![](http://web.archive.org./web/20210116181645im_/https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_y35XeAsqK6c/S6K9tHVMBPI/AAAAAAAACLA/ajjXnZEJlGo/s200/cover.jpg)
Children by the millions mourn for
Alex Chilton, and I suppose you can count me among one of them. I never felt a connection to the Big Star frontman, rather his music - an enormous one at that. Ultimately, I'm not here to eulogize (though there are a couple of excellent
online articles to check out). There's no such thing as a convenient time to die, but what makes Chilton's March 17th passing all the more tragic and ironic is that
Big Star were not only going to perform at the presently underway SXSW festival in Austin, the band was to be the province of a discussion panel this Saturday dubbed
"I Never Travel Far Without A Little Big Star." The panel, which still might proceed (albeit under far different circumstances than initially planned) wasn't to feature Chilton, but instead original bandmates
Jody Stephens and
Andy Hummel, along with recent Big Star alumni
Ken Stringfellow and
Jon Auer of the
Posies.
Personally, I never would have seated Big Star under the "power pop" umbrella. As much as I treasure and revere
#1 Record and
Radio City (both required listening, just as much as
Pet Sounds or
Revolver), I was never able to rationalize the band as ambassadors of the "genre," given the sobering and reflective temperament of so much of their music. This may sound like a gross oversimplification, but to this pair of ears, Big Star were the finest classic rock/pop band that never made the migration to FM radio. The albums speak for themselves, and although I was dismayed with the unrepresentative reunion LP, 2005's
In Space, they compensated for it in a major way with last years ultra-comprehensive four-disk,
Keep an Eye on the Sky box set. BTW, two years ago I featured a collection of Big Star
alternate takes and demos on Wilfully Obscure.
Tonight, I'm sharing a live show from Chicago 1994, featuring the revamped lineup of Chilton/Stephens/Stringfellow/Auer, that would perform many times over the next decade and a half. I'm pretty certain this is a soundboard recording, if not an excellent audience tape. Enjoy.
Alex Chilton, thank you friend.
01. In the Street
02. Don't Lie to Me
03. When My Baby's Beside Me
04. I am the Cosmos
05. Way Out West
06. 'Til the End of the Day
07. The Ballad of El Goodo
08. Back of a Car
09. Jesus Christ
10. Daisy Glaze
11. Thirteen
12. For You
13. Baby Strange
14. Feel
15. September Gurls
16. Big Black Car
17. Thank You Friends
18. Slut
19. Patty Girl
20. O' My Soul
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