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Wednesday, June 30, 2010  When the Pixies decided to jump on the "full album live" train last year to perform their seminal "Doolittle " LP for the masses, I was fully on board. The trend that seems to have started with ATP's original "Don't Look Back" shows is still going strong, and while it's easy to be cynical in the face of such obvious cash-raking nostalgia, it becomes impossible to resist when one of those albums is among your favorites of all time. I've long held that the best four-song start to any record ever is the "Debaser" / "Tame" / "Wave Of Mutilation" / "I Bleed" quatro-punch that starts "Doolittle" (go ahead, argue with me), and some of the most vivid memories of my entire life involve laying on the rocks of the off-limits Williston (Vermont) quarry, eyes closed after an illegal swim, drying off in the sun as the cassette played loudly from a nearby boom-box. From the intro bass line of "Debaser", I'm taken right back there. So when the first run of these "Doolittle" gigs was announced last year, free will played no part in my decision to attend. In fact, the word 'decision' played no part. Tickets to the second of two late-November Boston stops were purchased on auto-pilot, and fate smiled upon Amie and I with some amazing seats. I'd seen the foursome in smaller venues, and larger (including the ill-fated, band-crushing opening slot tour with U2), but never, ever so ridiculously close. I didn't give a good goddamn which phase of their career they were in - I'd be in the f'in third row. So close that I wouldn't even complain if I wasn't on Kim's side of the stage (ok, maybe just a little). Speaking of trends, here's one I look forward to seeing more of: Near-instant gratification from bands who record their own live shows and offer them up to fans as a keepsake. Yeah, it's been going on for years in certain circles, but with technology, the turnaround time has been shrinking dramatically, and spreading to non-hippy bands (i.e. ones I actually like). When I saw the Trashcan Sinatras last year, all you had to do was hang around after the show for about 15 minutes and you could buy a custom USB stick that contained a huge, unedited MP3 of the entire set, recorded via laptop from the board by one of the guitarists. How 'bout that? (sidenote: The Trashcans just finished up a tour in support of their excellent new album, which has now been released in the US. You can still buy recordings from the previous tour here.)  And so the Pixies, enabled by the folks at Abbey Road Live (composed of the same core crew behind Live Here Now and DiscLive), decided to document the entirety of their "Doolittle" retrospective tour. Not only could fans pre-order better-than-soundboard recordings of their shows and pick them up soon after the band left the stage, but even those who couldn't make it were able to snag the full sets over at DoolittleLive. It was a boon for fanatics and collectors, as they discussed the best performances and best quality recordings over at the band's (currently down) official message board. And it was, of course, a boon for the band as well, funneling even more nostalgia-fueled income their way. Simple economics. Well, it was simple until the tour hit Boston, of course. As the band, and Abbey Road Live, tried to set up to record those two nights, they hit a snag: namely the local union crew working the Wang/Citi Center. I know some details, not enough to explain it clearly, but the end result was pretty straightforward: No live documentation of the band's long-awaited visit to what many consider their hometown, performing an album they wrote and recorded near that very venue. A damn shame for those looking forward to either reliving it or experiencing it from a distance. Well, with this post, I try to ease that sting a little. You can thank a fellow taper who goes by the name emorency/BennyBlanco, and the fact that he was paying close attention when the Abbey Road crew announced, after the first show, that they weren't permitted to record either show. Unlike me, he brought his gear to night number two, knowing it would be lost to the ages if he didn't, and came up with the goods. So with his permission, and with the "unofficial" permission of Abbey Road and the band (meaning this won't be up for long, and could disappear more quickly if 'the man' comes around), here is the Pixies' triumphant performance of "Doolittle" in Boston on Saturday night, November 28th, 2009. Yes, they closed with "UMass", and it was glorious. Don't settle for this recording, though... be sure you visit DoolittleLive and look around for other notable shows from the band's long retrospective tour. Support this whole official live-recording business model by throwing more tall dollars their way. My commentary on the show, such as it is, follows below. Enjoy...  PIXIES Live at the Wang Theatre / Citi Center in Boston, Massachusetts on Saturday, November 28th, 2009 Audience recording by BennyBlanco/ScreamingSlave Technical details: Mics = DPA 4061 > Custom BB > R09HR @ 24/96 Mastering & EQ in SF 9 > Downsample to 24/48 > MP3 @ 320/44 Location = Front Row Mezzanine download the entire set as a 208 MB .zip file 01. Intro 02. Dance The Manta Ray 03. Weird At My School 04. Bailey's Walk 05. Manta Ray 06. Debaser 07. Tame 08. Wave Of Mutilation 09. I Bleed 10. Pixies Speak 11. Here Comes Your Man 12. Dead 13. Kim Speaks 14. Monkey Gone To Heaven 15. Kim Speaks 16. Mr. Grieves 17. Crackity Jones 18. Kim Speaks 19. La La Love You 20. Kim Speaks 21. No. 13 Baby 22. Kim Speaks 23. There Goes My Gun 24. Kim Speaks 25. Hey 26. Kim Speaks 27. Silver 28. Gouge Away 29. Crowd 30. Kim Speaks 31. Wave Of Mutilation [UK Surf] 32. Into The White 33. Crowd 34. Kim Speaks 35. Isla De Encanta 36. Holiday Song 37. Nimrod's Son 38. Where Is My Mind? 39. UMASS  Some personal highlights, from my spot in the 3rd row... The band recently announced another string of U.S. "Doolittle" tourdates, hitting some spots they missed the first time around. Here's the itinerary, all in September... Sept. 7th @ Tower Theatre, Philadelphia, PAThe band's official website is in the process of being relaunched, so you should get over there right now, just in case that relaunch doesn't include the free live "Doolittle" EP they have available for download. Last year, 4AD released the massive (and massively priced) Pixies MINOTAUR boxset. If I didn't already own all of its contents (and had just won the lottery), I would have been all over it. Beautifully designed (of course) by 4AD art director Vaughan Oliver, it uses both original and new work from photographer Simon Larbalestier, whose images have helped aesthetically define the band since their first release. Here's a video 'trailer' for the boxset, which is really more of a mini-documentary (clocking in at 30 minutes). It was filmed at the one-night London release event showcasing that new-and-old artwork, and features chats with Oliver and Larbalestier, along with Kim, Frank, and David, and most importantly, a surprise live set from the band. Check out full performances of "Hey", "No. 13", "Monkey Gone To Heaven", "Debaser", "Planet Of Sound", "Dig Fire", "Bone Machine", and "Wave Of Mutilation (UK Surf)"... In between their seemingly never-ending reunion jaunts, each Pixie keeps their individual musical juices moving on their own ongoing projects... As ever, listen to any and all 'Nac-hosted Mp3s at the Hype Machine.  the fine print... If anyone has an issue with these MP3s being made available, just let me know (my contact info in the 'nac faq). Files are made available for a limited time, and are generally not reposted once removed. Labels: livemp3s  Tuesday, June 22, 2010  This coming Saturday, June 26th at Great Scott, Wheat will take the stage after Allston's own The Beatings - an unenviable task that is essentially a win-win for anyone in the crowd. The better the Beatings, the more pressure on Wheat to keep things rocking, but I'm pretty sure they're up to the task.I've been a Wheat fan for over a decade now, watched as they entered and emerged from the dark tunnel of the quote-unquote recording industry, and I'm damn grateful the guys are still around, still writing and releasing songs (their latest is last year's "White Ink, Black Ink"), and still gracing area clubs with the occasional live show. Can't be easy being a long-distance Wheat fan, fingers constantly crossed that they'll journey back your way someday, so we here in Boston are obliged to pack these random gigs on their behalf.  Thanks to the band, I've got a pair of guest list spots to help do just that on Saturday, along with a swanky new Wheat t-shirt (shown below) for the winner. Rather than pick an entrant at random, this time there's a bit of a catch: Wheat trivia! Yup, drummer/keyboardist Brendan Harney has a question for you, so you'll need to put on your thinking cap (or, um, spend 30 seconds on Google) before you fire off an email to giveaways [at] bradleysalmanac [dot] com. Include your full name in the note, and write the answer to this in the subject line... Q: What Cameron Crowe movie was Wheat's "Don't I Hold You" in?I'll pick someone from all the correct answers received before Noon this Friday, June 25th, and let them know that they'll be on the Great Scott guest list with a plus one on Saturday night. Arrive early, not just to catch The Beatings as well, but for sets from Foredoes Me Quite and Joe Touchette III.  Tickets for the show are available here, or at Great Scott. Here's a live Wheat MP3 I shared awhile back, a Daft Punk cover from one of their previous stops at Great Scott... Labels: giveaways Monday, June 07, 2010
Life is good, the socially-conscious, Boston-based retailer of apparel and accessories (and good vibes) held a launch party on the sun-drenched roof of their flagship Newbury Street location this evening for their annual Boston-area Life is good Festival, giving local media types a first look at the lineup for the mid-September fun fest. The kid-and-adult-friendly charitable event (100% of proceeds go towards their own Life is good Kids Foundation) has traditionally been held on the Boston Common (and once at Fenway), and 2010 sees not just a location change, but a dramatic increase in its scale, mission, and most relevantly to me personally, its musical focus.  This year the super-sized Life is good Festival, which includes three music stages, will take place September 11th and 12th on the 40-acre Prowse Farm at the foot of the Blue Hills in Canton, MA. Performers are being booked with help from Superfly Productions, the team behind the lineups of the Bonnaroo and Outside Lands fests. Boston has been starved for an independently booked, multi-day music festival, so I've been looking forward to this reveal for awhile. As I figured, headliners are geared slightly towards a hacky-kickin' crowd, but the lineup is by no means limited to the crunchy side - there's an awful lot of diversity in the list of artists involved. Not a wealth of bands you'll find in my own collection (regular 'Nac readers can pick 'em out), but plenty to get all sorts of music fans down to Canton for a couple days. The lineup for the 2010 Life is good Festival, a "two-day celebration of music and optimism", will include sets from... Jason MrazFor a complete list of festival details, visit their info page, and be sure to have a look at how you can become a "VGP" (Very Good Person), which grants you some fairly special perks during the weekend. Bert and John Jacobs, brothers and co-owners of Life is good, are shooting to raise a million dollars for in-need children with this thing, and towards that end, the "VGP" program encourages additional fundraising by offering artist meet-and-greets, a special "VGP Lounge", better stage views + parking, backstage bbqs, and bonus schwag to those who gather extra funds for the kids. It's the LIG version of the "VIP" sections you see at other fests that end up being filled with industry-types and paparazzi-bait. This time, it's the generous who will get the royal treatment, as it should be. More performers are due to be announced, and tickets will be available on June 17th through the Lig Festival website (so your services charges won't be wasted). Single-day adult tickets are 50 bucks, or $90 for both days. Kids' single-day tix are just $10, and children under 5 are free (good news for Brendan... means I don't have to add anything more to his rapidly growing future-chores tab). Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Geez... four giveaways in a row. Five if you count le Twitter. I'm either wicked generous, or a mere promotional tool, depending on your point of view. But I wouldn't be handing out this stuff if it wasn't from bands I'm genuinely into, so there's that. I will, in fact, have actual non-contest content soon. I hope.   Today brings the release date of "The Chaos", the fourth album from Sunderland, England quartet The Futureheads, which means their 'new album every two years' trend is right on schedule. Finely-tuned clockwork, they've got. Hard to believe their super-sharp self-titled debut came out way back in '04... that album pretty much knocked me on my ass (sorry, 'arse'), hitting me during a brief 'sick of music' phase, and was a much-needed dose of ultra-catchy, harmony-laden goodness. Tight, snappy, back-to-basics English pop-punk, with that killer Kate Bush cover thrown in for great measure. Loved it, still do.The two albums since, while having their respective individual high points, haven't done as much for me as a whole... they seemed a bit more studied, not quite as brash, and perhaps suffered from my own high expectations. There's nothing like that first surprise, you know? But my initial 2004 crush, the good songs they've been stacking up, and their generally excellent live shows will keep me coming back. After a few listens, I can safely say that album number four feels like a frenetic, energy-crammed return to form. It kicks quickly into high gear and pretty much stays there, the harmonies sound fresh again, and many of the tracks get you thinking "Man, I bet this would be even better live..." straight away. A quick 10-date North American tour starts tonight in Brooklyn, and hits the Paradise in Boston this coming Monday, June 7th. A pair of guest list spots goes to one lucky sod who emails me by Noon this Friday, so send off a quick one to giveaways [at] bradleysalmanac [dot] com before then, title it "F'HEADS @ PARADISE", and include your city of residence. The singular condition: You'd better damn well be able to make it to the show. No wasties allowed. I'll email the winner on Friday. I'll leave you with the first promo track from the album, which also happens to be one of my faves, courtesy of Dovecote Records, the band's excellent U.S. label... [MP3] The Futureheads - "Struck Dumb"For tickets of your very own to see the lads next week (with LA-based openers The Like), head here, or to the 'Dise box office to skip the extra charges. Labels: giveaways |
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