I've been busying myself in my free time this past week digitizing my rapidly deteriorating collection of analog Hi8 videos of shows I filmed for my public access show in NYC. Talk about drudgery! But I make the fruits of my labor available to you, dear reader! Several of these shows have glitches edited out, generally at the beginning, and I'll let you know where and how bad (actually I think the problem is my crappy camera not the tapes). But mostly they're just fine. They are all great shows, shot close up and with great audio.
I'm still experimenting with video file formats, etc. So some are AVI, some are MOV. I am leaning towards the MOV format cos the files are smaller, there's less pixelation and the audio is uncompressed. Like I've said before, you should definitely have the awesome free cross-platform
VLC media player. It plays EVERY video format in ANY operating system and is FREE. 'Nuff said. No whining.
Alternately, I was surprised to learn that Megaupload has an "Instant Video Link" for these vids. It's pretty cool: you just gotta close one pop-under window, then click "play" again. The viewer is huge, much better than Youtube's, and you can skip to any part of the video. So it's good for preview purposes at the very least; see if you wanna download 'em or not. (I would suggest clicking the "Switch to 4:3" format cos the viewer is widescreen and they do that weird stretchy thing, though it's not too bad).
Alright, here's what I got for ya:
The Ex - The Knitting Factory, NYC, 2/18/99, 78m.![](http://web.archive.org./web/20190922180254im_/http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kTd0LTQWgE4/SiBDDGX8wtI/AAAAAAAAAX4/UQa0x5aRSQ4/s400/Ex1.jpg)
An absolutely furious set from the Dutch anarcho-punks. One of the best shows I've ever seen. Shot close-up with wide angle lens. Awesome. Essential viewing for all, especially if you've never seen them and/or live in some bumfuck burg which they will never visit...
776 MB AVI file
HERE.
"Instant Video Link" is
HERE.
Royal Trux - The Cooler, NYC, 9/12/98, 57m.![](http://web.archive.org./web/20190922180254im_/http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kTd0LTQWgE4/SiBFIdRtp6I/AAAAAAAAAYA/C__YZYfHmoc/s400/RTX1.jpg)
A great set from the classic scuzz rockers. Up close, great audio.
800 MB AVI file
HERE.
"Instant Video Link" is
HERE.
Flat Duo Jets - Maxwells, Hoboken, NJ, 3/29/96, 78m.![](http://web.archive.org./web/20190922180254im_/http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kTd0LTQWgE4/SiBHDEq8qWI/AAAAAAAAAYI/qBKUkrAHmJ4/s400/FDJ.jpg)
Just saw the Dex Romweber Duo last week and was reminded that I had this old video. The man has mellowed a bit over the years but the set was still great. And his sister is bad-ass on the skins. This set is classic FDJ fury, non-stop.
362 MB MOV file is
HERE.
"Instant Video Link" is
HERE.
Ruin... - Upstairs At Nick's, Philadelphia, 11/30/96, 76m.![](http://web.archive.org./web/20190922180254im_/http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kTd0LTQWgE4/SiB4SUGJUnI/AAAAAAAAAYw/KMCgebAqUxU/s400/Ruin2.jpg)
One of my favorite bands to go see growing up in the Philly area in the early 80's. Read what I posted about them earlier (and download their ESSENTIAL discography on one CD)
HERE. This is a video of the second of three shows they reunited to do for the release of said remastered discography. It's about the ONLY Ruin there is on video, according to Cordy and Tom.
799 MB AVI file is
HERE.
"Instant Video Link" is
HERE.
The Wedding Present - Tramps, NYC, 9/7/96, 57m.![](http://web.archive.org./web/20190922180254im_/http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kTd0LTQWgE4/SiBP0fN4OuI/AAAAAAAAAYY/rLIoJsPi5CM/s400/WPtramps96.jpg)
Probably my all-time favorite "pop" band, David Gedge and the Weddoes (as the trendy Brit press dubbed them) emerged from the C86 scene along with Primal Scream, Close Lobsters, etc. I could identify with Gedge's melancholic yearnings exploding into passionate guitar fury (I mean, look at the pic!), especially at that time of my life. I always thought they should be at least as big as The Cure. But perhaps it's for the best they're not. Cos last year
and the year before they came to Tucson (!) and played intimate club dates. Furiously.
I'll give a set list here cos I know all the songs, woo-hoo!:
Crawl / Come Play With Me / Kansas / Sports Car / Snake Eyes / 2, 3, Go / Love Slave / Drive / Real Thing / Venus / Gazebo / Click Click / Convertible / Montreal / Swimming Pools, Movie Stars / Brassneck / Heather
699 MB AVI file is
HERE.
"Instant Video Link" is
HERE.
Mekons - Maxwells, Hoboken, NJ, 10/17/95, 107m.![](http://web.archive.org./web/20190922180254im_/http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kTd0LTQWgE4/SiBTStBVboI/AAAAAAAAAYg/c45FMU91Gs8/s400/Mekons2.jpg)
A much more rollicking set than the previous Mekons video post, this show had lotsa old favorites I thought they'd long forgotten. Much of the typical Mekons banter hilarity between songs. A must for fan and neophyte alike.
(There were a couple nasty glitches I edited out in the first 2 songs. Then it's pretty much smooth sailing.)
Set list:
Last Dance / Fantastic Voyage / Millionaire / Sleepless Nights / Hole In the Ground / Brutal / Spit / Lyric / Wild and Blue / Sympathy For The Mekons / The Curse / Where Were You / Memphis, Egypt / Shanty // Ghosts Of American Astronauts / Prince Of Darkness / Sweet Dreams // Echo / Road To Florida / 100% Song
489 MB MOV file is
HERE.
"Instant Video Link" is
HERE.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20190922180254im_/http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kTd0LTQWgE4/SiBVfpLxv-I/AAAAAAAAAYo/3Gvy57cZ5SU/s400/Mekons1.jpg)
More video in the coming weeks as I digitize more tapes, including: The Frogs, Oblivians, Dwarves, Killdozer, Melvins, Jesus Lizard, Mike Watt, Thee Headcoats, Sonic Youth, Trail Of Dead, RL Burnside, Hasil Adkins, Smog, Built To Spill, Some Velvet Sidewalk, Six Finger Satellite, Geraldine Fibbers... to name a few.
Let me know what you'd like to see first. And let me know if you'd like full, uncompressed downloads of any of these things. And generally if you appreciate my efforts here or am I wasting my time???