Mp3s: The Lymbyc Systym in Cambridge, MA
Posted on January 22, 2007 at 10:15 am | No Comments
Tomorrow sees the release of “Love Your Abuser“, the first full-length from Phoenix, Arizona’s The Lymbyc Systym, which follows up on the instrumental duo’s 2005 debut, the “Carved By Glaciers” EP. Before they came to town to open for The Album Leaf and Now It’s Overhead a couple months back, a ‘Nac reader with trustworthy taste recommended I get there early enough to catch ’em, and I’m psyched to say he was right on. I’ll let the live tracks and official mp3s linked below speak for themselves…
Live at The Middle East Downstairs
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
on Tuesday, November 7th, 2006
01. Birds
02. Astrology Days
03. Truth Skull
04. Pittsburgh Left
05. Love Your Abuser
06. Carved By Glaciers
Some Lymbyc Systym lynks…
Their official site, MySpace, the Mush Records site, and the Mush Records Wikipedia entry. Mp3s: “Truth Skull” from “Love Your Abuser”, “Birds” from their 2006 ltd. edition live album, and “Carved By Glaciers” from the EP of the same name. Five other complete Lymbyc Systym live sets are available over at the indespensable Live Music Archive. Two video clips from the Chicago stop of their tour with the Album Leaf are available at the Lymbyc Systym’s video page. The Lymbyc Systym hits the road again in mid-February for a three-week tour that brings them back to the Boston area on Monday, February 19th at TT the Bears. Once again, they’re on early, so make sure you’re there by 9 o’clock or you’ll miss out.
the fine print… If anyone has an issue with this live set being made available, just say the word (contact info in the ‘nac faq). Recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps mp3s. Tracks are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed.
Mp3s: Death Cab for Cutie in Boston
Posted on January 16, 2007 at 1:52 pm | No Comments
I’ve been a Death Cab For Cutie fan for far too long to do something as silly as hold their increased popularity and major label success against ’em. Sure, in my college radio days I’d left certain bands behind under similar circumstances, but the difference was usually that their studio output lost something in the transition. It was more rewarding to find new, exciting artists that deserved airplay than to try and find something worthwhile on lesser albums by bigger bands. But with DCFC, it’s different, and I’m along for the ride as long as they keep writing and releasing good songs on solid discs like 2005’s “Plans“. Sure, there are a couple tracks on there that don’t do it for me, but that’s been the case with each album since their debut, and they’re offset by a song like “What Sarah Said“, which is one of the most moving ones they’ve ever recorded.
But my appreciation for the band was put to the test in November when they played the gorgeous Boston Opera House on guitarist Chris Walla’s birthday. It had been a few years since I’d seen DCFC, shunning the larger venues and higher tickets prices as I’m prone to do, but the lure of an opening set by Ted Leo & his Pharmacists was enough to get me buying good seats the day they went on sale. I’d been pretty much blown away when I saw Sigur Ros at the Opera House a year before, but they (and their fans) are entirely different beasts.
When Death Cab’s set started with “405“, and the more enthusiastic fans stood up despite the mellowness of that opener, Ben Gibbard didn’t wait long before encouraging the rest of the crowd to get up out of their seats for the “rock show at the opera house”. And while most of the audience was clearly excited throughout the show (predictably cheering louder for the newer songs), and the band was obviously into their playing and grateful for the crowd, there was just something missing for me. Even though I liked the set, the song selection, and the band’s energy, I felt this odd disconnection from the proceedings, like I was watching a television broadcast of a show instead of an actual show. Maybe it couldn’t be helped, considering the small spaces I’d seen them play in previously. Maybe it’s just age, what with the overall lowering of their fans’ average age, and given that some of the uber-appreciative kids near me (loudly singing, clapping along to entire songs) could possibly have been my illegitimate high school spawn. Could be that my days of seeing DCFC live are better left behind me. But their albums? If they keep making ’em, I’ll keep buying ’em.
Here’s my recording of that set, from November 2nd, 2006 at the Boston Opera House. And for the curious, DCFC is fortunately one of those bands who are completely cool with live recordings. They understand.
Live at The Boston Opera House
in Boston, Massachusetts
on Thursday, November 2nd, 2006
01. 405
02. Your Heart Is An Empty Room
03. The New Year
04. We Laugh Indoors
05. Crooked Teeth
06. Title and Registration
07. Lightness
08. President of What?
09. Photobooth
10. A Movie Script Ending
11. Company Calls
12. What Sarah Said
13. I Will Follow You Into the Dark
14. Soul Meets Body
15. We Looked Like Giants
16. Transatlanticism
encore…
17. Happy Birthday Chris Walla
18. Marching Bands of Manhattan
19. Expo ’86
20. The Sound of Settling
Some DCFC links…
Their official site, MySpace, and Wikipedia entry. Mp3s: “Soul Meets Body” (from “Plans”), “Title and Registration” (from Transatlanticism), “Wait” (from “You Can Play These Songs With Chords”), “A Movie Script Ending” (from “The Photo Album”), “Song For Kelly Huckaby” (from the “Forbidden Love” EP), “For What Reason” (from “We Have The Facts And We’re Voting Yes”), and “Champagne From A Paper Cup” (from “Something About Airplanes”). More Cowbell reviewed the D.C. stop of the same tour. Pitchfork shares news of Ben Gibbard’s budding acting career, and updates us on what the other band members are up to now that DCFC is taking a break for most of the newly-hatched 2007.
the fine print… If anyone has an issue with this live set being made available, just say the word (contact info in the ‘nac faq). Recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps mp3s. Mp3s are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed.