Monday, December 27

The dB's - New Year's Eve 1986, Raleigh, NC

*bumped for 2021 — 35th anniversary!*
The Brewery
Raleigh, NC
Dec. 31, 1986 into the wee hours of Jan. 1, 1987
   
audience recording (sound quality VG+; a well-balanced, solid-sounding recording).
  
Gene models the kind of hat all well-dressed  
New Year’s Eve revelers should wear
(a sideways Like This LP jacket!)
01 Any Old Thing
02 She Got Soul
03 Auld Lang Syne -- Never Say When
04 Rains Around Here
05 Lonely Is as Lonely Does
06 Not Cool
07 Never Before and Never Again
08 A Better Place
09 Today Could Be the Day
10 White Train
11 I Lie (end cut, fades out)
12 New Gun In Town
13 Change With the Changing Times
14 Amplifier
15 Love Is for Lovers
16 Witchi-Tai-To (Jim Pepper cover; Will sings lead)*
17 A Spy In the House of Love
18 Why Don't We Do It In the Road?
    
*16 is a traditional Native American peyote chant set to music (leave it to Will to find something that cool & include it in a dB’s show...)

TT: 78:25

ROB SEZ: A fired-up dB’s play a rowdy New Year’s Eve show — a perfect way to ring in any New Year. During the show, Peter announces (for the first time in public?) that I.R.S. Records has signed The dB’s and that a new album will be recorded and released in 1987. BIG THANKS to TG for recording the show and RIDICULOUS THANKS to dB’s Fan for the share.

FLAC
  
MP3@320
 
These photos were taken at a show in Boston at The Rat in the mid-1980s. But it probably looked a lot like this on New Year's Eve in 1986 at The Brewery in Raleigh.
  
  


















The dB's:
Peter Holsapple: guitar, vocals
Gene Holder: lead guitar
Will Rigby: drums, backing vocals
Jeff Beninato: bass, backing vocals
   

Friday, December 10

Straitjacket Fits - Radio & TV Sessions 1989-1993

Live Sessions 1989-1993
FM & TV broadcast captures 
various dates & venues

sound quality: VG+

01 Dialling a Prayer
02 Seeing U Fled
03 Bad Note for a Heart
04 Hand In Mine
05 Roller Ride
06 She Speeds
07 Follow & Fall 
08 Headwind
09 Quiet Come
10 Hail
11 Roller Ride
12 Hand In Mine
13 Bad Note for a Heart
14 Grate
15 Skin to Wear
16 Cast Stone
17 Dialling a Prayer 
18 Down In Splendour 
19 Brittle

sources:
01-10 - KPFK Radio, Los Angeles, CA Oct. 21, 1989
11-13 - John Peel Session, BBC Radio, UK Nov. 12, 1989
14-16 - Triple J, ABC Radio, Australia April 29, 1991
17 - The Factory, ABC TV, Australia April 1989
18 - MTV, Basement Studio, Australia 1990
19 - Late Night with Conan O'Brien, NBC TV, USA, Nov. 1993

ROB SEZ: No time for a longer comment this week, so I'll just say I hope fans of New Zealand rock with an avant garde edge will appreciate Straitjacket Fits, active from the mid 1980s into the '90s. BIG THANKS to mondoprune for sharing the Radio & TV collection and to crankingamps for the 1989 Triple J session below.

Live at the Wireless (2JJJ FM) 
ABC Studios
Sydney, Australia 
Aug. 7, 1989

FM recording (sound quality: Ex-)

01 DJ intro
03 Quiet Come
04 interview 1
05 Bad Note for a Heart
06 interview 2
07 Mellow Cheer
08 interview 3
    
note: officially-released tracks from the session were omitted in the original share, thus the tracklisting above is missing 02 and 09 as intended


     

Friday, December 3

Neil Finn & Dave Dobbyn (Party Boys) - Live 1985 (aud)

The Party Boys
Wellington, N.Z.
September 18, 1985

audience recording (quality: GD+ to VG-)

01 What's the Matter With You? (cuts in)
The Party Boys with Dave Dobbyn
before Neil joined in '85
02 Devil You Know
03 Mercury Blues (KC Douglas cover)
04 Love You Like I Should
05 Me and Bobby McGee (Roger Miller cover)
06 I Got You / Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison cover) 
07 Steal Yourself
08 Can't Carry On
09 Dancing Days (Led Zeppelin cover)
10 Be Mine Tonight
11 I Walk Away
12 Petticoat Junction (TV show theme)
13 Daydream Believer (Monkees cover)
14 Not Fade Away (Buddy Holly cover)
15 Now We're Getting Somewhere
16 Fire (Jimi Hendrix cover)
17 Bliss
18 Love Me Two Times (The Doors cover)
19 One Love (+ next song intro)
20 History Never Repeats
21 Hang Onto Yourself (David Bowie cover)

ROB SEZ: Can't have a 1980s & 1990s-centric N.Z. music series without posting this one. The recording goes back to the time just after the demise of Split Enz. Neil Finn had formed The Mullanes, but not yet signed to Capitol Records or changed the band's name to Crowded House. Meanwhile, Dave Dobbyn & friends began touring in 1984 as "The Party Boys" (kind of an odd name, since Jenny Morris was a member). Neil joined for the band's tour in Sept. & Oct. of 1985. This recording's sound quality isn't up to my usual standards, but the fun of hearing these two Kiwi legends playing & singing so many classic covers — and some of their own originals — makes up for what's lacking. Please enjoy.