Muffs- Live At Rhino Pop Up Store, Los Angeles 2011

It's been about two and half years since Kim Shattuck of the Muffs passed away after a battle with ALS and I was thinking of her last week while listening to some Muffs. I always thought their first two albums were their best, but in reality all their releases are worth a listen and for the completest, their comp, Hamburger is an excellent overview of the first phase of their career (up until 2000 or so). I miss her patented scream and energetic stage presence, as they were a great live band and I regret never seeing the Muffs live, but at least through YouTube and live recordings you can still experience hearing and watching them perform. 

To continue the theme of record store shows, the Muffs played at a Rhino Pop Up Store in L.A. a bit over ten years ago and it's a good example how good a band can sound at an in-store performance. I just remembered I had this show and had to do some digging to find it and it was one of those burned discs I only wrote minimal information for. At least, I have the date and the venue info, but unfortunately I don't have the setlist of songs. I know some of the songs, but I don't have the energy to complete the list. If anyone can help out and identify the song titles, that would be greatly appreciated! (edit: we now have a setlist!) The sound quality is crisp, clear and sounds amazing. Celebrate Record Store Day with the late, great Muffs!

Enjoy!

 

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MUFFS
Rhino Pop Up Store
Los Angeles, CA
May 30, 2011

01. Paint By Numbers (sound check) 

02. introduction 

03. Happening / On and On 

04. A Little Luxury 

05. Lucky Guy 

06. Something Inside 

07. Honeymoon 

08. Where Did I Go Wrong 

09. Outer Space 

10. Weird Boy Next Door 

11. From Your Girl 

12. Every Single Thing 

13. Sad Tomorrow 

14. Red Eyed Troll 

15. Red Eyed Troll reprise

Thank you, JohnnyHank for the setlist!

MUFFS- 2011-05-30 Rhino Pop Up Store, LA, CA FLAC. rar

Grant Hart, Bob Mould, Dave Pirner- Live At Garage D'or Records 1985

 

Saturday, April 23rd is Record Store Day 2022. In addition, there will be a RSD drop date on June 18th for releases that couldn't make it into to stores in April. I expect things will be close to normal with events, sales and maybe live performance in the the actual store. Personally, there aren't a lot of releases that I need to rush out and buy and in some ways the RSD releases are over-rated. Items are over-priced and they create a false demand with small limited runs and exclusive releases. A few titles interest me, but a majority of the records are re-issues and items previously not available on vinyl. I love the idea of Record Store Day to bring awareness that record stores are still in operation and need you support to stay open, especially after the pandemic. It's also a great excuse to get out of the house (or apartment etc.) to do some record browsing, which is definitely my favourite habit! I might peruse a store or two on Saturday to help support my local stores...you should too! 😉 (Record Store Day Canada)

One of the things that Record Store Days has brought back is live performances. I remember a time when record stores would have more live in-store shows. It may have been a band on tour and the day of the show would play the local record store to promote their latest release and to remind people they have a concert that night. Sometimes the band will cram into a small store with full gear, while other times an acoustic unplugged show is more appropriate. Some larger stores (Tower Records Amoeba), have a mini-concerts with big names as draws while customers continue to browse the stacks. In honor of RSD, I have a cool in-store show from Garage D'or Records in Minneapolis, featuring a trio of local rock heroes from two legendary Twin Cities bands. Grant Hart and Bob Mould from Husker Du and David Pirner from Soul Asylum did a rare acoustic set inside the store. At this time, Husker Du had released, Flip Your Wig a couple months earlier and Soul Asylum's second album, Made To Be Broken would be released the next month. By coincidence, Bob produced Made To Be Broken, so he and Dave have been working together around this time. Interesting setlist with some covers, a couple of Husker Du songs, a Soul Asylum song and Grant Hart performing 2541, a song that would see light years later after Husker Du broke up on his first solo EP in 1988 and re-recorded for his debut album, Intolerance in 1989. Really wish I could have been there!

Enjoy!

 

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

Do NOT convert to lossy formats, except for personal use

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GRANT HART, BOB MOULD, DAVE PIRNER

Garage D'Or Records 

Minneapolis, Minnesota

December 21, 1985

 

From The Teddy Ballgames Archive

acoustic in-store performance

1. There You Go (Johnny Cash)
2. Home Of The Blues (Johnny Cash)
3. 2541
4. Flexible Flyer
5. Too Far Down
6. Never Really Been
7. Puff the Magic Dragon
8. Rain (The Beatles)

Show featuring:
Grant Hart (tracks 1-4) guitar, vocals
Bob Mould (5,7,8)  guitar, vocals
Dave Pirner (6,7,8) guitar, vocals

GRANT HART, BOB MOULD, DAVE PIRNER- 1985-12-21 Garage D'or, Minneapolis FLAC. rar

 

(note: Back to using Adrive, added more storage space so more shows to come soon! Let me know if there are any problems. Thankx!)

Golden Smog- Live At The First Avenue, April 3, 2022: Night 2

It was another amazing night of music in Minneapolis, as Golden Smog played the second night of their two-night run at the First Avenue. A set similar to the previous night, the band settled in quickly and seemed to be more relaxed and comfortable with their familiar surroundings. Once again, I was content with viewing the concert via: livestream with perfect sound and a clear view of the performers. I can appreciate the technology because now there is a much larger audience viewing this show from pretty much anywhere with the ability to watch the show on replay which would benefit viewers in other time zones that might not be able to watch it live. It was a wonderful concert and if you were lucky enough to view both nights, you were treated to a number of different songs from the night before. Let's cross our fingers it doesn't take another 15 years for the band with Jeff Tweedy to get together. I'm sure fans would love a new Golden Smog album and how about a tour of other cities so more fans can enjoy them in person.

Highlights:

• It's always a bonus when bands play some different songs on the second night and with three albums and an EP to their credit, they have no shortage of good material to play live. The first 6/7 songs in the set were the same (in the same order), as they switched in Making Waves in place of Yesterday Cried from Saturday's setlist. Different songs played on Sunday night: All the Same To Me, Easy To Be Hard (from the On Golden Smog EP), Frying Pan Eyes, Strangers (Kinks cover), Scotch On Ice, She Don't Have To See You).
• The chemistry between Jeff Tweedy and Gary Louris was in evidence again, especially during the acoustic songs they played together. Their guitar interplay was incredible! I knew Gary was an amazing guitar player, but Jeff proved he has some crazy chops as well, his guitar playing is so underrated. The overall musical talent displayed on stage by everyone in the band is a privilege to witness.

• It was also a bonus to have Jessy Greene perform live with the band. She played on Weird Tales and toured with the band previously. Her connection with the band goes beyond Golden Smog as she was a member of the Jayhawks and has played with Wilco and Soul Asylum. In fact, when I saw Wilco, in Minneapolis in 2001, Jessy made an appearance with the band for Jesus Etc. and her band, VioVoom opened.
• Before the encore, drummer, Jody Stephens took the mic to say, how incredible it was so spend time with the guys and "It's more thrilling to see you, thank you so much and incredibly thrilling to see these guys too". Listen for yourself towards the end of track 21.
• Sammy Tweedy once again came out to sing lead on Helpless.  He's a very fine singer and I'd be interested to hear more. He remained on stage for Until You Came Along, singing backup.
  

• Jeff and Gary hugging at the end of the first encore set! Touching moment, indeed. 
  

• Unfortunately, the second encore was cut from the live-stream, so it's not included in this recording. Apparently, everyone thought the show was over, including Nugs.net. To make up for it, here's a video somebody posted to YouTube of Revolution Blues, from the second encore.

Enjoy!! 

 

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

Do NOT convert to lossy formats, except for personal use

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GOLDEN SMOG
First Avenue
Minneapolis, MN
April 3, 2022
SBD> livestream
Night 2

01. Looking Forward To Seeing You
02. Lost Love
03. To Call My Own
04. V
05. Making Waves
06. Glad & Sorry
07. Red-Headed Stepchild
08. All The Same to Me
09. Easy To Be Hard
10. Frying Pan Eyes
11. Listen Joe
12. Long Time Ago
13. Pecan Pie
14. You Make It Easy
15. Ill Fated
16. Strangers
17. Scotch On Ice
18. She Don't Have To See You
19. Won't Be Coming Home
20. I Can't Keep From Talking
21. If I Only Had A Car

Encore
22. Please Tell My Brother
23. Radio King
24. Helpless
25. Until You Came Along

Jeff & Gary (acoustic) tracks- 11, 12, 22, 23
Sammy Tweedy (lead vocals) track- 24, (backing vocals)- track 25

GOLDEN SMOG- 2022-04-03 First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN FLAC. rar

(note: There was a problem with the previous link, so I switched back to Adrive. Hopefully it's all good, but let me know if there are any problems...thanks!)

 

Golden Smog- Live At The First Avenue, April 2, 2022: Night 1

When Golden Smog opened their two-night stand at the First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis with Looking Forward To Seeing You, you knew the feeling was mutual for fans that have been waiting a long time to see the band. The band was to perform two years ago for the First Avenue's 50th birthday celebrations, but...you know what happened. The pandemic prevented plenty of live concerts from taking place and the First Avenue was no exception, but the hope was that Golden Smog would eventually comeback to  perform. I remember a few months ago, when this show was announced, I desperately wanted to travel stateside, but common sense told me it wasn't a good idea. The restrictions of travel to the US had loosened, but for how long I wasn't sure. I didn't want to risk buying a ticket with the possibility I couldn't travel to Minnesota (or the concert was cancelled), so I hoped for the best. I didn't have a chance anyways because the demand for tickets was high and it sold out quickly with a show added the next day. As luck would have it, Nugs.net would live stream the concert so I could watch the show in the comfort of my living room. You could purchase tickets for one or both shows, I opted to watch both shows because I didn't want to miss anything. I couldn't decide which night would be better, the first night would be the first reunion of the group in years and that would be cool to see or the second night could have different songs, a longer set or maybe a special guest. Well, it turned out the set structure was similar both nights with a couple different songs switched out, the second night had one more song and there were no special guests besides Jeff Tweedy's son, both nights (more on that later).

Highlights

• This was Jeff Tweedy's first show with the band in 15 years. You don't realize how many great songs Jeff contributed to the Smog, but his contribution is sorely missed from the set when he doesn't perform with them. He was relaxed and in great spirits both nights and it looked like he thoroughly enjoyed the experience. When he mentioned numerous times he was happy to see them and he missed these guys, I truly think he did, which hopefully translates to more possible appearances with Golden Smog. He's a busy man with numerous projects and arguably has been the most successful outside of the Smog, but he was gracious and really funny.

• The line-up was "Weird Tales"-era with Jody Stephens on drums, Tweedy and the addition of Jessy Greene on violin and backing vocals. Nice to see Dan Murphy since he's not with Soul Asylum any longer (I can't listen to Soul Asylum since he left) and he sounds good. I always thought Kraig Johnson's best work is in Golden Smog and Jayhawk-ers, Gary Louris and Marc Perlman are the heart and soul of the group.
• Gary and Jeff did a couple mini acoustic duets together and they sounded wonderful together. Their harmonies and guitar interplay was beautiful and I'm wondering about the possibility of a collaboration together on record or shows. They're interaction throughout the shows was definitely a highlight.

• They played some familiar live covers (Signed D.C., Glad & Sorry, Love and Mercy, Starman) and during the encore, Jeff Tweedy's son, Sammy Tweedy did lead vocals on the Neil Young classic, Helpless. The youngest Tweedy son did a very commendable job in a special moment that must have made dad proud. Definite WOW moment!

• They closed the show with "Until You Came Along", which I consider their best song. A warm comfy, feel-good moment that ended as triumphantly as it started. Welcome back!
  

The recording is audio-only and the sound quality is amazing! I don't know if anyone recorded the show from the crowd, but it would be interesting to compare, as sometimes on the floor it captures the ambiance differently. There are a couple of glitches (towards the end of the first song and especially the last song), that appear on the replay of the video, so it is what it is. A thoroughly enjoyable concert that I still wish I was there to witness live, but this will do just fine!

Enjoy!

 

Please do NOT sell or profit from the recording!

Please do NOT convert to lossy formats

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*I will respect any requests from the band (please let me know) if they don't want the audio shared.* 

The Current has a real review of the show!

 

GOLDEN SMOG
First Avenue
Minneapolis, MN
April 2, 2022
SBD> livestream
Night 1

01. Looking Forward To Seeing You
02. Lost Love
03. To Call My Own
04. V
05. Yesterday Cried
06. Glad & Sorry
07. Red-Headed Stepchild
08. Starman
09. Walk Where He Walked
10. He's A Dick
11. Pecan Pie
12. Ill Fated
13. Long Time Ago
14. Signed D.C.
15. I Can't Keep From Talking
16. Won't Be Coming Home
17. You Make It Easy
18. Love And Mercy
19. If I Only Had A Car
20. Corvette

Encore
21. Radio King
22. Listen Joe
23. Helpless
24. Until You Came Along

Jeff & Gary (acoustic)- tracks 13, 21, 22
Sammy Tweedy (lead vocals)- track 23

GOLDEN SMOG- 2022-04-02 First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN FLAC. rar

 

 (note: Having problems with OneDrive, so I've reverted back to Adrive for the download. Please let me know if there any problems downloading, opening and playing...thanks!)

Talking Heads- Live At Max's, NYC 1976

 

One of the few pleasures from the last couple troubling years is that I've gotten back to the routine of going to the local library and checking out some books. I'm such a slow reader and I take out more than I can read, so I end up renewing them several times before returning them. One of my most recent returns I couldn't renew because there was a hold request so I only got halfway through it (I will eventually put in a hold request). Most of the books are usually art (instruction), graphic novels and music related. The book in question is David Byrne's, How Music Works, where Byrne analysis many aspects of music from it's influences to recording technology and part biography. A very smart intelligent book every musician and music fan should read and I appreciate it is in plain easy to understand language. He also talks about the early days of the Talking Heads and as you know, I'm fascinated by musician's biographies from their point of view. I'm looking forward to finishing the book (I didn't want to just skim ahead), but in the meantime I've been listening to some Talking Heads live recordings to keep the mood alive (I was listening to TH records while I was reading the book).

 

Reading this book has inspired me to actually write a post (sorry, for the slow 2022, so far) and appropriately some early Talking Heads. The band formed and started playing shows in 1975, so the show we have here is still relatively early, in October of 1976, when the band was still only a three-piece with David Byrne, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz (Jerry Harrison wouldn't fully join the band until 1977, he was still in the Modern Lovers, Jonathan Richman's band). The Talking Heads played most of their shows during their first year at CBGB's as a residency, playing consecutive shoes in a week, then expanded to other venues in the New York City area. Max's Kansas City was another club the band played frequently, as both clubs nurtured many critical bands from the era (Blondie, The Ramones, Heartbreakers, Patti Smith Group, Television etc.) providing these bands with a venue to hone their craft. This recording at Max's sounds really good for an audience recording and for the time period and it's a pretty accurate documentation of the Talking Heads early in the career before their debut album was released.

Enjoy!

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TALKING HEADS
MAX'S KANSAS CITY, 

New York City, USA
OCTOBER 9, 1976
AUDIENCE RECORDING BY SKOTF
SKOTF ARCHIVE VOL. 33 (redux)

AUD>MASTER CASSETTE>STAND ALONE BURNER>WAV>AUDACITY (for tracking only)>FLAC

BAND: David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz

SETLIST:
01. artists only
02. 1-2-3 red light (1910 Fruitgum Co.)
03. happy day
04. don't worry about the government
05. psycho killer
06. love>building on fire
07. thank you for sending me an angel
08. with our love
09. pablo picasso
10. I'm not in love

TALKING HEADS- 1976-10-09 Max's Kansas City, NYC, NY FLAC. rar