[Boston Ticket Giveaway / Preview] This weekend’s LIFE IS GOOD FEST
Posted on September 19, 2011 at 10:07 am | No Comments
Looking at the lineup alone, this year’s second-ever Life Is Good Festival (taking place this coming weekend in Canton, MA) isn’t exactly in my musical wheelhouse. Sure, I like to pretend I have pretty diverse listening habits, but let’s be honest… it’s not too often that I break out of the so-called indie rock/pop box I hang out in. So on the face of it, the roots/folk/rock-centric 2-day gathering doesn’t scream “Must! Go!” at me.
Fortunately, the Life Is Good Fest is about much more than an objectively well-curated list of 22 accomplished acts – it’s about a wide-open, welcoming vibe, a meticulous attention to environmentally-friendly detail, and foremost, it’s about collecting a ton of money for kids. It’s a fundraiser first of all.
My family and I had a blast hanging out just south of Boston at Prowse Farm for last year’s initial installment, despite a lineup that was low on personal faves. In the end, that didn’t matter at all – in fact, I relished the chance to step outside my regular rotation and soak in so many varied performances. Mavis Staples was unsurprisingly amazing, Will Dailey & the Rivals rocked, Eli “Paperboy” Reed and his band impressed. And yeah, of course I loved seeing They Might Be Giants in the completely packed kids tent. Maybe even more than my then-3-year-old son did.
And that’s another reason this fest stands above the rest – it really couldn’t be more kid-friendly. The children’s tent is surrounded by games and activities, so as dad to a little one, that’s pretty key. If he gets tired of watching a band, it’s back to the ball toss. If things get a little too loud, it’s over to the parachute. Made bringing our boy that much more enjoyable, for sure. Plus, out of nowhere… Jim Rice sitting and signing at a table. Bonus!
Ok, so about this year’s lineup: While light on the ol’ indie rock (The Hold Steady plugs that hole, though I’m not a fan), there’s no lack of genre-crossing heavy hitters. The legendary Levon Helm rambles over from his place in upstate NY for a Sunday evening set that will feature an assist from members of the Boston Pops (they’ll play earlier Sunday with Brandi Carlile as well). There’s no way that won’t be great. Other notables from the full list include The Avett Brothers, Ingrid Michaelson, Michael Franti, and Martin Sexton on Saturday, and Sunday brings Raphael Saadig and Maceo Parker before Ray LaMontagne closes things out. Representing Boston locals on Sunday afternoon (aside from former Harvard Square busker Sexton on Saturday) are Jenny Dee and the Deelinquents, and that’ll actually be Jenny’s second time up on that stage, after a surprise appearance last year alongside Will Dailey for a killer take on the Stones’ “Gimme Shelter“.
Headlining the kids stage this year are Disney Junior TV faves Imagination Movers (our kid is so psyched), along with the Laurie Berkner Band, Keller Williams, and Ben Rudnick & friends. All four acts will play sets on both days starting at 11:45am.
Wanna go? Well, thanks to the Life Is Good crew, I have a pair of Sunday tickets to hand out. That’s mighty generous of them, given the cost, and the winner has my permission not to feel guilty about getting into a charity event for free. Just buy some merch or drop a little in a donation box when you’re there, we’ll call it even. Do it for the kids, man.
To enter, send an email to giveaways [at] bradleysalmanac [dot] com, make sure it hits my inbox before this Thursday morning (9/22) at 9am, and put “Life is good because…” in the subject line. Continue that thought in the body of the email, and tell me one reason that, well, life is good. If you can’t come up with a single reason, well, then you maybe have more important things to worry about than winning a ticket giveaway. Or perhaps that would help. So make something up if you have to. I’ll pick a random email from the batch on Thursday morning and let the winner know straight away.
To grab your own tickets to the 2011 Life Is Good Festival, go here. To find out how to contribute more to the cause than just your ticket price, check this out. For the full lineup, including links to bios and streamable songs, here you go. And for some tips about attending, check out my live-from-the-fest post from last year.
[Live MP3s / 20 Years On] FUGAZI live in Burlington VT 1991
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 11:16 am | 1 Comment
While Fugazi is rarely far from my mind (or my stereo), they seem to be floating around the collective consciousness a little more often this year. Covers and mash-ups, interviews, bassist Joe Lally announcing a Fall world tour in support of his latest solo album (Hey, Boston: Great Scott on 11/15), David Bazan citing drummer Brendan Canty as “probably the musician that I obsessed over more than any other in my life”, and the (hopefully) impending launch of the new Fugazi Live Series Archive, a collection of over 800 recorded shows digitized for fans (in addition to those already available). While everyone is waxing nostalgic about the 20th anniversary of “Nevermind”, I’m more struck by the fact that it’s been two decades since Fugazi put out their seminal sophomore full-length “Steady Diet Of Nothing”.
It was on the eve of that album’s release that the DC quartet hit Burlington, Vermont for a show at Border (now Metronome). Place was packed with around 250 excited kids, myself included, and the crowd surged with every single song, even the new ones. Someone downstairs at Nectar’s said they thought they could see the ceiling bending as we pogoed. Will never forget the first time I ever heard “KYEO“, “Exit Only“, and especially “Long Division“. I covet my soundboard cassette of that night, and it was one of the first live shows I ever digitized for sharing here on the ‘Nac, back in 2002.
So while we wait for the arrival of that Fugazi Live Series site, I figured I’d share up that show again. If that official archive ends up containing this one for download, I’ll probably pull it back down, but for now, have at it. If you’ve already got it, know that I’ve upped the MP3 sample rate from that first share (192 vs 256), and thrown the tracks together into a .zip file so it’s easier to grab. For more live action, hit up And This Is What The Devil Does for an excellent Fugazi live video collection.
Live at Border
in Burlington, Vermont
in the early Spring of 1991
[download as a single 138MB .zip file]
01. intro banter
02. Turnover / Styrofoam
03. banter
04. Sieve-Fisted Find
05. Latin Roots / Merchandise
06. Give Me The Cure / Song 1
07. Margin Walker / Waiting Room
08. Long Division / Blueprint
09. Officer Friendly
10. Shut The Door
11. banter
12. KYEO
13. Exit Only
14. Repeater
15. Reprovisional
I’ve never had any luck, either on the internet or in my own memory banks, finding the exact date of this show. If you happen to know, leave a comment.
Keep your eyes open.