Mp3s: David Bazan in Somerville, MA
Posted on May 23, 2007 at 8:01 am | No Comments
It’s safe to say that, to varying degrees, I’m a fan of everything David Bazan has ever done: All those ace Pedro the Lion albums (I was on board from the moment I heard “It’s Hard To Find A Friend”), last year’s “Fewer Moving Parts” solo EP (which got re-released yesterday courtesy of the wonderful Barsuk, his new label), even the guitar-free diversion that was the Headphones‘ 2005 debut. The guy (and his collaborators) rarely lets me down, either recorded or in person, and his opening performance for DCFC‘s Ben Gibbard here in Boston a couple weeks back was no exception.
Like Gibbard, Bazan’s set pulled from all over his personal back catalog, including PtL, Headphones, and solo songs, along with a couple covers: A Dylan tune and his mesmerizing version of Radiohead‘s “Let Down“, which he referred to as “the best song ever written” from the Somerville Theatre stage. And hearing him play it, it’s kinda hard to dispute that.
If forced to file one complaint, I s’pose it’d be the absence of new material in his set, but given the abbreviated time slot of an opener, can’t fault him for that. Looks like we may have to wait until the fall for new stuff, when he’ll head out again for a tour of his own before he ventures back into the studio to record his first Barsuk full-length, due sometime in 2008. Maybe he’ll use that autumn opportunity to road-test the studio-bound songs? Here’s hoping. Oh, and word is that David has decided go back to using a band name, while still letting people know that he’s involved by releasing that next album as “David Bazan’s Black Cloud”. Which has an amusingly appropriate ring to it.
Here is David’s Somerville set…
Live at the Somerville Theatre
in Somerville, Massachusetts
on Monday, May 7th, 2007
01. I Do
02. Shit Talker
03. The Man In Me (Dylan)
04. banter
05. Transcontinental
06. June 18, 1976
07. Selling Advertising
08. Of Up And Coming Monarchs
09. Let Down (Radiohead)
10. Cold Beer and Cigarettes
11. Big Trucks
12. Bad Things To Such Good People
13. Bands With Managers
Some Bazan-centric links…
His own website, Wikipedia entry, MySpace page, his new Barsuk Records page, Jade Tree page, the Undertow Music Store page, and a couple fansites: PtL dot com & PtL dot org. Mp3s: “Cold Beer & Cigarettes“ from “Fewer Moving Pieces”; “The Longest Winter“ & “When They Really Get to Know You They Will Run“ from “It’s Hard To Find A Friend”; You can find links to more Mp3s thanks to PedroTheLion.org and Pedro-the-Lion.com, as well as the PtL Purevolume page. A wealth of listening ahead there. Courtesy of NPR, listen to David’s performance from the 9:30 Club in DC a few days after the Somerville stop. You can either stream it or download the set as a single Mp3 file. Here’s what David played that night: David Bazan at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC on May 10th, 2007: Backwoods Nation, Cold Beer & Cigarettes, The Man In Me, Transcontinental, Shit Talker, When They Really Get To Know You They Will Run, Foregone Conclusions, Let Down, Selling Advertising, Of Minor Prophets and their Prostitute Wives, Of Up and Coming Monarchs, Bands With Managers.
Video: Bazan and PtL live clips are all over YouTube, but there’s been a noticeable lack of ‘official’ video output from him over the years. The tastefully-named Mp3 blog (and fellow Blog Fresh Radio contributor) It’s Hard To Find A Friend recently shared a few David PtL/Bazan & Ben Gibbard rarities, and just yesterday offered up a bunch of covers that David has performed. As always, you can listen to all ‘Nac-hosted tracks on the Hype Machine.
the post-script… 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.
Mp3s: Ben Gibbard in Somerville, MA
Posted on May 14, 2007 at 10:49 am | No Comments
Ben Gibbard brought his guitar, piano, and a couple touring friends (openers Johnathan Rice and David Bazan) to town last week for the fourth date of his in-progress solo tour. The guys hit the sold-out, 900-seat Somerville Theatre, and I nearly missed it. The morning those tickets went on sale, I happened to be knocked out with a serious flu virus, and by the time I gathered my wits and remembered what day it was, they were long gone. But thanks to a same-day favor from a friend, I fortunately found myself there on Monday, May 7th for all three acoustic sets.
For now, here’s Ben’s entire Somerville performance. He’s been playing a mix of Death Cab For Cutie, Postal Service, and older solo songs, as well as a rotation of covers (we were treated to Donovan, Neil Young, and Nirvana) and the occasional new one. I’m usually hesitant to share up unreleased new songs, but with the ubiquitousness of shaky YouTube videos, I figured maybe it’s better to see some high-ish quality live versions make their way out there. I’ll hopefully be sharing up David Bazan’s set next week…
Live at the Somerville Theatre
in Somerville, Massachusetts
on Monday, May 7th, 2007
01. To Sing For You (Donovan) / Brand New Colony
02. Why You’d Want To Live Here
03. Photobooth
04. We Will Become Silhouettes
05. Title & Registration
06. Crooked Teeth
07. You Remind Me Of Home
08. Casino Blues (new)
09. Passenger Seat
10. Soul Meets Body
11. Thin Ice (new)
12. banter 1
13. Recycled Air
14. banter 2
15. A Lack Of Color
16. banter 3
17. Sound Of Settling
18. Such Great Heights
19. Harvest Moon (Neil Young)
20. 405
21. All Apologies (Nirvana)
22. I Will Follow You Into The Dark
For those keeping score, that’s 3 covers, 10 Death Cab For Cutie songs, 4 Postal Service songs, a couple new solo numbers, and an older solo cut from the split “Home” EP with American Analog Set‘s Andrew Kenny.
Some Gibbard-related links…
His own (not yet finished) solo website, Wikipedia entry, and the main Death Cab For Cutie site. Mp3s: From Ben’s performance a few days later at the 9:30 Club in DC, which was broadcast live on NPR, here are a couple live songs for ya… Ben Gibbbard – Farmer Chords (live)
(another of Ben’s songs from that excellent split EP with Andrew Kenny)Ben Gibbbard – Couches in Alleys (live)
(originally a collaboration with Styrofoam).To hear that entire NPR broadcast, head to this All Songs Considered page
where you can stream it or download one big honkin’ Mp3 file. UPDATE 5/19: Word from NPR is that Ben’s management only wants his set available for a limited time, so they’ve now shared it as part of the ASC podcast, which you can grab by subscribing over here (iTunes podcast link / mp3 link). Knowing that’s their preference, please note that I’ll only be offering up my shared mp3s above for a short time as well.Usually NPR posts the setlists for the shows they share, but for some reason they haven’t for Ben’s. So I’ll do it for you…
Ben Gibbard at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC on May 10th, 2007: To Sing For You, Brand New Colony, Title & Registration, Crooked Teeth, We Will Become Silhouettes, Photobooth, Why You’d Want To Live Here, Passenger Seat, Soul Meets Body, Recycled Air, Farmer Chords, Couches in Alleys, A Lack of Color, Sound of Settling, Such Great Heights, Blacking Out the Friction, All Apologies, I Will Follow You Into The Dark.
And remember, since Ben & the rest of Death Cab have given permission for their material to be shared on the Live Music Archive, you can find a ton of DCFC live shows over there.
Video: Dozens of live Gibbard clips can be found with a YouTube search. Stereogum shared three YouTube vids recorded by msquared64 at the Somerville show, with clips for “All Apologies“, “Thin Ice“, and “Casino Blues“, and Pitchfork shared a bunch of photos as well. The Gibbard/Bazan/Rice train rolls on for just six more dates, with stops in Dallas tonight, Austin, L.A., San Fran, and Portland this week, and two homecoming shows in Seattle on Sunday and Monday. Details on each show are here. Listen to all ‘Nac-hosted tracks on the Hype Machine.
the post-script… 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.