Tonight: Stereolab Listening Party @ River Gods
Posted on August 14, 2008 at 10:24 am | No Comments
Tonight brings another official “Bradley’s Almanac presents…” event: A pre-release listening party for Stereolab‘s upcoming “Chemical Chords” album, which doesn’t hit shelves until next week. Starting at 9pm at River Gods in Cambridge, I’ll be up in the DJ booth playing a bunch of my favorite songs released so far this year, along with some Stereolab oldies and the new disc in its entirety. I’ll also be giving away a pile of free stuff (including tickets to the ‘Labs October 6th show at the Paradise, copies of the album, their new 7″, and some posters). More info below…
Joining me as host and song-spinner will be the esteemed Michael T. Fournier, author of the excellent 33 1/3 series installment that peels apart the Minutemen‘s seminal “Double Nickels on the Dime” LP, as well as the man behind the Tufts “History of Punk Rock” class. This will be one of the last chances you’ll have to see Mike before he leaves Boston for the slightly north very soon. Can’t wait to hear the playlist he’s pulled together to bid Boston adieu.
[Live MP3s] Swervedriver in Boston 2008
Posted on August 6, 2008 at 3:49 pm | No Comments
Even though I’m an unabashed fan of the shoegaze, I think I’m still allowed to believe that particular moniker for early-90s, mostly British, pedal-heavy, layered-guitar music is a bit silly. For me it’s merely a quick way to group together a ton of bands I loved and love; just some shorthand for us fans (or misguided detractors).
Of all the bands that get lumped into that press-created category, I’ve always thought that Swervedriver was the one that fit least comfortably — they’ve always struck me as more rock, less gentle, a little more alpha-male than their so-called downward-gazing peers. I mean, just listen to the progression-ending guitar hook in “Rave Down” and tell me that’s not heavy as hell. In a live setting, even more so.
So maybe it’s their more-muscular guitar lines that accounted for the huge backwards-ball-cap wearing contingent at the Boston stop of their reunion tour in June… I can’t explain it otherwise. I mean, you’re likely not gonna spot high-fiving and chest-bumping at a Ride reunion show (yes, I saw actual pectoral contact). You’ll probably hear their hyena howling in the recording below. Where were all those guys for the criminally under-attended Adam Franklin / Toshack Highway solo shows over the past decade or so? And will they show up for Magnetic Morning at Great Scott in October?
So, yeah, the Swervies reunited. And they toured. And it was great. Nearly as great (though not quite as ear-crushing) as the first go ’round, and much like those olden days, the Oxford quartet was all business: minimal audience acknowledgment, minimal smiling, maximum pedals. The only interaction I cared about was between Adam’s Jazzmaster, its whammy bar, and his wah pedal. Hopefully this recording captures a sliver of the sonic power on display.
Oh, and you’ll notice that the intro to “Never Lose That Feeling” fades in… leave it to my gear to freak out just as they launch into my favorite song of the set. But it recovered quickly. Whew.
Live at the Paradise
in Boston, MA
on Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
01. Sci-Flyer
02. The Birds
03. Duel
04. Planes Over The Skyline
05. Wrong Treats
06. Sandblasted
07. Behind The Scenes Of The Sounds And The Times
08. Scrawl & Scream
09. These Times
10. The Other Jesus
11. Rave Down
12. Never Lose That Feeling
13. Son Of Mustang Ford
14. Last Train To Satansville
15. Duress
Some Swervedriver linkage…
Tuesday, Sept. 16th @ The Scala in London with Six By Seven and Exit Calm
Thursday, Sept. 18th @ King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow
After that, Magnetic Morning kicks off a 3-week U.S. tour in mid-October, and those dates can be found here. As I mentioned, one of those stops is Allston’s Great Scott on October 20th, where they’ll be playing with Springhouse (featuring The Big Takeover‘s Jack Rabid… I can’t wait to finally shake that man’s hand) and DC’s Julie Ocean (who include Velocity Girl‘s Jim Spellman). Now there’s a lineup for ya. I’ll be giving away tix to that one as it gets closer.
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.