Comet Gain - Buffalo Bar, London 2014

Buffalo Bar 

London, UK
April 24, 2014

audience recording (sound quality: VG)

sample a track from the show

00 stage entrance, song intro

01 'Sad Love' and Other Short Stories

02 The Fists In the Pocket

03 rambling song intro

04 Behind the House She Lived In

05 David's shambolic song intro

06 An Arcade from the Warm Rain That Falls

07 Candles

08 Working Circle Explosive

09 These Are the Dreams of the Working Girl

10 'I broke my plectrum' + other BS 

     by David

11 Breaking Open

12 Say Yes

13 Love Without Lies

14 David's rambling BS + song intro

15 Confessions of a Daydream

ROB SEZ: For a good while now, I've been looking for recordings to share by the stupendously talented and hugely entertaining Comet Gain. If you've never heard of them, I bet I know why. Over the band's two and a half decades, David Christian (aka David Feck) and company have guaranteed their cult status by accentuating their punk-inspired amateurism, frequently switching record labels, taking long breaks between album releases, and touring only sporadically — all while apparently enjoying the adulation of the few who tune in. Yet Comet Gain deserve a much wider hearing. Trouser Press describes their early sound thusly: "The soul bus let off the pop children in Oxford, England, and what sprouted was Comet Gain, a thoroughly enticing bedsit quintet." Beside the music, there's an understated, brainy charm to David's between-song rambles. I am indebted here to Andunemir for sharing (and presumably also recording) this great show, which anticipates the band's excellent 2014 album Paperback Ghosts. If I receive any encouragement via comments, I have more I can share.

FLAC lossless capture, lossy source

MP3@320

The Wake - Live in England & France, 1985 + 1991 (sbd)

The System 

Liverpool, England
July 26, 1985

soundboard recording (quality: VG; transfer from low-generation tape source)

01 Of the Matter
02 Send Them Away
03 Melancholy Man
04 World of Her Own
05 Torn Calender
06 All I Asked You to Do
07 Here Comes Everybody 

Le Gibus

Paris, France

Sept. 20, 1991

soundboard recording (quality: VG+)

The Wake: reunion show, Brooklyn, N.Y. in 2010

01 Joke Shop (cuts in)

02 Selfish

03 Firestone Tyres

04 Provincial Disco

05 Holy Head

06 Solo Project

07 Down On Your Knees

08 Carbrain

09 Shallow End 

ROB SEZ: In keeping with the indie, obscure, and worth-a-listen ethos, here's a UK band you might have missed. The Wake signed to Factory in the 1980s, then gravitated to Sarah Records when support began to fade at Factory. I don't know how to describe The Wake's sound (it was inaccurately labeled a Joy Division wannabe band), and I can't honestly say I'm a big fan. But if you like other indie British bands featured elsewhere here, you might want to give The Wake a try. All kudos should go to autopilot for sharing these recordings. (If you want more, I have two audience recordings from the same 1991 French tour — but you'll have to exert a little effort & leave a comment! 😎)

The Wake fans should check out the 1987 goodies the band posted HERE & HERE

FLAC

MP3@320