TUNS- The Good Will, Winnipeg, November 26, 2016

Believe it or not, these are the clearest photos I took. You get the idea...

Funny how time flies...It's been almost 4 months since I recorded Tuns. It was before winter arrived and now we've passed day light savings time and spring is a possibility in the next month or so. Tuns was the third of my trilogy of concerts I attended last November and I apologize for the lack of posts and how slow I was to post this show. In fact, it was ready to post since a week after the show so be prepared to go back in time a little bit.

If you listened to alternative Canadian music during the 1990's, you will probably be familiar with the members of Tuns. They are Chris Murphy (Sloan), Matt Murphy (Superfriendz and Flashing Lights) and Mike O'Neill (Inbreds), a kind of Canadian indie-rock supergroup. They released their self-titled debut album, in August 2016 and this was their first visit as a band to Winnipeg. Playing at the Good Will Social Club, the band cruised through most (or all) of the songs from the album along with a couple new songs I don't have proper titles for. If you know the songs with the (?) in the setlist, please let me know. They closed their set with the classic, High School, from the Flashing Lights debut album. An amazing set from three very talents musicians with Chris Murphy on drums instead of his usual bass position in Sloan. The sound was top notch, thanks to the Good Will sound guy and the results of the recording are very good. I played this recording at loud volume recently in my living room and I swear to god it was just like being there, but without being squeezed, shoved and knocked about. Yes, I sat on the couch. Highly recommended!
Enjoy!

TUNS
The Good Will
Winnipeg, MB
November 26, 2016
AUD Master

Sony ECM-DS70P mic> Tascam DR-07> USB> 16 bit Wav>
Direct Wave MP3 splitter> FLAC> rar file

01. Back Among Friends
02. Mixed Messages
03. Throw It All Away
04. To Your Satisfaction
05. (new song) When your Ready (?)
06. Mind Your Manners
07. I Can't Wait Forever
08. Look Who's Back In Town Again
09. Lonely Life
10. Mind Over Matter
Encore
11. (new song) (?)
12. Lie Awake (?)
13. High School

TUNS- 2016-11-26 The Good Will, Winnipeg, MB FLAC Master. rar

The Fuse- PTSD Fundraising Concert, Winnipeg, MB November 19, 2016

 Merry Christmas or should I say happy post Boxing Day week! It's been busy times in December leading up to the end of the year with the chaos of the holiday season upon us. Where I live, we had a monster snow storm on Christmas day and I spent several hours on Boxing day shoveling so my neighbors don't think I'm inconsiderate or lazy. Other than that, my past few days have been spent eating turkey leftovers, sitting on the computer and watching crap TV. I'm taking the rest of the week off work, so I'll continue to waste my time eating more leftovers, sitting on the computer and watching lots of hockey. I have been feeling somewhat guilty with all this time on my hands, so it's about time I caught up on posts for this blog.

In my last post, I may or may not said (It's been a while since I read it), November was the first time in over a year since I had been to a real concert. Which means I haven't recorded much or posted any shows I didn't go to. The drought was over in November 2016 with three shows that I attended and recorded. The first was the John Samson concert (see last post) and the second was The Fuse, a local band I pretty much grew up watching as the members were most active in the 80's and 90's in various incarnations. The Hatcher Brothers (Jeff, Don, Paul) and David Briggs began as The Fuse in the late 70's, then became the Six and then, Jeffrey Hatcher And The Big Beat, where they gained much critical acclaim and modest commercial success with their album, Cross Our Hearts in 1987. Between 1993-1996, Jeff co-fronted The Blue Shadows with Billy Cowsill and released two excellent albums. After a long hiatus, the Hatchers and Briggs reformed and released a new album, Getting There From Here in 2010 under the name, Hatcher-Briggs. For their most recent album, Brilliant Sun, the band reverted back to their original name, The Fuse and have performed under that name since.

The Fuse concert on November 19th was the third annual PTSD fundraising concert in memory of Ken Barker. In 2014, Barker lost his battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as the concert honours his memory with a live concert involving family, friends and colleagues and the public as Ken was a lover of music and concerts. The first two fundraisers raised $30,000 for Heroes Are Humans (The Temar Conter Memorial Trust). The Trust provides training to first responders in occupations of high incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder (fire fighters, police, corrections, ambulance etc.). This year some of the proceeds will also be donated to Cvet's Pets, a 100% volunteer run, not for profit organization that helps local Winnipeg animal shelters. The Cvet's Pets Helping Vets Program connects highly trained medical-service dogs with military veterans and first responders diagnosed with PTSD.

Since The Fuse seem to limit their live shows to annual events, this show was a must see. I positioned a spot in the upper mezzanine in the same spot as the Samson show. It provided a nice view above the crowd on the floor, where there was much dancing and socializing, so I was happy I was up because the sound quality was great where I was. The band was tight, the spirit was fun loving and it had the atmosphere of a good old Winnipeg social. A highlight for me was when my friend Hugh (in the white shirt), who organized and put on this concert, got up on stage to introduce the band and "lead" them through The Six classic, Coming To Collect. Amazing job Hugh, your singing and for making this concert happen! The concert is a great listen, the band plays songs from all their eras and the sound is sweet. I'm listening to the live recording as I'm writing this and it brings back nice memories from the show. Please check out the fundraiser websites for more info about PTSD and how you can help.
Enjoy!

Please share!
Do NOT sell!
Do NOT convert to mp3, except for personal use.
Thanks!

THE FUSE
West End Cultural Centre
Winnipeg, MB
November 19, 2016
AUD MASTER

Sony ECM-DS70P mic> Tascam DR-07> USB> 16 bit Wav>
Direct Wave MP3 splitter> FLAC> rar file

01. It Rests With Me
02. Out Of Time
03. Satin Sheets
04. If Ever I Should Fall
05. Nowhere At All
06. Cry Wolf
07. She Read My Palm
08. Days Gone By
09. Deliver Me
10. Band Introductions/Coming To Collect
11. Getting There From Here
12. Down To The Earth
13. Never Heard Of Midnight
14. St. Enoch's Road
15. I Believe
16. The Last Ones
17. Man Who Would Be King

Encore 1
18. In My Hour Of Darkness
19. My Elizabeth

Encore 2
20. Promised Land
21. Western Wind

THE FUSE- 2016-11-19 WECC, Winnipeg, MB FLAC Master. rar

John K. Samson- Winter Wheat Album Release Show, Nov. 4, 2016

Album release shows, some people love them, while some don't. It comes down to what level of fan you are of the performer or band. If you're a die hard fan that is familiar with all their music and attends concerts most times the band is in town, you should be dying to hear the latest songs from the just released album. You might not have even heard any of the new songs yet and this may be your first listen to the new record, but you are excited about being one of the first to hear it live. To be honest, there will be some songs, the deeper cuts, that might not be played often after the initial new release shows, so that in itself is kind of special.

There are also the fans that aren't excited by the prospect of hearing a large percentage of the show dedicated to the new stuff. These fans love the band, but they want to hear something they are already familiar with, no surprises. In John K. Samson's case, they still want to hear all the Weakerthan's "hits" and will tolerate his solo material because they have no choice. This might sound narrow-minded, but there are a lot of fans that fall in that category. The new songs to them is the time to update their friends beside them or on their phone about what's new and not so new about their self-centred lives. Chatter usually increases and I jokingly refer to this time as the bathroom break or refresh your drink time. All kidding aside, I love album releases. I feel this privilege of hearing something no one else has heard yet live. Since John's hometown is Winnipeg, we are very lucky to have this privilege.

Full disclosure, I downloaded the album right when it was released and had a chance to listen to the album before the concert on November 4th. My first impression was that the album is mellower than my liking, but after repeated listening and seeing eight of these songs performed live, it really has grown on me. The set John K and his band, The Winter Wheat gave us was split almost evenly between Weakerthans and post-Weakerthans solo material. The new stuff works well live especially songs like, Postdoc Blues and the Neil Young/Crazy Horse inspired, Vampire Alberta Blues. Considering there were 3 of 4 members of the Weakerthans on stage, the Weakerthans songs sounded refreshed and bright and with the addition of John's wife, Christine Fellows (who opened the show) on keyboard and backing vocals and Ashley Au on double and electric bass and guitar, the sound was full and satisfying. The Neil Young vibe was still in the air during the first encore when the band performed a cover of Neil Young's, Don't Be Denied. The reference to Winnipeg in the song are unavoidable and I always felt a secret Winnipeg joy whenever I heard the song. I remember when the Constantines played that song as their encore when they opened for the Weakerthans at the now deceased, Rendez-Vous back in the mid 2000's. They wrote the lyrics on a pizza box and propped it against the monitor in front of them. A classic Winnipeg moment!

If you've been to the West End Cultural Centre recently, you know they have a upper mezzanine balcony type seating area. I decided I wasn't looking forward to several hours of standing surrounded by young folks all taller than I am. The upper seating area is only 2 rows deep and offers an unimpeded view of the full stage and band. No more trying to peak around some swaying drunken talking idiot (that Winnipeg is full of!). The sound was incredible and it was as comfortable as hell. I taped my microphone to the rail and sat almost centre directly above the soundboard. The live recording is amazing, being up above the crowd, the sound is crisp and balanced and you can actually hear all the lyrics and instruments clearly. There was almost no crowd chatter and this may possibly be the best sounding live recording I have ever recorded! A must hear for anyone that's a fan of John K. Samson, the Weakerthans and Winnipeg.
Enjoy!!

Please share!
DO NOT sell or share in lossy formats (mp3)!


 JOHN K. SAMSON & The Winter Wheat
West End Cultural Centre
Winnipeg, MB
November 4, 2016
AUD Master

01. Select All Delete
02. Sun In An Empty Room
03. Postdoc Blues
04. Reconstruction Site
05. Plea From A Cat Named Virtute
06. Cruise Night
07. When I Write My Master's Thesis
08. Vampire Alberta Blues
09. One Great City!
10. (Hospital Vespers)
11. 17th Street Treatment Centre
12. Bigfoot!
13. Aside
14. Alpha Adept
15. Requests
16. Winter Wheat

Encore
17. Confessions Of Futon-Revolutionist
18. Left And Leaving
19. Don't Be Denied
20. Virtute At Rest

Encore 2
21. My Favourite Chords

JOHN K. SAMSON- 2016-11-04 WECC, Winnipeg, MB FLAC. rar

Tragically Hip Final Show? Kingston 2016

Photo credit (CBC)

I just got back from 2 weeks of vacation refreshed and relaxed. As usual, I missed a lot while I was out of town. So, the Olympics in Rio is done and finished (I did see part of the closing ceremonies), Wilco played in Winnipeg at the Interstellar Rodeo last weekend (it didn't get rained out) and a little band from Canada, more specifically, Kingston Ontario closed out their tour in grand style on Saturday night. The Tragically Hip played what could be possibly their last show with all the fan fair and excitement that gets CBC and their viewers and listeners in a tizzy. When all the Hips tour dates immediately sold out (legitimate or not), all of Canada was in a panic that they would miss saying goodbye in person to lead singer, frontman, Gord Downie. In steps the good ol' CBC who promises to simulcast the final concert in their hometown of Kingston by airing the show on broadcast TV, radio, digital radio and live streaming. Thousands of people across Canada swarmed to CBC approved public spaces, bars, theatres and parks to watch on mass the concert on the big screen and in total millions watched somewhere. The broadcast and live streaming reached 11.7 million people (who at least watched a second or two) and the TV broadcast alone averaged 4 million viewers. A pretty damn big tribute from a nation that appreciates it's hockey, beer and rock 'n' roll, not necessarily in that order. The band played everything a Hip fan would want including 3 encores. It must have incredible to watch and beyond amazing to be there! A review of the show is found at the CBC website.

Photo credit (CBC)

I was on vacation 8 hours north of where I live and internet and a clear radio station are not dependable. I check emails and internet stuff in town, but at the cabin we can't even get one TV station. I missed out on the live broadcast and if I was home I would have taped the concert on the radio, like the good old days of live concert broadcasts on CBC FM. Fortunately, a listener on Dime captured the FM broadcast of the show (with edited DJ) and posted the concert to share. As I write this I am listening to the recording and it sounds amazing! I'm pretty sure the band may release the audio and video of the final show so get this while you can.

This is not my recording so I'll give credit where credit is due. First thanks to the CBC for making this recording possible and thanks so much stevemtl for the recording and allowing this to be shared in lossless format only! (reserve mp3 and other degrades for your own use only.) And DO NOT sell or profit from this recording! (I've left all the music and text files in their original format.) 
Enjoy!!

The original post on Dimeadozen (download torrent) members only.

THE TRAGICALLY HIP 
Rogers K-Rock Centre
Kingston, ON, Canada
August 20, 2016   
147:10

01.  -applause-
02.  Fifty-Mission Cap
03.  Courage (For Hugh Maclennan)
04.  Wheat Kings
05.  At the Hundredth Meridian
06.  In a World Possessed by the Human Mind
07.  What Blue
08.  Tired As Fuck
09.  -talk-
10.  Machine
11.  -applause-
12.  My Music at Work
13.  Lake Fever
14.  Toronto #4
15.  Putting Down
16.  Twist My Arm
17.  Three Pistols
18.  -talk-
19.  Fiddler's Green
20.  Little Bones  
21.  The Last of the Unplucked Gems
22.  Something On
23.  Poets
24.  Bobcaygeon 
25.  Fireworks
26.  -applause, talk-
27.  New Orleans Is Sinking
28.  Boots or Hearts
29.  Blow at High Dough
30.  -talk, applause-
31.  Nautical Disaster
32.  Scared
33.  Grace, Too
34.  -applause, talk-
35.  Locked in the Trunk of a Car
36.  Gift Shop
37.  Ahead by a Century
38.  -applause-

note: 
t11: costume change; thunderstorm sounds and images
t26, 30, 34: encore

musicians:
Gord Downie - vocals
Paul Langlois - guitar
Rob Baker - guitar
Gord Sinclair - bass
Johnny Fay- drums

Due to the length of the show and large file, I split the file into 2 parts.
TRAGICALLY HIP- 2016-08-20 Kingston, ON FM FLAC. rar (part 1)
TRAGICALLY HIP- 2016-08-20 Kingston, ON FM FLAC. rar (part 2)

Yo La Tengo- Murdering The Classics 2016

photo: Carlie Armstrong (Pitchfork)

 Every March, WFMU holds their annual two week fundraising marathon. WFMU is a listener-supported independent community radio station in Jersey City, NJ. and the funds raised go towards keeping the station alive and the fundraising marathon relies on pledges and donations from it's listeners. Listeners are rewarded with prize giveaways and special surprise guests. It's become an annual tradition to have guests such as Yo La Tengo, who returned to play cover song requests for $100 /per pledge. I'm not exactly how many years YLT have performed during the fundraising drive, I'd estimate maybe 20 years(?) and it's definitely a show I hope surfaces each year somewhere. If you're not familiar with this format or Yo La Tengo's cover versions, have a listen to the officially release, Yo La Tengo Is Murdering The Classics released in 2006. It compiles highlights from past WFMU fundraiser performances from 1996-2003.

The setlist for the 2016 request show is conveniently split into six sets editing the banter, so it's an hour and a half of loose, sloppy fun, and not too serious covers of many classic songs. Part of the appeal is these off-the-cuff performances from Yo La Tengo is the challenge to improv their way through even the most obscure requests. Good humor and amazing musicianship from this always interesting band.

I pulled this recording from Dime and it's just too good not to share here. Thanks to the original poster, beatpop! The request from the original poster: "Please do not trade this in lossy format. Convert to lossy for personal use only". I'm posting this in it's original format (FLAC), so please respect the posters request.
Enjoy!!

YO LA TENGO
Murdering The Classics 2016

Live on Todd-o-phonic 
Todd's Request-a-Thon with Gaylord Fields
WFMU-FM's Monty Hall
Jersey City, NJ, USA
March 12, 2016
(6 sets from 3-6pm)

Broadcast by 91.1 WFMU-FM, Jersey City, NJ USA.
Lineage:
WFMU-FM > Sony XDR-F1HD > Edirol R-09HR (44.1/16) >
Sony Soundforge 10 > FLAC level 6 aligned on SB

Yo La Tengo Murders The Classics, Set 1:

01 - Dead Flowers (Jagger/Richards)  (3:05)
02 - Tears Of A Clown (Wonder/Cosby/Robinson)  (2:07)   
03 - Train Kept a Rollin' (Bradshaw/Mann)  (2:06)
04 - Don't Bring Me Down (Jeff Lynne)  (2:13)
05 - Beast Of Burden (Jagger/Richards)   (2:11)
06 - American Squirm (Nick Lowe)  (2:15)

Yo La Tengo Murders The Classics, Set 2:

07 - She Loves You (Lennon/McCartney)  (2:34)
08 - Stir It Up (Bob Marley)  (1:32)
09 - That's Entertainment (Paul Weller)  (2:03)
10 - Accident (Brian McMahon - The Electric Eels)  (2:38)
11 - Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere (Daltrey/Townshend)  (2:05)

Yo La Tengo Murders The Classics, Set 3:

12 - Those Were The Days (Adams/Strouse) > Those Were The Days (Fomin/Raskin)  (1:44)
13 - I'm A Little Dinosaur (Jonathan Richman)  (2:03)
14 - Tell Me Something Good (Stevie Wonder)  (3:18)
15 - Nobody But Me (Ronald Isley/Rudolph Isley/O'Kelly Isley, Jr.) (2:53)

Yo La Tengo Murders The Classics, Set 4:

16 - Queen of Eyes (Robyn Hitchcock)  (2:22)
17 - Hybrid Moments (Glenn Danzig)  (1:41)
18 - My Heart's Not In It (Yo La Tengo)  (2:45)
19 - Spirit In The Sky (Norman Greenbaum)  (2:08)
20 - Walk Away Renee (Brown/Calilli/Sansone)  (2:50)
21 - Surfin' Bird (Frazier/White/Harris/Wilson Jr.) (2:46)

Yo La Tengo Murders The Classics, Set 5:

22 - Dance This Mess Around (Pierson/Schneider/Strickland/Wilson/Wilson)  (4:04)
23 - Totally Wired (Smith/Hanley/Riley/Scanlan)  (2:30)
24 - Riding In My Car (Al Anderson)  (3:35)
25 - Ziggy Stardust (David Bowie)  (2:57) 
26 - Slow Death (Jordan/Loney)  (4:24)

Yo La Tengo Murders The Classics, Set 6:

27 - Thus Spake Zarathustra  (1:03)
28 - Time  (2:58)
29 - Holy Cow (Allen Toussaint)  (3:42)
30 - Love Potion No. 9 (Leiber/Stoller)  ( (1:37)
31 - (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding (Nick Lowe)  (4:03)
32 - You Tell Us (Bryan Ferry)  (4:22)
33 - It's All Too Much (George Harrison)  (13:01)
      With references to:
    Rebel Yell
    White Wedding
    Sorrow
    I will Dare
    Paint Your Wagon
    That Summer Feeling
    I Don't Wanna Play House
    I've Been Bitten By a Love Bug
    Let's Go Surfin'
    El Paso
    Call Me Maybe
    There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
    The End
    It's All Too Much
    Yellow Submarine   

Total Running Time: 1hr 37min 50sec

Personnel:
Georgia Hubley - drums, vocals
Ira Kaplan - guitar, vocals
James McNew - bass
Bruce Bennett - guitar, vocals

YO LA TENGO- 2016-03-12, WFMU-FM FLAC. rar