SEX PISTOLS, INTERPOL AND VAN HALEN ROCK THE WEEKEND

The countdown is on and this is the last weekend to get it all together before the big launch. The days were spent checking equipment, gathering food supplies and downloading music because, you know, I'm not going out into the wilderness without some loud music to fill my head those magical moments. Both Friday and Saturday night found me outside in the warm summer evening with the truck stereo cranked.


First up were the Sex Pistols, a very good recording of their live performance at the Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas, Texas on January 10, 1978, on their one and only North American tour.


This is what was written about the show from someone who was in attendance:

The Sex Pistols were doing this short, weird Southern tour in funky locations and might never play the U.S. again, and there were already personnel problems in the band. Going seemed like the natural thing to do. They were the Beatles of the punk movement. They were the band. It was an event to see them. I'd been to progressive country shows at the Longhorn Ballroom before -- seen Willie Nelson -- so it wasn't exactly a redneck bar.

Sid was really fucked up. Really drunk. He played for a while without his guitar plugged in. He played for a while with a fish. I think somebody threw it up there, a bass or something. People seemed pissed at him. He'd spit on the audience; they'd spit on him. That's what you did. There was this element of, "You paid to see us play?"

The memorable thing about the show was the crowd and how tightly packed it was. Everybody had moments when you were suddenly not on the ground anymore, being swept along with the crowd. Some people were genuinely scared of being crushed. But that's an old British football tradition, too.

I don't remember anything about the song list. I'm sure it was all their favorites. They didn't have all that many songs, but they were entertaining songwriters. Their songs still hold up. "God Save the Queen" is a wonderful song. And it was a great rock & roll show

http://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2003-01-10/116550/


Sheep blindly gather
Before men in pin stripped suits
Ready to be fleeced


Needle in the arm
Cooked junk burning in their veins
Lies that feel so good


Childs toy left behind
Among the stone monuments
Picked up by young hands


Turn on the TV
We're happily sedated
Forgetting the pain


Another perfect day
Mission to be accomplished
Never to return


Stripes across the sky
Pale white moonlt filaments
There, and then they're gone


Believe every word
It really doesn't matter
See it in their eyes


Honor and valor
Realizing its just crap
Nothing but regret




Download it here:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3YRF0QB3


The loud and raucous Sex Pistols were followed by the softer, moody, darker sounds of Interrpol. Cake, Interpol, Paul Bank, performed during the 17th edition of the ‘Eurockeennes de Belfort’ music festival in Belfort, France on July 1, 2005. This is an excellet FM recording of that show.






Download it here:
http://www.fileserve.com/file/tSWUsGB/2%25I%25N%25T%25E%25R%25P%25Belfort%2C%20France%2C%201%20July%202005%25.rar


Saturday night ended with an excellent live performance by Van Halen, the first 11 tracks coming from the Oklahoma City, OK show on August 6, 1978 while Tracks 12 - 14 are from unknown venues on unknown dates in 1979. Very good quality soundboard recording. Dave raps with the audience the entire show, really enjoying himself and throughly enjoying the sunshine of the day.


Download it here:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UDLKWD2L

INTERPOL ROCKS BOULDER

Having had a ticket in hand for several weeks, I drove up to the Boulder Theater on a snowy Tuesday evening, braving traffic and icy roads, arriving in time to grab a quick bite and then head over to the theater to see Interpol. People were limited to standing in the lobby until some time after 8PM, listening to the band do a sound check behind the theater's curtained doors. We were teased for at least 45 minutes with the repeated playing of the opening guitar riff from "Lights".

Their show in Salt Lake City was canceled due to illness the night before, the two bands then traveling to Denver overnight during a snow storm that dropped about 6 inches in the metro area. They were supposed to arrive at 11 AM to set up, but they arrived at 4:30 PM and were way behind schedule. I think everyone was happy that they even showed up at all considering the weather.

The doors opened and the show began shortly thereafter.


First up was School of Seven Bells, a band originally consisting of identical twins Alejandra and Claudia Deheza and Benjamin Curtis, with the sisters singing vocals and Curtis creating the music to back the lyrics. However, Claudia recently left the band due to personal reasons, leaving School of Seven Bells with only one singer. The band is named after the School of the Seven Bells, a mythical South American pickpocket training academy.

Their sound has been described as dreamy and ethereal, and the lyrics as abstract. However, singer Alejandra Deheza insists that the lyrics are not abstract or obscure. In addition, the fact that she is a lucid dreamer is fitting of the lofty sounds they create.

Download my audience recording of the show here:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8RSF7QJK

Interpol entered the darkened stage, lit by the moody blue, purple and red lights throughout the show. Although the crowd was not at capacity due to the nasty weather, they made up the difference with their enthusiasm. Those who came were totally into it.

I succeeded in capturing a very good audience recording. Enjoy!

REVERB of The Denver Post had this to say about the show:

Besides their similar feel to Joy Division, Interpol used to stick out in my mind because of their finesse with the sweeping and dramatic, yet sleepily poppy lullaby. Until their Tuesday night show at the Boulder Theater, that is. Their 90 minute set last night showed beyond any doubt that their sound is meant to be anything but sleepy.

The core trio of Paul Banks (guitar, lead vocals), Sam Fogarino (drums) and Daniel Kessler (guitar, vocals) were joined by bassist David Pajo and keyboardist Brandon Curtis as they tore through a flawless set, focusing on many from their latest record, but plenty from the past three as well. Banks’ voice — often compared to that of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis — came across at the top of a truly masterful mix (as the sound always seems to be at this particular venue) as powerful, and still characteristically tentative – as if he was just a little bit unsure of himself. He didn’t go so far in the imitation of that singer as to copy his jerky, stiff dancing, however, but was often seen almost joyously grinning. His guitar work filled in where Kessler’s left off, which wasn’t often, as they built songs around their signature sound, along with the heavy, ever-present bass, imitated perfectly by Pajos.

http://www.heyreverb.com/2011/02/09/live-review-interpol-the-boulder-theater/#4

Download the show here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ROXIAHIB

INTERPOL WITH WHITE RABBITS

A few weeks ago I was invited to join a friend to see Interpol at the Ogden Theater here in Denver. The odd thing was he arrived late and made his way to the front of the packed theater, perhaps no more than 15 or 20 feet from me, but we failed to connect. Not a problem for he because he was accompanied by two very attractive women so he did not miss anything without me. I still had a blast!


First up was White Rabbits, who also performed at the Coachella Music Festival earlier in the year. That was the afternoon I was driving around the Mojave Desert looking for fossils. They are an American six-piece indie rock band based in Brooklyn, NY, having released their debut studio album, Fort Nightly, in 2007. GO BROOKLYN! There have been a number of New York bands to come through here lately. Loved their music, and especially enjoyed the two drummers when they were pounding out a hypnotic beat.

I once again brought in the recorder and captured both shows. Very good quality. Download White Rabbits here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=601HJBZR

The main act this evening, Interpol, took the stage promptly at 9:15. By then the place was packed and people were pushing their way forward. The tequila began to flow and I lost myself in the music, dancing to their magic beat, probably annoying the people around me. Everything about them reminded me of the Bunnymen: the stage lighting, their dark lyrics and tone. I was drinking it all in, the hour plus long performance going by quickly!

Wikipedia describes them as such:

Interpol is an indie rock band formed in 1997, associated with the New York City indie music scene, London sex scandals and was one of several groups that emerged out of the post-punk revival of the 2000s. The band's sound is generally a mix of bass throb and rhythmic, harmonized guitar, with a snare heavy mix, drawing comparisons to post-punk bands such as Joy Division and The Chameleons. Aside from the lyrics, their songwriting method includes all of the band members, rather than relying on any given chief songwriter.

Interpol's debut album Turn on the Bright Lights (2002) was critically acclaimed, making it to tenth position on the NME's list of top albums in 2002 as well as #1 on Pitchfork Media's Top 50 Albums of 2002. Subsequent records Antics (2004) and Our Love to Admire (2007) have confirmed the band's initial success and turned them into a commercial and critical success. The band released its fourth, self-titled album on September 7, 2010.

Interpol brings their New York post-punk to Denver on 10/25/10
On tour to support their new record, Interpol came through Denver to the Ogden Theatre on October 25, 2010. Anticipation was pretty high in the Ogden because Interpol hadn’t been back through the Mile High City in a while. With that, the crowd was more than ready to see them live again.

The Ogden Theatre has always had great sound, but the lights that they had planned out for the Interpol set only added to the energy that Interpol always brings to the stage. Playing a wide variety of their songs, including “Lights,” “Not Even Jail,” “Barricade,” “PDA,” “Evil,” “Pace is the Trick,” “C’Mere” and “Rest My Chemistry,” Interpol really captured the audience with their enormous sound. They pulled the crowd in so much that when there was a lull in the music everyone in the venue was quiet and waiting for what was going to happen next. As if their set wasn’t awesome enough, Interpol came out for their encore and played “The Lighthouse” followed by “Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down” and closed with “Slow Hands.” Though their set was well rounded, the addition of “Obstacle 1” or “The Heinrich Maneuver” would have made it even better

Read it all here:
http://www.examiner.com/concerts-in-denver/interpol-brings-their-new-york-post-punk-to-denver-on-10-25-10
More on a recent show of theirs in California only days earlier, the reviewer comparing them to the post-punk Echo & The Bunnymen:

http://soundcheck.ocregister.com/2010/10/20/interpol-at-its-grandest-as-greek-gig-arrives/38010/

"That’s where Interpol and the past remain at a parallel: the group doesn’t carbon copy old records, but its career arc keeps inadvertently mimicking those of forebears. Could you imagine the Ian McCulloch of “The Killing Moon” capable of concocting something so rapturously romantic back when he was cutting Crocodiles with shards of crackling paisley guitar?"

Another super fine recording of the entire show. Download it here:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CHE8GY0I