Minus 5- Lounge Ax, January 9, 2000

Hey music fans, this Saturday, April 19 is the seventh annual Record Store Day! (RSD Canada) Its purpose is to celebrate the culture of the independent record store. Just to clarify, I mean independently owned, no corporate chain stores, not Starbucks, not iTunes or Apple Store, but the once dying breed, the record store. In the past several years, there has been a revival in vinyl, which is a good thing because so many people nowadays listen to their music on their phones or other "smart" devices more for the convenience than for the music listening experience. The sound quality of these pathetic "music listening" devices is so crappy sounding our perception and standards of quality music have been lowered. Many are clueless to the low fidelity and many don't care. Blame mp3's, blame iTunes, blame the internet, blame American Idol...these are all part of the problem and Record Store Day is about the awareness of good music, getting back to how music was bought and listened to in my day (yes, I'm sounding old!). The memories of hanging out at the record store, browsing through the racks and discussing new releases and must-haves with staff and friends is the culture of what RSD is trying to recreate. Think of the record store as the organic food version of music, it tastes and sounds better and you'll feel better about yourself for caring about your health and well being.

One of the highlights of RSD is the exclusive releases sold at stores. A pdf list of what's available is here. One release that caught my attention is the Minus 5- Scott the Hoople In The Dungeon Of Horror. It will be only released on vinyl (5 record set) and limited to only 400, the price is somewhere in the $89 dollar range. I haven't been on the ball enough to request it from my local stores and I'm not sure if it will be in stock here. Also I'm working this Saturday so I won't be able to shop in person, if anyone has any ideas or help about purchasing a copy, let me know. This record should be crazy good (5 discs?!!) and I'm such a hardcore Scott McCaughey fan this is a must-have.

To get you in the mood, I'm posting a Minus 5 show from 14 years ago. This was recorded during the final days of the Lounge Ax, a cool intimate club in Chicago, with Scott McCaughey and members of Wilco (with Jeff Tweedy on bass) as his backing band for a make shift version of the Minus 5 opening for Summer Teeth (Wilco). Most of the songs during the set were new songs written for the occasion that had never been performed before and the band played them without a rehearsal, some of the songs were eventually recorded and later appeared on the In Rock album. This remains one of my favourite Minus 5 live recordings, loose, fun and some amazing musicianship.
Enjoy!

MINUS 5 (w/Wilco)
Lounge Ax
Chicago, IL
January 9, 2000
SBD

01. Courage Is The Smallest Bird
02. In A Lonely Coffin
03. I'm Not Bitter
04. Dear Employer
05. Lies Of The Living Dead
06. The King Of Carrot Flowers Part 1
07. Disaster Nurse Fan
08. I've Got A Lyrical Stance
09. The Night Chicago Died Again
10. Last Call For Corporal Barry
11. I Still Miss Someone *
12. Home Of The Blues *
13. I Wish I Was Your Mother

Minus 5: Scott McCaughey & Wilco with Kelly Hogan and Jon Langford*

MINUS 5- 2000-01-09 Lounge Ax, Chicago, IL FLAC. rar