Superchunk - Not Lonely, Just Live 2022

Rough Trade

Superchunk plays Webster Hall, N.Y. in 2022
photo by Douglass Dresher

New York, N.Y.

June 14, 2022

(acoustic show)

audience recording

(sound quality: VG+) 
  

01 intro, tuning

02 Wild Loneliness

03 Endless Summer

04 Rainy Streets

05 Seed Toss

06 Driveway to Driveway

07 If You're Not Dark

-sample Superchunk's marvelousness here-

"Endless Summer" KEXP Live,  April 2022

KEXP Studios

Superchunk plays Bumbershoot in 2011

Seattle, WA

April 4, 2022

webstream capture (sound quality: VG++) 

  

01 Wild Loneliness

02 Refracting

03 Endless Summer

04 Rainy Streets

ROB SEZ: Superchunk may be too busy running Merge Records,  or whatever. If Mac McCaughan and company can't do much to promote Wild Loneliness, the band's *stunning* long-player released a few months ago, then I'm gonna do my little bit to try to get the word out. Wild Loneliness is fabulous, even in comparison to their extensive catalogue of fabulousness. I strongly encourage you to give it a listen. (Is Jon Wurster the best indie music drummer of his era? Discuss.) Meanwhile, I'm indebted to neil d and KEXP for sharing the music.

   

FLAC Rough Trade set is lossless, KEXP = lossless capture of lossy source

MP3@320

    

Julia Jacklin - Live In Melbourne & Seattle 2019

The Forum 
Melbourne, Australia 
March 14, 2019

webstream (sound quality: Ex-, Triple J Radio webcast)

01 Body
02 Leadlight
03 Motherland
04 Don't Know How to 

     Keep Loving You 
05 When the Family Flies In
06 Don't Let the Kids Win
07 Good Guy
08 You Were Right
09 Pool Party
10 Head Alone
11 Pressure to Party

*sample Julia Jacklin & band's live talent here*

(for me, this is the definitive version of "Head Alone")

KEXP Studios 
Seattle, WA
Aug. 12, 2019

webstream (sound quality: Ex-)

  

01 Don't Know How to 

     Keep Loving You 

02 Head Alone

03 Turn Me Down

04 Pressure to Party

   

05 LA Dream (KUTX 2017)

06 Head Alone (AB Session 2019)

07 Comfort (RNZ Live 2019)

08 Pressure to Party (RNZ Live 2019)

09 Eastwick (Sideshow Alley 2017)

ROB SEZ: This was supposed to be a different post, about an up-and-coming group that just released a new album — accompanied by LOTS of indie hype. I really wanted to buy into the hoopla. I bought the new album, listened attentively several times, and ... was singularly unimpressed. By contrast, Australian artist Julia Jacklin has been in heavy rotation at my house for many weeks now. Jacklin's music has everything I found lacking in the unnamed group's recent long player: an identifiable personality, impressive musical chops, loads of charm, and plenty of food for thought in the lyrics. Her 2019 album Crushing (AllMusic rating: 4.5 stars out of 5) and 2022's PRE PLEASURE (AllMusic rating: 4 stars out of 5) have rewarded me richly during their frequent spins. This post offers a hometown show that coincided with the release of Jacklin's second album as well as a 2019 live set for KEXP radio, augmented by other live (mostly acoustic) recordings from 2017 and 2019. Special thanks to Triple J Radio, KEXP, and the others for sharing. Please enjoy.

FLAC lossless captures, lossy sources

MP3@320

    

Green Pajamas - Live 2000-2017 (sbd + aud)

The Showbox

Seattle, WA

Nov. 4, 2000

    

soundboard recording (quality: Ex-) 

  

01 The Secret of Her Smile

02 She's Still Bewitching Me

03 Three-Way Conversation

04 Anna Day

05 Emily Grace

06 Downslide

07 Autumn Leaves

ROB SEZ: Seattle's Green Pajamas have been an overly well-kept secret of indie rock & neo-psychedelica fans since the band got started way back in the 1980s. Jeff Kelly and musical partner Joe Ross have led the combo through dozens of band efforts, solo albums, compilations, and side projects. After all these decades, they're still going strong. All the releases I've heard (about 15 albums & comps) are well worth a listen, and some are bona fide masterpieces. Learn more at AllMusic and Bandcamp (and — because they're so prolific — this additional Bandcamp site).

KEXP Studios

Seattle, WA

Dec. 27, 2013

webstream capture

(sound quality: VG++)

01 Lonesome End of the Lake

02 The Queen's Last Tango

03 Why Good Men Go Bad

04 The Red, Red Rose

xx Interview segments w. DJ Sharlese

  

Variously Live

Seattle, WA

2006, 2010, 2017

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

01 Fairy Queen

      (live Seattle 2017-03-11) 

02 Three-Way Conversation

      (live Seattle 2017-03-11)

03 Cold Turkey

      (live Seattle 2010-10-09)

04 A Long Way From Home

      (Ray Davies cover, rec. 2006) 

FLAC (2000 set is 100% lossless; the other 2 are lossless captures of lossy sources)

MP3@320

   

The Stroppies - Melbourne, AUS Aug. 2022 (sbd) + Marc Riley Session 2019

Triple R Studios

Melbourne, AUS

Aug. 22, 2022

webstream recording (sound quality: VG++)

01 The Perfect Crime 
02 Smilers Strange Politely
03 Material Condition
04 Gravity Is Stern
05 Cold Season
06 Entropy
07 Cellophane Car
08 Figure Eights
09 All the Lines
10 Up to My Elbows

Marc Riley Show

BBC 6Music

London, UK

July 11, 2019

webstream recording (sound quality: VG+) 

01 All the Lines
02 First Time Favourites
03 Go Ahead
04 Cellophane Car
05 Nothing at All

ROB SEZ: The Stroppies are not an NZ band in the mold of classic Flying Nun artists. Rather, they're an Australian band in the mold of classic Flying Nun artists. You can tell the Stroppies have been listening to albums by The Clean, The Chills, early R.E.M., and More Songs About Buildings & Food by Talking Heads. They recently recorded this fab live set at hometown Triple R Radio (see photo gallery HERE.) This is a talented band on the way up, and worth an extended listen. "Modfather" Paul Weller agrees, which is why he chose them as the opening act for his recent UK tour. Their latest 4-star album Levity is a good starting point if you're curious. HUGE THANKS to Triple R in Melbourne for recording & posting the 2022 recording and to Fruitier Than Thou for sharing the Marc Riley session (in which you will find just a few glitches in the recording, which is otherwise very good.)

FLAC lossless captures, lossy sources

MP3@320

The Windbreakers - 'Boxing Day' Live 1986

R.I.P. Bobby Sutliff re-post

‘Boxing Day’ live release

W.C. Don’s, Jackson, MS

Dec. 26 (Boxing Day), 1986

 

soundboard recording (quality VG+; vocals are kinda low in the mix at times, but it's really not a big hairy deal)

01 Changeless

full artwork included in download

02 New Red Shoes

03 I'll Be Back

04 I Never Thought

05 Glory

06 Stupid Idea

07 What Goes On

08 Bad Sermonette

09 Hey! Little Child

10 You Never Give Up

11 Blue and Gray*

12 Rock 'n' Roll Star

13 Again (bonus track)*

*Iowa City, IA 1988

VERY SAD to hear of Bobby's recent death after battling kidney cancer. Tim Lee, Bobby's musical counterpart in The Windbreakers, posted a previously-unreleased 1989 live show on Bandcamp as part of the effort to raise much-needed funds for Bobby's widow, Wendy. In the same place, you can snag the fabulous 18-track various artists tribute collection SKRANG: Sounds Like Bobby Sutliff. If you prefer to make your donation a 1-way affair, you can also contribute to the Go Fund Me that was recently created to help Wendy pay current medical bills.

FOR REAL THANKS to Tim and Bobby for graciously granting permission for this to be posted here, many moons ago. Please show these guys some love: leave a comment here.

REPERCUSSION: Mitch Easter produced several Windbreakers’ albums and played on many Windbreakers’ tracks.

Mitch, hangin' with Tim

Mitch, playin' with Bobby at the Drive-In

ROB SEZ: Normally, no official release ever gets posted here. However, the original Boxing Day live set saw a very limited CD-R only release on the now-defunct Paisley Pop Label. This many years later, I thought Tim and Bobby might consider giving this one away to the fans. I was delighted when they agreed; now everyone can enjoy this live, covers-heavy souvenir of a great combo.

The Windbreakers, a "few" years ago...

WAV (lossless files)

MP3@320

Musicians:

Bobby Sutliff: guitars & vocal
Tim Lee: guitars & vocal
Barry Brown: bass
Bob Aitchison: drums

*rhythm section for 1988 tracks:

Matt Kimbrell: bass

Leif Bondarenko: drums

Bobby Sutliff (right) returns to the stage with the TimLee3, Jan. 2013
A benefit show to defray medical costs after Bobby's serious car accident
photo by John Boydston

 

Learn more about the music of The Windbreakers at AllMusic or Trouser Press

 

Bedhead - Live in 1996 (sbd) + The New Year - Live in 2008 (aud)

Bedhead 

Cat's Cradle

Carrboro, N.C. 

Jan. 20, 1996

(opening for Luna)

soundboard recording (quality: Ex-) 

01 Powder

Bedhead: pondering oblivion, again

02 Burned Out

03 Smoke

04 The Unpredictable Landlord

05 Left Behind

06 The Dark Ages

07 Golden Brown

     (Stranglers cover)

08 Bedside Table

09 The Rest of the Day

Bedhead:

Matt Kadane - guitar, vocals

Bubba Kadane - guitar, vocals

Tench Coxe - guitar

Kris Wheat - bass

Trini Martinez - drums

-sample Bedhead's seductive sound here-

ROB SEZ: Since music discovery is a major goal of the blog, it's time for another helping of bands you probably haven't heard of, but might want to know about. Brothers Matt and Bubba Kadane first founded Bedhead in the 1990s, then The New Year in the 2000s, then Overseas — the latter with David Bazan of Pedro the Lion. Bedhead got tagged as a pioneer of the "slowcore" sound, but in my mind, that's just another instance of lazy music journalism. Bedhead has a slower pace and a guitar-centric style that lends itself to the slowcore label, but the group easily transcends it with inventive song structures, great arrangements, and thoughtful lyrics. AllMusic says The New Year is "more accessible" than Bedhead, but all I hear is yet more absorbing music that rewards repeated listenings. Highly recommended. Check out Numero Group's reissue of all of Bedhead's studio recordings, plus a live album from 1998 (all available in lossless digital for a bargain price.). BIG THANKS to romme and especially to mrpember for going the extra mile to share these recordings with me.   

The New Year

Kadane brothers & co.: The New Year
(below: Matt K. onstage in 2008)

Chelsea

Vienna, Austria

Nov. 18, 2008

audience recording (sound quality: VG+,  from master tape source)

01 The Company I Can Get 

02 Reconstruction

03 Chinese Handcuffs

04 The Door Opens

05 Wages of Sleep

06 The End's Not Near

07 X Off Days

08 Gasoline

09 MMV

10 Plan B

11 The Block That Doesn't Exist

12 Disease

13 Newness Ends

14 Stranger to Kindness

The New Year:

Matt Kadane - guitar, vocals

Bubba Kadane - guitar, vocals 

Peter Schmidt - rhythm guitar

Mike Donofrio - bass

Chris Brokaw - drums

FLAC

MP3@320

Tall Dwarfs - Live in N.Z. 1994 & 1996 (aud)

Bar Bodega 

Wellington, N.Z.
June 10, 1994

audience recording (sound quality: VG-)

01 Another String Change Song

Tall Dwarfs were Chris Knox (left) & Alec Bathgate

02 Road and Hedgehog

03 banter - There's No PA UC

04 And Other Kinds

05 banter - You Look Like Madonna

06 Luck or Loveliness

07 banter - We Sold 12 Copies 

08 Feedback Mayhem

09 Entropy

10 banter - Choosing a Song

11 Mr. Brocolli

12 Walking Home

13 banter - More Beer

14 Paul's Place

15 banter - tuning

16 Highrise

17 When Poets Start to Read...

18 Nothing's Going to Happen

19 The Slide

20 Chris Knox Tests the Reverb 

21 Wings

22 Life Is Strange

23 banter (tape runs out)

ROB SEZ: I overlooked Tall Dwarfs last year when I ran my multi-month New Zealand bands series — probably because TD occupies the more "willfully obscure" end of the pop-rock spectrum compared to the groups I normally prefer. That said, the involvement of NZ legend / TD co-founder Chris Knox makes this a combo worth knowing about. The recent release of the excellent Tall Dwarfs comp Unravelled: 1981–2002 by Merge Records prompted me to revisit my original assessment and check my archive for anything I could post here. These two recordings are courtesy of Cyrus, who shared them a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, neither one represents a complete performance, but you get most of both. After giving TD's music another listen recently, I didn't exactly change my mind. But I did decide I needed to buy Unravelled as well as TD's 3EPs to add to my collection. And you? Maybe Tall Dwarfs will be your favorite new band...

 

Find additional live & rare tracks by Tall Dwarfs 

and lots of other Flying Nun artists HERE

Bar Bodega 

Wellington, N.Z.
Aug. 28, 1996

audience recording (sound quality: VG-) 

01 end of unknown song (cuts in)

02 banter - haven't played together for quite some time

03 Clover

04 Pretty Poison

05 Broken String Hollowness (with ad-libbed lyrics)

06 banter - improvisation, etc.

07 Life Is Strange

08 intro to 09

09 The Brain That Wouldn't Die

10 Paul's Place

11 intro to 12

12 Crush

13 applause, tuning

14 Nothing's Going to Happen

15 chat - Chris Knox & Alec Bathgate with bar owner 

FLAC

MP3@320

Your next essential purchase?

The new Tall Dwarfs compilation,
Unravelled: 1981-2002 is out now on Merge
& available in LP, CD & digital formats

Outrageous Cherry - Live On WFMU 2005 + 2009

Live Session
WFMU Radio 

Jersey City, N.J.
April 3, 2005

webstream captures
(sound quality: VG+)

01 Girl, You Have the Magic

     Inside You
02 You're Not a Nice Girl
03 Pretty Girls Go Insane
04 Unless
05 The Unseen Devourers
06 Young & Miserable
07 Our Love Will Change 

     the World 
08 Astral Transit Authority
09 chat with DJ Joe Belock

Outrageous Cherry (2005):
Matthew Smith - lead vocals, guitar
Larry Ray (R.I.P.) - guitar
Cary Gustafson - drums, vocals
Courtney Sheedy - bass, vocals

ROB SEZ: Outrageous Cherry — great name, right? "Outrageous" because I hadn't heard of this combo until recently, which should be a musical crime of some variety. If you like your pop mixed with a healthy dose of garage, indie rock, and occasional psychedelica, you need to know about Outrageous Cherry, the Detroit band led by musician and producer Matt Smith. Like so many other bands featured here, O.C. has toiled in the vineyards of oblivion for many years, making great music, only to be heard by Detroit-area scenesters and other cognoscenti. Now, it's your turn. (Their recorded output is even better than these live recordings, as enjoyable as they are...)

Live Session

WFMU Radio
Jersey City, N.J. 
Sept. 1, 2009

01 Illuminated Council 

02 I Recognized Her  

03 Get Out While You Can  

04 Stay Happy  

05 Anymore 

06 It's Not Rock & Roll and I Don't Like It  

07 Unless  

08 New Creature  

09 Horizon 

10 a chat with DJ Evan “Funk” Davies

Outrageous Cherry (2009):

Matthew Smith - vocals/guitar/piano

Larry Ray (R.I.P.) - guitar

Sean Ellwood - bass/vocals

Samantha Linn - drums/vocals 

FLAC lossless capture, lossy source

MP3@320