Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers- Live At The Village Gate 1977

As Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, the band only released one studio album. That album, L.A.M.F. was originally released in 1977 and remains today as a true punk rock classic. I have the original vinyl LP I bought at a record store in Vancouver in the mid-80's and I was disappointed with the sound quality and mix of the record as it sounded dull and lifeless. Apparently, I wasn't alone with this option as the record has been re-released several times to improve the sound through re-mixes,  lost mixes and alternative versions from the original album. L.A.M.F. Revisited, L.A.M.F.: The Lost '77 Mixes (released 1994) and L.A.M.F. Definitive Edition (2012) which featured the original album, the lost mixes, demos and alternative tracks. Thunders went on to record a handful of solo studio albums, but the legacy and true appeal of the Heartbreakers was in their live performances. For a band with only one official studio album, they released several live albums capturing the Heartbreakers, especially in the late 70's at their peak. Johnny Thunders shows in the 80's were at best uneven and sometimes unpredictable. With the right mix of intoxication and preferably shows with Waldo (Walter Lure) on guitar, his live shows could also be brilliant with some classic Thunders stage banter and loose, but inspired playing. (Unfortunately, when I finally saw Thunders live it was towards the end of his life/career and the concert was a mess, he was strung out and the musicians around him weren't very good, including a pickup drummer from the crowd, sad) Anyways, many very good sounding live recordings from the Heartbreakers prime era in the mid-late 70's have been available on LP, cassette and CD in both bootleg and semi-official releases and whenever something new (unreleased) gets unearthed from someones collection it's always worth a listen.

I was in Minneapolis last June scouting out record stores and stumbled upon, Live At The Village Gate 1977 on CD. It was brand new in a slick package with a beautiful b & w gatefold CD cover, that I hadn't seen before. (I heard that the vinyl version is hot pink!) And because I'm always looking for unreleased Heartbreakers shows I bought it. The sound quality is only okay, it's a step up from a audience live recording, but it has a bit of an digital sounding enhancement to it. Once you get past that, the show itself is very good, with a solid performance and great songs. I would suggest seeking out Live at Max's, D.T.K. (Live at the Speakeasy) or even Live at the Lyceum Ballroom first before buying Live at the Village Gate. It's a nice addition to the Heartbreakers live album collection and I shouldn't complain because anything unreleased (or unheard) that is new to me, is always a welcome listen at any time.
Happy New Year!!
Enjoy!

Please do NOT sell or transfer to lossy formats (except for personal use)
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JOHNNY THUNDERS & THE HEARTBREAKERS
L.A.M.F.
Live At The Village Gate
August 18 & 20, 1977
(released in 2015)

01. Chinese Rocks
02. Pirate Love
03. Get Off The Phone
04. All By Myself
05. Let Go
06. Can't Keep My Eyes On You
07. Chatterbox
08. One Track Mind
09. Take A Chance On Me
10. Born Too Loose
11. Boppin The Blues
12. Do You Love Me
13. I Wanna Be Loved

JOHNNY THUNDERS & THE HEARTBREAKERS- LAMF Live at the Village Gate FLAC. rar

Rivers Cuomo- The Troubadour, May 30, 2018

It's been a pretty good last couple of weeks for Rivers Cuomo and Weezer. A skit from Saturday Night Live on December 15th that was dedicated to his band, Weezer went crazy viral with a pair of fans/neighbors at a dinner party having an intense debate about the band. If you are a Weezer fan or any music fan for that matter you can easily relate. Who hasn't had arguments or debates with friends or co-workers about bands and questioned whether their music is still relevant with today's music. We often question if a band's recent work doesn't hold up against earlier albums (or music they are best known for) and we often moan and groan when a band plays new songs at a show ("we want to hear the early stuff"). An interesting debate indeed. Anyways, this little skit on SNL put Weezer momentarily back in the spotlight with even Rivers commenting on Twitter.

The other news about Weezer in case you haven't heard (or aren't a hockey fan), is that Weezer will headline the entertainment at the NHL Winter Classic game featuring the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins. The game is set to be played outdoors at Notre Dame Stadium at the University of Notre Dame on New Year's Day (January 1, 2019). The band will perform during the intermission between the first and second periods. Hopefully more than a song or two will be aired live on TV, if not maybe a more complete 10-15 minute clip will surface on YouTube.

I was thinking of end of year concert lists and I really didn't see enough shows to make any real list, but I listened to a number of really great concerts during 2018. One of my favourites was from May that was recorded by JB and posted by Waxdoll on Dimeadozen of a solo acoustic show from Weezer's, Rivers Cuomo. The recording sounds excellent with the crowd singing along for most of the show and they do a great job, you know you've made it when your fans know your lyrics so thoroughly. Obviously, he plays lots of Weezer songs with some interesting covers to round out the show. I love this show, I've listened to this more than any other concert this year. This is a intimate performance with just Cuomo's voice (and the crowd's) and guitar, so there's nothing better than listening to this with headphones eyes closed late at night! Highly recommended, even if you're not a Weezer super-fan.
Enjoy!

Since this was posted elsewhere, please respect the original poster's instructions!

Taped and mastered by JB.
Please don't sell or convert to lossy format. 
Don't upload to any site that has anything to do with lossy material.

Rivers Cuomo
The Troubadour
West Hollywood, CA
May 30, 2018

16/44.1
Sonics>Battery Box>Edirol R-09HR>ProTools (for level adjustment, compression, eq, noise reduction and song separation)>flac.

Disc 1 (54:00)

01. I Took a Pill in Ibiza (Mike Posner cover)
02. El Scorcho
03. Buddy Holly
04. Wonderwall (Oasis cover)
05. Island in the Sun
06. Pink Triangle
07. Basket Case (Green Day cover)
08. The Good Life
09. Tired of Sex
10. 1979 (The Smashing Pumpkins cover)
11. Say It Ain't So
12. Across the Sea
13. Why Bother?
14. No Other One

Disc 2 (51:56)

01. Champagne Supernova (Oasis cover)
02. Can't Stop Partying
03. I Don't Want to Let You Go (Live debut)
04. Medicine for Melancholy
05. I Think We're Alone Now (Tommy James & the Shondells cover)
06. This is Such a Pity
07. Undone - The Sweater Song
08. Happy Together/Longview/Happy Together (The Turtles/Green Day covers)
09. Cardigan Disaster
10. Falling for You
11. Today (The Smashing Pumpkins cover)
12. Pig
13. Susanne

encore
14. Endless Bummer (with Brian Bell) (Live debut)
15. You Gave Your Love to Me Softly (with Brian Bell)

RIVERS CUOMO- Los Angeles, CA May 30, 2018 FLAC. rar