Memorial Day Mp3s: Mogwai live at ATP NY
Posted on May 25, 2009 at 7:32 am | No Comments
Taking a break from, well, taking a break, to finally offer up my recording of what ended up being Mogwai‘s last North American performance of 2008 (and just two days before the U.S. release of “The Hawk Is Howling”), up in the Catskills during the final night of the first New York edition of All Tomorrow’s Parties. If you know Mogwai, you know it was equal parts gorgeous and ear-blistering… although the ear-blistering aspect was quickly forgotten once Dinosaur Jr. took the stage shortly after, followed by festival-closers (and last-day curators) My Bloody Valentine. Can sustained sonic waves actually melt a pair of earplugs? Came close.
The band was in the home stretch of a road trip that never finished, as ace drummer Martin Bulloch’s faulty pacemaker, which had been bothering him all tour, necessitated a trip to an area emergency room (and then a flight back home to Scotland) shortly after he walked off the Kutsher’s Country Club stage (and the fact that he kept himself together, and played a flawless set under what must have been trying circumstances, says as much about the man as it does about his drumming). The band was forced to cancel the remaining six dates of the tour, including the next night’s show back here in Boston.
They’d return though, as part of a just-finished month-long journey that brought them back to Boston on May 1st. The scheduling of that show was personally painful, as it was announced just after I’d put together a four-band bill on the very same night across the river at TTs. It wasn’t just that many people would (and did) opt to see Scotland’s pride instead of my modest little lineup, but that I wouldn’t be able to see them myself. Despite the competition, we ended up with a good crowd at TTs, and missing out on Mogwai made me appreciate their ATP performance even more. Here it is…
Live at All Tomorrow’s Parties NY
at Kutsher’s Country Club in Monticello, NY
on Sunday, September 21st, 2008
01. The Precipice
02. I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead
03. Hunted By A Freak
04. Friend Of The Night
05. Scotland’s Shame
06. Mogwai Fear Satan
07. Thank You Space Expert
08. Like Herod
09. Batcat
Some Mogwai links…
Their official site, MySpace page, Wikipedia entry, and Matador label page. Be sure to check out the indispensable Bright Light! fansite. Additional Audio: Mogwai is live-taper friendly, and allows the wonderful Live Music Archive to host (123!) recorded shows for download in a variety of formats. The band also has their own podcast with loads of audio (here’s the iTunes link). Be sure to hit up Bright Light! for their links to more audio/video action. Matador’s free Mp3 from “The Hawk Is Howling” was my personal fave from it… Video: Their latest video is for “Batcat“. They’ve got many more on their own site. La Blogotheque filmed the band live performing “Mogwai Fear Satan” on Valentines Day in Reims, France. A Mogwai YouTube search will keep you busy for hours. Photos: My Flickr-hosted shots are here. And here’s a full Mogwai tag search (Gremlins shots included). Upcoming tourdates: The band has a handful of dates remaining in May and June in the EU, and goes festival-crazy in July and August. See Bright Light! for a complete list of upcoming gigs.. 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.
Ticket Giveaway: Comedian Christian Finnegan @ Great Scott
Posted on May 19, 2009 at 12:39 pm | No Comments
Regular ‘Nac visitors know that I frequently wander off on non-musical tangents, talking comic books, movies, whatever. Well, here I go again, offering up a couple pairs of tickets to see comedian Christian Finnegan and friends at Allston’s Great Scott this Friday, along with an autographed copy of his just-released stand-up CD “Au Contraire” (which also has a DVD edition).
I’ve been a fan of Christian’s for a few years, mostly due to his frequent (and always funny) appearances on VH1’s excellent “Best Week Ever” pop culture-skewerin’ show (now hosted by grade-A jokester Paul F. Tompkins), so I jumped at the chance to hook a few readers up. Hard to think of a better way to kick off a long Memorial Day weekend than by catching him and four other stand-ups (Ken Reid, Chris Coxen, Laura Burns, and James Laurence) on a Friday night. Even mo’ better: The comedy action starts at 7pm in order to make way for the Pill‘s celebration of Morrissey’s 50th birthday later that evening, so you can either hang there or head across the river to the Middle East to witness a pretty rocktacular lineup.
Want a pair of tickets, along with a Christian-signed copy of his new “Au Contraire” stand-up disc? I’ll randomly pick two winners of two tickets each from those who send an email (title it “Finnegan!” and be sure to include a mailing address) to giveaways [at] bradleysalmanac [dot] com before noon this Thursday, and will notify them that afternoon. They’ll find their name on Great Scott’s guest list with a +1, with the CD sent on shortly after. Now get with the electro-mailing, and commence with whatever luck-inducing dance that works for ya.