Friday, May 27

The year that broke Peter H??

Peter Holsapple is blogging again —
and that's not all he's been up to lately.

For those of us who tend to hang on his words & music, this is a welcome return after quite a long time off the proverbial radar screen. Peter seems to have found his mojo again: he's been playing live in 2016 (both solo and the recent one-off set with The dB's), blowing the dust off old demo tapes, and recording some new tunes.

Here's a fun little ditty he recorded about (gulp) 24 years ago in Hollywood with Susan Cowsill, "Where'd You Get That Thing?"


Even though Peter is fully capable of being a sardonic ironist, I'm intrigued by the motto he's placed at the top of his Halfpear blog: "2016 — The Year that Broke Peter Holsapple". Assuming he's not referring to his financial situation (he voluntarily gave up his day job last year), I wonder if PH might be referring to his newly re-discovered passion for making music?

Here's some anecdotal evidence to support my hunch:

1) Peter says "Where'd You Get That Thing ?" is "the first of several archival blasts to come".

2) He's recorded two new songs he plans to release as a single ... soon, we hope. Here's a blog post, another, and yet another about the recordings. I say: Let's hear 'em, Peter!

3) Peter has joined a Triangle-area covers band called the Well Respected Men, which debuted recently with an all-Kinks show.

4) Peter is remembering career highlights, such as his stint as a sideman in R.E.M., including the band's classic Mountain Stage performance 25 years ago — during which the dB's "White Train" was covered, with Peter singing lead. Give it a listen:


5) Peter took some recently unearthed demo reels from 1984-1993 and got them digitized to hear how they sound. He declared he's going to "give it the old college try" to see if anything comes of dusting off the old reels and perhaps adding some new sounds.

6) He played a solo show in April that seemed to go pretty well, according to Peter.
 

All in all, 2016 looks like a year for Peter & his passion to make some great music.
Let's enjoy it.

Monday, May 23

The dB's live @ HB 2 benefit show!

Along with many other artists, the dB's played a short set recently in Saxapahaw, N.C. (say it 3 times real fast) at the Stand Against HB 2: Musicians United for EqualityNC benefit.
The dB's at their one-off gig, May 15. Photo by Heather LaGarde via Facebook

 
I wasn't there, but blog compadre Larry Tucker captured a couple of the songs, as did Sloane Spencer. Thanks to them, we have a bit of virtual reality to enjoy.

Here's a coupla classics:

...and a couple more

Will Rigby indicated this was a one-off performance, along the lines of the dB's "Rock the Vote" appearance in Chapel Hill, N.C. in 2008. Like that event, this concert was for a very worthy cause: standing against the mind-numbingly wrong headed and utterly foolish N.C. House Bill 2 (aka "Hate Bill 2")Peter H wrote about the show and posted some photos HERE at his blog.


Our heroes are listed at the top.
Nice to have the deeBs back playing live, even if only briefly...


Friday, May 20

Japan + David Sylvian solo - Live 1982 + 2004

Stadsgehoorzaal
JAPAN: a band on the verge in 1982. Fin Costello photo
Leiden
The Netherlands
October 7, 1982 

FM capture
(sound quality VG+)

01 Sons of Pioneers — Alien
02 Gentlemen Take Polaroids
03 Cantonese Boy
04 Visions of China
05 Nightporter
06 Canton
07 Ghosts
08 Still Life in Mobile Homes*
09 Quiet Life — The Art of Parties
10 radio outro

*with track 08, there was a tape flip around 3:39, which explains the gap in the music

Budokan Hall
Tokyo, Japan
Dec. 8, 1982 

FM capture (sound quality VG+; 
some tracks transferred from vinyl)

CD1
01 Burning Bridges
02 Sons of Pioneers
03 Alien
04 Gentlemen Take Polaroids
05 Swing
06 Cantonese Boy
07 Visions of China
08 Nightporter
09 Ghosts
10 Still Life In Mobile Homes

CD2
01 Methods of Dance
02 Quiet Life
03 European Son
04 The Art of Parties
05 Bamboo Music (duet with Akiko Yano)
06 Taking Islands In Africa
      (Y. Takahashi, lead voc.)
07 (pre-encore applause) 
08 Life In Tokyo
09 Canton
10 Good Night (duet with Akiko Yano)

QUITE SINCERE THANKS to Dave, Davesolar, Michael W., & erutanlive for their respective roles in sharing this recording 

Japan:
David Sylvian - vocals, guitar 
Mick Karn - bass
Steve Jansen - drums
Richard Barbieri - keyboards
Ryuichi Sakamoto - keyboard

Members of Yellow Magic Orchestra joined Japan near the end of the set on various songs. 

This is one of the last live shows Japan ever played.


David Sylvian
Sankei Hall
Osaka, Japan
April 27, 2004  

audience recording (sound quality VG+ to VG++)

CD1 
01 entrance 
02 Blemish 
03 The Good Son 
04 The Only Daughter 
05 The Heart Knows Better 
06 She Is Not 
07 Late Night Shopping 
08 How Little We Need to Be Happy 
09 A Fire In the Forest 
10 The Other Side of Life 

CD2
01 When Poets Dreamed of Angels — Cries & Whispers 
02 The Shining of Things  
03 Blue Skinned Gods 
04 Praise 
05 Maria 
06 Wasn't I Joe 
07 World Citizen 
08 Jean the Birdman 

MEGA THANKS to Sylph for recording and to AWS
for sharing this one.

ROB SEZ: I picked some lesser-known live sets to share as a reward to the Japan / D. Sylvian fans who've patiently waited for me to fulfill their request. There's a further bonus for you somewhere around here... Enjoy!

Anthony Reynolds' comprehensive band bio, Japan: A Foreign Place
is out now in softback (original hardback edition is sold out).
Mine just arrived in the mail and I can't wait to dig in...

Learn more about the music of Japan and David Sylvian at Wikipedia, the official DS site, FB pages (DS, Japan) & this comprehensive fan site.



Tuesday, May 17

Rooney - Berlin & Soundstage live 2010

The Lido
Promoting the new album on The Today Show
Berlin, Germany
Oct. 10, 2010

FM capture (sound 
quality VG+) 

01 I'm Shakin'
02 Holding On
03 Blueside
04 Are You Afraid?
05 Stars and Stripes
06 Don't Come 
     Around Again 
07 Daisy Duke
08 The Hunch
09 Paralyzed
10 Do Not Look
11 If It Were Up to Me
12 I Can't Get Enough
13 Not In My House
14 When Did Your Heart 
     Go Missing?

Live on Soundstage
Chicago, IL
2010
(venue & exact date unknown)

soundboard recording via web stream (sound quality Ex-)

01 Paralyzed
02 Calling the World
03 Blueside
04 Are You Afraid?
05 Daisy Duke
06 Tell Me Soon
07 Don't Come Around 
     Again 
08 If It Were Uo to Me
09 All In Your Head
10 Sorry Sorry
11 I Should've Been 
     After You
12 I'm Shakin'
13 When Did You Heart 
     Go Missing? 


ROB SEZ: Not from ASH, but inspired by the old ASH blog, where I first learned about the L.A.-based band. Think of Rooney as an American version of Sloan. Big thanks to thCK69 for sharing the Berlin set.

The band’s brand-new studio album is Washed Away
 Buy it on CD or MP3 at Amazon 

Learn more about the music of Rooney at
the band’s web site, FB and Wikipedia
  

Tuesday, May 10

Lightning Seeds - Live 1997 & 1998

Oxford, UK
Oct. 26, 1997

FM capture (sound quality VG+) 

01 All I Want
02 Change
03 What You Say
04 Sense
05 Marvellous
06 Pure and Simple
07 Perfect
08 You Showed Me
09 Ready Or Not

10 What If?
11 Sugar Coated Iceberg
12 Lucky You

V96 Festival + 
Glastonbury ‘98

FM capture (sound quality VG+) 

01 Sugar Coated Iceberg
02 Perfect
03 Life of Riley
04 Pure
05 Lucky You
06 Change
07 Life of Riley
08 You Showed Me
09 What If
10 Sugar Coated Iceberg 
11 Lucky You
12 Three Lions (1998)

ROB SEZ: no time for extra info on this post, except to say MEGA THANKS to Audio Ammunition for the Oxford set and to Don at the old ASH blog for the V96 + Glastonbury '98 set.

ASH Tuesday post #42