Mp3s: Ryan Walsh of Hallelujah the Hills live
Posted on October 8, 2007 at 10:23 am | No Comments
When Kevin Drew and his rejiggered (but still BSS-laden) backing band made their live debut at TT the Bears here in Cambridge a couple months back, Ryan Walsh of Hallelujah the Hills was tapped to open up the very-packed MySpace show with an acoustic set of his own. He used the opportunity to share not just stripped-down versions of a few songs from his band’s excellent full-length debut, “Collective Psychosis Begone”, but to give us some brand new stuff, a familiar cover, and even dust off a track by his previous band, the Stairs.
On the eve of Hallelujah the Hills’ 8-date East Coast tour, which kicks off tomorrow night in Knoxville, Tennessee (see dates below), the band is unleashing a couple more new songs onto the ‘net, with exclusive tracks offered at both Largehearted Boy (“Cataloging Candy’s Demise”) and Stereogum (“Let It Wave“). To add to this wealth of HtH goodness, I’m happy to share my Ryan-approved recording of that acoustic TT’s set…
Ryan Walsh of
Hallelujah the Hills
Live at TT the Bears
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
on Tuesday, August 28th, 2007
01. Nurses Five Float Past (new)
02. Escape Clause (the Stairs)
03. Paper Pilots (new)
04. It’s All Been Downhill Since The Talkies Started To Sing
05. Wave Backwards to Massachusetts
06. subway story (banter)
07. The Echo Sequence (new)
08. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Cyndi Lauper cover)
09. The Trap
Some HtH links…
Their official site, MySpace page, and Misra Records page. Audio: Mp3s – From “Collective Psychosis Begone”, download the song “Hallelujah the Hills“. Grab the non-album track “Monster Eyes“ (written using words from Jonathan Lethem’s book “You Don’t Love Me Yet”). Stream – four songs on their MySpace page, including a demo version of the song “Nurses Five Float Past“. The band also has a bunch of other demos and selected live songs on their own downloads page. And be sure to head to Largehearted Boy and keep an eye on Stereogum for those two brand new tracks. As ever, you can easily stream all ‘Nac-hosted mp3s using the Hype Machine. Video: An HtH YouTube search turns up more than a few live vids, along with a short tour video the band threw together earlier this year, and a clip for the track “Wave Backwards To Massachusetts“, which is exactly what the band will be doing as they head out of state this afternoon. Tour: Here are all the stops on the HtH roadtrip, which winds up with a Misra / Absolutely Kosher showcase at CMJ in NYC on the 18th…
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
in Knoxville, TN at The World Grotto
with Cold Hands and The Winter SoundsWednesday, October 10, 2007
in Athens, GA at The Caledonia Lounge
with Casper & The CookiesThursday, October 11, 2007
in Carrboro, NC at The ReservoirFriday, October 12, 2007
in Washington, DC at The Red & Black
with Casper & The Cookies
(as part of the DAM! Fest)Saturday, October 13, 2007
in Fredericksburg, Virginia at 3rd Floor Studio
with Casper & The CookiesSunday, October 14, 2007
in Arlington, Virginia at Galaxy Hut
with Casper & The CookiesWednesday, October 17, 2007
in New Haven, CT at Cafe Nine
with Southeast EngineThursday, October 18, 2007
in New York, NY at Arlene’s Grocery
with Palomar, Centro-matic, the Affair, Get Him! Eat Him!, and Southeast Engine
CMJ Absolutely Kosher/Misra showcaseDo stop in and say hello to them, won’t you?
appeasing the audiophiles… All almanac live sets are 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: Kristin Hersh And Her Charms
Posted on October 3, 2007 at 10:27 am | No Comments
Rather than sharing an entire live set this week, I thought I’d do something a little different in anticipation of the very special sold-out Kristin Hersh / Tanya Donelly team-up shows this weekend at Cambridge’s Brattle Theatre. In case you were unaware, the former co-Throwing Muses (and step-sisters) are doing two shows on Saturday, October 6th, during which they’ll each play a set of their own solo stuff, then join together on stage for a collaborative set that’s bound to include some TM songs. As a longtime fan of the Muses, their solo work, and various other bands (including Tanya’s Belly & Kristin’s 50 Foot Wave), it’d be an understatement to say I’m looking forward to this.
Back in late May, at the end of the U.S. tour in support of her latest solo album, “Learn To Sing Like A Star”, Kristin played a full-band show at the wonderful Hi-N-Dry studio space in Cambridge for a few dozen lucky fans. Her rhythm section was non other than her comrades from 50 Foot Wave, drummer Rob Ahlers and bass player (and fellow Throwing Muse) Bernard Georges. Opening the night, and also backing Kristin & co. for the full set, were the UK-based husband-and-wife string duo The McCarricks. It was as magical as it promised to be: a night of gorgeously intense, songs in a comfortably unique setting. It ranks high in my best shows of the year, and may end up on the very top.
Easily my favorite part of the night was hearing the latest incarnation of the ever-evolving “Me and My Charms“, a song that first appeared in acoustic form on Kristin’s debut solo disc, “Hips and Makers”, back in 1994. It remains among the best she’s written, and has thankfully made its way into many of her solo setlists over the years.
Later in 1994, 4AD released Kristin’s “Strings” EP, an eight-song disc that included four songs from “Hips and Makers” reworked with string arrangements from the McCarricks, including “Me and My Charms“…
When it was first announced that the McCarricks would be joining Kristin for her tour earlier this year, naturally I hoped we’d get finally hear them backing her up on this particular song, but what I didn’t imagine was how much new life the full-band arrangement would bring to it, adding intense rise-and-fall dynamics to an already moving song. I can only say that it blew me away, and here it is…
(live at Hi-N-Dry, Cambridge, MA, May 27th, 2007)
Consider that a tease for what is currently in the works: An officially released full-on DVD of that entire show. Yes, that special night was well-documented, and should eventually find its way into fans’ happy hands.
Speaking of happy fans… see you at the Brattle this weekend?