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
   

The dB's - Hoboken, N.J. Oct. 1987

LOSSLESS REPOST

Maxwell’s

Hoboken, N.J.

Oct. 3, 1987

   
audience recording (quality VG+; very solid audience recording from a first-generation tape source; a club show that makes you feel like you’re right there…)
   

Outtake from The Sound of Music cover shoot.
The dB's were touring behind the album at the time of this show.
Don't miss the interactive tour of TSOM's artwork HERE. 

01 Today Could Be the Day

Jeff, Will and Peter, NOLA public access show, 1987

02 Never Say When

03 Change With the 

     Changing Times

04 Working for 
     Somebody Else

05 Lonely Is as Lonely Does

06 She Got Soul

07 A Spy In the House 
     of Love

08 Never Before and 
     Never Again

09 Feel Alright  
      (Cargoe cover)

10 Living a Lie

11 A Better Place

12 Why Did You Sleep With My Girlfriend?

13 Message from the Country (Move cover)

14 Amplifier

Proof that Harold Kelt (right) really existed...
and played briefly with The dB's... 

15 Neverland

16 band intros

17 Suspicious Minds

18 Love Is for Lovers

TT: 1:12:49
  
ROB SEZ: Good karma compels me to say yet again: THANK YOU to dB's fan for sharing.

FLAC
  
MP3@320

   
The dB’s:

Jeff Beninato – bass, vocals

Peter Holsapple – vocals, guitar

Harold Kelt – keyboard, additional guitar

Will Rigby - drums

The dB's - St. Louis, MO 1985 (FM)

LOSSLESS RE-POST

Mississippi Nights

St. Louis, MO

Feb. 26, 1985

FM recording (sound quality: VG+; only potential distraction is some recurring vocal distortion)
   

The dB's made a strategic decision in the 1980s 
to save money on haircuts & buy leather

01 Spitting In the Wind

Bottom one is for a dB’s show at Miss. Nights in '88
 

02 Rendezvous

03 Big Brown Eyes

04 Not Cool

05 I Lie

06 See No Evil
     (Television cover)

07 pH Factor

08 She Got Soul

09 Amplifier

10 I Am the Cosmos

     (Chris Bell cover)

11 band intros + Neverland

12 Love Is for Lovers

13 She'll Be Coming 'Round 

     the Mountain

14 Black and White

15 A Spy In the House of Love

16 Suspicious Minds

17 Money (That's What I Want)

ROB SEZ: If you snag this one and give a listen, you'll not only hear an energetic club show with good sound quality, you'll also enjoy some rare gems — most notably the cover of "I Am the Cosmos", Big  Star founder Chris Bell's only solo single. HUGE THANKS to the taper and Glenn S for sharing.

WAV lossless files 

MP3@320

The dB’s:

Gene Holder – lead guitar
Will Rigby - drums, vocals
Peter Holsapple - vocals, guitar
Jeff Beninato - bass, vocals

Above, one of

Peter's favorite

touring band

line-ups, with

Gene on lead guitar

and Jeff on bass

and backing vocals

dBs - Charlotte Reunion Show 1988 + Copenhagen 1988

LOSSLESS RE-POST

The dB's

Grady Cole Center

Charlotte, NC

May 15, 1988

("Gimme Shelter" homeless benefit; first-ever dB's reunion show with Chris)

soundboard (1st-gen. copy of master tape; sound quality EX-; some sound & mix problems evident in the first song, but they disappear quickly). With this upgrade, this is now the complete show.

The dB’s playing for a French TV show in 1988

HIGHLIGHTS: Rareish “I’m In Love” plus hearing the guys’ reunion enthusiasm expressed in their playing

BIG THANKS to the taper, Scott for sharing & dB’s Fan for the upgraded Charlotte tracks

01 intro* 
02 Black and White 
03 Ups and Downs 
04 Big Brown Eyes 
05 Dynamite 
06 The Fight 
07 I Feel Good (Today) 
08 Happenstance 
09 Bad Reputation 
10 Living a Lie 
11 I'm In Love 
12 Neverland 
13 Amplifier* (power cut mid-song!)

       
            *intro and “Amplifier” are from an audience recording;
intro announcer = Hope Nicholls of the late, great Fetchin' Bones

The dB's

Copenhagen, Denmark

Jan. 11, 1988

(venue unknown)

audience recording (sound quality VG; slight distortion on the louder tracks)   

14 This Is Where I Belong (Kinks cover)

15 Neverland

16 Big Brown Eyes

17 Money (cut at halfway mark; fades out)

WAV lossless files (Copenhagen tracks are lossy)
  
MP3@320

Jeff Beninato, bass & backing vocals; Will on drums; 
Peter, guitar & vocals; Eric Peterson, guitar

The dB's

Will Rigby - drums
Gene Holder - bass
Peter Holsapple - guitar, keyboard, vocals
Chris Stamey - guitar, vocals
*Jeff Beninato - bass & backing vocals
*Eric Peterson – guitar

*Jeff and Eric did not play the Charlotte reunion show; Gene & Chris did not play the Copenhagen show. In the official bio for The dB's, Will Rigby writes that the four band members appeared under their own individual names for the Charlotte "reunion" show because The dB's were still touring at that point without Chris' involvement. This explains why Jeff and Eric didn't play the Charlotte show.
 

 

The dB's - New Orleans, LA 1986

Jimmy’s

New Orleans, LA

Feb. 9, 1986

audience recording (sound quality range: VG to VG+; a Mardi Gras show with an energetic band and crowd enjoying each other; there’s a little bit of digi noise in a coupla spots and one or two other minor anomalies)

I think Peter enjoyed Mardi Gras (probably same year as this show)

N’AWLINS THANKS to the taper and to TheBynumite for sharing.

NOTE: this is the full show — just a little shorter than usual since the deeBs were sharing the bill with The Fleshtones.

SAMPLE: "Working for Somebody Else" (1986)

Jimmy's & its namesake (it's now The Willow)

01 intro

02 Any Old Thing
03 Love Is for Lovers
04 Living a Lie
05 Sharon
06 Working for Somebody Else

07 Lonely Is as Lonely Does

08 New Gun In Town

09 Never Say When

10 She Got Soul

11 instrumental

12 Not Cool

13 White Train

14 Amplifier (middle cut)

15 Suspicious Minds

16 Neverland

17 A Spy In the House of Love 

More Mardi Gras madness: Jeff B. (rt.) & Bill Davis of Dash Rip Rock

MP3@320


The dB’s:

Peter Holsapple – vocals, guitar

Gene Holder – lead guitar
Will Rigby – drums, vocals

Jeff Beninato - bass, vocals 



 

Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ Aug. 1986

The dB’s

Maxwell’s

Hoboken, NJ

August 3, 1986

audience recording (sound quality VG; transfer from first-generation tape source)

RARE LIVE TRACK: "Visible Man" is performed

EXTRA THANKS to the taper and to dB’s Fan for sharing another one

  

SAMPLE: "Working for Somebody Else (Aug. '86)"


01 She Got Soul

02 Visible Man

03 Not Cool

04 Never Say When

05 New Gun In Town
06 White Train

07 I Lie

08 Working for Somebody Else

09 Lonely Is as Lonely Does

10 Amplifier

11 Change With the Changing Times

12 Rains Around Here

13 Love Is for Lovers

The 1985-86 tour evidently was a real blur...

14 A Spy In the House of Love

15 Moving In Your Sleep

16 Heart of the City
    (Rockpile cover)

17 Big Black Truck

18 Smoke On the Water
    (Deep Purple cover)

MP3@320

The dB’s:

Peter Holsapple – guitar & lead vocals

Will Rigby – drums & vocals

Gene Holder – lead guitar

Jeff Beninato - bass & vocals

  

Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ - Dec. 1986

The dB’s

Maxwell’s

Hoboken, NJ

December 7, 1986

audience recording (sound quality VG to VG+; transfer from first-generation tape)

HOLIDAY GREETINGS to the taper and to dB’s Fan for his generosity

A good, sweaty club show deserves a good, sweaty photo...

  

01 Everybody's Happy Nowadays (Buzzcocks cover)
02 She Got Soul 
03 Living a Lie 

04 Lonely Is as Lonely Does

05 Never Say When

06 Today Could Be the Day 

07 New Gun In Town 

08 I Lie

09 Never Before and Never Again

10 White Train 

11 Darby Hall 

12 Change With the Changing Times

13 Any Old Thing

14 Amplifier 

15 Love Is for Lovers 

16 The Room's Still Spinning (Will Rigby song)

17 A Spy In the House of Love

18 See No Evil (Television cover) 

19 Feliz Navidad

MP3@320

The dB’s:

Jeff Beninato – bass, vocals

Will Rigby – drums, vocals

Gene Holder – lead guitar

Peter Holsapple – vocals, guitar