Teenbeat’s 20th: Night Three Redux
Posted on March 10, 2005 at 2:24 pm | No Comments
It was late 1992, living in Vermont and inhaling independently released music faster than air, when a stylishly designed 7-inch from upstart Boston label Pop Narcotic caught my eye at the record store. Two songs by a band I’d never heard called Versus, ‘Bright Light‘ backed with ‘Forest Fire‘. The a-side was rockin’, super-catchy, energetic, and sung by a guy, the b-side was female-fronted and hauntingly beautiful. It sounded like two different bands, both damn good, and I was hooked. I spun the thing to death, tracked down their other earlier 7”, and waited patiently for the self-released ‘Let’s Electrify‘ EP to come out the next year.
But my Versus obsession peaked in mid-94 when Teenbeat Records released their first full-length, ‘The Stars Are Insane‘. It was my summer soundtrack, I played it incessently, and imagined seeing them on stage. It would be years until I did, and while I loved pretty much everything they did in the meantime, it was that first album that lodged itself forever in my brain. (and I’ll never admit that I fell for Amie ‘cuz she had a copy of it on her cd shelf, although it certainly didn’t hurt.)
While I’m a big Unrest fan, it was the prospect of a Versus reunion that really sold me on a trip to DC for the Teenbeat 20th Anniversary shows. I’d last seen them in 2003, so they hadn’t been out of commission all that long, but for my money they’re one of the most dependable live bands out there. Though they’re not offically broken up, the prospect of another record happening anytime soon, while not impossible, is fairly slim with all the other active projects they’re involved in (Patrick & James in Plus Minus, Richard’s Whysall Lane, and Fontaine in The Fontaine Toups). So I needed a full-on Versus fix, and DC was the only place I was gonna get it for awhile. Hell, if I was really lucky, maybe they’d even play something from ‘The Stars Are Insane‘…
Well, they played the whole. damn. thing.
Yes, Versus played the entirety of ‘The Stars Are Insane‘, start to finish, note for note, from Thera through I’ll Be You. I’m still in shock.
But more on that later. Just had to get it outta my system.
So this third and final night started off with a slight letdown, as many were expecting an opening live performance by Trevor Kampmann, aka hollAnd, but instead got an on-screen projection of the DVD that comes packaged with his ‘I Steal and Do Drugs‘ disc. Not sure if this was planned all along or if hollAnd just couldn’t make it, but odds are it would have just been him and a laptop anyway, right?
Soon the video screen came down, the crowd moved to the stage, and the three ladies who are Hot Pursuit appeared to much applause. Evelyn Hurley (ex-Blast Off Country Style), Margaret McCartney (ex-Tuscadero, who were closing out the evening), and drummer Ginger Crockett presented us with a six song set of pretty pleasing pop. Here’s three of ’em…
Hot Pursuit – ‘Hawaii‘ (live)
Hot Pursuit – ‘Number One‘ (live)
Hot Pursuit – ‘Lucky Seven‘ (live)
Next up was Aden, a band I was only semi-familiar with, having heard and liked a few of their songs on compliations. Frontguy Jeff Gramm seemed genuinely honored to be a part of the lineup, and I really wanted to get into their set, but something just seemed… off. I knew the songs were there, a couple really stood out as excelllent, but I gotta say, hopefully without sounding too mean, I was pretty darn distracted by the guitar noodling of the long-haired gent on stage left. His amp was too loud where I was, and his meandering lines sounded straight out of the grateful dead-zone. Not really my thing. (case in point: I once took a few guitar lessons, and as soon as the instructor said with a smile that “the first song you’re going to learn to play is ‘Casey Jones‘ by the Dead!”, I walked out and never came back). Admittedly, I enjoyed going through my recording of the Aden set more than I did that live experience… they sound much better than I remembered at the time…
Aden – ‘I Knew You Would Go‘ (live)
Aden – ‘Pop Song‘ (live)
Aden – ‘Dear John‘ (live – with Evelyn Hurley)
And then came my biggest musical discovery of the entire event… Flin Flon. I’d until then missed the Flin Flon train, but I’m happily on board after what I saw that night at the Black Cat. They physically moved me, their amazing rhythm section barreling along with a dancey Joy Division-meets-Six Finger Satellite feel, Teenbeat honcho Mark Robinson peppering the songs with his familiar voice and guitar notes. The crowd was way into it, and I was right there in the middle. Listening to the recordings reveals to me just how much you need to see this band live… the audio is not enough, doesn’t capture quite what we got hit with. But it’s a start…
Flin Flon – ‘Swift Current‘ (live)
Flin Flon – ‘Black Bear‘ (live)
Flin Flon – ‘Kamloops‘ (live)
Now I just need to pick a Flin Flon disc or two.
At last, my personal main attraction… the quartet that is Versus. They started out with a simple ‘This set is for Mark’, dedicating it all to Mr. Teenbeat, the very man who released their first album. Three songs later I realized they were going to play every freakin’ track from that record, and I don’t think I stopped smiling until well after they left the stage. Like I said, it was a little dream come true for me. Here’s the first half of the set, the first half of that brilliant album…
Versus – ‘Thera‘ (live)
Versus – ‘Circle‘ (live)
Versus – ‘Fallow‘ (live)
Versus – ‘River‘ (live)
Versus – ‘Mirror Mirror‘ (live)
Versus – ‘Be-9‘ (live)
… and I’ll be posting the second half of them on Monday. Their whole damn debut album live, songs that are over a decade old, every single one. Can you tell I was a little excited? What a gift, and we actually have Mr. Robinson to thank for it. He asked the band if they’d do it, and whaddya know… they obliged. So cool of ’em. Again, just… wow.
It’d be kinda hard to follow that up, right? Well, a reunited Tuscadero did their best, closing out the celebration with a thirteen song set of their hook-filled bubblegum-poprock. I’d seen them a couple times when they came up to Vermont and played the Burlingtonitus fest, and while they were never the most exciting live band, they were pretty together for having packed it over five years ago. The crowd ate it up and sang along to many of their familiar songs, getting just a little louder during their ‘Centerfold‘ cover. Here’s five for ya…
Tuscadero – ‘Mt. Pleasant‘ (live)
Tuscadero – ‘Tickled Pink‘ (live)
Tuscadero – ‘Nancy Drew‘ (live)
Tuscadero – ‘Hollywood Handsome‘ (live)
Tuscadero – ‘Centerfold‘ (live – J. Geils Band cover)
So that’s it for my Teenbeat anniversary posts, at least until I post the rest of that Versus set on Monday. And a reminder, you can find a bunch more pictures from the shows in this Teenbeat Flickr set I pulled together, along with other peoples’ pics when you click this Teenbeat Tag search link.
Thanks, Teenbeat. I had a blast.
Teenbeat’s 20th: Night Two Redux
Posted on March 8, 2005 at 2:53 pm | No Comments
The 3-night Teenbeat Records 20th anniversary celebration thingy finished up over a week ago, and I’m settled back here in Boston, finally nearing normality. A bunch of later-than-usual nights out, soooo much live music, too much beer, and a royally screwed up eating routine really threw me off for awhile. And then there was the smoke, what with D.C. still squarely in the stone age, letting the in-club-clouds gather. I’d become so accustomed to clean lungs that the exhaust hit me like a black-stained bag o’ bricks, and of course, a few of my sweaters still smell like ass. But enough whining, the celebrating was more than worth a small amount of sufferin’…
After the fairly mellow and relatively small kick-off night at the Galaxy Hut, the second (and first of two sold-out Black Cat shows) was quite a contrast. Of the six band lineup, I was most excited for Unrest, who didn’t disappoint… they played a bunch more songs, and were way tighter, than their preview set the night before. I was also very much looking forward to The Fontaine Toups and Plus Minus, and I’d seen True Love Always enough to know I liked them lots. As for Eggs, I’m not exactly a huge fan, and while I was unfamiliar with Jonny Cohen, his performance didn’t really do it for me either. My apologies to Jonny fans for the lack of recordings, as he was well into his opening set by the time I arrived…
First, a few from The Fontaine Toups, fronted by their namesake (and Versus bass player/singer), who I’d seen awhile back here in Boston. Their set was much improved on my memories of their TT’s live show… better songs, better playing, and much more energy…
The Fontaine Toups – Rock and Roll Thru and Thru (live)
The Fontaine Toups – ‘Who Told You‘ (live)
The Fontaine Toups – Huskertine (live)
It was rockin’ enough for me to grab their full-length from the Teenbeat merch table in the back of the Black Cat. Their set seemed to be mostly new stuff, so if you know those two missing song titles, lemme know. (update: Big thanks to TFT’s bass player, Steve Choo, for letting me know those new song titles.)
Next up was True Love Always, who put just the perfect amount of jazz in their pop. I wasn’t quick enough with the recorder to capture their cover of Earth, Wind, & Fire’s ‘September‘ (you can get that here), but hey, at least we get some Bob Seger action in ‘Buried Treasure‘. Here’s a few from their set…
True Love Always – ‘Modesto‘ (live – with Evelyn Hurley)
True Love Always – ‘Buried Treasure‘ (live)
True Love Always – ‘Sunshine‘ (live – with Evelyn Hurley)
Lucky for all of us, Mrs. Teenbeat and former Blast-Offer, Evelyn Hurley, seemed to be on stage as much as the between-set emcees, not just in her own Hot Pursuit, but with both TLA and Aden… and probably with someone else I’m forgetting. Her voice and near-constant smile always seem to make songs better, and you’ll hear more of her when I post songs from the third night (tomorrow, hopefully).
After TLA was another band who surpassed my already-pretty-high expectations, Plus Minus (+/-). Wow. They’re so much more guitar-rockin’ live than their first record (and previous Boston appearances) suggested, and even though I have that disc, I neglected to grab the follow-up EP until the end of their Black Cat set. Yup, even more cash spent at the Teenbeat merch table, with no after-purchase pangs of regret. The electronics/programming of the recordings are still there, but the guitars and stellar live drums build around them powerfully. Here’s three from their set (such killer drumming on the first song)…
Plus Minus – ‘She’s Got Your Eyes‘ (live)
Plus Minus – ‘Making the Horse Drink‘ (live)
Plus Minus – ‘Trapped Under Ice Floes‘ (live)
Y’know, I just love watching James Baluyut play guitar… his enthusiasm is infectious, and his performance in Plus Minus got me even more psyched up for the next day’s Versus reunion (he and fellow minus-man Patrick Ramos are 1/2 of Versus, btw).
Next up was a reunited Eggs. As I mentioned, I’m not so crazy about ’em, but here’s a few songs for those of you that are…
Eggs – ‘Ampallang‘ (live)
Eggs – ‘The Government Administrator‘ (live)
Eggs – ‘A Pit With Spikes‘ (live)
And then, Unrest. F’in fantastic, playing familiar faves and a couple unexexpected treats (glad to see drummer Phil singin’ on WCLA). Brought me back to London, 1993, when I saw them play twice during the 4AD 13 Year Itch anniversary shows. Never thought I’d get that chance again, and there they were in front of me, a dozen years later…
Unrest – ‘Isabel‘ (live)
Unrest – ‘West Coast Love Affair‘ (live)
Unrest – ‘Make Out Club‘ (live)
Unrest – ‘Cath Carroll‘ (live)
So there’s the second night for ya, with one more to go. Little did I know that during the third and final show, a little personal dream would come true. One of my favorite bands would perform their best record, start to finish, note for precious note… but I’ll leave that until tomorrow.
Until then, check out all of my pictures from the shows, which I’ve pulled together in a Teenbeat Flickr set. You can see other fan pics from the event by looking at this Teenbeat Tag search. Gotta love Flickr.
Out into the chilly Boston rain I go…