Day 11: Scruffy The Cat- Live In Philadelphia 1987

As we head towards the home stretch of the 12 Days of Trouble challenge, I thought I would squeeze in another impromptu post that I hadn't originally planned for. I couldn't complete this series without including my favourite band from the Boston area (there are a lot of great bands from Boston I like a lot!), Scruffy The Cat. It's been almost five years ago since frontman, Charlie Chesterman passed away and his memory and the amazing music he and his band shared will never be forgotten. Scruffy the Cat produced a modest amount of officially recorded music, but browsing through the band's gigography reveals how much they toured and played live shows. They solidly toured non-stop from 1984-1990 without much breaks for recording, they released two EP's and two full length albums during that period. According to the tour schedule, I saw Scruffy the Cat on June 5, 1988 at the Rendezvous opening for Vancouver's, 54-40. I went to the show specifically to see Scruffy (I left shortly after 54-40 began) and they made such an impression on me I regret not seeing them earlier, apparently they played Winnipeg twice before in 1987, shit!

Trust me, Scruffy the Cat were the opening band. They were worth the $12 alone!

I was flipping through the Scruffy The Cat live recordings that I haven't posted yet and came across this show from 1987 that was only labelled with the venue and date. I got this off Dime a number of years ago and I honestly don't remember taking the time to listen, but I tracked down the file on an older hard-drive for the setlist and flac files. I played it last weekend and it's a good sounding soundboard recording that's super clear and the performance is energetic. This night they were opening for Alex Chilton and it's a bit unusual for the opening band to play encores and play for over 70 minutes...good for us! Interesting setlist with songs from the then forthcoming EP, Boom Boom Boom Bingo and some early versions of songs from Moons of Jupiter that would be released later in 1988. A very enjoyable set that put a smile on my face and I'm sure I can dig up more Scruffy shows in the future if there's a demand to hear more.
Enjoy!!!
#12daysoftrouble

Please do NOT sell or convert to lossy formats (except for personal use)
Please share!

A couple other Scruffy the Cats live recordings previously posted:
1987-08-08 (late show)TT The Bear's Place, Boston, MA (direct link)
1984-05-20 WERS studio, Emerson College, Boston, MA (direct link)


Scruffy The Cat
Chestnut Cabaret,
Philadelphia, PA
December 15, 1987
Soundboard

Source\Lineage: SBD>Sony D5(m)>Onkyo TA-RW344 w\ azimuth correction>Cooledit Pro 2.0>.wav>CD Wave>flac (level 8)

***billydee masters, series 2, vol 31***

1) >intro<
2) Tiger Tiger
3) C’mon Everybody
4) >chat<
5) Thomas Doubter
6) Shadow Boy
7) Time Never Forgets
8) 2day 2morrow 4ever
9) Blue Russian
10) You Dirty Rat
11) Everything
12) Capital Moonlight
13) Bus Named Desire
14) Buy A Car
15) Moons of Jupiter
16) Runaway
17) Never Never
18) My Baby’s Alright
19) Nova SS 1968
20) Upside Down
21) Happiness To Go
22) >chat<
23) Little Bit o’ Soul
24) ?
25) -------
26) Sealed with a Kiss
27) outtro

p.s. I didn't write the notes in the text file with the setlist included in the rar file. Clearly he wasn't a true Scruffy The Cat fan. My apologies.

SCRUFFY THE CAT- 1987-12-15 Chestnut Cabaret, Philadelphia, PA FLAC. rar

Blake Babies- 15 Years Ago...Philadelphia 2001

http://www.getoffyourknees.com/pix/julesings.jpg

http://www.getoffyourknees.com/pix/kickitjules.jpg

If you're a fan of the Blake Babies, this is a big week. Yesterday, the band digitally released a collection of songs, the Earwig Demos for those that pre-ordered the album on Pledgemusic (yes, I did!) and yesterday, the band reunited for a pair of shows in their hometown of Boston. The demos are officially available for the first time ever, a nice complement to the original album, Earwig released back in 1989.


The Blake Babies haven't performed together since their last reunion tour 15 years ago in 2001. They previously disbanded in 1992, they first united in 1999, played some shows in 1999 and 2000 and embarked on their last U.S. tour in 2001. During their last run, the band released the album, God Bless The Blake Babies which I think stands up well to their earlier albums. Before they split their very last recording, Epilogue was released in 2002. The return of the Blake Babies is a very pleasant surprise and right now I feel regretful I didn't travel to Boston and Evanston, IL (July 23) to see them live one more time. Hopefully they feel rejuvenated and enthused to tour outside these cities in the near future, but I feel I blew another chance. I regret I didn't see them in Minneapolis in 2001, but some decent live recordings from the tour made the bad decision less painful.

http://www.onlyeverything.dk/PhilGallery/index.htm

To coincide with the Blake Babies latest reunion shows, I'm posting a show from their final leg of the 2001 tour with the third last (?) show in Philadelphia. It's a great sounding recording and the band is in good form. I can't get enough of Juliana live, but there's some sort of musical magic when she performs with John and Freda.
Enjoy!

**Hopefully someone is taping the shows (Boston, Evanston), please let me know and I can post here! Thanks!**

BLAKE BABIES
North Star Bar
Philadelphia, PA
July 19, 2001
AUD

01. Cesspool
02. Until I Almost Died
03. unknown jam (Hospital)
04. Baby Gets High
05. From Here To Burma
06. Nothing Ever Happens
07. Star
08. Civil War
09. Lament
10. Picture Perfect
11. Severed Lips
12. Walk A Thin Line
13. talk
14. Disappear
15. Out There
16. Rain
17. On
18. Girl In A Box
19. Let Me Roll It
20. Downtime

BLAKE BABIES- 2001-07-19 North Star Bar, Philadelphia, PA FLAC. rar

The Soft Boys- TLA, Philadelphia, PA March 20, 2001

This year, I only took in one day at the annual Winnipeg Folk Festival and I opted for the Sunday (last day of the four day festival) because there were a couple performers that I wanted to see. The evening featured Jenny Lewis and Wilco as final mainstage headliner acts (more on them next post) which was enough for me to shell out over $80 dollars for the one day.

One of the acts I was looking forward to was Robyn Hitchcock who I hadn't seen live yet. Unfortunately, his daytime hour long solo concert conflicted with two other daytime stage concerts I also wanted to see. I opted for the other two, but beforehand attended a multi performer set featuring Robyn, Dan Mangan and The Weather Station, titled "I Get A Kick Out Of You". While each person took turns trading off songs, it was apparent this wasn't the ideal way to get a real feel for Robyn's music live, as it was more of a sampler, but at least I was able to see him perform 4 of his songs. I recorded the whole set (except maybe the last song from TWS) and I may eventually post it.

Personally for me, my favourite Robyn Hitchcock's songs are from his time with his band, The Soft Boys. Robyn fronted this band from the mid-70's to 1980 with a couple of critically acclaimed albums, though they were somewhat underappreciated at the time. Hitchcock filled the following decades, 80's and 90's with his band, The Egyptians, as well as solo albums and touring. The Soft Boys reformed in 2001 with a reunion tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Underwater Moonlight, probably their best known album. As a companion piece to the Young Fresh Fellows TLA recording I posted last month, here's the headlining set by the reunited Soft Boys from 2001. It's an amazing set of their "hits" and the sound is fabulous!
Enjoy!!

THE SOFT BOYS
Theatre Of The Living Arts
Philadelphia, PA
March 20, 2001

DISC 1
01. Intro
02. You'll Have To Go Sideways
03. He's A Reptile
04. (talk)   
05. Queen Of Eyes
06. Old Pervert
07. Gimme A Part Of Rock'n'Roll
08. Underwater Moonlight
09. (talk)  
10. I Wanna Destroy You
11. Kingdom Of Love
12. Evil Guy
13. The Face Of Death
14. Leppo And The Jooves
15. Sudden Town
16. Insanely Jealous

DISC 2
First Encore:
01. Intro   
02. Airscape
03. The Pulse Of My Heart
04. Only The Stomes Remain
05. Mr. Kennedy

Second Encore:
06. Each Of Her Silver Wands
07. The Bells Of Rhymney
08. Where Are The Prawns?

THE SOFT BOYS- 2001-03-20 TLA, Philadelphia, PA, FLAC part 1. rar 
THE SOFT BOYS- 2001-03-20 TLA, Philadelphia, PA, FLAC part 2. rar

Young Fresh Fellows- TLA, Philadelphia, PA March 20, 2001

Since it's my birthday today (or yesterday, depending when this gets published), I thought I would treat myself and fellow Fellows fans itching to hear more live recordings. I acquired this recording through an old fashioned trade about 14 years ago, but instead of trading disc for disc, I send an assortment of candy and snacks unique to my hometown. Seems strange, but my trade partner who had the master recording proposed this idea and I took up the challenge. I can't remember exactly what I sent in the over-stuffed padded envelope, but it included packs of Clodhoppers, Mordon's chocolates, some seeds and probably some Old Dutch products. If we were in the age of instagram and selfies, I'm sure I would have taken a photo, but of course I didn't think of it at the time. I ended up spending much much more than the value of a blank cdr and the shipping alone was close to ten dollars. For a rare Young Fresh Fellows live recording it was well worth it!

This is a great sounding show that sees the Fellows opening for Robyn Hitchcock and the Soft Boys during an all too brief tour of the U.S. East Coast. It was wonderful to hear the Fellows playing live outside of the Seattle area during a time when they hadn't played much live. At the time they were touring in support of the double CD split, Young Fresh Fellows, Because We Hate You and the Minus 5's, Let The War Against Music Begin. I have some other recordings from that tour, so 2001 was a very good year (and a comeback of sorts) for the Fellows. As far as I know, this recording hasn't been widely shared, though I may have included it in a trade of two since. The recording is an audience, but it sounds better and the Fellows in a jovial mood so it's a must-hear for fans.
Enjoy!

YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS
Theatre of the Living Arts
Philadelphia, PA
March 20, 2001

Audience DAT> cdr> received in a trade>
Nero Startsmart Rip> wav> FLAC> rar
01. Intro (Robyn Hitchcock)
02. Universal Trendsetter
03. Barky's Spiritual Store
04. Lonely Spartenburg Flower Stall
05. When The Girls Get Here
06. Good Times Rock'n'Roll
07. Mamie Dunn, Employee Of The Month
08. Down By The Pharmacy
09. How Much About Last Night Do You Remember?
10. ...All My Clothes Are Hanging In The Bank
11. I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite
12. 76 Trombones
13. Little Teen Thing
14. Worthless
15. ...My Love Is Gonna Lay You In The Ground
16. Hank, Karen And Ringo
17. ...A Toast
18. Rock'n'Roll Pest Control
19. Give It To the Soft Boys
20. Topsy Turvy Theme

YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS- 2001-03-20, TLA, Philadelphia, PA FLAC. rar

The Del-Lords- Tower Theatre 1986

Been extremely busy during this holiday season, not really having time to reflect on any holidays, at least not yet and will be glad when this time of year is less stressful. Once Christmas comes and goes, I'm taking some time off from work between Christmas and New Years and I assure you the posts on this blog will be much more frequent.

Speaking of stressful, the people of the U.S. East coast are still rebuilding and trying to piece back their lives after Hurricane Sandy wrecked it's havoc a few months back. A benefit concert was held on 12-12-12 at Madison Square Gardens in New York City, appearing were some of the biggest British names in "classic rock", The Stones, The Who, Eric Clapton, Roger Waters and Sir Paul McCartney. Local representation included Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Alicia Keys and Billy Joel. I could have put together a further list of cool (not so old and "classic") bands from the New York/Jersey region that would rival the old rockers that I would have paid $$ to see, bands like Yo La Tengo, The Feelies, Fountains Of Wayne, They Might Be Giants, The Figgs, Candy Hearts, Sonic Youth (?) and maybe even an old-timer like, Lou Reed (p.s. all these artists have been featured at TDIT!).

One of my favourite NYC bands in the 80's were The Del-Lords that was founded by Scott Kempner formerly of the "near" legendary, Dictators. The Del-Lords released four studio albums and are set to release their first full length record in 22 years. Back in February 2010, they played their first live gigs in 20 years and the new record will complete the comeback. If you missed them the first time I have a great sounding FM broadcast from 1986 after the release of their second album, Johnny Comes Marching Home. Brings back a lot of great memories!
Enjoy!

DEL-LORDS
Tower Theater
Philadelphia PA
May 3, 1986
FM

01. Heaven
02. True Love
03. St. Jake
04. Burning in the Flame of love
05. Soldier's Home
06. Love Lies Dying
07. Dream Come True
08. Johnny 99
09  How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times & Live
10. I Play the Drums

DEL LORDS- 1986-05-03, Tower Theatre, Philadelphia, PA FLAC. rar