[Live MP3s] The Waterboys acoustic in Boston
Posted on November 2, 2007 at 2:12 pm | 1 Comment
I’ve got a bit of a backlog of live recordings to share, so I’m going forego my “once a week” tradition and just let them loose as they’re ready…
I’ll admit up front that I lost complete track of Mike Scott and his Waterboys for oh, about fifteen years or so. I initially discovered them as many on U.S. shores likely did, back when U2 invited them along to open some dates in the mid-80’s, and kept playing their songs as tour intro music for months afterwards. I think the first time I heard “The Whole Of The Moon” (which I still count among my favorite songs) was waiting for U2 to take the stage in Montreal in 1987, and picked up the Waterboys’ third album (and last featuring future World Party frontman Karl Wallinger), the sweeping “This Is The Sea”, shortly after that gig. My love for that record (yes, when it was actually a record) prompted me to grab their self-titled 1981 debut and the sophomore “A Pagan Place”, though I was not nearly as struck by those two, nor by 1988’s “Fisherman’s Blues”. I liked them well enough, but found myself going back to “This Is The Sea” far more frequently.
By the time 1990’s “Room To Roam” came out, my musical tastes had drastically transformed, and the Waterboys fell off my radar until a two-disc remastered version of “This Is The Sea” was issued in 2004, inspiring me to finally replace my well-worn vinyl copy. In the intervening years, I discovered the band had released a few more albums, a couple of greatest hits collections, as well as a live disc.
Which brings us to the Waterboys, present-day. Mike Scott and his mates are still making music, and in August released a new disc called “Book of Lightning” on Decca Records (it came out in the UK in April). The five-piece (a lineup that has changed a bit over the years) just kicked off a short North American tour for the album last night here in Boston, with a stop tonight at Webster Hall in NYC, and winding up in San Francisco on the 13th. While I didn’t see them play here last night, the band is back on my mind after a free, WBOS-sponsored acoustic show they put on at the First Act Guitar Studio back in late August. Mike was joined by longtime collaborators Steve Wickham on fiddle and Richard Naiff on keys, and the trio ran through a full set of songs, most from the new album, with a few old ones and an excellent Willie Nelson cover as well (alas, no “Whole of the Moon“, but I won’t fault them for skipping the obvious). No doubt about it, Mike Scott still has that voice, and as when Dinosaur Jr. played an in-store earlier this year, I’ve got much respect for a band who will give it their all for even a small (and non-paying) crowd. No three-or-four-song token performance was this.
During an in-set anecdote, Mike off-handedly said “… just as people might bootleg this concert”, and he was right on. Here’s the full Waterboys set. Tour dates are below, and I’ll share a couple of Mike’s anecdotes down there as well…
Live at First Act Guitar Studio
in Boston, Massachusetts
on Thursday, August 30th, 2007
01. Everybody Takes A Tumble
02. You In The Sky
03. Strange Arrangement
04. She Tried To Hold Me
05. Nobody’s Baby Anymore
06. The Crash of Angel Wings
07. It’s Gonna Rain
08. Red Army Blues
08. Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground (Willie Nelson cover)
10. The Return Of Jimi Hendrix
11. Bring ‘Em All In (stopped)
12. Bring ‘Em All In (slower)
A couple of anecdotes…
And some links…
Friday, Nov. 2nd, 2007
Webster Hall, NYC
Saturday, Nov. 3rd, 2007
Keswick Theatre, Glenside, Pennsylvania
Monday, Nov. 5th, 2007
The Music Hall, Toronto, Ontario
Tuesday, Nov. 6th, 2007
Park West, Chicago, Illinois
Friday, Nov. 9th, 2007
Moore Theatre, Seattle, Washington
Saturday, Nov. 10th, 2007
Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver
Sunday, Nov. 11th, 2007
Aladdin Theatre, Portland, Oregon
Tuesday, Nov. 13th, 2007
The Fillmore, San Francisco, California
Stream all ‘Nac-shared MP3s on 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). 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.
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February 7th, 2015 @ 3:20 pm
comment fait-on pour le telecharger je n’y arrive pas
merci d ‘avance