Bradley’s Almanac

Mp3s: Mates of State (on This American Life) in Boston

Posted on May 1, 2008 at 6:27 am | No Comments

The televisual version of seminal NPR radio show This American Life returns this Sunday, May 4th, for a second season on Showtime. Live audiences got a taste of how the first season would translate when Ira Glass and his TAL crew took the show on the road for a tour entitled “What I Learned from Television”. Regular contributors Sarah Vowell, David Rakoff, and Dan Savage told stories, and attendees (including our crowd at the Opera House in Boston) were shown part of a season one episode.

A highlight of this touring TAL ensemble was the presence of Connecticut-based duo Mates of State, who release their fifth album, “Re-arrange Us”, on May 20th through Barsuk. On tour, the band provided musical interludes between spoken word performances, were interviewed by Glass, and closed the show with a thematically appropriate cover of OC theme song “California“.

Here are the songs that Mates of State performed at the Boston show, including that Phantom Planet cover, and the song “Now“, which will appear on “Re-arrange Us”…

Mates of State

Live at the Opera House
in Boston, MA
on Tuesday February 27th, 2007

01. Now
02. Like U Crazy
03. These Days
04. Interview with Ira
05. Goods (instrumental)
06. California (Phantom Planet cover)

Also this weekend, This American Life will broadcast the radio version of that very same tour, but you can already stream the entirety of the show on their website, or download it via itunes for a well-spent 95 cents. Included are the spoken word performances of those mentioned above, along with edited (but sonically-improved) recordings of those Mates of States songs.

For a full list of airdates for the second TV season of This American Life on Showtime, go here. To pre-order Mates of States’ “Re-arrange Us” from Barsuk, keep an eye on this page. And for a complete list of Mates of States tourdates, visit here.

As ever, stream 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). 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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  • BOSTON-AREA LIVE SHOW ACTION
    Saturday, December 20th
    The Del Fuegos
    early & late shows
    @ City Winery

    Sunday, December 21st
    Samantha Fish
    Cedric Burnside
    Jon Spencer
    @ the Wilbur

    Saturday, December 27th
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    Sunday, December 28th
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    with Ryan Walsh
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    opening with a solo set
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    Wednesday, January 14th
    Bishop Allen
    Mates of State
    @ the Sinclair

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    Cate Le Bon
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    "Piano & Voice" performance
    @ the MFA Boston

    Saturday, January 17th
    Silver Screams
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    Screw Cart
    Fear is a Mind Killer
    @ the Midway Cafe

    Monday, January 19th
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    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Thursday, January 22nd
    Bill Murray and His Blood Brothers
    @ the House of Blues

    Thursday, January 27th
    The Residents
    Eskimo Live! Tour
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Thursday, January 29th
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    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Friday, January 30th
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    Golomb
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    Saturday & Sunday
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    Something In The Way Fest 2026
    with Explosions In The Sky,
    Sunny Day Real Estate, Citizen,
    Tigers Jaw, The Hotelier, Momma,
    Angel Dust, February, First Day Back,
    Glitterer, Glixen, Gollylagging, Guv,
    Graham Hunt, Horse Jumper of Love,
    How Much Art, No Warning, Pelican,
    Park National, Pool Kids, Sheer Mag,
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    and Teen Suicide
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    Thursday, February 12th
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    Friday, February 20th
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    Saturday, February 21st
    Margo Price
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    Tuesday, March 3rd
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    Friday, March 6th
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    Friday, March 13th
    Quarters
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    @ the Royale

    Friday, Saturday, & Sunday
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    Dropkick Murphys
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Tuesday, March 17th
    Dropkick Murphys
    @ House of Blues

    Thursday, March 19th
    Julianna Barwick
    & Mary Lattimore
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Friday, March 20th
    The Hives
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    @ House of Blues

    Saturday, March 21st
    Cass McCombs
    Chris Cohen
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Saturday, March 21st
    Joyce Manor
    Militarie Gun
    Teen Mortgage
    Combat
    @ House of Blues

    Sunday, March 22nd
    Maria Somerville
    @ the ICA Boston

    Monday, March 23rd
    Westerman
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    Thursday, March 26th
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    Piebald
    Adult Mom
    @ Roadrunner

    Sunday, March 29th
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    @ Sanders Theatre

    Wednesday, April 1st
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    On Cinema Live! with
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    & Gregg Turkington
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    Patrick Watson
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    Friday & Saturday
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    Hayley Williams
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    @ House of Blues

    Saturday, April 4th
    The Dirty Three
    @ the Sinclair

    Saturday, April 4th
    Puscifer
    Dave Hill
    @ the Wang Theatre

    Wednesday, April 8th
    Mclusky
    Pile
    @ the Paradise

    Thursday, April 9th
    Circle Jerks
    Gorilla Biscuits
    @ the Paradise

    Thursday, April 16th
    Rhiannon Giddens
    @ the Orpheum

    Saturday, April 18th
    The Last Dinner Party
    Florence Road
    @ Roadrunner

    Sunday, April 19th
    Heavenly
    Swansea Sound
    Jeanines
    @ the Sinclair

    Thursday, April 30th
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    @ the Royale

    Monday, May 4th
    Yumi Zouma
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    Melody's Echo Chamber
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    Tuesday & Wednesday
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    play "Tigermilk" (19th) and
    "If You're Feeling Sinister" (20th)
    @ the Orpheum

    Thursday, June 11th
    Echo & the Bunnymen
    @ Roadrunner

    Tuesday, June 23rd
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    Wednesday, June 24th
    The Church
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