Grapes Of Wrath- "Just Concerts" CBC Broadcast 2000 (NEW Link!)

 

I had a request a few weeks ago to re-up the link for the Grapes Of Wrath show I posted in 2013. The link wasn't working, but it now works! So I thought I would re-post to remind you to listen to this great sounding recording from this excellent Canadian band!

Enjoy!

 

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

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

Please share!

 

 

GRAPES OF WRATH

Railway Club

Vancouver, BC

March 4, 2000

CBC "Just Concerts" Broadcast

FM> Audio CD> FreeRip> FLAC> rar
FM Master

01. Intro
02. You May Be Right
03. Do You Want To Tell Me
04. Hitchhiker
05. Black Eye
06. Peace Of Mind
07. All The Things I Wasn't
08. I Am here
09. Unsatisfied (Replacements)

(Thanks to LeonD for updating the proper date of the show!)

GRAPES OF WRATH- 2001 Railway Club, Vancouver, BC FLAC. rar

Golden Smog- Live At The First Avenue, MPLS 2000

Back in February, the First Avenue announced the line-up for their 50th anniversary kick off weekend to be held between April 2-5. The mainroom headliners were Heart Bones (collaboration between Sabrina Ellis and Minnesota's, Har Mar Superstar), The Hold Steady, Neko Case and Golden Smog. Golden Smog was to headline the Saturday night show (April 4), but the whole event was cancelled as well as all shows at the First Avenue due to the Coronavirus outbreak. As an alternative, the venue celebrated the anniversary with an online party on April 3rd, so no Neko Case or no Golden Smog.

It would have been fascinating because Golden Smog doesn't perform much anymore, they haven't toured in years so it would have been interesting to see who was in the band still. Jeff Tweedy would have been a NO for sure, because Wilco would have been on tour in Las Vegas if the tour wasn't postponed/cancelled. The core lineup of Gary Louris, Marc Perlman, Kraig Johnson and Dan Murphy would have been there along with maybe Jody Stephens or Tim O'Reagan from the Jayhawks on drums. An interesting fact I discovered when I was looking at the names on the "star wall" on the exterior of the First Avenue building, every member of the Golden Smog (past and present) has a star on the wall with the other band they are a member of, as well Golden Smog has it's own star. The Jayhawks (Louris, Perlman), Soul Asylum (Murphy and Dave Pirner), Run Westy Run (Johnson), Wilco (Tweedy) and even the drummers, Big Star (Stephens), Honeydogs (Noah Levy), Zuzu's Petals (Linda Pitman) and Replacements (Chris Mars). Seems appropriate since these musicians have contributed heavily and have been very influential to the Twin Cities music scene. Golden Smog truly has an all-star line-up from a who's who of the Twin Cities' best known bands.

Since Golden Smog is more or less based in Minneapolis it makes sense they have played many great shows on their home turf. I saw the band at the 400 Bar in 2003 and it was one of the most memorable shows I have seen in Minneapolis. Tweedy surprisingly joined the band for this show, which I heard was less frequent (and would become more so) and it was a special evening with some great moments and the interaction between the band was genuine and emotional at times. I did record the show, it was a bit distorted, but very listenable (Stay tuned, I will post in the future). I would say it was the last "great" Golden Smog with that lineup, either that or their concert from December 20, 2000 at the First Avenue. I received this show in a trade many years ago and as far as performance and sound quality goes this ranks high. It features a great setlist of songs from their two albums, as well as some cool covers. Very nice sounding, not sure if it's a soundboard, I think it's just a really good audience recording (anyone have any further info?), classic show!
Enjoy!

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!
Do NOT convert to lossy (except for personal use)
Do NOT trade a lossy version
Please share!


GOLDEN SMOG
First Avenue
Minneapolis, MN
December 20, 2000
Audience Recording (?)

01. Looking Forward To Seeing You
02. Ill Fated
03. V
04. White Shell Road
05. Lost Love
06. If I Only Had A Car
07. Easy To Be Hard
08. Yesterday Cried
09. Glad & Sorry
10. Won't Be Coming Home
11. Walk Where He Walked
12. Making Waves
13. All The Same to Me
14. Jane
15. Can't Keep From Talking
16. Redheaded Stepchild
17. Pecan Pie
18. Fooled Around and Fell In Love
19. Call My Own
20. Until You Came Along
encore
21. Radio King
22. Please Tell My Brother
23. Revolution Blues
24. Spooky
25. Stairway To Heaven
26. What I Like About you
27. I Don't Care About This Girl

GOLDEN SMOG- 2000-12-20 First Avenue, Mpls, MN FLAC. rar

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

Plumtree- Winter Formal 2000

When bands break up usually it's for good, bad, stupid and financial reasons. Personality clashes, musical differences, martial breakup, going broke and just plain, "run the course" are just some of the reasons. Sometimes members of a band want to explore something else either on their own or with other people. That's why lead singers/songwriters of bands seem to control the destiny of the band and will go solo if they think the rest of the band is dragging him/her down or they want to explore other musical directions or sooth their ego with more attention and accolades to themselves.

None of the above reasons are why Halifax's, Plumtree called it quits in June 2000. Their split was amicable, after a lengthy spring tour across Canada and the U.S. they decided to go their separate ways with Amanda Braden moving to Toronto, Catriona Sturton to Japan, Lynette Gillis to New York, leaving singer/songwriter Carla Gillis in Halifax to embark on a solo career. No rock star tantrums or nasty breakup stories, it was them moving forward with their lives and academic aspirations (while in school the band toured during their school breaks), Carla and Lynette have continued collaborating on many music projects and Catriona is doing the solo thing.

When they broke up: Plumtree's last show was June 30, 2000 at the Marquee Club in Halifax, NS.

Why They Split: (See above) Basically they wanted to discover a world outside of Halifax. Touring with a band is a good way to see the world, but you always seem to end up at home.

Post Breakup: Lynette and Carla have relocated and played in bands in Vancouver (Bontempi) and Toronto (Sister). Amanda lives in Vancouver, while Catriona is in Ottawa pursuing a solo career.

Odds of a reunion: I think pretty good! I wouldn't be surprised if they get together musically for a one-off, but a tour is a long shot, but definitely not out of the question. They are still young and three quarters of them are still active recording and performing. Those three (Carla, Lynette and Cat) did play one song together during a Sister set for the Scott Pilgrim Vol. 6 launch party (the graphic novel, not the movie) in July 2010. The whole band did reunite at the movie premiere in August (see photo), but they didn't perform. Hey, if the Replacements can play three shows, anything is possible!

Reunited...to watch a movie only.

In 2000, I had the opportunity to see Plumtree four times. I really wish I saw them on their earlier tours because three of the shows they toured their new record (at the time), This Day Won't Last At All (kind of appropriate now!) the setlists didn't vary too much. The show I'm posting is the first of the four and was before the release of the new record so many of these songs hadn't been heard by many yet. A decent sounding recording on my trusty cassette recorder with the usual crowd chatter, captures the band as an opener for local band, B'ehl's CD release party. It was billed as a Winter Formal because of the large ballroom setting and most people dressed formal (not me, who knew?) and as a bonus the girls in Plumtree wore skirts. I think Carla mentions it's really a rare occasion they dress up, Amanda says it's only the second time they've done it. Plumtree were and remain one of my favourite bands...Very cool show!
Enjoy!

PLUMTREE
Ramada Marborough Skyview Ballroom
Winnipeg, MB
January 27, 2000

Audience Master
Sony mic> Sony Cassette recorder> Maxell XLII cassette>
audio CDR> FreeRip> WAV> FLAC> rar

01.  One-Stop
02.  Scott Pilgrim
03.  Racing Gloves
04.  My My
05.  Thrilled To Be Here
06.  Hello Again
07.  Latitude
08.  Regret
09.  I'm Not Moving
10.  Was That All
11.  You Just Don't Exist

PLUMTREE- 2000-01-27 Ramada Ballroom, Winnipeg, MB, FLAC. rar

The Grapes Of Wrath Are Back!

I can't remember the exact date, but I'm pretty sure it was in 1989 (I actually can't find the ticket stub), as they toured in support of their album, Now And Again when I last saw The Grapes Of Wrath at Le Rendezvous. The Rendezvous wasn't a great place to see a band, it had this cavernous, warehouse feel to it, like a social hall or large bar that never had great sound, but it hosted some good shows. The size of the venue was larger than a bar (The Albert, Spectrum), but smaller than a theatre or concert hall, a middle-size venue that featured mid-range popular bands or bigger-name alternative bands. I saw some good stuff there, Mojo Nixon, Guadalcanal Diary, Scruffy The Cat (opening for 54-40, who I didn't care for), Wilco and the last band I ever saw there, The Weakerthans.

When I went to the Grapes Of Wrath I arrived in time to catch the opener, since I'm always interested to see who the headliner brought along on tour. To be honest in those days (in my pre-taping days), I didn't make a huge effort to arrive early as I didn't care how close I sat/stood to the front. Once I started to tape concerts it was crucial to stake out the venue before the show or during the opener to find that sweet spot that combined a balanced mix, close enough to the front to see the band clearly and enough volume to partially drown out the chitter chatter around me (usually the music doesn't drown out the chatter). Anyways, the opener for this Grapes Of Wrath show was emerging singer/songwriter, (and soon to be superstar) Sarah McLaughlan who didn't impress me in the slightest and continues to not impress me not even a little bit. McLaughlan went on to surpass the Grapes in popularity, record sales and probably disposable cash flow. McLaughlan has continued to milk her success through the strength of a couple of huge selling records, Lilith Fair and has become somewhat of a musical icon here in the Great White North...kudos for her...

The Grapes Of Wrath released another album after that tour, These Days in 1991, then broke up when Kevin Kane left the band to go solo. In 1999, Kane and Tom Hooper (vocalist/bass) reunited to play some shows and release an album, Field Trip under the Grapes Of Wrath name (without original drummer, Chris Hooper). They sporadically played together during the 2000's, but a reunion that included Chris Hooper didn't happen until July 2010, the first time the trio played together since 1992. The love continued on to include recording new tracks for a compilation album and a brand new album of all new material, High Road released in March 2013. Hopefully this new record will lead to more live dates this summer and maybe, just maybe they'll head back to Winnipeg, but not at the Le Rendezvous, which is long gone and replaced by condos.

Enjoy!

Heres's a CBC music stream of a concert with the reunited Grapes Of Wrath from the Mod Club in Toronto on October 30, 2012 with guests.

As a bonus, I dug up a recording I taped off the radio in 2001 (?) from the Kevin Kane/Tom Hooper reunited Grapes. Excellent sound with some songs from Field Trip along with some classic tracks. It's almost worth the listen alone for the Replacements cover!

GRAPES OF WRATH
Railway Club
Vancouver, BC
March 4, 2000
CBC "Just Concerts" Broadcast

FM> Audio CD> FreeRip> FLAC> rar
FM Master

01. Intro
02. You May Be Right
03. Do You Want To Tell Me
04. Hitchhiker
05. Black Eye
06. Peace Of Mind
07. All The Things I Wasn't
08. I Am Here
09. Unsatisfied (Replacements)

(thanks to LeonD for the proper date!)

GRAPES OF WRATH- 2001 Railway Club, Vancouver, BC FLAC. rar

Note: the previous link expired (sorry!) This is a new link that should work! (Oct. 1, 2022)

Yo La Tengo- WFMU Fundraiser 2000

Photo by WFMU (actually this is from their 2006 fundraiser)

When most bands start out it's only standard they throw a few cover songs into the mix of their originals. Lots of people like to hear something familiar that they've heard before, that's why cover bands are always a popular crowd-pleaser especially for things like weddings and socials. Sometimes it's hard for a band that plays all-originals to gain the trust of the audience, but if they're good they should be able to win over and convert these sceptics into fans. It really saddens me to see singers get famous performing other people's songs, kind of a slight step up from karaoke or American Idol.

Case in point, "Lady Maria", the 10 year old from my hometown that skyrocketed to international stardom after Lady Gaga viewed her video on YouTube of a cover of her song, Born This Way, and tweeted about it. I guess if this is your idea of stardom, having Lady Gaga tweet about you, drawing more than 20 million views on YouTube, appearances and interviews on Ellen, Good Morning America and Access Hollywood and singing on stage with Lady Gaga, then good for her. Lady Gaga's message on Twitter was, "This is why I make music. She is the future." In my opinion, if Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Maria Aragon are the future of music, then get me the hell out of here!...and give me bands like, Yo La Tengo!!

Beginning in 1996, Yo La Tengo started making annual visits to WFMU, an independent radio station in New Jersey to help out their annual fundraising campaign. Listeners who pledged money during the band's on air performances were offered a chance to request a favourite non-YLT song that the band would attempt to perform. This made for some interesting listening with the band valiantly trudging through the songs despite flubbed lyrics and missed chords. Lots of classic covers, as well as obscure and goofy tunes that really tests the bands knowledge of all kinds of music. This is truly a band that is more concerned about entertaining and showcasing their amazing musical skills than fame, fortune and international stardom, thought YLT does have a very dedicated cult following. The band released a compilation of their appearances (1996-2003) at the WFMU fundraisers on an album called, Yo La Tengo Is Murdering The Classics, a very appropriate title! Yo La Tengo carries on this tradition to this day with their most recent session last week at WFMU...please support stations like this so we aren't left with only stations that cater to the "future of music"...!!

This recording is most of the songs from their appearance in 2000 (not sure of the exact date?).
Enjoy!!

YO LA TENGO
WFMU (2000)

1. Roadrunner (Modern Lovers)
2. Return Of The Grievous Angel (Gram Parsons)
3. Take Me To the Hospital (The Replacements)
4. Sweet Lady Genevieve (The Kinks)
5. Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This (Eurythmics)
6. American Pie (Don McLean)
7. Color Me Impressed (The Replacements)
8. A Place Called Altamont (Nightmares)
9. Rock The Boat (Hues Corporation)
10. 19th Nervous Breakdown (The Rolling Stones)
11. Too Many Creeps (Bush Tetras)
12. Don't You Want Me Baby (Human League)
13. Nothing (Fugs)
14. Watching The Detectives (Elvis Costello)
15. I've Got A Feeling (The Beatles)
16. Top Of The Pops (The Kinks)
17. Sheena Is A Punk Rocker (The Ramones)
18. Needle Of Death (Bert Jansch)
19. Ring Of Fire (Johnny Cash)
20. Panic In Detroit (David Bowie)
21. Roundabout (Yes)
22. Mendocino (Sir Douglas Quintet)
23. Raindrops Keep falling On My Head (Burt Bacharach)
24. Raw Power (Stooges)

YO LA TENGO- WFMU 2000. rar

Freak Out It's...Bromeo

Before he released his first solo album and just after his band Radish disbanded, Ben Kweller released a series of self-released ep's. They were mainly homemade that consisted of recordings from Radish's unreleased Discount Fireworks and demos that would eventually end up on his solo debut, Sha Sha. Many of these demos were recorded in his apartment on a laptop computer. I knew about these ep's but have never heard or seen a copy until I stumbled upon 2 of them on a an outstanding blog, Wilfully Obscure. These are awesome recordings and are a must of any Ben Kweller fans, this kid displays his prodigy-like talent with these self-produced, self-financed releases without sounding amateurist or self-centered. Bromeo features songs that are mainly exclusive to this release except for I Don't Know Why and Different But the Same that were re-recorded and included on later albums. Freak Out It's Ben Kweller...features songs that were more or less demos for Sha Sha, but they are different and altered recordings and in some ways more satisfying. Freak Out...apparently caught the attention of Evan Dando of the Lemonheads who invited him out on tour with him.  

BEN KWELLER 

Bromeo (2000) 

I Have The Power 

Panamanian Girl 

Debbie Don't Worry Doll 

New And Improved 

I Don't Know Why

 Different But The Same

 Concentric Town 

Until I Die 

Freak Out It's Ben Kweller! (2000) 

BK Baby 

Walk On Me 

How It Should Be (Sha Sha)

 Make It Up 

In Other Words 

I Don't Know Why 

Lizzy 

Problems