The Clientele & Alasdair MacLean - Live at WFMU, N.J. 2009 + 2014 (sbd)

The Clientele 

WFMU Live Session

Jersey City, N.J.

July 18, 2014

webstream capture (sound quality: VG++) - Irwin Chusid's Show

The Clientele - Live Session 2010

01 We Could Walk Together 

02 Porcelain

03 On a Summer Trail

04 Missing

05 Driving South

06 Bicycles

07 Impossible

08 Lamplight

09 intro, interview segments, outro

ROB SEZ: I've fallen hard recently for the amazing The Clientele, founded in London in 1997. As you'll hear in these recordings, the heart and soul of the band is co-founder Alasdair MacLean's voice, mesmeric guitar playing, and poetic lyrics. The closest analogy for the inevitable question of what the group sounds like is to imagine the mature Teenage Fanclub playing gentle-yet-compelling folk pop, fronted by Nick Drake. Try one of the video samples and see what happens. Me? I'm hooked for good. All thanks & praise to WFMU DJ Irwin Chusid for championing The Clientele and arranging a live session in 2014, preceded by MacLean's solo session 5 years earlier. The Clientele's most recent releases are two singles from 2020, so here's hoping they'll soon be releasing new material and/or touring.

...and here's what Alasdair sounds like solo

Alasdair MacLean

WFMU Live Session 

Jersey City, N.J.

Oct. 28, 2009

webstream capture (sound quality: VG++) - Irwin Chusid's Show

01 Bonfires On the Heath 

02 Since K Got Over Me

03 Rain

04 Saturday

05 Six A.M. Morningside

06 intro, interview segments, outro

FLAC lossless captures, lossy sources

MP3@320

    

Boo Radleys - The Astoria, London 1995 + 1997 (FM)

The Astoria 

London, UK

Jan. 26, 1997

FM broadcast (sound quality: VG to VG+)

01 C'mon Kids
02 Wake Up Boo!
03 Melodies for the Deaf
04 From the Bench at the Belvidere
05 Everything Is Sorrow
06 Reaching Out from Here 

07 What's In the Box?
08 Roadie
09 Find the Answer Within
10 Ride the Tiger
11 Lazarus
12 Stuck On Amber
13 Bullfrog Green
14 Get On the Bus

The Astoria

London, UK

April 13, 1995

TV broadcast (sound quality: VG+)

01 It's Lulu
02 Reaching Out from Here
03 Joel
04 Stuck On Amber
05 Twinside
06 Wake Up Boo!
07 Find the Answer Within

ROB SEZ: Sometimes I really think I should've been born in the U.K. I would never claim something as ricidulous as "All the good bands are from the British isles." However, when it comes to great guitar-based rock and pop groups — with strong melodies and lyrics that aren't dumb, the United Kingdom certainly has a TON. The Boo Radleys are in this league, and some fans will tell you they're the best of the under-the-radar bands from the 1990s. When their song "Wake Up Boo!" was a Top 10 single in the U.K., and the similarly-titled album topped the 1995 British album charts, the Boos become a phenomenon in Britain. As is often the case, however, their success did not make it across the Atlantic. Enjoy these two live recordings from the same London venue to find out what you may have missed. The Boos are back in 2022 with an all-new studio album, Keep On with Falling and the digital-only Live In 2021. My gratitude goes to S. Smith and Doing It for the Vids for sharing their FM recordings. 

FLAC lossless captures, lossy sources

MP3@320

Comet Gain - Indietracks Fest UK 2016 (aud)

Indietracks Festival 

Midland Railway Centre

Swanwick Junction, UK

July 31, 2016

audience recording (sound quality: VG- to VG)

00 stage entrance

01 My Defiance

02 Saturday Night Facts of Life

03 David, banging on about something 

04 Love Without Lies

05 An Arcade from the Warm 

     Rain That Falls

06 Why I Try to Look So Bad

07 The Fists In the Pocket

08 Fingernailed for You

09 I Never Happened

10 Working Circle Explosive!

11 You Can Hide 

     Your Love Forever

12 Herbert Huncke Pt. 2

13 Herbert Huncke Pt. 2 (cont'd)

David Christian (aka David Feck), banging on his geetar (fab photo by Greg Neate)

ROB SEZ: My last post was also by Comet Gain. By request, here's another one. Soundwise, this one's a bit muddier, but it's perfectly enjoyable — especially when you remember just how darn rare these things are.

FLAC lossy source, lossless capture

  

MP3@320

           

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

   

Even - Melbourne, Australia Dec. 2021 (sbd)

“Christmas Even”

Brunswick Ballroom

Melbourne, Australia

Dec. 23, 2021

Moshcam pro-shot video (webstream audio capture)

01 greeting + Stop & Go Man

02 Six Monkeys

03 Black Umbrella

04 Mayfair Laundry Bus

05 Electric Light

06 Cherrry Afterglow

07 Dandy Stomp

08 Be Still

09 Golden Sunday

10 There Is a Light

     That Never Goes Out (Smiths cover)*

11 Candle

12 Stupid Dream

13 Shining Star

14 Don't Wait

15 Rock 'n' Roll Save My Life

16 Urgent (Foreigner cover)**

17 Lennon medley

18 Rock 'n' Roll Save My Life (reprise)

19 Jamming

20 Lifetime

21 Life Gets In the Way

22 Bowie In My Dreams

*Nick Barham, lead vocal

**Wally Kempton, lead vocal

   

Even:

Ash Naylor - lead vocals, guitar

Wally Kempton - bass, backing vocals
Matt Cotter - drums
Anton Ruddick - guitar (for this show)

plus cameo appearances by assorted family & friends

ROB SEZ: I've raved about the Australian band Even here in previous posts, and it's time for me to do it again. If you like your guitar-based rock in the classic 1960s and 1970s British mold — with hummable melodies and succinct guitar solos — I highly recommend you give Even a try. Start with the band's masterful 1998 album Come Again and explore from there. Even have a great new double-length long player Reverse Light Years, released in late 2020. Moshcam made a beautiful pro-shot film of one of the band's annual "Christmas Even" shows in late December. It's well worth paying to view HERE (you can sample a full-length song for free).

FLAC lossless capture of lossy source

MP3@320

The Optic Nerve - Live In Spain (FM)

unknown venue, town, date

FM recording (sound quality: VG++; might possibly be sbd or TV audio, but it sounds great; stream capture by Rob-in-Brevard) 

00 stage entrance, tuning
01 I'll Give You Loving Like Nobody Can
02 Kiss Her Goodbye
03 banter, song intro
04 Shine Tomorrow

The Optic Nerve: hipsters on location

05 I Sometimes Wish We'd Never Met 
06 Spend It With You
07 Like to Get to Know Her
08 While Shineth the Sun
09 What's Been Missing
10 applause, song intro
11 Leaving Yesterday Behind
12 Call On Me
13 Find My Own Way Back Home
14 Happy Ever After
15 applause, song intro
16 Up In Her Room
17 A Hard Time's Comin' Around the Bend
18 Time

ROB SEZ: The Optic Nerve! Where else but here are you gonna snag a live show in very good sound quality by this nearly-forgotten, Dylanesque NYC garage band from the 1980s? If you like the Fuzztones, the Long Ryders, or the Lyres, I recommend you check out this group. This recording captures a fairly good performance, which picks up steam starting at track 11. Consider it a teaser for The Optic Nerve's two albums: Forever and a Day and Lotta Nerve, both of which are terrific (AllMusic gives them both 4 & 1/2 out of 5 stars). ON!, new album of previously unreleased material, is due for release in July. HUGE THANKS to whoever posted this (possibly the band?) for me to snag and share here. 

FLAC lossless capture, lossy source

MP3@320

   

The Semantics - Pre-debut Demos (early 1990s)

Demos

c. 1991 and/or 1992

recording location(s) unknown

01 Avalon

02 Baby It's You

03 This One's for Me 

04 Facts of Life

05 Hippy Woman

06 Lonely Girl

07 Standing Still

08 Merry Go Round

09 Wildflower

10 Victim for Somebody Else

11 Maria

12 Sticks and Stones

13 Future for You

14 Coming Up Roses

15 The Sky Is Falling

16 Black and Blue

17 Johnny Come Lately

18 Life Goes On

19 Glasses and Braces

Musicians:

(Will) Owsley: vocals, guitars, keys, percussion, bass

Millard Powers: vocals, bass, keys, guitars

Jody Spence: drum machine programing, drums (on some tracks)

Ben Folds: drums (on "Coming Up Roses" and one other)

Zak Starkey: drums on a couple (probably "Life Goes On" and one other)

John Mark Painter: mellotron on "Coming Up Roses"

ROB SEZ: All credit here goes to Mick and Don from the old ASH blog, to whom I am indebted for so many posts over the years. Not sure why I never shared this back when I was regularly doing the "ASH Tuesday" posts, but I guess it got lost in the shuffle.  All these tracks are power pop gems, and serve as the prelude to Powerbill, considered one of the best (and hardest-to-find) power pop albums of the 1990s. The debut album features Owsley, Millard Powers, and Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr). There's a mystery bonus share included in the download folder. (Before you ask: I do not have this in lossless. I'm sharing it the way it originally came to me.)

   

P.S. - Paul over at Albums That Should Exist has posted a shorter set of these as an "imagined" album by the band. He always does a good job with his posts. Go check it out.

MP3@320

      

Ladybug Transistor - Live 2004 + 2015 (sbd)

Contempopranea Music Fest 

Alburquerque, Spain
July 24, 2004

soundboard recording (quality: VG+; webstream capture from a (probable) VHS tape source; a small handful of audio anomalies were present in my source)

01 Echoes (fades in) 

02 Empty Bottles
03 Choking On Air
04 3=Wild
05 Song for the Ending Day
06 A Burial at Sea
07 Wooden Bars
08 Here Comes the Rain
09 banter with crowd
10 NY - San Anton
11 Splendor In the Grass
12 Oceans In the Hall
13 banter, band intros
14 Rushes of Pure Spring

ROB SEZ: As a new fan of Ladybug Transistor, I was ecstatic to find a full live set in very good quality. I guess it was unrealistic to expect great sound AND an amazing performance. It’s a soundboard-sourced video from the festival organizers, so no problem there. Considering the band played their set well after midnight, it’s certainly a very good — and goodnatured — performance. Just not exactly “raw & rockin’.” I’ve added the 2015 WFMU live set here, which livens things up, thanks to the band and the zany DJ.

The Ladybug Transistor, live in 2019

WFMU Live Session
The Dave Hill Show
Jersey City, N.J.
Jan. 12, 2015

webstream capture (sound quality: VG+) 

00 DJ Dave Hill intro & joshing around
01 [unknown song]
02 more goofing around
03 Hold On
04 final DJ zaniness
05 Thieves (fades out)

WATCH THE ENTIRE 2004 SET HERE

FLAC lossless captures, lossy sources

MP3@320

Ladybug Transistor - Lively & Rarified (comp 1997-2012)

'Lively & Rarified' 

Rarities & Live comp 1997-2012

(various venues)

webstream captures (sound quality: VG+ to Ex-)

01 Terry (KDHX 2007)

02 Three Days from Now (KDHX 2007)

Ladybug Transistor: bookish, but cool

03 This Old Chase (KDHX 2007)

04 NY - San Anton (Daytrotter 2007)

05 Always On the Telephone 

      (Daytrotter 2007) 

06 Into the Strait (Brooklyn 2009)

07 Nico Norte (NYC 2009)

08 Clutching Stems (hotel room 2009)

09 I'm Not Mad Enough (Merge 2009)

10 Wooden Bars (NYC 2012)

11 I Found a Reason (VU cover)

12 Today Knows (demo 1997)

13 Six Times (demo 1998)

14 Like a Summer Rain

      (live, Other Music NYC)

source info:

01, 02 & 03 = KDHX Radio, St. Louis, MO 2007-07-29

04 & 05 = Daytrotter session 2007-06-06, unknown location

06 = Bruar Falls, Brooklyn, N.Y. 2009-10-23 (Punkcast)

07 = Cake Shop, NYC 2009-09-05 (Punkcast)

08 = N.C. hotel room, July 2009 (XX Merge)

09 = XX Merge, Chapel Hill, N.C. July 2009

10 = Popfest, Littlefield, NYC 2012

11 = Rabid Chords VU Tribute album 2000

12 & 13 = Gary Olson demos

14 = Other Music, NYC (undated)

ROB SEZ: Feeling forlorn and still missing Paddy McAloon's Prefab Sprout, I recently went 
looking for a musical place holder. I was delighted to find Brooklyn-based combo The Ladybug Transistor. Gary Olson and company make melodic, offbeat, lyrically interesting, and engaging music. Definitely not a Prefab Sprout clone, Ladybug Transistor nevertheless fills the niche for me due to their fearless creativity and lyrical sensibilities. Although the band doesn't appear to be a going studio concern these days, they toured as recently as 2019. Founder/leader Gary Olson released a fab solo album in 2020 — confirming my Prefabs associations in full. For your musical enjoyment, I assembled this compilation of live tracks and a few rarities. (Stay with this beyond the first track or two, because the energy builds as you listen.) There will be more Ladybug Transistor goodness here next weekend.

FLAC lossless capture, lossy sources

MP3@320

Chamber Strings (Kevin Junior) - Live 1998 & 2007 (soundboard)

The Double Door
Chicago, IL
Jan. 20, 2007

soundboard recording (quality: Ex-; webstream capture)

01 Flashing Star
02 Thank My Lucky Stars 
03 Last Lovers
04 The Fool Sings Without Any Song

05 For the Happy Endings 

Comeback Concert, Jan. 2007 in Chicago
photo by Brian James

06 A Broken Man
07 I Can't Lose
08 Let Me Live My Own Life
09 I Come Apart
10 Month of Sundays
11 It's No Wonder
12 Make It Through the Summer
13 Everyday Is Christmas
14 band intros
15 Beautiful You
16 Telegram (Where’s My Horn?)
17 No More Songs
18 Dead Man's Poise
19 Times Are Hard for a Dreamer
20 D.R.I.N.K.
21 Our Dead Friends

ROB SEZ: What can I say about the amazing Chamber Strings? If you're familiar with this band, you know what was so special about them: founder/leader Kevin Junior and his musical vision, which encompassed the best elements of pop and rock from the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Ohio, Junior befriended brothers Nikki Sudden and Epic Soundtracks, collaborating with both before their deaths. Junior formed the Chamber Strings in the late 1990s and recorded two stellar albums with the group: Gospel Morning (1997) and Month of Sundays (2001), both of which are worth seeking out. Junior's subsequent battle with drug addiction nearly sank him and his band. Fortunately, he survived years of depression, addiction, and homelessness. When Junior emerged, he re-connected with members of the Chamber Strings, and staged this comeback concert in his adopted hometown of Chicago. Though he never recorded another long player before his death in 2016, Junior's musical legacy is a beautiful one. HUGE THANKS to Glorious Noise & Whiskey Bender Productions for making this recording and to Tom R. for sharing it. Thanks also to Stork and WFMU for hosting the Chamber Strings for a live session in 1998, which I've included here.

Watch the whole show HERE. Wanna know more? Check out this documentary about Kevin Junior and the Chamber Strings.

WFMU Live Session 

The Chamber Strings in 2008, after the comeback

The Stork Club
East Orange, N.J.
April 18, 1998

soundboard recording (quality: Ex-; 

webstream capture) 

01 Everyday Is Christmas
02 Telegram (Where's My Horn?)
03 Flashing Star
04 I Can't Lose
06 Dead Man's Poise

Note: track 05, It's Not Worth Fighting, was officially released on Ruins, the 2009 Kevin Junior / Chamber Strings rarities comp, which is why it's excluded here

FLAC lossless capture, lossy sources

MP3@320

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