Sneakers - Durham, N.C. 1976 + Sacred Irony

Duke University

Durham, N.C.

August 1976

audience recording (quality GD; sound improves considerably by track 2; there’s hiss, distortion and a lack of instrumental separation, but it's listenable and — hey — this is musical history, people!)   

Sneakers: Robert Keely, Will Rigby, Rob Slater, Chris Stamey

ROB SEZ: In this New Year, it's time to go back to the roots of this blog, with Sneakers (a group that Mitch Easter and Chris Stamey were involved in) and a separate group that Mitch was in a few years prior. Sacred Irony was Mitch's first "proper" band, which made many studio recordings but never released any singles or LPs. After Rittenhouse Square and Little Diesel, Sneakers was the next Winston-Salem band with Chris' involvement that made recordings, played public gigs, and (later on) recruited Mitch into the fold. Here is the only known live recording of the group prior to its break up and subsequent reunion shows in 2007 & '08. Much thanks to WR and RK for help with song titles not known to me. 

SAMPLE: "On the Brink" (Durham 1976)

OMNIVORE RECORDINGS just reissued Sneakers' debut EP
on vinyl (with digital download card), RSD Black Friday
FIND IT & BUY IT ... 'CUZ YOU NEED IT

01 S'il Vous Plait

02 Condition Red

03 No Money Downs

04 (Love's Like a) Cuban Crisis

05 Some Kinda Fool

06 Nonsequitur (of Silence)

07 Pedestrian Confession

08 20/20

09 On the Brink

10 Leftovers

11 Ruby

12 Kissy Boys

13 Let's All Apologize

14 Hip Secrets

15 Story of a Girl (semi-acoustic)

16 You Told Me

17 The Train Stops Here

18 mystery bonus track

 
Sneakers 
(presumed lineup for this show):

Mitch Easter
Robert Keely

Will Rigby

Rob Slater
Chris Stamey
 

MP3@256  

A big, sloppy THANK YOU to a special friend of the blog 

for supplying me this show

Sacred Irony

A Sacred Irony Compendium 

studio recordings  

sound quality: VG to VG+

SACRED IRONY: wistful in the graveyard (Mitch Easter, far right)

SAMPLE: "I See Love"

01 radio intro (for I Am Your Dr.)

02 I Am Your Doctor

03 Collaboration

04 I See Love

05 Gone, Gone, Gone

06 Secret Lover

07 Let's Go Steady

08 Where No One Cares

09 Teenage Lust (MC5 cover)

10 Good Times

11 Sure to Fall

12 Face Without a Name

13 All Up to You

14 Changes In Me

Sacred Irony:

Mitch Easter - guitar prodigy 
Ted Lyons 
Rick Reich 
Dale Smith 
Troy "Corky" McMillan   

MP3 (192-256 kbps)   
 

A most hearty THANK YOU to Fantom

for providing some of the music in this post, and for pointing me to this vintage drawing of Sacred Irony back from Peter's high school daze:

When he posted this at Sacred Irony's FB page, Peter wrote: "I did this with my trusty Rapidograph in 9th grade at Exeter (1970-71) sometime. Corporeally, I was in New Hampshire, but my heart was in Winston-Salem. Band represented in this picture is absolutely Sacred Irony."

READ MORE about these groups and many other N.C. bands  at Michael Slawter's most excellent blog site

 (earlier version of the blog HERE)    
     

Wondermints - Tokyo, JP 1999 (sbd)

Club Quattro

Tokyo, Japan

July 16, 1999

  
soundboard (quality VG++)

  

The Wondermints: perfectionistic purveyors of pure pop

01 Dois Mil e Um (2001)

02 In and Around Greg Lake

03 Invisible Paint

Thanks to Jake for the artwork (included in DL)

04 Open My Eyes

05 Cellophane

06 Dream Machine

07 Love In the City

08 Cris Craft #10

09 Joy

10 Porpoise Song

11 Hypnolove

12 Global Village Idiot

13 Tracy Hide

14 Bubbles

15 Puppet Grrls Are Go

16 Galactic Patrol

17 Proto Pretty

18 Playtex Aviary

19 Hocus Pocus

  
SINCERE THANKS to Angelo, who first posted this at Power Pop Criminals (he posted a bunch of rare Wondermints, but you might have to ask nicely for some re-ups, since most of the links appear to be dead...).

  

WONDERMINTS: wowed the crowd at Club Quattro, Tokyo, in 1999

MP3@320

Note: this set does not reflect the original sequencing of the live show, which probably explains the sometimes abrupt transitions from one track to another.

Wondermints:

Probyn Gregory

Mike D’Amico

Nick Walusko

Brian Kassan

 Darian Sahanaja

  
Several of the guys sing and play multiple instruments, so I’m just listing the band members… 

 

Learn more about the music of The Wondermints at AllMusic or this FB page

   

The Only Ones - Minneapolis 1979 (sbd)

The Only Ones
Longhorn Bar

Minneapolis, MN

Oct. 2, 1979

soundboard recording (quality: VG; good sound from second-generation tape source; the notoriously erratic Only Ones give an energetic performance)

The Only Ones: a fading musical memory, but one worth tuning in...

ROB SEZ: For a long time, I didn’t know much about The Only Ones. Then I heard that Will Rigby likes the band, so I put ‘em on my radar screen. Turns out they’re one of the best “lost bands” from the late 1970s and early 1980s — an invigorating mix of rock and punk with a dash of British New Wave and a touch of dark lyricism. Attentive dB's fans know the guys would cover "Lovers of Today" on occasion. Recently, I gave them a listen and found this excellent live show to share. Sincere thanks to SEETHELIGHT7 and to stacheleber for sharing and giving me the go-ahead to post it here. Please honor stacheleber's request to only share it losslessly (even if you convert it to lossy for personal use).  This one’s for Will, and any other Only Ones fans out there...

01 City of Fun

02 Inbetweens

03 Programme

04 As My Wife Says

05 The Big Sleep

06 Miles from Nowhere

07 Lovers of Today

08 Another Girl, Another Planet

09 Peter and the Pets

   

10 crowd noise

11 Me and My Shadow

12 The Big Sleep

13 Lucinda

14 No Solution

15 Out There In the Night

16 The Whole of the Law

17 Curtains for You

18 Another Girl, Another Planet

19 The Beast

20 Peter and the Pets

21 No Peace for the Wicked

22 City of Fun
 

TT: 1:22:56
 

NOTES: First set = 1-9; second set = 10-22; some songs were played in both sets; the previous night's show at the same locale is also in circulation

WAV lossless files

The Only Ones:

Peter Perrett - vocals, guitar

John Perry - guitar

Alan Mair - bass

Mike Kellie - drums

 Learn more about the music of The Only Ones at the band's site, Trouser Press and/or Wikipedia.

   

Mitch Easter - 2 live shows, 2006

Two full-band shows from 2006

soundboard & FM

Mitch was promoting his forthcoming solo album, Dynamico, in 2006

sound quality: Ex-

BUNCHA THANKS to the tapers and EXTRAVAGANT THANKS to Mick & Otis B for the shares.

ROB SEZ: One more reason the Internet is so great: I get to connect with people like Otis B. He got in touch one day out of the blue and shared these two shows with me. Both of them sound great, and have a mix of new and old tunes. Of the two, I prefer the later performance at WFMU for its fun atmosphere. Mitch & co. sound like they’re having a blast…

SAMPLE: "1 & 1/2 Way Street" (live WFMU)

The Garage, Winston Salem, NC 2006-04-03 (sbd)

01 Sudden Crown Drop

02 Total Rats

03 One and a Half Way Street

04 Ton of Bricks

05 You and Me

06 In Little Ways

07 Badger

08 So Gone Away

09 Dusky Lair

10 Love Slaves to Paradise Lost

11 Gonna Cry

12 Phantoms of Ephemera

13 It's So Easy

14 Time Warping

15 Stupid Proof
   

WFMU, Jersey City, NJ 2006-11-29 (FM)

01 Time Warping*

02 Sudden Crown Drop*

03 Flags for Everything

04 Dusky Lair

05 Every Word Means No

06 Reflecting Pool

07 Waters Part

08 Ton of Bricks

09 One and a Half Way Street

10 Edge of the World

11 You and Me

12 interview

*These 2 tracks have very brief anomalies due to streaming hiccups.
I repaired them as best I could... 

MP3@256 (second show @160)  

MUSICIANS:

Mitch Easter – guitar, vocals

Shalini Chatterjee – bass, vocals 
Eric Marshall - drums 
     
     

Jellyfish - Live Nov. 1993 + bonus

soundboard-sourced live compilation

from ‘Socrates, Pathos, & Plato’ (liberated boot)

JELLYFISH: their music is probably more beloved 
today, 20 years after their demise

sound quality: Ex- (bonus tracks VG+)

ALL HAIL siveld, Shalom Aberle, and Jellyblog for sharing these tracks.

ROB SEZ: If you’re a Jellyfish fan, you probably know about the deluxe reissues of the band’s two studio albums coming in January from Omnivore Recordings. They will be packed with extra tracks, but nothing from this set will appear on either one. As usual, none of these has ever appeared on an official/commercial release. 

SAMPLE: "The King Is Half Undressed" (live '93)

01 All Is Forgiven

02 Sebrina, Paste, and Plato

03 That Is Why

04 New Mistake

05 I Wanna Stay Home

06 The Ghost at Number One

07 The Man I Used to Be

08 Baby's Coming Back

09 The King Is Half Undressed

10 All I Want Is Everything

11 Now She Knows She's Wrong  
     (London, 1991)

12 That Is Why (London, 1991)

13 By Bye Bye (live on ‘Later’ 1993)

14 The Ghost at Number One (live on ‘Later’ 1993)

Full artwork for this boot is in the DL

TT: 52:29

MP3@320

SOURCES:

1-10 = soundboard live compilation from Socrates, Pathos & Plato boot CD. Culled from various live shows, November 1993.*

11 & 12 = Wembley Stadium, London, UK 
     July 13, 1991 (FM, speed-corrected)

13 & 14 = Live on ‘Later With Jools Holland’ 1993 (Shalom Aberle stereo mixes)
*(4 tracks from the S, P, & P boot were omitted here since they were included in the Not Lame box set from 2002)
 

Want more Jellyfish ROIOs?

Get thee to the fab BBChron blog.

Jellyfish: a brief but pretty sweet ride.

Learn more about the music of Jellyfish 
at AllMusic, Omnivore's artist page,  
or this fan site.