was at. I have seen some great concerts there and it has become my preferred venue to record at as the much improved sound system is clear and crisp and depending on the size of the crowd and the setup of the room, you can usually get pretty good sight-lines to the stage. With the renovations came a upper mezzanine that allows a view over top of the crowd on the floor and a more chatter-free sound area. If they expect a smaller "intimate" size crowd, the seating is arranged with tables and chairs. With a medium size crowd, the chairs are in rows (no tables) and for a sold out (or expected larger crowd) show, it's a general admission free for all standing. As far as I remember all the shows I've been to at the WECC are general admission, no reserved seats. The atmosphere at the WECC is much more relaxed than bar shows with a less drunken vibe and more people-friendlier staff (mostly volunteers). They host many all-ages shows and I've seen everything from punk to jazz, folk, blues, rock and everything in between.

The first time I saw the Weakerthans live was at the WECC as an opener in 1998. It was the Bonaduces album release for their brilliant record, Democracy Of Sleep and the Weakerthans and B'ehl opened the show. The band was performing many "new" songs at the time, that would appear a couple years later on Left and Leaving as well as songs from the debut, Fallow. I recorded both the Weakerthans and Bonaduces sets and have hoarded these recordings for almost 20 years. I thought it was about time I shared the Weakerthans set as I finally transferred the cassette to CDR and I've listened to this recording a lot in the past few weeks. It sounds fantastic, the sound is clear without too much distractions and it's a rare early performance from a band that personifies the spirit, energy and sense of community and social conscience of Winnipeg. Very similar to the mandate and purpose of the West End Cultural Centre. We are lucky to have a lovely venue like the West End and proud that the Weakerthans are from my hometown.
Enjoy!

Share!
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THE WEAKERTHANS
West End Cultural Centre
Winnipeg, MB
December 3, 1998
AUD Master

Sony mic> Sony WM-GX35 Recording Walkman> Maxell XLII 90 Cassette> Fisher Cassette Deck> Teac CD recorder> CDR> FreeRip> WAV> Direct WAV splitter> FLAC> rar

01. The Last Last One
02. Diagnosis
03. Aside
04. Letter Of Resignation
05. None Of The Above
06. This Is A Fire Door Never Leave Open
07. Watermark
08. Left And Leaving
09. Confessions Of A Futon Revolutionist
10. Wellington's Wednesdays
11. Everything Must Go!

THE WEAKERTHANS- 1998-12-03 WECC, Winnipeg, MB FLAC. rar 

Sorry folks, the file is no longer publicly available for download. For some unknown reason, I had a takedown down notice for copyright infringement. I've shared the Weakerthans many times in the past so I don't think the band has a problem sharing live shows, but perhaps their publishing company, record label or overzealous lawyers have an issue. Please PM me first if there are any objections sharing live shows on this blog.

On that note, please PM me if you are interested in the show. I will try to hook you up!
Thanks!
Binky

New Pornographers- Burton Cummings Theatre, Winnipeg, MB October 7, 2017

"Good to be back, it's been a while". -Frontman Carl Newman

It has been a few years at least since Newman's band, the New Pornographers have toured through Winnipeg, and they have visited many times, but it was the first time they played the "larger" venue at the Burton Cummings Theatre. A few things have changed since the band last played here in 2010. They were in town to support their then new album, Together. Since then they have released two albums, Brill Bruisers and they're latest, Whiteout Conditions. The new album is the first without longtime members, Dan Bejar and drummer, Kurt Dahle, who was replaced by Joe Seiders. The new record is a departure, or should I say a progression from they're usual indie power poppy sound to a more synth, keyboard driving beats sound which has taken time for me to digest and process. All in all, it makes for more of a pulsating club beat experience. On this tour, there was no Bejar or Neko Case and in their place tour member Simi Stone provided more backing vocals and violin for extra depth to their sound. Kathryn Calder has done a commendable job taking over Case's vocal parts when she is absent as I've seen the band more without Case than with. They aren't the most visually interesting band on stage, so the colourful flashing neon lights and Stone's energetic stage presence was a pleasant distraction. The real deal is still the music and the New Pornographers still are the masters of delivering near perfect pop songs, hook after hook. As a longtime fan I appreciated the last two songs of the set and the encore, classic stuff. (but again if you want more Dan and Neko songs see the previous post)

I recorded the show on the floor from the 6th row. Technically, I was further back as the floor in front of the stage was jam packed. FYI, if you buy a ticket to the Burt (or probably any venue) in the first two rows expect some one's ass in your face. Don't even bother to try sitting if you're anywhere near the front. I stood all through the New Pornographers set and my feet were aching, next time more comfortable shoes! The advantage to standing on the floor with theatre seats is that you get more space around you if you stand in front of your seat. No jackass backing into you or elbowing you in the head, your own personal space and less chatter. The recording sounds pretty good, with little talking around me and the mix sounded better and clearer in the recording than at the concert. Go figure!
Enjoy!

Remember:
SHARE, but DO NOT SELL!
Please DO NOT CONVERT to lossy (mp3) or share in that format.

NEW PORNOGRAPHERS
Burton Cummings Theatre
Winnipeg, MB
October 7, 2017
Audience Master

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

01. The Jessica Numbers
02. Whiteout Conditions
03. Dancehall Domine
04. Moves
05. Colosseums
06. The Laws Have Changed
07. High Ticket Attractions
08. Champions Of Red Wine
09. Adventures In Solitude
10. All The Old Showstoppers
11. This Is The World Of The Theatre
12. Sing Me Spanish Techno
13. Backstairs
14. Play Money
15. Testament To Youth In Verse
16. Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk
17. Avalanche Alley
18. Use It
19. Mass Romantic

Encore
20. The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism
21. Brill Bruisers
22. The Bleeding Heart Show

NEW PORNOGRAPHERS- 2017-10-07 Winnipeg, MB FLAC Master .rar

New Pornographers- MacEwan Ballroom, Calgary, AB, October 12, 2007

If you read my previous post, you know I'm going to a concert on October 7th besides The Fuse fundraiser. I'm going to see the New Pornographers, a band I've seen at least 6 times previously in Winnipeg and Calgary. The shows were all good, despite a couple times without vocalist, Neko Case who if you haven't heard has a somewhat successful, at least in indie terms, solo career. The last time I saw the band, my recording wasn't good as the levels were accidentally set with a max volume setting which produced a flat tinny sounding recording. A few shows stand out in positive terms though, like the first time I saw the band in 2002 with the original lineup at the WECC. It was a fun show with plenty of good-natured banter between Carl and Neko and the band was very entertaining. Cool covers of  Cruel To Be Kind, Action, Send Me A Postcard and a mini-Heart set "riff-off" were highlights. This was the show that made me realize Neko Case was the coolest ever! (my post, "Vintage Porn" with my mp3 recording of the show)

The other stand out show was in Calgary pretty close to 10 years ago to this date with the complete lineup with Neko and Dan Bejar who doesn't tour with the band much outside of shows in Vancouver. I realized how awkward and weird it must be for the band to have Dan drift on and off the stage only staying on stage if he was singing lead, of course with a glass in his hand, classic! There's almost always a special feeling seeing a band in another city and I felt all warm and fuzzy standing in the middle of the horde on the MacEwan Ballroom floor at the University of Calgary. It was tight and sweaty surrounded by screaming college girls and this show goes down on my list of most enjoyable or at least memorable concerts. I happened to be in town for a conference that weekend and I actually bought a ticket at the door. I fortunately brought my recording gear to Calgary (who doesn't travel with audio recording gear?) and captured the show in all it's glory. As mentioned there was some chatter and screaming, but you get used to it quick and the recording sounds just like you were there in the crowd. It's not perfect, but I thought it was too good not to share and revisit. I posted this show on Dime a few days after the show and posted only a few song highlights (no longer available) on the blog. I thought to prepare myself for the concert on Saturday I would share the complete show from 10 years ago in lossless format. It's kind of a re-seed from Dime, but now is exclusive to TDIT. It's a great show and I admit I haven't been as enthusiastic about their newer material as I was with this earlier era. I'm sure they won't play many of the songs from this setlist on Saturday so enjoy this classic show.
Enjoy!

• My original post of the New Pornographers 2007 Calgary show "There's Nothing Like Great Porn!" 
• Share! Please DO NOT sell and convert to lossy mp3 format.

NEW PORNOGRAPHERS
"MacEwan Ballroom"
Calgary, AB, Canada
October 12, 2007

Audience MASTER
Sony ECM-DS70P mic> Sharp MD-MT90> ADS Instant Music> USB> Nero Soundtrax> Wav>
Direct Wave MP3 Splitter> FLAC> rar

01. Intro [Classical Gas]
02. All The Things That Go To Heaven And Earth
03. Use It
04. Myriad Harbour
05. Electric Version
06. All The Old Showstoppers
07. Jackie, Dressed In Cobras
08. Challengers
09. The Laws Have Changed
10. The Spirit Of Giving
11. My Rights Versus Yours
12. Mass Romantic
13. Adventures In Solitude
14. Twin Cinema
15. Go Places
16. Sing Me Spanish Techno
17. Bleeding Heart Show

encore
18. Mutiny, I Promise You
19. Jackie
20. From Blown Speakers
21. The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism

 length [86:18]

NEW PORNOGRAPHERS- 2007-10-12 FLAC Master. rar

This Saturday, PTSD Benefit Featuring The Fuse

It's not often I use this blog to promote upcoming fundraising concerts or special events, but when I feel it is something important I want to get the word out to as many people as possible. This isn't a disaster relief concert or a show promoting some fashionable fad, no it's an often overlooked subject that is affecting more people than you would think.

On Saturday, October 7th at the Park Theatre is the fourth annual benefit concert for the Heroes Are Humans project that provides services to military personnal and first responders who are living with post traumatic effects of their job. The concert is in memory of Ken Barker, a first responder from Winnipeg who took his own life after battling PTSD. According to a study, 24% of first responders suffer from PTSD, a rate three times higher than the regular population.

The Winnipeg band, The Fuse are once again headlining the concert with a performance from musician and first responder, Kevin Davison who opens the show. The Fuse hadn't been active much for many years, but have reassembled and performed at the last three benefits. My pal, Hugh has a personal connection with Ken and his family and he has been connected to the members of the Fuse since the 70's. He has organized this event every year to help raise funds for the project and to raise awareness because this isn't a problem that will just go away. I admire his drive and unselfish attitude and hope more people are educated and more informed than before. He also wants people to come enjoy the music and have a good time, as each year this show brings me back with nostalgic memories of the old days seeing The Fuse (aka: The Six, Jeffrey Hatcher and the Big Beat) at socials and clubs around town in the 80's. I have attended in whole or in part all the shows and if I can show support by buying a ticket and attending, that's the very least I can do. Unfortunately, I'm double booked with another concert the same night, so I'll contribute by donation (or both?). If you are in Winnipeg and are interested in attending, please consider buying a ticket (eventbrite.com), it's for a worthy cause.

Here's a link to last year's benefit. A nice sounding live audio recording of The Fuse and some nifty looking photos I took.
Enjoy!

Radish- Discount Fireworks (Unreleased)

Every once in a while your wishes can true. I'm not talking big lottery wins or fame and fortune, no, I mean the small stuff that make life interesting and sometimes it's simply just plain luck. I've lived to see my beloved Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup, not once, but three times and I've been fortunate enough to see many of my favourite artists live (The Replacements, Young Fresh Fellows, Scruffy The Cat, Ray Davies, Elvis Costello etc...). Through this blog I've been made aware of and have been given a lot of cool music that I might not otherwise been aware of. Some bands I hadn't heard of before, as well as live material, demos and unreleased songs and albums from musicians I admire.

A few years back, I made a reference to Ben Kweller's band, Radish and an unreleased album, Discount Fireworks. I posted a couple self-released Kweller EP's (Freak-out It's Ben Kweller and Bromeo) and some of these recordings were holdovers from the proposed Fireworks album. Many of the songs from the Discount Fireworks sessions went on to appear in different versions on these EP's as well as Ben Kweller's debut album, Sha Sha. Kweller originally self released Sha Sha in 2000 and in 2002, ATO Records re-released a different version of the album with a different track order, new recordings and more songs. I don't know the exact timeline of these songs, but I know the Radish versions on Discount Fireworks are very hard to find. Several tracks have been floating around the web in some form or another and this has been one of the most requested items on this blog. I never ever expected to hear or get a copy of the album, but lo and behold, over eight years after that post I received an email from a reader and I was offered up a copy of Discount Fireworks. The rip unfortunately is 128k mp3, but for the opportunity to hear the album in it's entirety this was too good to pass up and I was very excited to finally hear it. I've listened to it several times and it's well worth a listen. Some of the versions that appear on Sha Sha are different recordings and slightly different versions, so if you're a fan of Radish and/or Ben Kweller, this is a must hear!

A special thank you to Johnny Spork for the album and for creating some amazing (unofficial) front and back covers included in the file. The sound quality is pretty damn good and it baffles me why this was never released, but for more information and background about the Discount Fireworks fiasco, Johnny sent me a link for an article from 1999:  http://www.dallasobserver.com/music/free-radish-6400889
 And remember your wishes can come true!  Now if someone has a uncompressed version of the album...
Enjoy!

• PLEASE DO NOT SELL!
• This is in lossy format, so please share as mp3. (Don't try to convert to WAV or FLAC, it doesn't work that way) 
• If there is any issue sharing this recording (Mercury, Seagrams, BK?), please send me a PM first.

RADISH
Discount Fireworks
(Unreleased Album) 1998
mp3 (128k)

01. Launch Ramp
02. Next Time
03. Drink Me Away
04. How It Should Be (Sha Sha)
05. Silent Scene
06. What It Is Like To Live In Commerce
07. Wasted And Ready
08. Harriet's Got A Song
09. Here Is Dissonant
10. Cally
11. Orange Tic-Tacs
12. In Other Words
13. Panamainian Girl
14. For Forever
15. Bill W. Is My Friend
16. Girl In Between
17. 4.40 (Episode 2)
18. Super Neat (64k mp3)\

RADISH- Discount Fireworks 1998 mp3.rar

Grant Hart- WECC, Winnipeg, MB May 17, 2005

It's been a while since I posted last, my pre-vacation post was for a show I attended over 10 years ago. A lot has happened since then and I just haven't had the time to write, but I have been actively transferring some old cassette tape masters from some shows I attended in the 90's. I promise I will share them very soon. FYI, I'm writing my first post with my new laptop computer. Wow, these new machines are fast and downloading/uploading speed is unbelievably quick.

For me a story that stood out in the news in the past week was the passing of Grant Hart, the drummer from Husker Du. He later formed his band, Nova Mob in 1989, he sang and played guitar, they released a bunch of records and he also performed and recorded as a solo artist. For me, in the mid-eighties I listened to a lot of college rock, punk and so-called alternative rock (now called indie) and I was especially drawn to the bands from Minneapolis, the closest major U.S. city from my modest sized metropolis up here in Canada. I was heavily into the Replacements, Soul Asylum and Husker Du. This is the music I identified with most at the time, fast, raw, guitar, bass and drums rock 'n' roll. Though all three of these bands started out as punk bands, Husker Du was the most hardcore on their earliest albums. The furious speed and intensity of early Du was what drew me in, but it was the intelligence and maturity of the lyrics and music that kept me a fan. Bands that feature two singer-songwriters often divide the fans into two camps, especially if they breakup, with songs they prefer from one artist over the other. I must admit I enjoyed Grant Hart's songs slightly more than Bob Mould's. It's hard to explain, maybe it's his voice, maybe it's the lyrics, not that I didn't enjoy Bob's songs, his voice and guitar are a large part of the Husker Du sound, it's just that, I felt the songs had a more poppy euphonious quality that I enjoyed. Grant was an underrated songwriter and continued to be creative right up to his last album, The Argument, which is a masterpiece. If you're not familiar with the music of Grant Hart, I recommend starting with Husker Du's, New Day Rising, followed by Flip Your Wig and Candy Apple Grey. Nova Mob's, Last Days Of Pompeii is a great album and though his solo albums are spotty, my favourite continues to be his first, Intolerance.

I have seen Grant Hart twice live. The first time when he was in Nova Mob in the early 90's at the Albert and solo in 2005 at the West End Cultural Centre. Clearly, Hart was the less commercially successful of the Huskers as Mould continues to draw large crowds for his shows. For both Grant Hart shows there were a handful of people in attendance. The solo show at the West End, which has a capacity of 300-400 had maybe 30-40 people tops. It was a very intimate show complete with flubs and equipment trouble as Grant's guitar cut in and out and the sound levels of my recording are up and down (warning if you listen). The setlist draws from throughout his career up to that point and the sound quality is pretty good since there isn't much "crowd" chatter. Grant is passionate about his music even with the small crowd and I was very glad I attended and recorded the concert.
R.I.P.
Enjoy!!

Previously posted on TDIT: Grant Hart- live at Valentines from 2001
 A cool article from Rolling Stone about Grant Hart/Husker Du by Rob Sheffield (a fav music writer of mine)

Share!
NO SELLING or converting to lossy mp3 (except for personal use)

GRANT HART
West End Cultural Centre
Winnipeg, MB, Canada
May 17, 2005
Solo electric
Audience Master

mini Sony stereo mic> Sharp MD> stand alone Teac CDR Recorder>
audio CDR> FreeRip> FLAC> rar

01. 2541
02. Green Eyes
03. Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill
04. Remains To Be Seen
05. Never Talking To You Again
06. You Don't Have To Tell Me
07. You're The Reflection Of The Moon On The Water
08. Admiral Of The Sea
09. Wernher Von Braun
10. Flexible Flyer
11. Pink Turns To Blue
12. She Floated Away
13. The Main
14. Sorry Somehow
15. Terms Of Psychic Warfare
16. Little Misinformation
17. Over My Head
18. Fanfare In D Major (Come, Come)
19. Don't Want To Know If You're Lonely
20. Puzzles
21. Evergreen Memorial Drive
22. It's Not Funny Anymore
23. The Last Days Of Pompeii

Encore
24. Diane
25. Letter From Ann Marie

GRANT HART- 2005-05-17 WECC Winnipeg, MB FLAC Master. rar

Laurie Lindeen- Petal Pusher Book/Concert Launch June 16, 2007

Photos: (Daniel Corrigan)

As I write this I'm packing my bags and preparing to head off on vacation for two weeks at the cabin on the lake. Yup, 8 straight hours north to the land of limited internet and no TV! This is a perfect opportunity to catch up on my music listening and book reading among the tall tree and cool wind off the lake. Actually, I'm not much of a reader during the rest of the year, but very much look forward to getting to my stockpile of books. This year I'm bringing to the cabin, Girl In A Band (Kim Gordon), Old Records Never Die (Eric Spitznagel), Here Come The Regulars: How to Run a Record Label on a Shoestring Budget (Ian Anderson), My Year Of Flops (Nathan Rabin) and Uncut: Ultimate Music Guide- The Kinks (magazine). All but the Old Records Never Die are bargain bin purchases and the Kinks magazine is a super deluxe expensive "magazine". In past years I read books about Yo La Tengo, lots of Nick Hornby, a bunch by Rob Sheffield and just about anything about music, records and movies. A couple summer ago, I finally read, Petal Pusher from Zuzu's Petals frontwomen, Laurie Lindeen. I really enjoyed the book especially since I attended the book launch/concert in St. Paul, Minnesota over 10 years ago. It makes a lot more sense now since I didn't know the context of many of the stories and characters in the book. Regardless the concert was amazing and it was a treat to see Paul Westerberg (now ex-husband of Laurie) and other favourite musicians like, Steve Wynn, Linda Pitmon, Mark Olsen, Marc Perlman and the reunion of Zuzu's Petals. I wrote a much more detailed review about the concert in a post from June 22, 2007

I had a request to post this show, previously I only posted some highlights from the concert and posted my complete audience recording on Dime. This version is the FM broadcast from Minneapolis, The Current and though the sound quality is superior, it is edited to exclude a couple songs and a part of the interview. I've included the notes from the info file included with the FLAC download file I received with the disc of the show.
Enjoy!!

Laurie Lindeen
"The Current Fakebook series"
June 16, 2007
The Fitzgerald Theater
St. Paul, MN

Source: Soundboard -> FM
Transfer: FM -> CD-> FreeRip -> flac -> rar

Interview and concert recorded by KCMP 89.3 FM - The Current - St. Paul, MN
Broadcast on 6/24/07

Host - Mary Lucia
Notes: Lucia interviewed Lindeen regarding her book, "Petal Pusher: A Rock and Roll Cinderella Story". The interview was split up with performances by her Minneapolis friends that had inspired her.

Outstanding show! Highlights include Paul Westerberg's first live performance since injuring his hand and Zuzu's Petals (Laurie Lindeen, Coleen Elwood, Linda Pitmon) reuniting for 2 songs! Other guests include Mark Olson (The Jayhawks), Lori Barbero (Babes In Toyland), Steve Wynn (Dream Syndicate, Gutterball and Danny and Dusty), John Eller (Paradox, Eller & Lynch), Jim Boquist (Son Volt), Ed Ackerson (Polara, 27 Various), Marc Perlman (The Jayhawks).

Family Tree: Laurie Lindeen is married to Paul Westerberg.  Mary Lucia is Paul Westerberg's younger sister, and Laurie Lindeen's sister-in-law.  Linda Pitmon is married to Steve Wynn.  Presumably some of the other people have slept together as well.

The Current edited several bits of the performance.  Curse words are bleeped and "God" from "Goddamn Angel" is removed. The 2 Rolling Stones' songs that Eller and Westerberg jammed on after the intermission are not included.  People were still out in the lobby when Paul and co. came to the stage and he said something like "we were asked to kill some time".  And finally, the dialogue about Babes In Toyland and the performance from Lori Barbero is completely absent. :(

tracks:
01. Laurie Lindeen interview - "growing up"
02. STEVE WYNN * - Still Holding On To You [The Dream Syndicate]
03. interview - "musicals"
04. JOHN ELLER @ - 'Til There Was You [from "The Music Man", The Beatles version]
05. interview - "moving to Minneapolis"
06. MARK OLSON & MARIA RUSSELL - Five Cups Of Coffee [The Jayhawks]
07. interview - "first gigs, early Zuzu's Petals"
08. ZUZU'S PETALS - God Cries
    -intermission-
XX. PAUL WESTERBERG # - Mother's Little Helper [The Rolling Stones]
XX. JOHN ELLER # - Loving Cup [The Rolling Stones]
09. interview - "touring England" & "meeting Paul"
XX. LORI BARBERO $ - Dogg [Babes in Toyland]
10. PAUL WESTERBERG % - I've Grown Accustomed To Your Face [from "My Fair Lady"]
11. PAUL WESTERBERG - Goddamn Angel
12. interview - "Zuzu's Petals 2nd album and later stages"
13. ZUZU'S PETALS - Love Bullet
14. interview - "Laurie reading excerpt from her book"
15. FINALE ! - Daydream Believer [The Monkees]

* Steve Wynn-vocals & guitar, Ed Ackerson-guitar, Mark Perlman-bass, Linda Pitmon-drums
@ John Eller-vocals & guitar, Mark Perlman-bass, Paul Westerberg-drums
# Paul Westerberg-lead vocals & guitar, John Eller-lead vocals & piano, Ed Ackerson-guitar, Jim Boquist-guitar, Mark Perlman-bass, Linda Pitmon-drums
$ Lori Barbero-vocals & drums, unknown guitarist
% with acting assistance from Jim Boquist
! John Eller-lead vocals & piano, Paul Westerberg-guitar, Steve Wynn-guitar, Ed Ackerson-maracas, Marc Perlman-bass, Linda Pitmon-drums, Laurie Lindeen-vocals, Coleen Elwood-vocals, Lori Barbero-vocals, Jim Boquist-vocals)


LAURIE LINDEEN & FRIENDS- 2007-06-16 Fitzgerald Theatre, St. Paul, MN FM FLAC. rar

Superchunk- Pyramid Cabaret, Winnipeg, MB October 20, 1997

A while back, let's say about 7 years ago, I posted a Superchunk show that previewed new songs from their then new release, Majesty Shredding. I mentioned I had recorded Superchunk in Winnipeg while they toured through here back in 1997, but I had never transferred the recording or posted it on the blog. I had a request last week from Caroline who reminded me about the recording and wanted to know if I had ever gotten around to transferring and posting the show. I have since converted and transferred the original tape to my hard-drive, split the tracks, wrote a setlist (hope I got it right?) and uploaded the file.

I recorded Superchunk with my old (my first recorder) Sony Walkman cassette recorder with small stealthy mics that lack the warmth and richness of my more recent mics, so don't get your hopes too high sound quality-wise. The sound is thin and trebley and it doesn't help that the sound at the Pyramid was always shitty (I recall the sound was loud and somewhat distorted), but once your ears adjust you'll be treated to an excellent concert and would believe it was almost 20 years ago! My brother has been bugging me to hear this show, he was at the show with me and he's a huge Superchunk fan. Since Superchunk has yet to return to Winnipeg, I treasure this recording quite a bit and was glad to finally upload the tape. I worry my cassette masters might deteriorate and degrade in sound quality over time as most of my taping was from 1993-2000, many are over 20 years old. Thanks Caroline for coaxing me to post this show and I will try (really!) to upload more shows in the future I have on tape.
Enjoy!

SUPERCHUNK
Pyramid Cabaret
Winnipeg, MB
October 20, 1997
AUD Master

Sony mic> Sony WM-GX35 Recording Walkman> Maxell XLII 90 Cassette> Aiwa tape deck> ADS Instant music> usb> Nero SoundTrax> WAV> Direct WAV splitter> FLAC> rar

01. Driveway To Driveway
02. Skip Steps 1 and 3
03. Watery Hands
04. New Bruises
05. Marquee
06. Iron On
07. Question Is How Fast
08. Precision Auto
09. Burn Last Sunday
10. Sunshine State
11. Seed Toss
12. Unbelievable Things

Encore
13. Hyper Enough
14. Throwing Things

SUPERCHUNK- 1997-10-20 Pyramid Cabaret, Winnipeg, MB FLAC Master. rar 

Juliana Hatfield- Demos And Unreleased

I had a request. Do I have any of the demos and unreleased songs that Juliana Hatfield posted on her website in the late 2000's? In fact I do have...46 songs (mp3), Juliana gave away on her site for free (or pay what you want donation). There were probably more before and after I downloaded these groups of songs as she would periodically post and share with her fans. As far as I know, they aren't available anymore on her site, but I have seen some on other music blogs.

During the early days of this blog ( 10 years ago!) there was still some skepticism and blurred grey areas for free "illegal" and "legal" downloading. I lived through the early pioneering days of Napster, Kazaa and Limewire and speaking as a life-time music fan, downloading changed my life. Right now, I'm reading a book by Greg Kot, Ripped. How The Wired Generation Revolutionized Music and a couple of the chapters discuss this very subject. Virtually any music that has been released is available somewhere online through torrents, peer to peer sharing or downloads on a blog or music site. So it is especially nice when artist's share (or leak?) music that hasn't been officially released along with
demos and alternative versions. I'm always curious to hear the early raw versions of songs before they finalize the song with overdubs and slick production. It's a forward thinking approach by the artist to share this process to hear songs we might not otherwise hear.

I posted a sampling of these songs in a post in 2007 (not available anymore) and I mentioned Juliana's demos on the second ever post on this blog. Taking a fresh listen to these songs now is interesting because many of these songs have appeared on later releases including the excellent, Whatever, My Love by the reunited, The Juliana Hatfield Three. Some are solo, some are full band, but all the songs stand well on their own. If you haven't heard any of these songs yet, it's well worth the listen. The files I'm posting aren't in chronological order, but in alphabetical order (that's the way they came) so I don't have much information or time period on most of the tracks. If anyone has the knowledge (and the time) to post more information or if you have any more of the demos and unreleased songs Juliana posted on her website that aren't here, please leave a comment. Thanks!
Enjoy!

JULIANA HATFIELD
Demos and Unreleased

5th Of July
Accidents
Always In The Mood
Bad Dream
Beautiful Creature
Because We Love You
Break My Heart
Bring U Down Again
Can't Kill Myself
Can't Worry
Cold In Here
Dune
Fireflies
Fool Money
Going Nowhere
Good Thing Going
Hallucinations
I Don't Belong Anywhere
If I Could
I'm Here (drums)
I'm Here (no drums)
I'm Shy
Invisible
I Wish
Just Like That
Live Is Heaven
Not End Of World
Not Enough
Now That I Found You
Number One
Ordinary Guy
Perfect Stranger
Run
Saving Myself
She's Out
Something
Stupid Thing
Sybil
The First Shiver
The Only One
There's Always Another Girl
This Is What I Think Of You
Trick Baby
Where I'm Going
X's And O's
You Don't Know Who You Are

All songs in mp3 format. If anyone had uncompressed versions, please leave a comment.
If there are any objections to the sharing of these songs, please let me know and I will take down asap.

JULIANA HATFIELD- Demos and Unreleased. rar

Yo La Tengo- Murdering The Classics 2017

Where I live, March is a month where we look forward to an early spring and hope that within the next month the snow will melt and the temperature will climb above 0 C (or 32 F for you US readers). March is also the month WFUM-FM in Jersey City, NJ holds their annual pledge drive to raise funds to sustain operations. And even though I don't live in New Jersey or even in the country, I look forward to Yo La Tengo's annual" Request-a-thon murdering the classics" only Yo La Tengo can do. I've been lucky enough to listen to the recordings for most of the years and I marvel and envy Yo La Tengo for the amazing job they do every year. This might sound weird, but their live recordings from the radio broadcast is always a highlight of the year for me and while I'm listening I usually sport a huge grim on my face...so good!

As with last year's version of "Murdering the Classics", I grabbed this from Dime and I want to share it with the readers here that are not members of Dime. Please respect the original posters request: Please do not trade this in lossy format. Convert to lossy for personal use only. 
Enjoy!

Yo La Tengo
Murdering The Classics 2017

Live on Todd-o-phonic Todd's
Request-a-Thon with Gaylord Fields
WFMU-FM's Monty Hall
Jersey City, NJ USA
2017-03-18
7 sets from 3-6pm

Broadcast live over 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 - Don't You Just Know It (Huey "Piano" Smith) (2:16)
02 - Maybe I'm Amazed (Paul McCartney) (1:39)
03 - Daddy's Gonna Tell You No Lie (Barron/Sun Ra) (2:03)
04 - Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) (Traditional) (1:34)
05 - Psychotic Reaction (Count Five) (2:07)

Yo La Tengo Murders The Classics, Set 2:

06 - Runaround Sue (DiMucci/Maresca) (1:54)
07 - Stop Your Sobbing (Ray Davies) (2:45)
08 - All I Have To Do Is Dream (Boudleaux Bryant) (1:45)
09 - Who Do You Love? (Bo Diddley) (2:24)
10 - Yellow Submarine (Lennon/McCartney) (1:19)

Yo La Tengo Murders The Classics, Set 3:

11 - What Is Life (George Harrison) (2:43)
12 - (There's Gonna Be A) Showdown (Gamble/Huff) (2:39)
13 - Shy Town (Lois) (2:49)
14 - El Paso (Marty Robbins) (2:18)
15 - Volunteers (Balin/Kantner) (2:47)
16 - Little Latin Lupe Lu (Bill Medley) (2:27)

Yo La Tengo Murders The Classics, Set 4:

17 - Like A Hurricane (Neil Young) (5:42)
18 - Walk Away Renee (Brown/Calilli/Sansone) (3:24)
19 - Papa's Got A Brand New Bag (James Brown) (2:01)
20 - Wey Wey Hep Uh Hole (w/ Todd-O-Phonic Todd) (Robyn Hitchcock) (3:33)

Yo La Tengo Murders The Classics, Set 5:

21 - Get Back (Lennon/McCartney) (2:59)
22 - When You Were Mine (Prince) (4:02)
23 - So You Want To Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star (MCGuinn/Hillman) (3:22)
24 - I Love Rock'n'Roll (Merrill/Hooker) (2:39)
25 - Expressway To Yr. Skull (Sonic Youth) (5:40)

Yo La Tengo Murders The Classics, Set 6:

26 - Rumble (Grant/Wray) (2:10)
27 - The Concept (Norman Blake) (3:42)
28 - (Don't Go Back To) Rockville (R.E.M.) (3:11)
29 - California Man (Roy Wood) (2:24)

Yo La Tengo Murders The Classics, Set 7:

30 - Burning Love (Dennis Linde) (2:31)
31 - Shake Some Action (Jordan/Wilson) (4:54)
32 - Sister Ray (Lou Reed) > Medley of Requests (13:03)

With references to:
Top of the World (Carpenters)
Green Lights (NRBQ)
I'm Set Free (Velvet Underground)
Cool (Pylon)
Got To Get You Into My Life (The Beatles)
MC Solaar track with French cuss word (nice try Carlos J)
20th Century Boy (T Rex)
I've Been Tired (The Pixies)
Four Strong Winds (Ian and Sylvia Tyson), mixed w/ Powerman (The Kinks)
I Was The Fool Beside You For Too Long (Yo La Tengo)
Mother of Pearl (Roxy Music)
Driver's Seat (Sniff'n'The Tears)
I Won't Let It 'Appen Agen (Slade)
You Painted Your Teeth (Jandek)
Here Today (Beach Boys)
The Smiths
Take A Chance On Me (Abba)
Heart of the City (Rockpile - Nick Lowe)
Let's Spend The Night Together (Rolling Stones)
Memphis Tennessee (Chuck Berry/John Cale)
Godzilla (Blue Öyster Cult)
Metal Guru (T Rex)

Total Running Time: 1hr 41min 03sec

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

YO LA TENGO- 2017-03-18 Murdering the Classics 2017 WFMU-FM FLAC rar.

Fountains Of Wayne- First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN June 13, 2007

Ten years ago, in June, I happened to be in the Twin Cities for a pair of concerts I was fortunate enough to get tickets to. I wrote about this trip, Lots To See In Minneapolis and St. Paul where I posted excerpts from the MPR's The Current Fakebook series featuring Laura Lindeen's book launch concert held in the amazing Fitzgerald Theatre in St. Paul. Laura was promoting her memoir, Petal Pusher: A Rock and Roll Cinderella Story, which included her time living in the Minneapolis music scene of the late 80's and 90's. At the time, Laura was married to Paul Westerberg which of course peaked my interest and to accompany readings and a live on stage interview, music guests performed during this book launch/reading/concert event. Guests included, Mark Olson (of the Jayhawks and Creekdippers), Marc Perlman, Steve Wynn, Westerberg and a two song reunion by Lindeen's former band, Zuzu's Petals. As it happens, I didn't buy the book, but I did borrow it from the library a couple summers ago and it was a very interesting read. Kinda glad I waited because I became much more familiar with Zuzu's Petals before I read the book and I knew Laura and Paul had since split (sad to hear).

The other concert I mentioned, but failed to follow up with on "the next post", was Fountains of Wayne on June 13, 2007 at the First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. What I remember most about the show was that it was hot and humid and pressed together tightly in the crowd standing on the floor of the club. The Broken West opened and they were fantastic! Their debut album, I Can't Go On, I'll Go On, is a great album and was on heavy rotation at work and on my iPod. They put on an energetic set of brilliant power pop, a perfect pairing with Fountains Of Wayne. I recorded their set as well, if anyone is interested.

If you've ever been to the First Ave (at least in 2007), they roll down a screen in front of the stage to screen short films and video while the band sets up behind the screen. It caught me off guard when a recorded Traffic and Weather intro began before they launched into I've Got Flair. I don't think I missed much of the intro, but it gets tricky when the lights go out and I have to tweak settings on my recorder. Another reason why a mini flashlight is a must have to carry when taping. I suffered a near recording mishap when I saw Paul Westerberg at the Guthrie Theatre in 2002 when the lights went out at the beginning of the concert and I couldn't see my recorder (mini-disc recorder back light stays on a very short time) and I had to unplug the mic and crawl on the floor down the aisle to the the lights on the stairs to adjust the settings. Embarrassing and stupid, always carry a flashlight!

Remembering back ten years, I recalled what a great live band Fountains Of Wayne are. Though they don't boast the most visually stunning stage show, they play to their strengths. They keep the banter light and funny, they have a cool casual persona about them even with Jody's "rock star swagger" and they delivered a great set of music. Despite the commercial over-saturation of their "hit", Stacy's Mom, Welcome Interstate Managers is a classic album. Every song has a memorable hook and it's their most consistent effort yet. The album they toured in 2007, Traffic and Weather has definitely grown on me through the years and it was exciting to hear some of the tracks live.

About a month ago I was listening to another FOW live recording and it suddenly dawned on me, what happened to my recording of FOW when I saw them in 2007? I realized I never actually transferred the show from mini-disc to my hard drive or at least burned a disc from it. The other concert I saw in the Twin Cities that weekend (Laura Lindeen) was apparently my immediate priority and I apologize for taking so long to post this show.I dug up the disc and replaced an old corroded battery out of the mini-disc player and gave it a listen. A couple weeks later I uploaded the concert. The sound is pretty good considering the crowd I was standing in and despite the surrounding chatter I'm happy with the recording. I've never seen another live recording of the show and my version has never been shared (or heard by anyone but me) or traded anywhere until now.

Note: The poster pictured at the top of this post I bought at the concert. That too was almost forgotten as I've yet to get around framing it. Don't get too excited, it's signed by members of the band, not Fountains of Wayne, but the openers, The Broken West. They were more than happy to sign the poster, nice guys!
Enjoy!!

Please do NOT sell!
Share, but don't share in mp3, keep it lossless.

FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE
First Avenue
Minneapolis, MN
June 13, 2007
AUD MASTER

Sony ECM-DS70P mic> Sharp MD-MT90> ADS Instant Music> USB>
Nero Soundtrax> Wav> Direct Wave MP3 splitter> FLAC> rar

01. I've Got A Flair
02. No Better Place
03. Denise
04. Someone To Love
05. Fire In The Canyon
06. Hackensack
07. Hey Julie
08. Strapped For Cash
09. Yolanda Hayes
10. Mexican Wine
11. I-95
12. It Must Be Summer
13. Stacy's Mom
14. Radiation Vibe
15. Survival Car

Encore
16. Traffic And Weather
17. Red Dragon Tattoo
18. Leave The Biker

Encore 2
19. Half A Woman
20. Valley Winter Song
21. Sink To The Bottom

FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE- 2007-06-13 First Avenue, Mpls, MN Master FLAC. rar