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
   

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

FLAC

MP3@320

     

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.

FLAC

MP3@320

Bailter Space - Auckland, N.Z. 1999 (sbd) + bonus

Sweetwaters Music Fest

Puhinui Reserve

Auckland, New Zealand

Jan. 24, 1999

soundboard recording

(quality: Ex-) 

01 Begin

02 Two Stars

03 Shadow

04 Dark Blue

05 Windows On the World

John Halvorsen & Brent McLachlan of Bailter Space
fab photos by Michael Hall

06 Woke Up

07 Robot World 

08 Splat

09 U.H.F.

ROB SEZ: Christchurch noise rock gurus Bailter Space (aka Bailterspace) aren't really my cup of tea, musically speaking. Yet they fit the bill for this NZ series, and they're the "successor band" to the Gordons. Plus, Bailter Space is undeniably good at what they do. Here we have a lovely 1999 soundboard recording from the master tape source, recorded & generously shared by crankingamps. All praises to him; I'm just passing along his work. The bonus share is a 4-song Dutch radio compilation from a 1994 live session for VPRO and a much shorter VPRO session from 1995. The names of the taper & sharer have gone missing, unfortunately...

Bailter Space plays Edinburgh, 1991
photos above & below by misterworthington

VPRO Radio Live Session

May 1994 (exact date unknown)

FM recording (sound quality: VG+)

01 intro

02 Robot World

03 dj speaks

04 Projects

05 dj speaks again 

06 X

VPRO Radio Live Session

Oct. 1995 (exact date unknown)

FM recording (sound quality: VG+) 

01 Untied

02 interview

FLAC

MP3@320

Owsley - Live & Rare (by request)

(Will) Owsley

Live & Rare archive 

various venues, dates

1997-2004

WHAT'S IN THIS ARCHIVE:

Owsley - Mess With Me (from debut, indie version, 1997) HQ MP3

Owsley - Newark, N.J. 1999-02-21 MP3

Owsley - Newark, N.J. 2000-02-21 HQ MP3

Owsley - Roseville, CA 2000-03-04 HQ MP3

Owsley - Live On Drive 105 (2003) HQ MP3

Owsley - Vintage Vinyl, Nashville, TN 2004-03-04 (untracked) MP3@256 

Owsley - Vintage Vinyl, Nashville, TN 2004-03-20 (RDF edit) HQ MP3

Owsley - photos + Big Takeover scanned article

ROB SEZ: I don't get many requests these days. So when a blog reader left a recent comment, "More Owsley, please!" I was inclined to oblige if I found the time — which I did just a few days ago. Years ago, I created a proper blog post featuring a 2004 FM broadcast by the late, great Will Owsley. In case the name doesn't ring a bell, Will was a master of tasty, crunchy guitar pop. Here is the rest of my ROIO archive for Owsley, featuring live recordings (mostly audience recordings in VG or better quality) plus a rarity. Still want more? Head over to Pop Fair and cross your fingers that Haper still has an active link for the collection of Owsley demos and non-album tracks he put together years ago.

MP3@320

(as received; I do not have these in lossless)

     

VA - Songs of Big Star Live Nov. 2021

Various Artists

The Songs of Big Star 

St. Ann & the Church 

     of the Holy Trinity

Brooklyn, N.Y.

Nov. 7, 2021

audience recording (sound quality: VG++)

ROB SEZ: This was billed as "Songs of Big Star"— a one-of-a-kind acoustic, orchestrated performance featuring Chris Stamey (The dB's), Jody Stephens (Big Star), Mike Mills (R.E.M.), Ira Kaplan (Yo La Tengo), Brett Harris, Charles Cleaver, and Skylar Gudasz (Big Star's Third Live), Crispin Cioe (Uptown Horns) & the Occasional String Quartet. And it all happened in the stunning setting of St. Ann's Church in Brooklyn. When Chris declared a couple of years ago that "Big Star's Third Live" was over, I never thought I'd see something like this again. The performance starts off a little slow, as if the musicians are taking a while to get back in the groove. Stay with it, though, because they definitely find it several songs into the concert. The taper was Lucca. BIG THANKS to him! FYI: the NZ music series continues next week...

01 music intro

02 spoken intro

03 I'm In Love with a Girl 

04 The India Song

05 Kanga Roo

06 Watch the Sunrise

07 Dream Lover 

08 O My Soul

09 Daisy Glaze

10 Night Time

11 Take Care

12 For You 

13 You and Your Sister

14 intermission

15 September Gurls

16 Back of a Car

17 In the Street

18 Jesus Christ

19 February's Quiet 

20 Thirteen

21 Way Out West

22 Holocaust

Songs of Big Star in Brooklyn, earlier this month.
That's Chris on the right.

23 Thank You Friends

24 There Was a Light

25 You Get What You Deserve

26 Give Me Another Chance

27 The Ballad of El Goodo

28 O Dana

29 Femme Fetale [Velvet Underground]

30 I Am the Cosmos [Chris Bell]

31 Don't Go Back to Rockville [R.E.M.]

FLAC

MP3@320

Sneaky Feelings - Hamburg, GR 1987 (aud)

Sneaky Feelings 

Hamburg, Germany

October 12, 1987

audience recording (sound quality: VG-)

01 Husband House

02 There's a Chance 

03 Wouldn't Cry

04 It's So Easy

05 Trouble With Kay

06 Not to Take Sides

07 Now 

08 A Letter to You

09 Won't Change

10 Hard Love

11 In the Shape of a Heart

12 Waiting for Touchdown

13 Better Than Before

14 Broken Man

15 Unknown Cover Song

16 Throwing Stones

17 Discipline

18 Your Secret's Safe with Me 

19 Levin Dream

20 Coming True

21 Amnesia

ROB SEZ:  Here's a true rarity and collector's item: a complete live recording by Dunedin's Sneaky Feelings from 1987.  Sneaky Feelings trafficked in the musical collision between rock and pop typical of Flying Nun's roster, with frequently compelling results. (The band has a musical family tree connection to the Mutton Birds via drummer Ross Burge, who joined Sneaky Feelings in 1989.) This recording turned up recently, and I thought it had unrealized potential. It's an audience capture several generations off the master tape, so I applied some eq to bring up the bass and take the edge off the treble frequencies. After balancing the left & right channels, raising the levels, and adding one pass of compression, I think it's worth a listen — or two! Hearty thanks to DAP for sharing this one and gratitude to the unknown taper.

FLAC

MP3@320