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Let's get back to concert-going! Would love to have been here! (photo by S. Lo)
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I broke my live concert shut-out streak and finally saw a live band two weeks ago. I haven't been to a live show (indoor) for almost 3 years and though it should feel weird after the long absence, it strangely felt the same, like I hadn't missed anything. It wasn't a large venue (at least a couple hundred people) and the floor was crowded, but not squeezed tightly. I had a beer in hand, watched the band on a rare occasion where I didn't record the show, so it was relaxing and exciting. I can honestly say since 2020, I didn't miss seeing live concerts, saved a lot of money and I'm not much of extrovert anyways, but it's nice to leave the cave once in while and see live music.
The big news in my city (Winterpeg) is that Bruce Springsteen is finally playing a show here! This is the first time ever and there have been campaigns and petitions to get the Boss to grace our presence and it's been a solid NO until now. Tickets went on sale last week for a November date and I took a chance and received a "verified fan" pass code to have the privilege of selecting tickets. I knew tickets would be more $$$ than I've ever paid for a concert and though I like Springsteen, I have to admit he's dropped out of my bucket list of performers to see live. If this was 35 years ago, I would have jumped at the chance, but now my interest has waned. I haven't really taken the time to listen to his more recent works (since 1990), so I'd be that guy that wants to hear the songs from before 1985. I scanned over the seat selection (which was disappearing every second I paused) and in the end I couldn't do it. The least expensive seats (that weren't behind the stage!) were $175 in the upper level (which are as nose bleedy as my hockey tickets), which was more "reasonable" than I expected, but I thought of all the records I can buy with the money and all the bands I'd rather see, I didn't buy a ticket. I think if I saw Bruce I'd want to be close enough to actually see him and the band, not relying completely on the screen and $300+ was definitely out of my price range. I have been staying clear of the huge corporate mega-concerts (No, I would never buy Taylor Swift tickets!) and I feel I should be putting my money towards artists that deserve an audience and I can't bring myself to support tours sponsored by Mastercard or Pepsi and those crooks at Ticketmaster and Stubhub. Yes, I'll have some regrets, there's no doubt it'll be an amazing concert and I suppose if I change my mind or if the FOMO is so great I could over-pay later (
just checked, there are front row floors for $2281 suddenly available!). Also my wife would have killed me, she doesn't understand the appeal of the Boss and thinks it's a waste of money, well it's hard not to disagree. I'm of a certain age that grew up with his music and there's obvious some nostalgic thing...but I'll try not to think about it too much.
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(photo by S. Lo)
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Speaking of musicians/bands I would be happy to spent money to see live, someone requested Juliana Hatfield shows and I opted to post one of her last concerts before the pandemic shut down the live concert experience in early 2020. When playing shows in front of a live audience became impossible, Juliana performed a series on online live-streams (I posted them on this blog!) that proved to be very popular and exciting for fans that normally couldn't make it to live venues. She focused a lot of these streams on individual albums played in their entirety, so it was very cool to reconnect with the back catalogue performed solo. There are many reasons this live concert from the Echoplex in Hollywood is worth a listen.
- It's a full band show, so the setlist has a lot of upbeat, rock songs. After the pandemic, a lot of her shows and the tour with the Lemonheads were solo Juliana shows. Sometimes having a band elevates the energy and takes it to another level.
- Two of her recent cover albums (The Police and Olivia Newton John) are well represented in the setlist and they sound amazing live with the band. Admit it, (Let's Get) Physical is a tremendous guilty pleasure song, well at least in the proper hands.
- A headline show, not an opening slot, so the band can stretch out, play a good variety of songs, not just a small sample of 8-10 songs.
- Whoever taped this did a good job because the song quality is really good for an audience recording. Thank you!
I have more Juliana live recordings, so if you have a request for a specific era (90's, 2000's, Blake Babies etc.), let me know.
Enjoy!
Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!
Do NOT convert to lossy formats, except for personal use.
Please share!
January 27, 2020
Shure MV88+ Mic > iPhone > ProTools (Mastering/EQ) > Soundforge (Split/save tracks).
01 Everybody Loves Me But You
02 Everything's For Sale
03 Hole In My Life
04 Bottles and Flowers
05 Wonder Why
06 Lost Ship
07 Murder By Numbers
08 Roxanne
09 Dog On A Chain
10 I See You
11 Sunny Somewhere
12 Hungry for You (J'aurais toujours faim de toi)
13 A Little More Love
14 Staying In
15 My Sister
16 De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
17 Physical
18 WhenYou're A Star
19 Candy Wrappers
20 Feelin' Massachusetts
21 A Dame With A Rod
JH - Vocals, guitar
Dean Fisher - Bass
Mike Oram - Guitar
Chris Anzalone - Drums
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