Blondie- Live At The Paradise 1978: R.I.P. Clem Burke

 

 

It almost seems like half my posts recently have been tributes to musicians who have passed away and last week another member of a well known band died. Clem Burke (Clement Bozewski), drummer for Blondie died on April 6th, at the age of 70 from cancer. Burke was the driving force behind Blondie, appeared on all their albums and remained with the band right up to his death. As well as Blondie, Burke has worked and collaborated with many artists through the years, including being a member of bands such as Chequered Past (w/Steve Jones), Empty Hearts (w/Elliot Easton) and the Romantics in the 90's. 

I decided to post a Blondie show from 1978, which featured several songs from the just released, Parallel Lines album that turned Blondie from an interesting new wave band to commercial superstars. I personally wasn't a big Blondie fan at the time, but I have come to appreciate and enjoy the band, especially their debut and Parallel Lines. When I first found this show (on archive.org) I thought it was the headline set from the David Johansen show I posted a few posts ago, both shows are at the Paradise, but this Blondie show is actually later in the year (November vs May). This was also broadcast on WBCN, so the sound quality is excellent and definitely worth a listen. Interesting fact: their cover of T-Rex's, Bang A Gong (Get It On) from this show is included on the 2001 remastered reissue version of Parallel Lines.

Enjoy!

 

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

Do NOT convert to lossy formats, except for personal use.

Please share!

 

 

 

BLONDIE
The Paradise Theater
Boston MA.
November 4th 1978

FM Broadcast

THE BAND
Debbie Harry Vocals
Chris Stein Guitar
Gary Valentine Bass
Jimmy Destri Keyboards
Clem Burke Drums

1 WBCN Intro
2 Theme From 'A Summer Place' / In The Sun
3 X Offender
4 Hanging On The Telephone
5 Detroit 442
6 Fan Mail
7 Picture This
8 11:59
9 Pretty Baby
10 (I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear
11 Sunday Girl
12 Denis
13 I'm On E
14 Will Anything Happen
15 Fade Away And Radiate
16 One Way Or Another
17 Youth Nabbed As Sniper
18 Kung Fu Girls
19 WBCN DJ
20 Heart Of Glass
21 Bang A Gong (Get It On)
22 WBCN 

BLONDIE- 1978-11-04 Paradise Rock Club, Boston, WBCN FLAC. rar

 

Scott McCaughey- Lounge Ax, Chicago, August 16, 1997

 

It's a double play!

As promised, here's the opening set for the Minus 5 show at the Lounge Ax in 1997. The Young Fresh Fellows & Minus 5 front man, Scott McCaughey performs an acoustic solo set that includes mainly Fellows songs, as well as a Replacements (Westerberg) track, If Only You Were Lonely. I personally love hearing the "stripped down" version of songs, especially from such a great (and underrated) songwriter such as McCaughey and they hold-up well without the full band treatment. For the full concert experience (well, minus the Jon Langford's Skull Orchard set), listen to this solo set followed by the Minus 5 set, close your eyes and crank it. Another must-hear for fans of the Fellows!

Enjoy!

 

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

Do NOT convert to lossy formats, except for personal use

Please share!

 

 

SCOTT McCAUGHEY

 Lounge Ax
Chicago, IL
August 16, 1997
(Opened for Jon Langford's Skull Orchard & Minus 5)

Master recording generously loaned from the Aadam Jacobs Audio Archive

Source:  Unknown mic & recorder > .WAV @ 16 bit/44.1 kHz
Mastering:  .WAV's > clidoe.com (merge .WAV files into one) > iZotope RX11 Advanced v11.0.1.3871 (De-Click) > Sound Forge Pro 14.0 Build 140 [minor edits, normalize, & fades, Boz Digital Labs
T-Bone2 plug-in (tilt EQ)] > CDWav (tracking) > Trader's Little Helper (level 5) > FLAC > TagScanner 6.1.17 (tagging)
Recorded by:  Aadam Jacobs
Transferred by:  Avery
Mastered by:  Dennis Orr

Setlist: (32:30)
01 Intro
02 Beer Money
03 Deep Down And In Between
04 Sittin' On A Pitchfork
05 Hank, Karen & Elvis
06 Hillbilly Drummer Girl
07 Somewhere We Went Right
08 Middle Man Of Time
09 If Only You Were Lonely
10 When The Girls Get Here
11 Rock 'N' Roll Pest Control
12 Chat
13 Back Room Of The Bar
14 The Telephone Tree

Scott McCaughey - vocals & guitar

Recording 00841 from the Aadam Jacobs Collection Project, coordinated by the Live Music Archive at the Internet Archive
Contact info: aadam.jacobs.project AT gmail DOT com

 

SCOTT MCCAUGHEY- 1997-08-16 Lounge Ax, Chicago, IL FLAC. rar

 

Minus 5- Live At the Lounge Ax, August 16, 1997

 In a previous post, I talked about Aadam Jacobs a music collector and archivist who has amassed an incredible collection of live concert recordings he recorded in Chicago from the 80's to mid-2010's. He is such an interesting character I'm glad someone has documented his unique (and very cool) life in a film released in 2023. Chicago filmmaker, Katlin Schneider made a documentary about Jacobs called, Melomaniac is a fascinating study of obsession and "abnormal fondness and intense devotion to music". We hear from club owners and musicians that have interacted with Jacobs through the years and how important he was to the local scene to document and promote bands through his live recordings. Personally, I feel a connection not only as a person that tapes every show he goes to, but also the intense love of music in all aspects. I don't think I'm anywhere near Aadam's level, as we tape not for profit (yes, never made any money with our shows), but for the pleasure of the ultimate souvenir of the memory of the show, because if no one else is documenting this, it will be lost in time and forgotten. 

 

Since I wasn't at the Chicago Underground Film Fest for the world premiere of Melomaniac in September 2023, I found the film online for viewing on the filmmaker's Vimeo page (scroll down to the bottom of the page). Well worth the watch, I thought it was very well done and for being Kailin's first full length feature, this was an outstanding effort. If you liked it, drop her a message on her page.

 

 There are so many interesting shows in the Jacob's archive I would love to post, but I'll restrict my enthusiasm to a select amount of live recordings that might be of interest to readers on this blog. A show from the Minus 5 at the Lounge Ax in Chicago from 1997, is a concert I've been keeping an eye out for a while. So glad Aadam attended the show and even the Minus 5's Wikipedia entry mentions the show.

 "While R.E.M. was in Georgia recording demos for what would become Up, The Minus 5 played its first two shows without Buck: at Chicago's Lounge Ax on August 16, 1997, the band consisted of McCaughey, Stringfellow, Jason Finn and Dharma Bums' Jim Talstra. The raucous gig was by far the band's longest to date: an 11-song McCaughey solo set followed by a 22-song Minus 5 powerhouse that included unreleased songs, several nuggets from My Chartreuse Opinion and covers of John Lennon and The Modern Lovers."

 

The show was also referenced in the Minus 5's song, The Night Chicago Died Again (The Death of The Minus 5). On the Lounge Ax recording, McCaughey even mentions the flood incident that occurred that day at the Ax: (excerpt from the song):

 

Well they came to Chicago
The new slaughterhouse four
Jimmy Talent, Puffy and Strings
I couldn't get one more
Then we went to Comiskey
Old man fell on my head
Then their was a terrible flood
10.000 people dead

That was the night
That was the night that Chicago Died
Again, again
Again, again

 

Water came from below
Rats and babies are floatin'
And water came from above
Yeah the Lounge Ax stayed open

 

Now some of Sue Miller's husbands
Were not performing very well that night
They had somehow been severely overserved
And then out went the pilot-light
And when Puffy and I started throwing matches down there
The water heater blew
Then there where two less husbands
That was alright with Sue

 

.... That's right, that was the night that Chicago died
I guess I feel pretty fortune to have been there

 

...and we are pretty fortunate this was recorded! For the encore, the band performs portions of a few "butchered" Young Fresh Fellow songs which was very cool! Scott opened the show with a solo set of mainly Fellows songs, which is always appreciated! I'll post the solo set (which was also recorded) next.

Enjoy! 

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

Do NOT convert to lossy versions, except for personal use

Please share!

 

 

Minus 5
Lounge Ax
Chicago, IL
August 16, 1997

Master recording generously loaned from the Aadam Jacobs Audio Archive

Source:  Unknown mic & recorder > .WAV @ 16 bit/44.1 kHz
Mastering:  .WAV's > clidoe.com (merge .WAV files into one) > iZotope RX11 Advanced v11.0.1.3871 (De-Click) > Sound Forge Pro 14.0 Build 140 [minor edits, normalize, & fades, Boz Digital Labs
T-Bone2 plug-in (tilt EQ)] > CDWav (tracking) > Trader's Little Helper (level 5) > FLAC > TagScanner 6.1.17 (tagging)
Recorded by:  Aadam Jacobs
Transferred by:  Avery
Mastered by:  Dennis Orr

Setlist: (1:07:28)
01 Boeing Spacearium
02 Find A Finger
03 Chat & Tuning
04 Wicked Annabella
05 Popsycle Shoppe
06 Vulture
07 Band Intros
08 The Rest Of The World
09 Chat & Tuning
10 Real True Tragedy Incident
11 How Many Bones
12 I Still Miss Someone
13 You'll Never See My Face Again
14 Chat & Tuning
15 Evolution >
16 Echos Myron
17 Chat & Tuning
18 My Mummy's Dead > Power To The People
19 The Real Prime Directive >
20 All The Time
21 Chat
22 Government Center
23 Encore Break
- Encore -
24 Taco Wagon
25 Aurora Bridge
26 Mighty Mighty Bosstones Riffs
27 Amy Grant
28 My Friend Ringo
29 Chat & Tuning
30 Wasted Bandage
31 Chat & Tuning
32 Power To The People
33 Outro

Scott McCaughey - lead vocals & guitar
Ken Stringfellow – guitar
Jimmy Talent - bass
Jason Fidler – drums

Recording 00766 from the Aadam Jacobs Collection Project, coordinated by the Live Music Archive at the Internet Archive
Contact info: aadam.jacobs.project AT gmail DOT com

 

MINUS 5- 1997-08-16 Lounge Ax, Chicago, IL FLAC. rar

 

David Johansen Group- Live At the Paradise 1978: R.I.P.

The New York Dolls 1973. Photograph: Richard Drew/AP

 

 Just heard on the news this morning that New York Dolls frontman, David Johansen died at 75. This is sad news, Johansen was the last surviving member of the pioneering proto-punk band, as he was battling stage 4 cancer and a brain tumor. I've always had a special place for the Dolls, as their music and rock 'n' roll swagger has been very influential to my music tastes and the bands I listened to in the late 70's/80's. Spinning off from the Dolls, I've followed guitarist, Johnny Thunders career, solo and with the Heartbreakers, but never really dug deep into Johansen's post-Dolls work. I'll admit, I was not a big fan of Johansen's alter-ego, Buster Poindexter, but his solo work (under his own name) wasn't bad and grossly underrated. I also respect him for reviving the Dolls for a reunion in 2004 (minus Thunders and Jerry Nolan) and forming a new lineup of the Dolls with Sylvain Sylvain that went on to tour and release three more studio albums, which was more output than the original lineup.

 

As a tribute to David Johansen (and Sylvain Sylvain), Here's a show from the David Johansen Group with Sylvain on guitar, the band opened for Blondie. It's a good sounding radio broadcast and even features a couple of NY Dolls songs. I've previously posted the only Dolls shows I have and just in case you missed them, the direct links/blog posts are below.

Enjoy!

 

New York Dolls- Dawn of the Dolls - blog post

New York Dolls- 1974-09-27 Montreal - post

New York Dolls- Hard Night's Day mp3 -post

 

Please do NOT sell or profit from these recordings!

Do NOT convert to lossy formats, except for personal use

Please share!

 

 

 

DAVID JOHANSEN Group
with Sylvain Sylvain
live at the Paradise
Boston, Massachusetts USA
May 27, 1978
 

opening for Blondie
WBCN-FM live broadcast
October 2014 transfer
from the master off-air cassette
zootype recording and transfer

46:46 minutes
 

101 Oedipus stage intro/Cool Metro 3:50
102 Looking For a Kiss 3:28
103 Funky But Chic 4:32
104 tuning 0:57
105 Donna 5:14
106 I'm a Lover 3:52
107 tuning 0:27
108 Frenchette 6:33
109 Reach Out I'll Be There [Four Tops cover] 4:15
110 intro 0:26
111 In a Lonely Tenement 4:28
112 intro 0:29
113 Girls 3:38
[encore break not taped]
encore:
114 Personality Crisis 4:27

David Johansen: vocals, harmonica
Sylvain Sylvain: guitar, keyboards
Johnny Rao: guitar
Thomas Trask: guitar
Frankie LaRocka: drums
Buzzy Verno: bass

NOTE: this is not the Paradise show that was officially released as "Live It Up",
recorded February 04 and 05 1982 with a different backing band including none of these guys.

 

DAVID JOHANSEN- 1978-05-27 Boston WBCN-FM FLAC. rar

 

Cheekface- Live at The Park Theatre, Winnipeg, MB, January 23, 2025

 

So, I went to my first concert of 2025! In recent years, I've reduced the amount of live shows I've attended, not necessarily by choice, more that there hasn't been a lot of acts I'm excited to see. At the risk of sounding like an old fart, most of the artists I've seen have been around my age or older, which means I seem to be the median age or target audience of these dinosaur performers. So it's refreshing to see a band that was formed within the last decade with more energy on stage than I've seen in a very long time! 

On a cold, winter night in January I saw, America's Local Band, Cheekface, a band from L.A. who braved the chilly weather to take part in the Winterruption 2025 mini-music fest in Winnipeg. I listen to a lot music, but not much new music, so when I discovered Cheekface, they instantly became a new favourite. I first heard the band at the beginning of the pandemic when I was at home 24/7 making art and streaming music all the time and the talk-sing vocals, dry humour and super catchy songs hit the spot, made me laugh and now follow the band.

 

As I said earlier, it was a change of pace to see a younger band which in effect attracts a younger audience. I was definitely in the upper age range in the crowd, but this band seemed to attract a wide range of fans, maybe an equal male/female ratio. A lot of the fans knew the songs enough to either sing along or chant at appropriate times and the connection between the performers and audience was quite strong. In some ways, Cheekface reminded me a bit of the Descendents. Apart from the obvious coffee reference (see photos for "coffee cup" stage backdrop), their music is infectious and easily relatable delivered in a similar nerdy pop-punk style. The song "Noodles", a short, one line song, repeated over and over (12x?) was performed four times (three in a row and once during the "encore), each time with the introduction, "the next song is an original Cheekface composition" was haha funny the first couple of times, but will get tiresome if you see the band more than once. Front-guy, Greg Katz's sing/speak vocal style is often compared to Lou Reed, Jonathan Richman and Stephen Malkmus, but after seeing him live, I would add one of the John's from They Might Be Giants too. Katz was upfront and in the centre, but it was hard not to keep an eye on bass player, Amanda (Mandy) Tannen, whose energy is a much needed stage presence. 

 

 

It's been awhile since I've recorded a show and this one turned great. The floor was crowded with standing fans, but it wasn't too crammed so the sound was clear and bright. I must say the Park Theatre is one of the better venues in Winnipeg to see a live band, not only are the sight lines really good (the floor is slanted and elevated towards the back), but the sound system and whoever works the sounds did an excellent job. For the recording, it was relatively hassle-free, not bullshit searches, metal detectors or over-enthusiastic security personnel. As with most modern concerts, phones are always actively recording videos, snapping photos (yeah, me too) or turning on the flashlight to stupidly wave around. It's part of the concert experience I suppose and I'll hold back my rant about not allowing audio sound recorders. Anyways, fun show and you can experience it too, at least audibly with the download link below.

Enjoy!

 

Additional link:

Exclaim- Cheekface Winnipeg concert review 

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

Do NOT convert to lossy formats, except for personal use.

Please share!

 

 

CHEEKFACE
The Park Theatre
Winnipeg, MB
January 23, 2025
Audience Master

Sony ECM-DS70P mic> Tascam DR-07> SD card > 16 bit Wav>
Direct Wave MP3 splitter> FLAC

01. Next To Me (Yo Guy Version)
02. Popular 2
03. When Life Hands You Problems
04. Plastic
05. Hard Mode
06. Life In A Bag
07. Featured Singer/Cha Cha Slide
08. Best Life
09. Pledge Drive
10. Growth Sux
11. I Only Say I'm Sorry When I'm Wrong Now
12. Flies
13. You Always Want To Bomb The Middle East
14. Dry Heat/Nice Town
15. Noodles
      Noodles
      Noodles
16. The Fringe
17. "Listen To Your Heart". "No"
18. Noodles
19. We Need A Bigger Dumpster
20. Eternity Leave

 

CHEEKFACE- 2025-01-23 Park Theatre, Winnipeg, MB FLAC Master. rar