bradley's almanac - a boston music blog

boston area shows of note:

monday, october 6th

catfish haven

dead confederate

mean creek

the motion sick

@ tt the bears

monday, october 6th

the wedding present

the jealous girlfriends

@ the middle east downstairs

monday, october 6th

fleet foxes

frank fairfield

@ the somerville theatre

monday, october 6th

stereolab

le loup

monade

@ the paradise

tuesday, october 7th

liam finn

the veils

@ the paradise

wednesday, october 8th

lucinda williams

@ the orpheum

wednesday, october 8th

the opening night of

carrie fisher's one woman show

'wishful drinking'

@ the huntington theater (bu)

wednesday, october 8th

allison moyet

@ the wilbur theatre

wednesday, october 8th

wire

@ the middle east downstairs

thursday, october 9th

chuck ragan (of hot water music)

ben nichols (of lucero)

tim barry (of avail)

with guest jesse malin

@ the middle east

friday, october 10th

kirsten a. malone

scholarship fundraiser

ho-ag

bone zone

tinsel teeth

cathy cathodic

@ the milky way

friday, october 10th

writer sarah vowell

7pm @ brookline booksmith

saturday, october 11th

the new year

dirty on purpose

tre orsi

@ the middle east upstairs

saturday, october 11th

les savy fav

passion pit

phil and the osophers

@ the middle east downstairs

saturday, october 11th

the feelies

@ the roxy

sunday, october 12th

the residents

@ showcase live, foxboro

sunday, october 12th

the notwist

@ the roxy

sunday, october 12th

jamie lidell

janelle monae

@ the paradise

sunday, october 12th

against me!

ted leo & the pharmacists

the future of the left

@ the wilbur theatre

monday, october 13th

tv on the radio

the dirtbombs

@ the wilbur theatre

tuesday, october 14th

cold war kids

@ the paradise

thursday, october 16th

TOURFILTER DJ NIGHT

with dj's chris tourfilter

and bradley almanac

featuring only songs by bands

playing soon in the boston area

9pm @ river gods, cambridge

thursday, october 16th

ben kweller

whitley

@ the paradise

thursday, october 16th

jonatha brooke

glen phillips

(from toad the wet sprocket)

@ the wilbur theatre

friday, october 17th

hallelujah the hills

wonderful spells

capstan shafts

needy visions

@ tt the bears

friday, october 17th

jonathan richman

with drummer tommy larkin

@ the somerville theatre

saturday, october 18th

asobi seksu

the broken river prophet

@ tt the bears

saturday, october 18th

ra ra riot

walter meego

the morning benders

@ the middle east

sunday, october 19th

the spinto band

frightened rabbit

@ the middle east

monday, october 20th

magnetic morning

(adam swervedriver & sam interpol)

julie ocean

springhouse (w/jack rabid)

@ great scott

tuesday, october 21st

annuals

live in-store performance

7pm @ newbury comics, newbury st.

tuesday, october 21st

minus the bear

annuals

sylvie

@ the wilbur theatre

tuesday & wednesday

october 21st & 22nd

billy bragg

@ the somerville theatre

wednesday, october 22nd

writer/expert john hodgman

6pm @ the coolidge corner theatre

wednesday, october 22nd

yeasayer

@ the paradise

wednesday, october 22nd

lyle lovett & john hiatt

(acoustic, on stage together)

@ the orpheum

thursday, october 23rd

robert fisher

(of willard grant conspiracy)

chris brokaw

drew o'doherty

@ the lily pad

thursday, october 23rd

lykke li

@ the paradise

thursday, october 23rd

deerhoof

experimental dental school

@ the middle east down

friday, october 24th

fujiya & miyagi

prototypes

@ the paradise

sunday, october 26th

scars on broadway

the duke spirit

@ the paradise

sunday, october 26th

broken social scene

land of talk

@ the wilbur theatre

monday, october 27th

matthew sweet

@ the paradise

wednesday, october 29th

legendary pink dots

@ the middle east down

thursday, october 30th

of montreal

@ the orpheum

friday, october 31st

hotel cafe tour

with rachael yamagata, meiko,

thao nguyen, samanatha crain,

and jenny owen youngs

@ the paradise

friday, october 31st

the rumble strips

birdmonster

@ tt the bears

friday, october 31st

david byrne

performing the songs of byrne & eno

@ the wang center

saturday, november 1st

henry rollins (spoken word)

@ the orpheum

monday, november 3rd

matt and kim

best fwends

@ the middle east

monday, november 3rd

coldplay

@ the td banknorth garden

wednesday, november 5th

conor oberst +

the mystic valley band

@ the roxy

thursday, november 6th

the decemberists

loche lamond

@ the orpheum

friday, november 7th

"my name is bruce"

area theatrical premiere

with director/star bruce campbell

@ the kendall square cinema

sunday, november 9th

the hold steady

drive-by truckers

@ the orpheum

tuesday, november 11th

deerhunter

times new viking

the vivian girls

@ the paradise

wednesday, november 12th

the sea and cake

@ the middle east down

wednesday, november 12th

kings of leon

we are scientists

the whigs

@ the orpheum

thursday, november 13th

nicole atkins & the sea

salt & samovar

@ tt the bears

friday & saturday

november 14th & 15th

smashing pumpkins

@ the citi wang theatre

saturday, november 15th

scarce (cd release!)

wheat

triplethick

@ tt the bears

sunday, november 16th

centro-matic

@ the middle east

monday, november 17th

margot & the nuclear so and so's

@ tt the bears

tuesday, november 18th

m83

school of seven bells

@ the middle east down

thursday, november 20th

bishop allen

@ the middle east

friday, november 21st

robyn hitchcock

performing 'i often dream of trains'

@ the somerville theatre

saturday, november 22nd

sondre lerche

@ the paradise

sunday, november 30th

18th dye

devon williams

@ tt the bears

tuesday, december 2nd

nada surf

delta spirit

jealous girlfriends

@ the paradise

friday, december 5th

mercury rev

dean & britta

@ the paradise

sunday, december 7th

bazaar bizarre boston!

(with djs, including brad 'nac)

12-7pm @ the castle, park plaza

saturday, december 13th

neil young

wilco

everest

@ the dcu center, worcester

sunday, december 14th

bon iver

@ the wilbur theatre

monday, january 5th, 2009

glasvegas

rails to russia

@ great scott

sunday, january 18th

frightened rabbit

@ great scott

visit tourfilter for more shows

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Live Mp3s: Celebrating Sub Pop's 20th

If I didn't have these soundboard recordings, ticket stubs, and an old disintegrating t-shirt as proof, I'd have a hard time believing that Sub Pop's 1992 Vermonstress Festival actually took place. As an indie-rock-lovin', college radio DJin', drum-learnin', band-startin', early-20-something kid living in the relatively isolated Burlington, Vermont, imagine how stunned I was to hear that one of my favorite record labels was planning a music fest pretty much on my doorstep. No travel necessary. Fifteen bands over two autumn days, some on the Sub Pop roster and others that the label just loved, and for no discernible reason. All I'd heard was they dug our little college town (pop: around 40,000), and who knows... maybe this was just a fun way to blow some cash from the post-"Nevermind" explosion.

Whatever the reason, the SP team and all the invitees descended upon the Champlain Valley and blessedly rescued me and my friends from cheesy cover bands and Phish for a weekend (and inspiring a friend and I to start up our own yearly fest, but that's another post). With Pond crashing at our band house for a few days beforehand (they were on their way back to home from their first UK tour, opening for Throwing Muses), and with us hosting a big party in the middle of the madness, the whole thing felt like one long celebration, and as a local, it was easy to tell that most of the sell-out crowds had traveled down from Montreal or up from Boston and NYC.

the Vermonstress tee (click to enlarge)

It was a surreal couple days, to say the least, with the Metronome stage hosting current faves and newfound revelations -- so many bands I'd have driven a great distance to see (Codeine, Velocity Girl, Come, Drop Nineteens, Beat Happening, Buffalo Tom), and others I'd consider myself lucky to hear so early on (Six Finger Satellite, Eric's Trip, Barbara Manning, Giant Sand, Sloan, Green Magnet School). Hell, brand new Sub Pop signees Pond hadn't even released their first album yet, and getting to see them then was a true gift. Their set was frenetic, intense, and totally inspiring... maybe the best of the weekend, and given the amazing lineup, that's saying a hell of a lot.

the Vermonstress press release (click to enlarge)

A few years back, in the relatively early days of the Almanac's current incarnation, I finished converting, editing, and sharing up all of my Vermonstress soundboard cassette recordings. 130 songs by 15 bands, adding up to almost 9 hours of digital goodness. And so, in honor of this week's celebration of Sub Pop's 20th Anniversary, I was inspired to remaster all the songs (I've learned a bit about that in the years since) and share them as higher quality Mp3s (from original .wavs as 192kbps vs. the former 128kbps).

A few things of note...

Included are some excellent covers: Chris Harford doing Prince's "Pop Life", Pond with the late Bo Diddley's "Pretty Thing", GMS's take on Neil Young's "Don't Cry", Barbara Manning covering The Bats, and yes, two different Madonna covers.

Unfortunately my original cassette of the Buffalo Tom and Gravel sets disappeared years ago (the victim of a band-house party, I think), so their sets are sadly missing. Also missing are a few song titles below, especially from the HP Zinker set, so if you know any of them, kindly let me know in the comments.

As is often the case with multi-band festivals, soundchecks were a rarity, so the mix can be wonky at the beginning of each set. They improve greatly as they go, though, so hang in there.

I'll have these up for a fairly limited time (a couple weeks, max), as it eats up most of my server space and will no doubt do the same with my monthly bandwidth. And if you're dreading clicking on 130 links, you'd do well to grab Firefox and the DownThemAll add-on. If you don't already use it, you'll thank me later. If streaming is more your style, don't forget to hit up the Almanac page at the Hype Machine.

Enjoy the wealth of greatness below, as if I had to tell you that...

Vermonstress - Day 1
Saturday, October 10th, 1992

Codeine
01. Realize
02. Jr.
03. Barely Real
04. Cave-In
05. Hard to Find
06. D
07. Broken-Hearted Wine

Come
01. Dead Molly
02. William
03. Submerge
04. Last Mistake
05. Fast Piss Blues
06. Bell
07. Car
08. S.V.K.

Drop Nineteens
01. Delaware
02. Mayfield
03. Winona
04. Astral
05. Happen
06. My Aquarium
07. Reberrymemberer
08. Angel (Madonna cover)

Velocity Girl
01. Doesn't Matter
02. 57 Waltz
03. Copacetic
04. Pretty Sister
05. Stupid Thing
06. Warm/Crawl
07. My Forgotten Favorite
08. Creepy
09. Crazy Town

Crow
01. Eyes are Bruised
02. Railhead
03. Light
04. Prisoner
05. The Charley Horses
06. God-Fearing Shareholders of the World
07. EJ

Pond
01. Grinned
02. Young Splendor
03. Perfect Four
04. Wheel
05. Pretty Thing (Bo Diddley cover)
06. Spots
07. Agatha / Filler

Beat Happening
01. Tiger Trap
02. Teenage Caveman
03. Sleepyhead
04. Dreamy
05. banter
06. Red Head Walkin'
07. Other Side
08. Revolution Come and Gone
09. Nancy Sin
10. Noise
11. Godsend
12. Cry For A Shadow
13. Me Untamed
14. You Turn Me On
15. Crashing Through

Vermonstress - Day 2
Sunday, October 11th, 1992

Six Finger Satellite
01. Sex Transistor
02. Niponese National Anthem
03. Laughing Larry
04. Polish the Shine (Satchmo)
05. Home for the Holy Day
06. Crippled Monster Bearing Malice

Green Magnet School
01. Sonic Exterminator
02. Noxin
03. Barmecide Room
04. Don't Cry (Neil Young)
05. Singed
06. 12 Guage
07. Penance

Sloan
01. Sleepover
02. Lucky For Me
03. Shame Shame
04. Ill-Placed Trust
05. Underwhelmed
06. Take It In
07. Marcus Said
08. Pretty Voice

Giant Sand
01. Neon Filler
02. Song 02
03. Sage Advice
04. Wearing the Robes of Bible Black
05. Solomon's Ride / Stuck
06. Unwed and Well Sped

Barbara Manning
01. Never Park
02. Breathe Lies
03. Someone Wants You Dead
04. Don't Rewind
05. Winter Song
06. On On and One
07. Smoking Her Wings (Bats cover)
08. Lock Yer Room (up tight)
09. Scissors

Eric's Trip
01. Kiss Me Baby / Smother
02. Listen
03. Haze
04. Belong
05. Happens All The Time
06. Float
07. Belly
08. My Chest Is Empty (part 2)
09. Blinded
10. Bring Down the Rain
11. Easier Last Time
12. Open Your Heart (Madonna cover)

Chris Harford
and the First Rays of the New Rising Sun
01. Swinging Bridge
02. Raise the Roof
03. Looking For Light
04. Road With You
05. If You Forget Me
06. Pop Life (Prince cover)
07. You Brains
08. The Living End
09. Gather Round / Sing, Breathe, and Be Merry

HP Zinker
01. Song 1
02. Song 2
03. Song 3
04. Trapped
05. Song 5
06. Song 6
07. Song 7
08. Song 8
09. Song 9
10. Warzone City
11. Song 11

There's been some cool coverage leading up to Sub Pop's 20th Anniversary shindig this coming weekend, including a lengthy interview with SP founders Jonathan Poneman and Bruce Pavitt over at Pitchfork, as well as an audio interview with Poneman courtesy of NPR's World Cafe.

During that NPR chat, Poneman tackles the difficult task of naming his five fave SP-released songs. For the curious, they are: Pernice Bros.' "Monkey Suit", Fleet Foxes' "White Winter Hymnal", Iron & Wine's "Lion's Mane", Vaselines' "Dying For It", and Zumpano's "Here's the Plan". Don't think I could ever force myself to pick just five from their catalog... hell, I'd probably have trouble just naming five faves from the discographies of certain Sub Pop bands. The label has been helping to make my life better for so many years, and it's an understatement to say I'm grateful. If you're fortunate enough to be attending SP20, my jealousy is directed your way. Wish I could be there.

(and if Pond had reunited to play, I probably would be!)

Labels: livemp3s