[Live MP3s] David Bazan in Cambridge, MA
Posted on November 14, 2007 at 6:06 am | No Comments
The fifth stop on David Bazan‘s 3-week tour with All Smiles, which officially wrapped up last night, brought him to TT the Bears in Cambridge, MA as the third game of the Sox-dominated World Series unfolded on TV at the other side of the bar. He shared the bill not only with All Smiles (aka Jim Fairchild of Grandaddy), but with his friend, former bandmate, and returned Boston-area resident TW Walsh (but more on him and the live debut of his Soft Drugs in my next post), as well as opener and birthday-boy Drew O’Doherty.
It’s been well over a year since the initial release of DB’s last EP, “Fewer Moving Parts”, so he’s got a whole bunch of new songs ready to share (which should appear on his first Barsuk full-length, titled “David Bazan’s Black Cloud”, out sometime next year). And share he did, with no less than seven new ones and a knockout cover of Leonard Cohen‘s “Hallelujah” (which will also likely make its way onto the next disc). The first of the new ones he played was co-written with Starflyer 59‘s Jason Martin, and as of this performance didn’t have an official title. We also got a couple of the EP tracks, a Headphones number, some older Pedro the Lion songs, and David’s usually-interesting in-set question & answer sessions.
As you may know, David’s a Radiohead fan (Mp3: “Let Down” (live)), and here’s what he had to say during one of the Q&A’s about the release of “In Rainbows”…
Audience: “What do you think of the new Radiohead?”
DB: “Oh, I like the new Radiohead record pretty well. I like some of their other songs better than the songs on this record, but it’s a pretty compelling record, I think. I don’t love the drummer. He seems like a great dude, and I thought he had worked all this stuff out on the last record, but apparently not.”
Aud: “How much did you pay for it?”
DB: “I paid 80 dollars.” (he bought the discbox)
Aud: “That’s too much!” (crowd laughs)
DB: “It depends on the value that you place on music. Having heard the White Album the way that I have, and knowing how much it means to me, if someone told me that the only way I could listen to that record ever again is to save up and pay $1000 for it… do you think I would? Fuck yeah, I would. I’d sell amplifiers, and guitars… it’s an important thing for me to be able to listen to that record…
…thankfully I can just download it for free.”
He also talks about Pitchfork’s reaction to his song “Selling Advertising“ (“They were very mad. They were frustrated, they had a lot of issues with the song, not the least of which is that Ryan Schreiber is not Jewish. I was like ‘no fucking doy.’… not as smart as I thought they were.”). He speaks of leaving Jade Tree for Barsuk, a bit about politics, mentions that he’s not releasing a Christmas 7″ this year, says there will be a second Headphones record in a couple years, and addresses when “Black Cloud” will come out (“May, I think, maybe June… or July… or August”).
Whenever it does arrive, it can’t come soon enough, as this new stuff ranks up with some of his best work under the PTL banner. Plans are that the album will be a fully fleshed-out affair, with David playing all the instruments, and that he’ll put together a touring band to deliver the songs to audiences once it’s out. For now, the songs only exist in demo form, and further recording may even start between now and when Bazan hits the road again for a two-week West Coast-ish tour with J. Tillman on December 2nd. Full dates after these Mp3s of his full Cambridge set…
Live at TT the Bears
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
on Saturday, October 27th, 2007
[Download the set in one zip file]
* new song
01. Transcontinental
02. Of Minor Prophets and Their Prostitute Wives
03. Cold Beer & Cigarettes
04. No Name Yet * (written with Jason Martin)
05. Weeds in the Wheat *
06. Hot Girls
07. Q&A #1
08. Harmless Sparks *
09. Please, Baby Please *
10. Q&A #2
11. Selling Advertising
12. When They Really Get to Know You They Will Run
13. Heavy Breath(er) *
14. Q&A #3
15. Curse Your Branches *
16. Options
17. I Do
18. American Flags *
19. Q&A #4
20. Band With Managers
21. thanks (banter)
22. Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen cover)
Some Bazan linkage…
Sunday, 12/02 in Spokane, WA @ Empyrean
Monday, 12/03 in Boise, ID @ Neurolux
Tuesday, 12/04 in Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
Wednesday, 12/05 in Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive
Thursday, 12/06 in Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
Friday, 12/07 in Tuscon, AZ @ Solar Culture
Saturday, 12/08 in San Diego, CA @ Casbah
Monday, 12/10 in Pomona, CA @ Glass House
Tuesday, 12/11 in Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland
Wednesday, 12/12 in San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
Thursday, 12/13 in Eugene, OR @ Indigo District
Friday, 12/14 in Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
Saturday, 12/15 in Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Cafe
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.
[Live MP3s] The National played a bar in Boston
Posted on November 12, 2007 at 3:33 pm | No Comments
When I read that the National would be playing at a downtown Boston bar called Paddy O’s (legal capacity: about 230), my first thought was that someone had either A) gotten their info way wrong, or B) thought it was the first of April. After all, the band had just sold out the 1400-capacity Roxy a few weeks earlier, as well as two nights at the 575-capacity Middle East downstairs back in June. But when I realized the news was shared by Sean, who books Paddy O’s sister bar, Hennessy’s (a place that has started hosting some pretty great shows this year), I quickly realized it was no joke.
I’m one of those who only really “got” the National after seeing them live back in June 2005. “Alligator” didn’t grab me immediately, but after watching the band rip through 15 songs at a half-full TT the Bears, I was all in. And unlike its predecessor, this year’s “Boxer” hit me instantly, securing itself a seat high in my ’07 top ten list. But when I learned the band would play two likely-jam-packed shows at the MidEast Down, I balked at seeing the new stuff in that venue… “Boxer” is a more intimate record, and I felt better leaving its songs in my headphones rather than braving the potentially poor sight-lines and sardined conditions of the MEDown. When the band returned to play the Roxy in early October, conflicting plans, a general distaste for the venue, and another sell-out kept me away from that one, too. Call me crazy, but in my dreams the band would’ve played the Somerville Theatre or the MFA… that’s how I saw the “Boxer” songs brought to life, at someplace involving seats. But I’d completely forgotten how much rock the National brings to even their slower songs, and it wasn’t long into their Paddy O’s set that I was reminded of that. Powerfully.
So, about this Paddy O’s gig: Ostensibly, it was to mark the 100th installment of WFNX‘s morning show, “The Sandbox”, but in reality, it was to try and sell a whole lot of Miller beer products. As soon as I walked in, I was surrounded by Miller banners, Miller hawkers, people drinkin’ Miller, and embarrassingly, a botched sign promoting the evening’s appearance by “The Nationals”. Yes, it crossed my mind then that maybe this was all a ruse, and that Cristian Guzman or Nook Logan would be there to tell everyone what time it was (answer: Miller Time!). When I went up to the bar and asked what they had on tap, the bartender semi-laughed at me before responding: “Miller”. And that was it. Fortunately, the “Champagne of Beers” is one of my low-budget drinks of choice, so with High Life in hand I eased up near the front to make sure there were instruments up there. Whew, there were, and the drum kit definitely belonged to Bryan Devendorf. Then it hit me: I’m actually going to get to see the f’in National in this place.
After a too-long delay during which ‘FNX personalities reminded us a few times to drink up the Miller, we were treated to an on-stage appearance by four, and I kid you not, “Miller Girls”. Shirts tied in belly-exposing knots, smiles firmly in place, and not a word spoken by them (just the DJs leading them), it had to have been one of the most surreal introductions the National had ever received. Off to the side of the slightly raised performance area, the guys grinned sheepishly, probably not believing what they were seeing, same as many of us. So, so odd.
And then, finally, the six guys hit the stage: Singer Matt Berninger, Scott & Bryan Devendorf (bass & drums, respectively), Aaron & Bryce Dessner (guitars), and thankfully this time, Padma Newsome on keys and violin…
Live at Paddy O’s
in Boston, Massachusetts
on Friday, October 26th, 2007
01. Start A War
02. Mistaken For Strangers
03. Secret Meeting
04. Brainy
05. Baby, We’ll Be Fine
06. Slow Show
07. Squalor Victoria
08. All The Wine
09. Ada
10. Racing Like A Pro
11. Apartment Story
12. Fake Empire
13. Mr. November
14. The Geese of Beverly Road
15. Abel
The band was on fire, the songs intense, the crowd noisily appreciative. Normally I’d be annoyed by such an overly raucous audience (that’s the taper in me typing), but it fit just right at this small rock show, and swept me up. I walked outta there thinking it could have been the show of the year, and with distance, a few weeks later it’s easily in my top five.
Some National links…
- Their official site, MySpace page, Wikipedia entry, and their Beggars label page.
- Additional Audio: Four songs to stream on MySpace, as usual, and three older songs shared as Mp3s on their own site: “Slipping Husband“ and “Murder Me Rachael“ from “Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers”, and “Cold Girl Fever“ off their self-titled debut. NPR also transmitted a live National performance from DC’s 9:30 club in June, which you can listen to via the All Songs Considered podcast. I’ve excerpted two songs here for your listening pleasure…
Mp3: The National – “Mr. November”
(live on NPR from DC, 6/20/07)Mp3: The National – “Mistaken For Strangers”
(live on NPR from DC, 6/20/07)Also, the Boston Phoenix’s On The Download music blog puts my recording to shame by sharing soundboard audio from the Paddy O’s show, along with some sweet two-camera video action.
- Video: The aforementioned OTD live videos for “Brainy“, “Secret Meeting“, and “Mistaken For Strangers“. A whole bunch of preview clips for the upcoming National film, “A Skin, A Night” by Vincent Moon. A new Black Cab Session for “You’ve Done It Again, Virginia” that Berninger & a Dessner performed acoustically in the back of a London taxi just yesterday. The band also did one of the Blogoteque Take Away Shows, performing both “Start A War” and “Ada“. And, of course, there’s the handy National YouTube search.
- Photos: My point-and-shoot shots of the National at Paddy O’s are here. The Line of Best Fit has some excellent pics of the band’s performance last night in London. For many more photos, here’s a National Flickr tag search. Good thing Flickr doesn’t ignore the “the” in their searches, or you’d be looking at lots of pictures of parks.
- Tourdates: The National continues their worldwide trek in support of “Boxer” through the end of the year and beyond. Tonight they’re in Belgium, then they hit up most of Europe before closing out their 2007 road trip in Russia. January brings them south of the equator, with a stop in New Zealand and many more in Australia.
- Listen to any and all ‘Nac-hosted Mp3s at le 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.