[Live MP3s] Mountain Goats (John Darnielle) in Somerville, MA
Posted on April 5, 2009 at 11:19 am | 4 Comments
One of the most rewarding results of recording the shows I go to is when I’m able to capture the exact moment when I completely fall for an artist. It happens rarely, since I’m most often well enough in love with a band before I see them on stage… but I felt it again two weeks back, just a few songs into John Darnielle‘s solo set at the Somerville Theatre.
As a casual Mountain Goats follower for many years, one who’s hardly heard a Darnielle-penned song he didn’t like, I for some reason never quite crossed over into full-on fan. Can’t say why, really… many friends have long been converted, ones I trust implicitly, but it took me ages to pick up one of his/their many full-lengthers. Maybe that was part of the problem – as the type of fan who has completist tendencies, becoming an MG devotee was a daunting prospect. Still, last year’s “Heretic Pride”, while atypical of John’s lower-fi, less produced output, nudged me closer, and as soon as I found out about his “Gone Primitive” solo tour with John Vanderslice, a 3rd row seat was mine. And my conversion was inevitable.
His performance was a wonder – captivating, sincere, and totally charming. From the songs themselves to the candid between-song banter, I was utterly spellbound. Frequent goosebumps, I tell you. I’ve seen many shows at that theatre, and never had it felt as intimate as it was that night. The audience played a big part of that – the love they gave him and the appreciation he gave back, the silence as he played contrasted with the overwhelming applause as each song finished – just magical. I frankly felt lucky to be there, especially on a night when John tried out a couple new ideas – 1) play mostly songs he really wants to play and 2) call on specific audience members for requests in order to quiet the song-shouters (in vain, though that was). Doing so gave us a setlist of relative rarities, one that to my ears never lulled.
Let’s all be grateful that John is avidly pro-taper, and that I’m able to share up this set… it really is something special. I spent a ridiculous amount of time editing and mastering this thing, and I hope you’ll be able to tell… the sheer volume of the applause and the occasional delicacy of John’s playing made the post-production a serious challenge, but it was worth it.
As you’ll hear, John Vanderslice (whose set I will be sharing soon) joined JD back on stage for a few new songs near the end of the main set – JD’s “Emerging” (I’m only guessing that’s the title), “Surrounded“, and the JV-fronted “Steps Columns Pillars“, all three of which can be found on a brand-spankin’ new split tour EP titled “Moon Colony Bloodbath” (beautifully designed by Horse & Buggy Press – front cover / back cover). Unfortunately, production delays kept them from selling it on most of the tour (which happens to finish up tonight in Bloomington), so only those at the last few dates have been able to grab one of these 7-song, vinyl treasures. While JV sent out a Twitter message that a batch of the limited-to-1000 EPs would be available via mailorder soon (ixnay on the ebay!), I’ve got a hankering for one of the first 200 (green vinyl!), so this is where I ask a fellow fan to pick one up for me. I will, rest assured, reciprocate the kindness in some way.
Back to the details then straight to the tracks – JV also sings a bit of backup on “No Children” before the encore, and returns to share the stage for a fantastic show-closing version of “This Year“. A ninety-minute trip that was over too soon…
a solo set by John Darnielle, with guest John Vanderslice
Live at the Somerville Theatre
in Somerville, MA
on Wednesday, March 25th, 2009
[ Download the entire set in one 125MB .ZIP file ]
01. intro
02. I Love You, Let’s Light Ourselves on Fire
03. Woke Up New
04. banter
05. Un Reve Plus Long Que La Nuit (November Love Song)
06. Cobscook Bay
07. You or Your Memory
08. Sign of the Crow 2
09. banter
10. Black Pear Tree
11. Elijah
12. Blueberry Frost
13. So Desperate
14. Marduk T-Shirt Men’s Room Incident
15. Island Garden Song
16. Going to Alaska
17. Beach House
18. banter
19. The Sign (Ace of Base cover)
20. Emerging (new)
21. Surrounded (new)
22. Steps Columns Pillars (new – JV sings, JD sings backup)
23. No Children (JV sings backup)
24. See America Right
25. encore break / banter
26. Commandante
27. Alibi
28. The Day the Aliens Came (or: Hawaiian Feeling)
29. This Year
Some Mountain Goats linkage…
- The official site, MySpace page, Wikipedia entry, and 4AD label page.
- Additional Audio: It’s out there, everywhere. Try the Live Music Archive for some great sets, hit up my compadre NYCTaper for last week’s NYC show. John has an Mp3 from each of his recent albums on his discography page. I’ve been listening to The Wave Pictures lately (thanks to Jonathan), and happened upon an Mp3 of this song, which features Mr. Darnielle as a guest…
- For the curious, the tracklist for the just-released “Moon Colony Bloodbath” tour EP with John Vanderslice is – 1. Surrounded (JD), 2. Lucifer Rising (JV), 3. Satori in Denver (JD), 4. Scorpio Rising (JV), 5. Sudden Oak Death (JD), 6. Columns Pillars Steps (JV), 7. Emerging (JD). I’ll probably Twitter something when/if I find one via mail order.
- Video: John has a few shared on his site, and of course a Mountain Goats YouTube search turns up a ton of live clips.
- Photos: My shots from the show are here. Check out a Mountain Goats and/or John Darnielle Flickr search.
- Upcoming tourdates:
Tonight! In Bloomington, Indiana at the Chumley Theatre. After that? Who knows? Guy deserves a rest, that’s for sure.
- Stream any and all ‘Nac-hosted Mp3s at the Hype Machine.
a bit o’ fine print… 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.
Mp3s: The Long Winters live in Allston, MA
Posted on March 31, 2009 at 8:42 am | No Comments
Yes, it may be an overly-obvious thematic choice, but in honor of the blessed end of a brutally long Boston winter, I’ve decided to share up a live recording of… The Long Winters. It’s been exactly two years since John Roderick and his merry band visited our fair city, when they played to a packed house at Allston’s Great Scott on a fantastic bill that included The Broken West (who coincidentally played here again just last night) and The Stars of Track and Field. While it does often take me a very long time to share up certain sets, hitting the two-year mark is flat-out embarrassing, and I surely deserve to be scolded. But look at it this way: perhaps this will help you endure the ongoing wait for the LW’s next album.
When I asked Mr. Roderick if it was cool to share up this set (which, of course, it is), he had this to say about progress on the follow-up to 2006’s “Putting The Days To Bed”…
“We’re still plugging away at it daily, but no vocals have been recorded yet so there’s nothing very interesting to share. It’s going to suck if I’m killed in a plane crash, because they won’t even be able to release the ‘unfinished record’ with the demo vocals. I mean, there’s NO vocals of any kind.”
So let’s hope that either John remains on the ground for awhile, or that the flying fates are kind. If his Twitter account falls silent for more than a day, someone will need to send out a search party.
Live at Great Scott
in Allston, MA
on Thursday, March 29th, 2007
01. Pushover
02. Stupid
03. Teaspoon
04. Carparts
05. Fire Island, AK
06. Hindsight
07. the coefficient of that joke… (banter)
08. Blue Diamonds
09. The Commander Thinks Aloud
10. Scared Straight
11. Cinnamon
12. hot request for teacher (banter)
13. Rich Wife
14. conventional band logic & kazoos (banter)
encore (of a kind)
15. (It’s A) Departure
16. When I Pretend To Fall (Muffin Mix)
17. Seven
18. Ultimatum
19. Prom Night at Hater High
Some Long Winters links…
Their own site, MySpace page, Wikipedia entry, and Barsuk Records page. There are a couple of fine fansites out there, including The Long Winters Library & Archive and Hater High (more on H.H. just below). Additional Audio: An Mp3 for “Pushover“, thanks to Barsuk. A few mp3s from their previous discs are available here as well, and at their own site. You can also grab some live Mp3s pulled from their recent DVD release (more on that below) from Barsuk over here. The band played some songs a few years back on NPR’s World Cafe. Stream live versions of “Teaspoon“, “Honest“, and “Fire Island, AK” right here. You can also find a couple of live shows shared on the indispensable Live Music Archive.
For lots more freely available audio goodness, but sure to visit the lovingly maintained Hater High fansite, where you can grab a bunch of live lossless recordings (including the FLAC versions of the Mp3s I just shared above). There are also a number of other live sessions in Mp3 form as well.
Video: Here’s the clip for Fire Island, AK (also on YouTube), and the unedited version of older vid “Blue Diamonds” (quicktime). There’s a plethora of live clips on YouTube, of course. The Long Winters’ most recent official release, which also helps bide the time between albums, is the excellent limited edition Live At The Showbox DVD, put out by Dorsia Films last December. Check out the trailer right here, and pick up a copy of your very own from Barsuk.
Photos: My Flickr-hosted shots are here. Check out the full Long Winters Flickr search as well. As always, easily stream any and all ‘Nac-hosted Mp3s at the Hype Machine.
the fine print… 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.