navigate the 'nac
almanac mp3 archives almanac shared mp3 archive
live show photo archive boston-area live shots on flickr
'my life or some dream'
original mp3 compilation
 free mp3 compilation on club fub
bands i've been in bands i've played drums in
the almanac faq
 contact info and more

the 'nac on the 'net
the almanac rss feed
 subscribe to my rss feed
follow me on twitter the almanac twitter account
the 'nac on facebook the 'nac on facebook
hype machine 'nac page the almanac hype machine page
the 'nac songkick gig page the almanac songkick gig page
the almanac last.fm page the almanac last.fm page

the almanac archives



search the 'nac


recommended boston area events

thursday, july 2nd

the church

adam franklin (swervedriver)

@ showcase live, foxborough

sunday, july 5th

city breathing

deep sea diver

adam rich

steve pardo & lindley cameron

@ the middle east upstairs

saturday, july 11th

the luxury

the click five

midatlantic

aloud

@ the paradise

sunday, july 12th

the dead weather

screaming females

@ the house of blues

saturday, july 18th

butterflies

travels

@ pa's lounge

sunday, july 19th

grand duchy (w/frank black)

the bunnies

van elk (w/valerie mistle thrush)

@ the middle east downstairs

sunday, july 19th

lymbyc systym

coralcola

the cush

the pandas

@ the middle east upstairs

monday, july 20th

you can be a wesley (cd release!)

casper & the cookies

everything, now!

magic magic

@ the middle east upstairs

monday, july 20th

green day

the bravery

@ the garden

tuesday, july 21st

mark eitzel & marc capelle

performing american music club songs

@ the lizard lounge

friday, july 24th

varsity drag (cd release!)

the grownup noise

winterpills

brendan boogie & the best intentions

@ the middle east upstairs

sunday, july 26th

pete yorn

@ the house of blues

tuesday, july 28th

cass mccombs

jennifer o'connor & band

mike bones

@ tt the bears

wednesday, july 29th

foreign born

the veils

faces on film

@ tt the bears

thursday, july 30th

justin ripley & his band

@ pa's lounge

friday, july 31st

destroyer (dan bejar)

iran

wooden wand

@ the paradise

friday, july 31st

depeche mode

peter bjorn & john

@ great woods

saturday, august 1st

alasdair roberts

@ lorem ipsum books, inman square

saturday, august 1st

wheat (cd release show!)

the xyz affair

@ great scott

sunday, august 2nd

soft power (featuring mary timony)

gramercy arms (featuring dave derby)

@ tt the bears

monday, august 3rd

billy bragg

@ the berklee performance center

monday, august 3rd

tinted windows

(james iha, adam schlesinger,

taylor hanson, & bun e. carlos)

@ the paradise

monday, august 3rd

coldplay

elbow

kitty daisy & lewis

@ the comcast center

wednesday, august 5th

the rural alberta advantage

joshua english (ex-six going on seven)

with lisa molinaro

baby teeth

@ the middle east upstairs

wednesday, august 5th

arctic monkeys

modey lemon

@ the paradise

wednesday, august 5th

joe pernice (solo show & book tour)

@ the brattle theatre (2 shows)

wednesday and thursday

august 5th and 6th

paul mccartney

@ fenway park

friday, august 7th

the electric prunes

love

sky saxon (of the seeds)

@ the middle east downstairs

saturday, august 8th

blondie

pat benatar

@ the b.o.a. pavilion

wednesday, august 12th

the warlocks

@ great scott

wednesday, august 12th

the pretenders

cat power

juliette lewis

@ the bank of american pavilion

thursday, august 13th

bat for lashes

@ the paradise

friday, august 14th

six finger satellite

@ tt the bears

sunday, august 16th

the decemberists

heartless bastards

@ mountain park, holyoke

sunday, august 16th

trashcan sinatras

@ tt the bears

monday, august 17th

the breeders

@ the paradise

friday, august 21st

choo choo la rouge (cd release!)

the big disappointments

impossible hair

the operators

@ pa's lounge

saturday & sunday

august 22nd & 23rd

bruce springsteen & the e street band

@ the comcast center / great woods

saturday, august 29th

caspain

actors & actresses

irepress

arms & sleepers

@ tt the bears

sunday, august 30th

the flaming lips

explosions in the sky

stardeath and white dwarfs

@ the boa pavilion

thursday, september 3rd

kay hanley (letters to cleo)

antisocialites

ingenue

@ tt the bears

saturday, september 5th

the pains of being pure at heart

cymbals eat guitars

depreciation guild

@ the middle east downstairs

saturday, september 5th

pet shop boys

@ the house of blues

thursday, september 10th

autolux

sleepy sun

@ the paradise

thursday, september 10th

dirty three

@ the i.c.a. boston

friday, september 11th

kings of leon

glasvegas

@ the comcast center / great woods

saturday, september 12th

the cult

performing 'love' in its entirety

@ the house of blues

sunday, september 13th

down

melvins

@ the house of blues

tuesday, september 15th

the horrors

@ the paradise

saturday & sunday

september 19th & 20th

boston lebowski fest

with movie screening & bowling

@ the house of blues & kings

sunday, september 20th

u2

snow patrol

@ gillette stadium

tuesday, september 22nd

son volt

@ the paradise

friday, september 25th

township

the lights out (cd release!)

reverse

gravehaven

@ tt the bears

friday, september 25th

charlatans uk

hatcham social

@ the paradise

saturday, september 26th

kmfdm

@ the house of blues

sunday, september 20th

maximo park

@ the paradise

monday, september 28th

sunny day real estate

@ the house of blues

wednesday, september 30th

mono

maserati

@ the middle east downstairs

sunday, october 4th

the "loud & rich" tour

richard thompson &

loudon wainwright iii

performing solo & together

@ the sanders theatre, harvard

wednesday, october 7th

bob mould

@ the paradise

saturday, october 10th

the psychedelic furs

happy monday

@ the house of blues

wednesday, october 14th

loney dear

asobi seksu

@ great scott

wednesday, october 21st

mum

@ the somerville theatre

saturday, october 31st

pinback

@ the paradise

friday, november 13th

janeane garofalo

rob riggle

two shows @ the wilbur theatre

visit tourfilter for more shows

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Mp3s: Sloan in Cambridge, MA

After a few hours of hardcore audio editing over the weekend, I sat down Monday morning all ready to write the intro to this new live set from Toronto's Sloan. But a quick visit over to Chromewaves revealed that Frank had already done most of the work for me, nice guy that he is. Like him, it's been over a decade since I'd first seen Sloan, way back when they played the Sub Pop Vermonstress fest in October '92. I'd only heard their recorded debut, the excellent "Peppermint EP", at that point, as the full-length "Smeared" had only been out a couple weeks when the festival hit. But between those two releases and their too-short live set that day, they'd found another fan.

In the nearly 15 years (!) since, I've been occasionally guilty of taking Sloan for granted. I've picked up most of their releases over time, and while they all have their highs and lows, those peaks and valleys have never been drastic enough to either get me overly-excited or totally turned-off. They are the aging, yet ever-dependable, utility player of the power-pop lineup. But with the recent release of the 30-song "Never Hear The End Of It" on Yep Roc, they've kicked off what could be their record season. In terms of overall hooks-per-minute, it's leaps above anything they've put out in years. If forced to give one criticism, I'd only say what many other reviewers already have: "too much of a good thing". As admirable an accomplishment such a solid collection is, sustaining interest for 30 songs is almost too much for any band to pull off (although in these days of shuffled playlists, that issue is easily avoided).

Their live appearance at Cambridge's Middle East Downstairs a couple weeks back almost suffered from the same pure-pop overload, but I found myself sticking around and bobbing my head through the entire 30-song ('natch) set. Like the album, the songs came fast and furiously, many of them blending together, with the only real breaks coming when the band members switched instruments. They're able to balance the four songwriters and their multi-instrumental talents with ease, and the fact that they've lasted so long without a single lineup change is a testament to that.

Here's the entire set, with many of the songs left conjoined for your listening pleasure. Be sure to check out the links below for a bunch of Sloan info, including details of Yep Roc's new "30 Days of Sloan" promotion...


Some Sloan-centric links...
  • Their official site, Yep Roc page, MySpace, and Wikipedia entry.

  • Mp3s: "Can't You Figure It Out?" and "Who Taught You To Live Like That?".

  • Stream: The entirety of their new album, "Never Hear The End Of It".

  • Here's a bonus aural curio for ya: At that Vermonstress fest back in 1992, Sloan unveiled an early live version of the song "Ill-Placed Trust", which, I believe, remained unrecorded until an entirely transformed version appeared on the new album (and in the live set above). Here's that 15 year-old song, in its infancy...


  • YouTube video: "Fading Into Obscurity" live, "Flying High Again" / "Who Taught You To Live Like That?" live, and a Sloan search for more.

  • Sid at TooMuchRock was also at the Middle East show, and shares his own write-up, photos (of Sloan and both openers: Brendan Little and Spiral Beach), and a nice live video clip (10.4mb mp4) of the band performing "Another Way I Can Do It".

  • The Boston Globe and The Boston Herald both reported on the show as well.

  • Check out some other comments on the same set at the official Sloan show page.

  • In addition to that Toronto show report that Chromewaves posted a couple days back, here's a link to Franks always-ace concert photos.

  • Harmonium Music reviewed "Never Hear The End Of It", and offered up a couple of other Mp3s from the album: "Fading Into Obscurity" and "Someone I Can Be True With". Go here and scroll down for a listen.

  • Starting this week, Yep Roc Records launched "30 Days of Sloan", during which they're sharing a new Sloan video clip every (business) day leading up to the band's performance at a SXSW label showcase in mid-March. Each free behind-the-scenes vid will appear through both a YouTube group and an iTunes video podcast, and you can check Yep Roc's site for those updated links as well. The first couple installments are up, and as it shows, we're in for a fairly in-depth look into the making of "Never Hear The End Of It".

  • Remember, you can easily listen to all the music shared on the Almanac through the Hype Machine.
    • A postscript: Speaking of the Hype Machine, I had the pleasure of hanging with both H.M. creator Anthony Volodkin and fellow Boston music blogger Paul Irish of Aurgasm at this very show. Anthony was in town for Mashup Camp 3, where H.M. ended up winning "Best Mashup" for the way it brings together music, live concerts, and video content. It's well deserved, and having met its creator, I'm even happier to send more traffic his way... he's an open-minded music fan who seems to be in it for the right reasons. I'm looking forward to seeing how the Hype Machine grows, evolves, and hopefully sticks around for awhile.

    the ever-loving fine print... If anyone has an issue with this live set being made available, just say the word (contact info in the 'nac faq). Recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps mp3s. Tracks are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed.

    Labels:



    posted by brad at 11:59 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) | |









    featured mp3 download
    the wooden birds
    a few songs live at tt's
    on saturday, april 18th, 2009

    'nac twitter action


      latest live band pics


      recent posts on the 'nac...

      latest comments...

      on the mp3 player

      on the screen

      on the nightstand

      other boston-area music blogs

      boston music media

      boston live show / event info

      music blogroll

      music audiocasts

      surf-worthy

      other frequent haunts

      boston-centric

      bostonites webring
      ( < | > random list )

      some cele-bloggers


      Locations of visitors to this page




      Weblog Commenting by HaloScan.com

      This page is powered by Blogger Pro.

      Blog Directory - Blogged