Review: Swirlies live in Cambridge, MA
Posted on March 18, 2009 at 8:03 am | No Comments
News of the Swirlies‘ reemergence from a lengthy hibernation for three strictly East Coast (sneaky flute) shows a few weeks back was a more than welcome surprise, and was instantly one of my most anticipated musical happenings of the new year. I’d seen the Boston-based band many times back in the day (“the day” being the early-90s), but somehow not once after the release of what would become my favorite Swirlies album – 1996’s brilliant “They Spent their Wild Youthful Days in the Glittering World of the Salons”. Considering how much I worshipped their earlier work, the fact that they could unexpectedly peak so many years after my first exposure in ’92 impressed the hell outta me. Subsequent releases were sporadic and spotty… a remix album, some hard-to-find compilation appearances, a bit of slightly less-focused material under the Yes Girls banner, and eventually 2003’s “Cats of the Wild: Volume Two” album on Bubblecore. Live shows followed that release, but since then, nary a word, until… a trio of late-February dates dubbed the “Scituate or Bust” tour.
I had no expectations when I first heard about their return – I figured the lineup would include at least founders Damon Tutunjian and Andy Bernick, but beyond that who knew? They’d been through many personnel changes over the years, losing and gaining some great drummers, replacing the sadly-departed Seana Carmody (who went on to form the excellent Syrup USA, Shenzou 5, and do solo stuff) with the wonderful Christina Files (it was she who helped make “TSTWYDITGWOTS” so stellar), and shuffling through some ace second guitarists. So when I heard exactly who else the reconstituted Swirlies would include, I was pretty psyched: Longtime member (and former Wicked Farleys‘ guitarist) Rob Laasko, drummer Adam Pierce (from Mice Parade, who joined up post-“TSTWYDITGWOTS”), and the newest Swirlie, Deb Warfield (also ex-Shenzou 5 and current Broken River Prophet) on guitar/keys/and gorgeous vocals. All the pieces would be in place, great players all… but still, any Swirlies show is a gamble: You can witness either unerring precision, or a ramshackle, almost-off-the-rails affair (often both, at once). I’ll say this, though – watching them perform, I’ve never had anything other than fun.
So, despite that lack of expectations, I did hold out hope that finally, 13 years after the fact, I’d get a chance to maybe, just maaaaybe, hear some of the songs from “Wild Youthful Days…” played live on a stage in front of me. When I first mentioned the scheduled Middle East upstairs show on the ‘Nac, I even threw my humble request for the song “Sunn” out into the void, certainly not expecting it to be heard, or to my total delight, actually honored. But yes, they re-learned it, and played it, along with an abundance of other tracks off that album. Oh, the joy.
Their 16-song set including many perfect moments, a few shaky bits, some serious rocking, some goofy meanderings, some ultra-tight action, and some wild, youthful transgressions. In other words, it a full-on Swirlies show. And most importantly, it was fun. Powerful classics like “Jeremy Parker” and “Bell” (“Tall Ships” was setlisted but skipped) alongside late-era songs like “Le Bag” and “Rare Moment“. Just when you were worried the set was almost too cohesive, then came the encore – a request for a meandering “Jack Buckey’s Theme” was granted, into the brief, stripped down oldie “His Life Of Academic Freedom“, and finally an enthusiastic cover of Flipper‘s “Sex Bomb“, with Bullpen Catchers/Kudgel singer/guitarist Mark Erdody (and random fans in the front row) on guest vocals.
The full setlist…
Swirlies
Live at the Middle East Upstairs
in Cambridge, MA
on Saturday, February 28th, 2009
01. In Harmony Newfound Freedom
02. Vigilant Always
03. Le Bag
04. One Light Flashing I Love You
05. Jeremy Parker
06. Sounds of Sebring
07. Two Girls Kissing
08. You Can’t Be Told It, You Must Behold It
09. Rare Moment
10. Sunn
11. Bell
12. The Vehicle Is Invisible
13. San Cristobal De Las Casas
encore…
14. Jack Buckey’s Theme
15. His Life Of Academic Freedom
16. Sex Bomb (Flipper cover)
For those keeping score, songs 1, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, & 13 were from “Salons”; 2, 5, 11, & 15 were on 1993’s “Blonder Tongue Audio Baton”; 3 & 9 can be found on “Cats of the Wild: Volume Two”; and tracks 4 and 14 are Yes Girls numbers.
A few Swirlies links…
Their official site, MySpace page, Wikipedia entry, and old Taang! label page. Audio: One of the reasons that Damon rules – he shares a butt-load of Swirlies audio for free on his site. You can grab most of the albums I’ve mentioned in this post over there. Also of note – the band was giving out free (and mysteriously labeled) cds at the show, and it ends up that they were copies of the 2003 “Thirty Minutes On The World Map” compilation, a 38-track hodge-podge of limited-edition randomness on the RCA Archives imprint. Score. I grabbed a couple extras, so keep an eye out for the next Almanac-presented show, where I’ll be handing them out with other free stuff. Additional Audio: Along with Bullpen Catchers (and a surprise mini-set by the reunited Kudgel! Chimp Rock 4EVA!), the other opener was Gregory & the Hawk. I knew nothing of ‘them’, and ‘them’ ended up being ‘her’, namely Meredith Godreau from New York. I mentioned on Friday how much I enjoyed her short, sweet set, and managed to record her last three songs (on which she was joined by Swirlies drummer Adam Pierce on second guitar). With her kind say-so, here they are, including the brand new, and stunningly beautiful, “Red Cross With Silver Shine“… Photos: My Flickr-hosted shots are here. Check out a Swirlies Flickr tag search, which includes Landon‘s shots from the show (fyi, that’s him guesting on keys in one of my pics). Video: Check out a full Swirlies YouTube search. A total aside, and only a couple of my former bandmates might find this at all interesting (and maybe a Swirlie or two): Many, many years ago, the very first band I was in was lucky enough to open for the Swirlies and Spore at Middlebury College in Vermont. The whole show is a bit hazy — I recall that my humble, wide-eyed little VT pop band was horribly out-gunned by the aural assault of the Swirlies, and especially Spore (holy loudness!) — but I remember one thing very specifically: when we broke into a late-set cover of the Go-Go’s “Head Over Heels“, most of the Swirlies came to their feet and gave us their smiling attention. Cut to last month, 15 years later, I’m reading about the Swirlies’ early days in some pre-show press, and I learn this: They started out as a Go-Go’s cover band. Ah ha!.
I can only hope these shows are signs of more activity to come, ‘cuz I’ve got a couple more requests to make. Hey, I’m allowed to be a little greedy, aren’t I?
The Friday Fiver
Posted on March 13, 2009 at 2:46 pm | No Comments
It’s been all contests and little actual content here on the ‘Nac lately, and for that I do apologize (well, I’m not sorry for giving away free stuff, but still). Hoping to fix that imbalance over the weekend, but the prospect of warm weather may dash those hopes. We shall see. Here’s a quick few info fixes before I’m off…
Firstly, congrats to Almanac reader Penny from Cambridge, who will freely attend tomorrow night’s A.C. Newman show at the Paradise with a friend (and thanks to Matador for offering up the spots). Belated congrats are also due to Crystal, who attended the “Dark Was The Night” listening party I hosted last month at River Gods, and won herself a pair of tickets for tomorrow night’s show as well. I really wish I could join them there, but…
I’m more than slightly psyched for tomorrow night’s now-sold-out Throwing Muses show at the Middle East in Cambridge, for a few reasons. Aside from seeing one of all-time favorite bands play some of my all-time favorite songs, we’ll be treated to an opening set from Kristin Hersh‘s other band, 50 Foot Wave. The power trio (which also finds TM bassist Bernard Georges pulling double duty) plays first, followed by the highly-touted Screaming Females, and finally my beloved Muses. Fingers are forcefully crossed that 50FW will run through the entirety of their new EP, “Power+Light” (free download here, thanks to CASHmusic), which is one long, continuous, and majestic 7-part epic. Hopehopehope.
I’m saving a chunk of that hope for the Muses, for the possibility that they’ll perform their newly-learned cover of R.E.M.‘s “Perfect Circle“, which they played a couple nights ago at Carnegie Hall as part of “The Music Of R.E.M.” tribute. Be a shame to learn a song and only perform it once, right? Right?
Here, let’s try another Twitter-based giveaway experiment – The first five people to send me a tweet (I will always feel icky typing that word) at the Almanac Twitter account will each be sent a unique code to download an entire 19-song Throwing Muses live set recorded in Sydney, Australia on January 16th. This gracious gift comes compliments of the crew at CASHmusic, and if you dig what you hear, or end up downloading any of the free stuff from the fine list of CASHmusic artists, considering dropping something in the tip jar.
Oh, and another reason I’m so psyched for Saturday night? Well, Amie will be there with me, and since the day that Brendan arrived, having her join me for a show has become something of a rarity. But hey, it’s the band that had a hand in our finding each other 9 years ago, so if ever there was a special reason to spring for a babysitter, this would be it.
Here’s some freakin’ fantastic news, something I’m fortunate to be able to pass along on the semi-early tip so that any ‘Nac surfers can get tickets quick: The Figgs are returning to Boston for two super-small shows at JP’s Midway Cafe in late May. On Friday, May 29th, the trio will play with area super-groop the John Powhida International Airport, and the next night they’ll team up with The In Out and the Boston Beat Machine. A mere 60 (yes, sixty) tickets will be sold for each show (and I’ve already got a couple of my own), so if you’re even thinking about going, grab your tickets here or here.
Oh, and plan ahead: After a fairly long break, I return to the DJ booth at River Gods next Thursday for another installment of Tourfilter DJ Night. I’ll be perched up above the bar starting at 9pm on the 19th, playing songs by bands coming to town in the next couple months, and my rough playlist is already looking ace.
So I’ve been trying to share up the full Swirlies live set that I recorded of their remarkable return to town a couple weeks back, but work, sleep deprivation, and general dad-ness have prevented me from following through. My promise to you now is Monday, this I do swear. Until then, I leave you with an aural tease, along with a live track from opener Gregory and the Hawk. For those who weren’t there, GatH is the nom-du-perform of New Yorker Meredith Godreau, who was joined on guitar for her last few songs by Swirlies drummer (and Mice Parade member) Adam Pierce. Loved her voice, which struck me as part Tanya Donelly, part Mary Lou Lord, but even more delicate. She performed a brand new song, and with her permission, I’ll share it here. I haven’t been able to get its gorgeous melody out of my head since the show, and that’s the exact opposite of a complaint…