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 2^nd Sneakers reunion show).

**Opener for dB’s reunion show (the 1^st 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.
   

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
     

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 21^st 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
   

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

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

MP3@320

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
  

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