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 'nac faq & contact info
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
become a fan 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
almanac events on sponty the almanac sponty events page
the almanac last.fm page the almanac last.fm page

the almanac archives


search the 'nac


recommended boston area events

thursday, september 2nd

lou barlow + the missingmen

wye oak

the unfamiliars

@ the middle east upstairs


saturday, september 4th

mg lederman (ex-victory at sea)

cd release show with

the wrong reasons

the beat awfuls

brant deatley

@ the plough & stars


sunday, september 5th

sweet apple

(w/j mascis on drums)

black helicopter

zombie radio

@ the middle east downstairs


sunday, september 5th

the milling gowns

what time is it, mr. fox?

faux ox

jaggery

@ harper's ferry


monday, september 6th

wallcreeper

@ charlie's kitchen


monday, september 6th

shellac

helen money

@ the middle east downstairs


tuesday, september 7th

tortoise

greg davis

ben vidas

@ the paradise


tuesday, september 7th

someone still loves you boris yeltsin

telekinesis

golden bloom

@ tt the bears


tuesday, september 7th

kele (from bloc party)

does it offend you, yeah?

@ the royale boston


wednesday, september 8th

hot hot heat

22-20s

hey rosetta!

@ the middle east downstairs


wednesday, september 8th

airborne toxic event (acoustic)

with the calder string quartet

@ the somerville theatre


thursday, september 9th

apple betty

this blue heaven

the backup factor

apollo run

@ tt the bears


friday, september 10th

i, pistol

black fortress of opium

the crushing low

@ precinct


friday, september 10th

the charlatans uk

sherlock's daughter

@ the royale boston


saturday, september 11th

school of seven bells

active child

@ the middle east downstairs


saturday, september 11th

neutral uke hotel (nmh covers on ukelele)

the michael j. epstein memorial library

@ cafe 939, berklee


saturday, september 11th

28 degrees taurus

magic shoppe (record release!)

@ the rosebud


saturday, september 11th

jamie lidell

@ the royale boston


friday + saturday

september 11th + 12th

the life is good festival

lots of bands, raising money for kids

over 2 days in canton, ma


sunday, september 12th

jarrod gorbel

(of the honorary title)

air traffic controller

@ great scott


sunday, september 12th

blondie

@ the house of blues


sunday, september 12th

vampire weekend

beach house

dum dum girls

@ the boa pavilion


monday, september 13th

dirty projectors

owen pallett (final fantasy)

@ the wilbur theatre


monday, september 13th

isobel campbell

mark lanegan

willy mason

@ the middle east downstairs


tuesday, september 14th

rush

@ the td garden


wednesday, september 15th

laura veirs + the hall of flames

the watson twins

led to sea

@ tt the bears


thursday, september 16th

of montreal

janelle monae

@ the house of blues boston


friday, september 17th

one happy island

kevin dunn

cotton candy

7:30pm @ the lily pad, cambridge


friday, september 17th

broken social scene

@ the house of blues


friday & saturday

september 17th & 18th

the 5th annual

viva la vinal festival!

with live performances from

audrey ryan, kingsley flood,

this blue heaven, bridget + the squares,

the international string trio, & justin shorey

6-10pm on friday + 12-9 on saturday

@ somerville community growing center

on vinal ave. in somerville's union square


saturday, september 18th

pavement

jenny (lewis) + johnny (rice)

@ agganis arena


saturday, september 18th

wavves

@ brandeis university, waltham


sunday, september 19th

thee oh sees

the human tail

thick shakes

@ the magic room gallery, brighton


sunday, september 19th

caribou

holy fuck

emeralds

@ the paradise


monday, september 20th

girlfriends

carnivores

weekend dads

@ o'brien's


tuesday, september 21st

superchunk

versus

@ royale boston


tuesday, september 21st

basia bulat

the acorn

john shade

@ tt the bears


tuesday, september 21st

sea wolf (alex acoustic)

sera cahoone

patrick park

@ the middle east upstairs


wednesday, september 22nd

phantogram

railbird

@ the paradise


wednesday, september 22nd

david bazan

the mynabirds

@ tt the bears


wednesday, september 22nd

field music

@ great scott


thursday, september 23rd

aloud (album release party!)

st. claire

old jack

with special emcee

poet/author james caroline

@ church of boston


thursday, september 23rd

stars

wild nothing

@ the house of blues


thursday, september 23rd

!!! (chk chk chk)

fol chen

@ the royale boston


thursday, september 23rd

bettie serveert

meandjoancollins

the painted lights

@ tt the bears


friday, september 24th

eels

@ the royale boston


saturday, september 25th

teenage fanclub

@ the royale boston


saturday, september 25th

james

ed harcourt

@ the paradise


sunday, september 26th

come (reunited!)

wussy

@ tt the bears


sunday, september 26th

mr. sister (debut album release!)

coyote kolb

tallahassee

@ great scott


sunday, september 26th

mates of state

@ the paradise


monday, september 27th

rogue wave

midlake

peter wolf crier

@ royale boston


tuesday, september 28th

lcd soundsystem

sleigh bells

@ the orpheum


tuesday, september 28th

best coast

male bonding

@ the middle east downstairs


wednesday, september 29th

quilt

paper castles

toothache

@ the lilypad


wednesday, september 29th

foals

esben + the witch

@ the paradise


thursday, september 30th

mc frontalot

@ tt the bears


thursday, september 30th

menomena

suckers

@ the royale boston


thursday + friday

sept 30th + oct 1st

built to spill

revolt revolt

pretty & nice

@ the paradise


friday, october 1st

the tallest man on earth

s. carey (of bon iver's band)

@ the somerville theatre


friday, october 1st

ra ra riot

chikita violenta

we barbarians

@ the royale boston


saturday, october 2nd

gayngs

(with bon iver's justin vernon)

glasser

@ the paradise


saturday, october 2nd

film school

the depreciation guild

static of the gods

night fruit

@ tt the bears


sunday, october 3rd

the xx

@ the orpheum


sunday, october 3rd

tom tom club

caravan of thieves

tony castles

@ the paradise


sunday, october 3rd

lost in the trees

@ tt the bears


tuesday, october 5th

the vaselines

jeffrey lewis

@ the paradise


tuesday, october 5th

chapterhouse

ulrich schnauss

@ the middle east downstairs


tuesday, october 5th

ratatat

dom

@ the house of blues boston


wednesday, october 6th

gorillaz

@ agganis arena


wednesday, october 6th

the hold steady

wintersleep

@ the royale boston


thursday, october 7th

the walkmen

a.a. bondy

blood feathers

@ the royale boston


friday, october 8th

death

@ the middle east downstairs


friday, october 8th

fountains of wayne

marshall crenshaw (solo)

@ the paradise


friday, october 8th

bell x1 (acoustic)

@ the brattle theatre


saturday, october 9th

paul f. tompkins

@ the brattle theatre


sunday, october 10th

deerhoof

xiu xiu

father murphy

first show @ the paramount!


sunday, october 10th

miike snow

@ the house of blues


sunday, october 10th

primus

mucca pazza

@ the orpheum


tuesday, october 12th

ingrid michaelson

@ the house of blues


wednesday, october 13th

dead kennedys

@ the paradise


thursday, october 14th

the thermals

cymbals eat guitars

@ the paradise


thursday, october 14th

the morning after girls

the lovetones

the december sound

ghost box orchestra

@ tt the bears


friday, october 15th

nick lowe + his band

graham parker (solo acoustic)

@ the somerville theatre


friday, october 15th

jimmy eat world

@ the house of blues


friday, october 15th

bowerbirds

death vessel

@ tt the bears


friday, october 15th

belle + sebastian

@ the wang theatre / citi center


saturday, october 16th

deerhunter

real estate

casino vs. japan

@ royale boston


sunday, october 17th

the henry clay people

the dig

@ tt the bears


monday, october 18th

greg dulli

(afghan whigs/twilight singers)

first-ever solo tour

with opener craig wedren

(of shudder to think)

@ the brattle theatre


monday, october 18th

bad religion

the bouncing souls

@ the house of blues


monday, october 18th

the drums

the hairs

@ the paradise


monday, october 18th

phoenix

two door cinema club

wavves

@ agganis arena


tuesday, october 19th

massive attack

thievery corporation

@ the orpheum


wednesday, october 20th

the pains of being pure at heart

yuck

eternal summers

@ the paradise


wednesday, october 20th

helmet

@ the middle east downstairs


sunday, october 22nd

gary numan

rasputina

playing 'the pleasure principle'

@ the paradise


saturday, october 23rd

local natives

the ruby suns

union line

@ the house of blues


sunday, october 24th

woven bones

frankie rose & the outs

@ tt the bears


monday, october 25th

the corin tucker band

hungry ghost

darren hanlon

@ the paradise


wednesday, october 27th

a sunny day in glasgow

candy claws

@ great scott


wednesday, october 27th

black prairie

(members of the decemberists)

sarah jarosz

@ the middle east upstairs


thursday, october 28th

the tt's halloween bash

with members of mean creek + campaign

for real time (as talking heads)

john powhida (as todd rundgren)

preacher roe (as guided by voices)

@ tt the bears


friday, october 29th

frightened rabbit

plants and animals

the phantom band

@ the paradise


saturday, october 30th

hallelujah the hills

magic magic

boy without god

@ great scott


sunday, october 31st

florence and the machine

the smith westerns

@ the house of blues


monday, november 1st

blonde redhead

pantha du prince

@ the paradise


monday, november 1st

social distortion

lucero

frank turner

@ the house of blues boston


tuesday, november 2nd

junip (jose gonzales)

sharon van etten

@ the royale boston


tuesday, november 2nd

black mountain

the black angels

@ the paradise


wednesday, november 3rd

the dandy warhols

blue giant

@ tt the bears


wednesday, november 3rd

land of talk

suuns

little scream

@ tt the bears


thursday, november 4th

through sunday, november 7th

the international pop overthrow

4 nights @ pa's lounge


thursday, november 4th

matt + kim

javelin

@ the house of blues


thursday, november 4th

blitzen trapper

@ the paradise


friday, november 5th

guided by voices

blitzen trapper

@ the paradise


sunday, november 7th

drivin 'n cryin

@ tt the bears


monday, november 8th

clinic

the fresh & onlys

@ the paradise


tuesday, november 9th

the morning benders

@ the paradise


thursday + friday

november 11th + 12th

sufjan stevens

@ the orpheum


thursday, november 11th

shearwater

horse feathers

damien jurado

anais mitchell

@ the house of blues


thursday, november 11th

deer tick

@ the royale boston


thursday, november 11th

mumford & sons

cadillac sky

king charles

@ the house of blues


friday, november 12th

bottomless pit

black helicopter

chris brokaw

@ the middle east downstairs


saturday, november 13th

roky erickson

@ the royale boston


saturday, november 13th

grinderman

(nick cave, warren ellis, + more)

@ the house of blues


sunday, november 14th

elizabeth mitchell (of ida)

and friends

(a children's show!)

4:30pm @ club passim


sunday, november 14th

man or astro-man?

@ the middle east downstairs


monday, november 15th

la roux

@ the house of blues


tuesday, november 16th

a night of springsteen covers

with chris keene (mean creek),

corin ashley, dave aaronoff,

brendan little, hilken mancini,

the dirty truckers, drew o'doherty,

and more to be announced

marking the release of the new

6-disk 'darkness on the edge of town'

box set @ tt the bears


tuesday, november 16th

the posies

brendan benson

aqueduct

@ the royale boston


wednesday, november 17th

cornershop

@ the middle east downstairs


thursday, november 18th

kate nash

@ the paradise


thursday, november 18th

bear in heaven

@ the middle east downstairs


friday, november 19th

township

the lights out

the organ beats

@ tt the bears


saturday, november 20th

delorean

lemonade

@ the middle east downstairs


wednesday, november 24th

idlewild

happy hollows

@ the middle east downstairs


thursday, december 2nd

director/actor kevin smith

@ the house of blues


saturday, december 4th

peter hook + the light

play joy division's "unknown pleasures"

@ the royale boston


saturday, december 4th

killing joke

@ the paradise


visit tourfilter for more shows






Friday, September 18, 2009

Live Mp3s: David Bazan house show in Beverly, MA
Many of us are feeling (or, rather, listening to, or playing) the after-effects of the recently-ended 'Beatles Week', but for me it was immediately preceded by what was most definitely 'Bazan Week'. It started on Friday, August 28th in the afternoon when Seattle-based David Bazan arrived in Massachusetts and gifted his Twitter followers with an impromptu dry-run online-webcast (sadly, since deleted) that had him and his longtime pal/collaborator TW Walsh (behind the drum kit) running through a couple of old Pedro the Lion tunes ("When They Really Get To Know You They Will Run" and "Penetration") in TW's basement. It was a nice teaser for the reason he'd hit our state: An intimate, acoustic house show in Beverly, MA to showcase songs from his almost-out solo record, "Curse Your Branches". I'm going to resist getting all hyperbolic here, and let the recorded songs that follow sing for themselves. These digital files won't fully capture the vibe, but in short: It was the kind of night that'll spoil regular club shows for while. Very little else compares. Picture the set below being performed about 4 feet in front of your seated spot on a candle-lit livingroom floor. Yeah.

That special evening was made slightly more special in an additional way: It was the first time fans could hold the new DB disc in their hands, to have a look at the spiffy packaging, to take one home and dive on in. For me, well, I'd pre-ordered it, so I'd have to wait... but not for long. Just 8 hours after driving back to Boston my mailman handed me a package from Undertow: A copy of "CYB" and the limited edition bonus 7" that has David sharing his versions of two covers he'd been performing for awhile: Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and Dylan's "The Man In Me". Now that's what I call a good start to a Saturday.

An aside on that little seven-inch - Yes, "Hallelujah" has been covered way, way too much. Hell, that's been the case for quite awhile, and with Cohen having taken his own version on the road this year, any new interpretation is long-since redundant. But having seen Dave play it live, well before LC's road reemergence, I'd been hoping we'd hear DB's own run-through somehow. So it arrives, and yes, it's beautiful. According to the man himself, he'd put down this recording before L.C. asked people to stop covering it, so rather than burying it forever, he figured a very limited pre-order vinyl gift was in order. To get it out there, but kind of not. A good call. By the way, if you happened to miss out on that limited wax, you can get "The Man In Me" digitally via iTunes. No "Hallelujah", though.

As solid as the "Curse Your Branches" online pre-order/preview stream sounded, headphoning the real-deal disc made for a wonderfully soundtracked weekend (next up: the vinyl). The aforementioned Mr. Walsh outdid himself in the mixing/mastering of this sucker... you can hear the attention to detail on all 10 tracks.

To put a fine point on that weekend, and to mark the official release of "CYB" on Tuesday, Sept. 1st, David hit Brooklyn for another house show on Monday night, and for the first time, the entire intimate event was live-video-streamed online (and archived!). Next best thing to being there. And the very next day, he debuted his new full band with an invite-only show at Piano's in NYC, a couple of clips from which can be found at ABCNews, who also interviewed DB for their online Amplified program. That's a genuine media-blitz, ladies and gents. "Curse Your Branches" is charting on Billboard, fer chrissakes. How 'bout that?

David will be bringing that full band out on the road for a 5-week tour starting on October 1st (speaking of which, help him buy a van to make that happen, get a cool t-shirt), and any Boston-based readers would do well to get advance tix for the October 20th show at TTs (openers are Say Hi and TW Walsh's The Soft Drugs, even more reason to get tix early). If you missed out one of the many house shows David's done this year, have no fear, he's going to keep doing 'em. And if you're lucky, one will be close to you (and you'd better be paying attention... they sell out fast). Until he comes your way, enjoy this...


Some Bazan-flavored links...
  • His official site, MySpace page, Wikipedia entry, Undertow Music page, and Barsuk label page. You may also wanna keep tabs on the PedroTheLion.org forum for the latest DB happenings.

  • Additional Audio: Hit up the Barsuk Mp3 page for a couple of free tracks, including "Bless This Mess" from the new album, and "Cold Beer and Cigarettes" from his 2007 "Fewer Moving Parts" EP. And thanks to the ptl.org forum, I learned that DB's got a track (the traditional "Hard Times") on a new compilation titled "Come O Spirit! Anthology Of Hymns And Spiritual Songs Volume 1". He gets vocal backup on the song from Rosie Thomas, J. Tillman, and John & Chris Totten.

    For future audio action, keep an eye on Daytrotter, as David recently stopped by there for a session. He'll also being doing a session for Sirius XMU on Wednesday, Sept. 23rd, which will be replayed a few times in the days following. Glad my VW came equipped.

    update: oddly, as I was publishing this post, someone on ptl.org mentioned that Dave was on Sirius XMU right now. Sure enough, when I hit the online stream, there he was. Got to hear him perform an acoustic version of "Bearing Witness", before which the host said "thanks for spending time with us this week." So I have no idea what that means for the 9/23 date, or the replays. We shall see. speculative update: Perhaps the 23rd will compile his appearances that happened throughout this week? That's my guess.

  • Video: Well, in addition to the scads of clips in a YouTube search, there's that Brooklyn house show and the two Amplified clips mentioned above.

  • Photos: My Flickr-hosted DB shots are here. Check out the full Bazan tag search. I am greatly amused by the first pic that appears in that search.

  • Upcoming tourdates:The dates for the upcoming David Bazan full-band tour are...
    10/01 - San Francisco CA - Independent
    10/02 - Costa Mesa CA - Detroit Bar
    10/03 - San Diego CA - Casbah
    10/04 - Los Angeles CA - Troubadour
    10/05 - Tucson AZ - Solar Culture
    10/07 - Austin TX - Mohawk
    10/08 - Denton TX - Dan's Silverleaf
    10/09 - Memphis TN - Hi-Tone Cafe
    10/10 - Murray KY - Lovett Auditorium / Murray State
    10/11 - Birmingham AL - Bottletree
    10/13 - Orlando FL - The Social
    10/14 - Atlanta GA - Drunken Unicorn
    10/15 - Chapel Hill NC - Cat's Cradle
    10/16 - Washington DC - Black Cat
    10/17 - Philadelphia PA - Kung Fu Necktie
    10/18 - New York NY - Bowery Ballroom
    10/20 - Cambridge MA - TT the Bear's
    10/21 - Montreal QC - Il Motore
    10/22 - Toronto ON - Lee's Palace
    10/23 - Pontiac MI - Pike Room
    10/24 - Chicago IL - Schuba's
    10/25 - Champaign IL - Highdive
    10/27 - Madison WI High – Noon Saloon
    10/28 - Minneapolis MN - Turf Club
    10/29 - Iowa City IA - The Picador
    10/30 - Lawrence KS - Jackpot Saloon
    10/31 - Omaha NE - Slowdown
    11/01 - Denver CO - Hi Dive
    11/02 - Salt Lake City UT - Kilby Court
    11/05 - Vancouver BC - Media Club
    11/06 - Portland OR - Mississippi Studios
    11/07 - Seattle WA - Neumos
    Every one of those dates get you the added bonus of Say Hi. As I mentioned, our Cambridge show also hooks you up with some Soft Drugs, and Seattle delivers The Sea Navy. That's as it should be.

  • Easily stream any and all 'Nac-hosted Mp3s at the Hype Machine, because you can.

  • the fine print... If anyone has an issue with these Mp3s being made available (since I got permission, that'd be weird), just let me know (my contact info in the 'nac faq link on the left). Live sets recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps Mp3s. Files are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed, even if you beg. Sorry 'bout that.

    Labels:












    featured mp3 download
    arcade fire
    live at the boa pavilion
    in boston, mass.
    on sunday, august 1st, 2010

    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


    some cele-bloggers



    Locations of visitors to this page




    Weblog Commenting by HaloScan.com

    This page is powered by Blogger Pro.

    Blog Directory - Blogged