Monday, August 30, 2010

THREE DOWN, SO MANY MORE TO GO


Another weekend of working slavishly on the room: sanding drywall, spray texturing, priming, final painting of the walls and ceiling. After hours of working on Saturday, I was ready for a break out on the prairie. A yellowed last quarter moon was rising up above the eastern horizon when I parked the truck.

Three part act this evening, starting off with Siouxsie & The Banshees performing live at the Shibuya Kokaido in Tokoy on February 5, 1983. Sultry voice and great guitar work. Sipping tequila, consumed with the first of two cigars. Excellent soundboard recording of the whole show. The Japanese politely clap in the background.


On the edge of life
Looking at us with their dull eyes
As we drive right by


Born with so much hope
Error on top of error
The sunbeam grows dim


Felt so effortless
But here come the aches and pains
Struggles to survive


Once was so naive
His attitude adjustment
Getting hard to care


Download it here:


Next up was Nirvana recorded live at the Cabaret Metro in Chicago, IL. on October 12, 1991. Their second album was released the previous month, their hit song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" capturing the attention of the nation, propelling them to instant stardom. They were just beginning to ride the crest of the wave that would suddenly crash in 1994.

"10-12-91 is one of the best Nirvana shows ever recorded and can be found on at least three separate discs. The vocals are blistering and extremely solid. The drums are a little loud and drown out the bass somewhat, but the performance is raw and full of energy. An early "Rape Me" & "Lounge Act" would have been nice additions to the setlist, but there can't be any complaints about the songs that were performed. A few times during the show, stage divers knock over the mic stand and the vocals are lost for a few seconds (Krist tells them to watch it.) It's a fun show to listen to and a favorite among Nirvana bootleg collectors.


A spirit long gone
Burned with such intensity
Singing forever














Down load it here:



I closed the evening with Echo & The Bunnymen, a fine bootleg recording of their live show before an enthusiastic audience at the La Bamba in Portland Oregon on October 27, 1981. Classic early Bunnymen!










Saturday, August 21, 2010

BEAUTIFUL WOMEN, BEAUTIFUL MUSIC


Friday's here, I trade one job at the office for another job renovating the upstairs room at home. This is the part I hate, working to repair the drywall: applying joint compound, sanding, repeat 2 or 3 times. White dust coats everything in the room, including myself. My goal is to finish this phase and get the walls primed by Sunday night. Texturing and final painting next weekend.

I stopped by Jack Jensen's gallery after leaving work, picking up another couple fine pieces. The man is prolific, keeping up with the pressure of empty spaces constantly opening up on his wall. He is very appreciative and honored to have a paying admirer of his artwork.










I'm in the process of reading the book Nirvana, The Chosen Rejects written by Kurt St. Thomas with Troy Smith, which goes through the history of this punk rock band. Wanting to follow along musically, I decided to listen to one of their earliest recorded shows. It happens to be their live performance on March 19, 1988 at the Community World Theater in Tacoma, Washington.

This particular show is only Nirvana’s fifth live performance ever, the first show the band played as "Nirvana". They played two shows in 1987 and then two shows in January of 1988. This is the only available show with Dave Foster on drums.
The only way to describe this show is heavy, raw and loud. You really don’t get the sense that this band would be the defining musical act of the upcoming decade. But that’s exactly the band they transformed into and that’s exactly what’s so great about concert bootlegs — the opportunity to hear the promise of a band.

The trio ripped through 16 songs during the show, including several Bleach cuts: “Love Buzz,” “Paper Cuts,” “Floyd the Barber,” “Big Cheese” (earliest available version), and “Blew” (earliest available version). Also, they rocked a great CCR cover “Bad Moon Rising” (the only available version) to close the show and even attempted Led Zeppelin’s “Moby Dick” (though I don’t have that track on my bootleg). Highlight of the show is without a doubt the rendition of “Spank Thru.”


So temporary
Sensation that will be lost
Joy of the moment


An image so clear
Speaking those unspoken words
Slaps them in the face


Held on so tightly
Never wanting to release
Slips through his fingers


Weeks melting away
Stands on the advancing brink
Scared to look forward


Slipping one more notch
Stagnant genetic cesspool
Minds sink in the swamp


Loud mouthed nasty bitch
Testicles ripped from the crotch
Can't hear their bawling


Download it here:



Wanting to follow the loud sounds with something lighter, I picked a soundboard recording of Coldplay performing live on April 22, 2007 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Their shows put me into a really mellow mood that seems to trigger a flood of haiku. I close my eyes and I'm there.


Fifty thousand strong
Wars end quietly announced
Their dead are silent


Ask was it worth it
A nation that steps backward
Fields of graves left behind


Having reached the end
Mother and father are crying
Farewell, one by one


Sent with intentions
Lied to from the very start
Time has come to part


He's out there somewhere
So lost and out of control
Already forgotten


Fails another time
My brother, I can't get through
What more can we do?

Filling a deep void
A sound that accelerates
To the other side



Download it here:

Monday, August 16, 2010

MILE HIGH MUSIC FESTIVAL 2010


The siding on the last section of the house was completed 2 weeks ago and now with vacation over, the time has come to go inside and completely renovate the room interior. The first step is repairing the dry wall damaged while rerouting wiring and installing doors and windows. The boring dirty work. Lets see if I can ruin another vacuum cleaner with fine white dust clogging the motor.






Since Friday was my 54th Birthday, I decided to splurge and enjoy a real concert by attending the second day of the Mile High Music Festival. I especially wanted to see both Train and Weezer perform this day, everyone else being bonus points.

I drove out fairly early Sunday morning to avoid the traffic and get a close in parking spot. By the time I cruised around the entire venue (5 stages), the show had begun at 12 noon. What followed was 8 hours of music by 5 performers.

This is what the Denver Post said about day two of the festival:

Day two of Mile High was clearly the bigger day — in terms of attendance and talent. The throngs came out to revisit their pal Matthews, and the result was an all-day party in the sun with some talented, if occasionally bland, artists.

Matthews' headlining set was triumphant and meandering, as expected. He covered old-school favorites, including the sing-along hit "What Would You Say," as well as some songs from his latest LP, "Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King."

"We had a good time here a couple years ago," Matthews told the adoring crowd early in the set, a small nod to his last Colorado play — which was the 2008 Mile High, the festival's debut.

Matthews' set was sprawling, melodic and almost majestic. This band is tight, and they know it — and so they're not afraid to play around with the form a little. His mid-set take on Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight" was a warm and lived-in moment that wrapped up the Mile High aesthetic. A breeze cruised the festival grounds outside the Commerce City soccer stadium, and the jam went on.

Other big sets from Sunday included Weezer, Atmosphere and My Morning Jacket. Weezer's wacky antics and old-school focus made for a tremendous live experience. "Hash Pipe" and "Undone — The Sweater Song" came early, and "Say It Ain't So" was translucent — a feel-good sing-along like no other. "El Scorcho" was loose and messy, and singer Rivers Cuomo spent all of "My Name Is Jonas" and "Beverly Hills" in the audience.

Mile High's third year was its best, no question. And with the overall improved experience, it's easy to look forward to next summer's festival — with hope that promoter AEG Live will be a little more adventurous with its booking in 2011.



THE EPILOGUES
"The Epilogues have been a fixture in the Denver music scene for the last few years. While always striving to create something different and exciting, their combination of dark undertones with infectious dance hooks, as well as their nonstop, energetic live show, has captured audiences, both locally and nationally."















OH MY STARS
When Los Angeles-based guitarists Davey Duke and Josh Debney placed an Internet ad in 2009 looking for other serious musicians to start a new project, they had no idea how lucky they’d get. One of the first people to respond was Hollywood-based musician, producer, and engineer Lee Miles. Miles was instantly inspired to write lyrics to an instrumental track that Duke had posted online. The trio quickly meshed, and an impressive new creative force was spawned. Placing another Internet ad led the guys to two more talented players, and the energetic band now known as Oh My Stars came into creation.

Oh My Stars’ first release, the single “Bloody November,” is currently the number one testing song and is in heavy rotation at Denver’s 93.3 KTCL, the same station which broke The Fray, Flobots, and 3Oh3! The single is available for download now on iTunes and other digital retailers through the Bleemusic imprint. A five-song EP is set for release this spring, with more details to come. The band recently played KTCL’s renowned “Keggs & Eggs” festival, and has an upcoming gig at the Westword Showcase in Denver on June 19, 2010. Oh My Stars has shared the stage with bands such as Saosin, Tickle Me Pink, and Innerpartsystem, among others.










Download my recording of Oh My Stars from the show here:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UTFZ5N0E
OZOMATLI
Ozomatli are an LA-based band who combine Latin and world music influences with funk and hip-hop. The group is also very politically conscious, promoting social change both in their music and through activism. They have gathered a large fan base due to their pure energy at live shows
.














TRAIN
Train was inescapable during the turn of the 21st century, when songs like "Calling All Angels" and "Drops of Jupiter" made the San Francisco residents some of America's most popular balladeers. Although formed during the glory days of post-grunge, the group found more success in the pop/rock world, where Train straddled the line between adult contemporary and family-friendly alternative rock. The hits began drying up after 2003, but Train continued releasing material throughout the rest of the decade and even returned to the charts in 2010, when the single "Hey, Soul Sister" became a surprise Top 10 hit.



































WEEZER
Weezer is an American alternative rock band that formed in Los Angles in 1992. The band now consists of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, guitar), Partick Wilson (drums, guitar, backing vocals), Brian Bell (guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), and Scott Shriner (bass, backing vocals, keyboards). As one of the most popular groups to emerge in the post-grunge alternative rock aftermath, Weezer received equal amounts of criticism and praise for their hook-heavy guitar pop. Drawing from the heavy power pop of arena rockers like Cheap Trick and the angular guitar leads of the Pixies, Weezer leavened their melodies with doses of '70s metal learned from bands like Kiss. What truly set the band apart, though, was their geekiness. None of the members of Weezer, especially leader Rivers Cuomo, were conventional rockers -- they were kids that holed up in their garage, playing along with their favorite records when they weren't studying or watching TV. As a result, their music was infused with a quirky sense of humor and an endearing awkwardness that made songs like "Undone (The Sweater Song)," "Buddy Holly," and "Say It Ain't So" into big modern rock hits during the mid-'90s.


I recorded the show, however, the persistent wind this evening is evedent in the form of a periodic loud blowing/wind sound. This is even after having placed foam caps on the mics, a lesson learned from the Coachell Music Festival. I have an email in to Len at Core Sound to learn what I must do to prevet yet another reoccurrence of this annoying intrusion on what otherwise would be an excellent audience recording from immediately in front of the stage. I may post it someother time when I'm not so pissed off.















































I tried listening to the Dave Matthews band, but the sound did nothing for me. Plus by the time the Weezer show let out and I finished having a bite to eat and a drink after dehydrating myself all afternoon (except for the tequila!), the area in front of the main stage was packed. I listened for a while but then decided to return to the truck and make an early exit and avoid the traffic at the end of the show. I was home by 10 PM. Great time!