Friday, September 28

Sneakers - Reunion Shows, NYC & NC 2007-'08

Sneakers were one of the early bands that Chris, 
Will & Mitch Easter were in

audience recordings (sound quality VG-) 

Highlight: The B&G Pies ad, of course!

BIG THANKS to the tapers, apologies to CS, and LOTS OF THANKS to dB’s Fan for the share!
 

SAMPLE: "On the Brink (Cat's Cradle 2008)"

Cat's Cradle
Carrboro, NC
May 2, 2008*
01 intro
02 On the Brink
03 Decline and Fall
04 Condition Red
05 Driving
06 Nonsequitur (of Silence) [WR]
07 Story of a Girl
08 Ruby [RK]
09 B & G Pies ad
10 Quelle Folie
11 Walk Upon the Water (Move cover)
12 No Wonder
13 (Love's Like a) Cuban Missile Crisis
14 S'Il Vous Plait
15 What I Dig

The Bowery Ballroom
NYC
Jan. 13, 2007**
16 S'Il Vous Plait
17 Ruby [RK]
18 Decline and Fall
19 (Love's Like a) Cuban Missile Crisis
20 Nonsequitur (of Silence) [WR]
21 Quelle Folie
22 On the Brink
23 Condition Red

Chris and Mitch take turns singing lead for most of these. Will and Robert Keely each sing lead on 1 song: Will on “Nonsequitur” and Robert on “Ruby.”

*Opener for The Pressure Boys at a Cystic Fibrosis Foundation benefit 2008-05-02 (the 2nd Sneakers reunion show).

**Opener for dB’s reunion show (the 1st Sneakers reunion show), 2007-01-13. A reporter at the NYC show wrote, “For Sneakers’ last two songs, Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley joined in to contribute tambourine and cowbell.”

MP3@320 (2007 show is MP3@192, best avail. bit rate)
Alt. Link
  

AH, the good ol’ days — when Chris had his own label...
 
Sneakers:
Mitch Easter - guitars, electric sitar, vocals
Chris Stamey - guitar, vocals
Will Rigby - drums, vocals
Robert Keely - bass, vocals
Chris Stevenson - drums, percussion
Wes Lachot – keyboards

NOTE: above is 2008 Carrboro show lineup, which was slightly different for 2007 show in NYC…
 
One more from the NYC reunion show - photo by Edutourist via Flickr

FOR FURTHER READING: brief history of Sneakers from Trouser Press is HERE; a longer feature story from IndyWeek is reproduced HERE; a review of the Bowery Ballroom 2007 show in NYC (with The dB's & Let's Active) from the No Depression archive is HERE; nearly shameless plug: Mick Dillingham's guest post about the many connections between Mitch Easter and The dB's is one of this blog's special pages, found HERE.
   

Friday, September 21

The Chills - Amsterdam 1987 + bonus

De Melkweg
Amsterdam, Holland
Feb. 20, 1987

soundboard recording (sound quality Ex)

REPERCUSSION: This is the New Zealand band with which Peter participated significantly during recording sessions in the early 1990s in California for the album Soft Bomb (see more info below). If you don’t know The Chills, this show would make a pretty good introduction.
 
The Chills in the early days: simply electric

BIG THANKS to pherron and einzack for sharing this fine show!

SAMPLE: "Dan Destiny & The Silver Dawn (Melkweg 1987)"

01 intro
02 brave words
03 doledrums
04 dan destiny and the silver dawn
05 night of chill blue
06 I think I thought I'd nothing else to think about
07 matthew and son
08 I love my leather jacket
09 ghosts
10 wet blanket
11 creep
12 the oncoming day
13 singing in my sleep
14 16 heart-throbs
15 the great escape
16 living in a jungle
17 pink frost
18 rain
19 look for the good in others and they'll see the good in you
20 moonlight on flesh
21 background noise
22 drunken sailor
23 frozen fountain + applause

DISC 1 (MP3@320)
DISC 2 (MP3@320)

DISC 1 (Alt. Link)
DISC 2 (Alt. Link)

The (early 1990s) Chills, around the time Peter joined them to record Soft Bomb

PETER HOLSAPPLE and THE CHILLS

The Chills' Soft Bomb
I don’t know how Peter got connected with The Chills, but this much I can tell you: he was asked by the band to join them in the studio in late 1991 and early 1992 in Burbank, CA to record one of their best-known albums, Soft Bomb. In the liner notes, Peter is credited as contributing “Guitars (electric, acoustic, dobro & slide), Keyboards, and Violin” — plus he’s the third of 40+ people thanked by the band, after the producer and assistant producer. 
      "Male Monster from the Id" — best-ever song title?      
At the time of the Soft Bomb sessions, Peter co-wrote a song with Chills leader & lead singer Martin Phillipps. The very compelling song is called “Big Dark Day” and, rather inexplicably, was left off Soft Bomb. Instead, it was relegated to B-side status, at least being featured on “The Male Monster from the Id” single release and, subsequently, on some editions of a greatest hits collection. 

The “Male Monster…” CD single is worth seeking out, and not only to hear Peter’s co-write. The single’s title track is one of the best on the album and a second B-side, “I Wish I Could Do Without You,” is also no throwaway.

READ MORE ABOUT THE CHILLS' MUSIC  at AllMusic and The Chills' web site
     

Tuesday, September 18

Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ - Sept. 2012

The dB's 
Maxwell's
Hoboken, N.J.
Sept. 1, 2012 


audience recording (sound quality Ex-; nice clear mix from the club pa; taper stood near the back of the club, so crowd noise during the music is minimal)

Highlights: When The dB’s play Hoboken (one of their adopted “home towns”), there always seems to be a good feeling in the air. This one's a tad more laid back than some of their other 2012 shows, but still a good one for those who like indoor shows in smaller venues (in contrast to the outdoor festival they played in Hoboken earlier in the summer). Includes a very rare 21st century outing for “(I Thought) You Wanted to Know”, due to a “dear friend” in attendance (presumably Richard Lloyd, who wrote the song).
 
Joshua Trupin photo (see 64 more from the show HERE)

EXTRA BIG THANKS to mbodayle for recording and sharing this show! 

01 That Time Is Gone
02 Before We Were Born
03 Happenstance
04 Lonely Is (As Lonely Does)
05 Ask For Jill
06 World to Cry
07 pH factor
08 (I Thought) You Wanted to Know
09 Collide-oOo-Scope
10 Love is for Lovers
11 Write Back
12 I Didn’t Mean to Say That
13 The Adventures of Albatross and Doggerel
14 Big Brown Eyes
15 Send Me Something Real
16 Excitement
17 Neverland
18 If and When
19 Black and White
20 Nothing is Wrong

MP3@320
 
photo by The Memphian






















Joshua Trupin photo
The setlist, (they didn't play all these)




















The dB’s
Gene Holder – bass
Will Rigby – drums & vocals
Chris Stamey – guitar & vocals
Peter Holsapple – guitar & vocals
Brett Harris – keyboards & additional guitar
   

Friday, September 14

Hard Rock Cafe, Stockholm, Sweden - 1988

The dB’s
Hard Rock Café
Stockholm, Sweden
Jan. 12, 1988

Composite of the 'final' dB’s touring lineup:
Jeff Beninato, Peter Holsapple & Will Rigby in 1987, 
alongside a recent photo of Eric Peterson
audience recording (sound quality VG++ to Ex-; very clear house mix)

Highlights: You can hear Peter and the band making a heroic, last-ditch musical effort before calling it quits. Eric Peterson, who plays lead guitar — quite well! — brings an extra dose of energy to the party. Plus, a fairly rare performance of "Purple Hose"...

BIG THANKS to the taper and SUPER SIZE THANKS to dB’s Fan for the share!
SAMPLE: "Feel Alright (Stockholm 1988)"

DISC 1
01 intro & Today Could Be the Day
02 Never Say When
03 Change With the Changing Times
04 Working for Somebody Else
05 Feel Alright
06 Dynamite
07 I Lie
08 Think Too Hard
09 Amplifier
10 Not Cool
11 Spitting In the Wind

DISC 2
01 band intros
02 Bonneville (incl. B&W jam)
03 A Spy In the House of Love
04 Love Is for Lovers
05 Neverland
06 This Is Where I Belong (Kinks cover)
07 White Train
08 Any Old Thing
09 Purple Hose
10 Girlfriend
11 Money (That’s What I Want)

Disc 1 (MP3@320)
Disc 2 (MP3@320)

Disc 1 (alt. link)
Disc 2 (alt. link)
 
The Hard Rock Café in Stockholm
Apparently, they don’t allow any riff-raff…

The dB's:
Peter Holsapple: rhythm guitar, lead vocals
Will Rigby: drums, backing vocals
Jeff Beninato: bass, backing vocals
Eric Peterson: lead guitar
   

Blog Update - What's Happening Now & Later

Hey Gang,

Here's a quick update on what's been happening, what plans I have for the blog, and a plea for comments:
 
  • I received my first take-down notice (and subsequent deletion by Blogger) for alleged copyright violation for a particular post -- a post that at least one of you noticed isn't on the blog anymore. The copyright violation claim is pretty ridiculous, since I had the artist's permission to post the show, which had never been commercially released in any form. I don't want to call undue attention to the show in question or the band, but suffice it to say you can now find the same material re-posted. It's re-posted with a pseudonymous band name in the blog post title and a "different" look since I can't post it in HTML (which would allow the big music companies to search it with copyright-violation-seeking automated 'bots). We'll see what happens next... But if there's another take-down by Blogger after another alleged violation of copyright, I will have no choice but to stop posting that particular band's material. And if that happens, IT'S REALLY TOO BAD FOR ALL OF US!
  • I plan to continue to post dB's (& dB's-related) material regularly, but I also want to continue the "dB's-affiliated" stuff, such as the upcoming post of a live show by the New Zealand band The Chills (who asked Peter to collaborate on their album Soft Bomb, that was released in 1992). Judging by stats from the blog and file server, this type of post isn't as popular as dB's material. That being said, these posts were one of my big motivations for starting the blog in the first place and naming it "Repercussion". My hope is that regular readers of the blog will be a little more adventurous and try some of the artists and groups they don't know as well as The dB's. If you do, please leave a comment so I can figure out what's turned you on, off, etc.
  • SPEAKING OF COMMENTS: I don't want to sound whiney, but I will just mention that one of the few joys most of us bloggers get in exchange for our efforts is any feedback we receive from readers (even constructive criticism). SO: please take a few seconds to leave a comment when something strikes your musical fancy.  
 
Let's all keep enjoying 
this great time to be dB's fans!

       Rob-in-Brevard

Friday, September 7

The Station - Carrboro, NC, Oct. 1980

The dB's
The Station
Carrboro, NC
Oct. 29, 1980

audience recording (sound quality VG++; from copy of master tape). There’s persistent, but not annoying, crowd chatter. Occasional distortion on the vocals when they get loud, but it's not a major hairy deal...  

Highlights: The earliest-known live outing for “Spitting In the Wind” plus a coupla songs that later appeared on Repercussion. Will Rigby fans take note: the man’s on fire here, even more than usual, and his drums are prominent in the mix.
 
I've never been to The Station in Carrboro. 
But if this wall mural is any indicator, it must be pretty cool...
BIG HUGE THANKS to the taper and dB’s Fan for the generous share! 

SAMPLE: "If and When (The Station 1980)"

01 (I Thought) You Wanted to Know
02 Spitting In the Wind
03 Black and White
04 What I Dig
05 I Feel Good (Today)
06 Judy
07 Dynamite
08 Soul Kiss
09 pH Factor
10 Living a Lie
11 You Can't Take Her Away from Me
12 Tomorrow Never Knows
13 Bad Reputation
14 Big Brown Eyes
15 You Got It Wrong
16 Death Garage
17 The Summer Sun
18 instrumental
19 The Fight
20 My Back Pages
21 If and When
22 Tearjerkin'
23 Everlasting Love 

TT: 73:19
Alt. Link

(note: although the files say "Cat's Cradle," the show is actually
this one from The Station, Oct. 29, 1980)
It's called "The Station" because it's used to BE a train station...

The dB’s:
Chris Stamey – guitar & vocals
Peter Holsapple – guitar, organ & vocals
Gene Holder – bass
Will Rigby – drums
  

Sunday, September 2

Philadelphia, PA 2012-08-31

The dB’s
World Café Live (WXPN-FM 88.5)
Penn Park
Philadelphia, PA
August 31, 2012 (lunch-time concert)

photo by Chris Sikich via Flickr (thanks for permission to use here)

audience recording (sound quality Ex-; unusually good for an audie) This is not the WXPN webcast! This does not have any DJ voiceover, and (best of all) includes the two encores that were not broadcast by WXPN.

Happy Labor Day Weekend special post (just couldn't wait 'til Friday)... 
Dig this great version of "Living a Lie" -- with a horn section!

BIG THANKS to WXPN for hosting the event, and SPECIAL ‘QUICKEST POST EVER’ THANKS to Tony & flipp022 for recording and sharing.

Gene Holder, unsung musical hero
Chris Sikich photo via Flickr
SAMPLE: "Before We Were Born (Philly 2012)"

01 - That Time Is Gone
02 - Before We Were Born
03 - I Didn't Mean to Say That
04 - The Adventures of Albatross &             Doggerel*
05 – World to Cry
06 - Send Me Something Real
07 – Living a Lie*
08 – The Wonder of Love*
09 – Ask for Jill
10 – Black and White

MP3@320
Alt. Link

The dB’s
Will Rigby – drums & vocals
Gene Holder – bass
Chris Stamey – guitar & vocals
Peter Holsapple – guitar & vocals

Brett Harris – keyboards & guitar

*Philly brass & wind section
 Adam Hershberger
 David Fishkin
 Larry Toft
another great Chris Sikich photo via Flickr

































lower photos by Lauren Thomas / WXPN