Lots To See In Minneapolis And St. Paul

To see and to hear. It was a week ago when I was in the Twin Cities but it seemed like only yesterday. Went to 2 concerts, first at the First Avenue on June 13th to see Fountains Of Wayne and Broken West (I'll review that show next blog entry), then 3 days later in St. Paul at the legendary Fitzgerald Theatre to take in MPR's The Current Fakebook series featuring Laurie Lindeen. The Current Fakebook brings together writers and musicians for an evening of music and insights. Current hosts interview guests and give them time and space to express themselves in a casual, creative and innovative format. Lindeen is promoting her book, Petal Pusher: A Rock and Roll Cinderella, which tells of love, illness and the struggles of coming of age in the Minneapolis music scene in the 80's. Of special interest is the fact that Lindeen is married to Paul Westerberg.

The evening began with host Mary Lucia (local broadcast personality, and Westerberg's sister) and Lindeen seated to one side of the stage, discussing highlighted moments from her book. The interview was segmented with musical performances by some of the very musicians who played with her and inspired her. This included a 2 song reunion with her old band Zuzu's Petals and performances by Steve Wynn, Mark Olson, Mark Perlman (Jayhawks), Lori Barbero (Babes In Toyland), John Eller and Paul Westerberg in his first live performance since severely injuring his hand around New Year's. The drawing card was obviously Westerberg, but the whole evening had an easygoing atmosphere with different incarnations of musicians playing with each other with loose but inspiring performances. The highlights for me would be "dressed in all-white" Westerberg singing, I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face, that brought his wife to near tears, Zuzu's Petals reunion and the finale featuring everyone in the show singing a rousing version of Daydream Believer with Eller on lead vocals. I only heard about this show a week before my trip to Minneapolis (which was for something unrelated) and I immediately bought a ticket because I knew this was going to be something special. The only down-side of the evening was that I was going to buy Laurie's book after the show (She was to sign books on stage), but they sold out the person in front of me. I'm disappointed, it sounds like an interesting read, so I'll be on the lookout for the book here in Canada or on Amazon.

For a real review of the concert, click on this link for How Was The Show. It was announced before the show that it was to be recorded for later broadcast on 89.3 The Current or you can listen to the complete interview/music show streamed online on the MPR site.
I also recorded the show from my seat with my trusty Minidisc recorder, so If you want to download a uncompressed version of the music only, I've uploaded the torrent on Dimeadozen. I've posted some mp3's highlights below:

Laurie Lindeen "Fakebook"
Fitzgerald Theatre, St. Paul, MN
June 16, 2007

1. STEVE WYNN- Still Holding On To You
2. ZUZU'S PETALS- ??
3. PAUL WESTERBERG w/band- Mother's Little Helper
4. PAUL WESTERBERG solo- I've Grown Accustomed To Your Face
5. PAUL WESTERBERG solo- Goddamn Angel
6. FINALE everyone- Daydream Believer

Forget The Swan, Here's Dinosaur!

Last Monday (May 28), Dinosaur Jr blew into Winnipeg to assault our senses and hearing, this was the first show that I have ever worn earplugs, I guess I should try to avoid permanent hearing damage. To be honest I loosened the plugs throughout the show to let in more of the sonic sludgefest of earsplitting fuzz unleashed by the incredible J Mascis and to feel first hand the definition of the word, power-trio. J swayed almost trance-like in front of his 3 massive Marshall stacks feeling the buzz.

The show was led off by Lou Barlow (Dinosaur Jr's bassist) who treated the early comers to a solo acoustic set with just him and guitar. Barlow's mellow set was a direct contrast to what was to come and he quickly warmed to the audience with a mix of solo material and Sebadoh songs.

Brooklyn's (via Ann Arbor) Awesome Color showed they can shred with the best of them with a energetic and noisy set of heavy feedback driven garage-rock. Drummer Allison Busch pounded the shit out of her drums and guitarist Derek Stanton blasted out wild guitar freakouts. Their closing song was highlighted by Stanton's crazy guitar antics, kicking and banging his guitar to a wall of fuzzed out mayhem, climaxed when Stanton handed his guitar to audience members to continue to slam and smack. The set was abruptly halted to a stop when the drummer lunged through her drums to stop a fan from smashing the guitar. What Awesome Color lacked musically was more than made up with their presence and enthusiasm.

The mere presence of Dinosaur Jr back together wasn't just a money-grabbing reunion, nor was it only for nostalgic purposes, in fact I think they sounded better than ever. Their setlist was a good indication they were proud and confident of their new material and weren't just going to play old songs. The early JayLouMurph period was highlighted by Forget The Swan, Little Fury Things, Sludge Fest, Freak Scene and show closer, Mountain Man. They even performed a few songs from the post-Barlow years, Out There, Feel The Pain and Wagon. Dinosaur Jr played 6 songs from the new album (Rob Williams of the Winnipeg Free Press counted only 4), as their new material from their comeback disc, Beyond, sounded great intermixed with Dinosaur Jr classics from throughout their career. These songs stood their ground and were not filler designed to provide bathroom breaks throughout the show.

All in all it was an incredible show, I ended up attending alone as I tried to sell my extra ticket outside the door, but found no takers on this rainy evening. It was still worth the $62 ($27 +$27 as well as all those Ticketmaster charges $4 +$4), I could of paid at least 2x that amount to see Clapton or Meyer wank at the MTS Centre in nose bleed seats, or instead witness along with 700 other people, the original lineup of Dinosaur Jr at the intimate Garrick, I guess it's a matter of taste.

I spend a good part of the last few evening uploading and creating torrents to seed for the Dinosaur Jr, Awesome Color and Lou Barlow sets on dimeadozen.org. The DJ and LB sets are also archived on freesofree.net and can be assessed anytime (you'll need to register on both sites). I've posted a sampling of the show.

Audience recording (my master)
"Garrick Centre"-Winnipeg, MB
May 28, 2007

DINOSAUR JR
(entire set: Dimeadozen & Freesofree)
Almost Ready
Out There
Little Fury Things
Wagon
Freak Scene
Mountain Man

LOU BARLOW
(entire set: Dimeadozen & Freesofree)
Freed Pig
Brand New Love

AWESOME COLOR
(entire set: Dimeadozen)
? (last song jam, don't know the name)

I think I finally got the song files to work! Let me know if you still have problems playing these mp3's.
Enjoy!

Wanna See Dinosaur Jr?

I know it's almost show time, but if you live in Winnipeg and it's before 6:30pm Monday May 28th, call me or leave a message. It seems I have an extra ticket as my concert partner is out of town and J canceled to go to a party instead. I've been hesitant to ask anybody as I know Dino Jr are an extremely loud band and may not be the preference of most over 30 year olds. As proof, I saw Dinosaur Jr 10 years ago in Minneapolis and it was a great ear-ringing show. I'll tell you J Mascis is probably one of the greatest living guitarists out there who has stayed true to his sound and if their new reunion album is any indication, they are better than ever.

Beyond was recorded with the original line-up consisting of Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph. I think it's their most consistant, listenable album of their career and I would actually be happy to hear a lot of those songs tonight. Not many bands can reform and capture some of that magic from the past. According to Micheal Azerrad's book, Our Band could Be Your Life, the chapter on the early days of Dinosaur Jr details that there never really was any happy times. These guys hated each other, they fought physically and mentally between themselves, they had power struggles and they couldn't communicate with each other much like a dysfunctional family. They split up after only 3 albums until Mascis reformed the band without Barlow, who went onto (arguably) equal success with Sebadoh. As Mascis kept Dinosaur Jr running through the 90's they began to sound stale and somewhat boring, diluted might be a better term to describe they're last few albums. I don't know if the time, money, forgiveness or just a rejuvenated energy has brought them back together better than ever.

With that in mind, I gotta go to the show. So, If you want to see a bunch of guys in their forties rocking out louder than anything you've ever heard and reliving the 80's, get your earplugs and head to the Garrick. If everything goes to plan, I'll have some noise samples to share in the next few days.

The Golden Dogs - CBC In-Session

Just as KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic showcases great musical talent, the same can be said for Canada's version, CBC's Radio 3. The mainstream takes a break as CBC 3 presents concerts and studio sessions by some of the hottest "alternative" bands in the country. They are not restricted to Canadian talent, but also include international alt-heroes such as Billy Bragg, Cracker, Spoon, Minus 5, and The Shins. Back a few years ago these concerts were broadcast Saturday night on CBC Radio 2 (FM) under the name Just Concerts. This was an excellent opportunity for fans (like me) to record these shows in brilliant FM radio quality to trade and share with our neighbors to the south.

This show is from Toronto's Golden Dogs who have released two fine albums, 2003's Everything In 3 Parts and 2006's Big Eye Little Eye. The band has an energetic infectious sound that has gained considerable indie popularity with their latest release. They have been through Winnipeg twice in the past half year and I regretted each time I missed seeing them, as I've heard they put on quite the live show.

The GOLDEN DOGS- CBC studio 2,
Vancouver, BC
November 13, 2006
1. Birdsong
2. Construction Worker
3. Saints At the Gate
4. Strong
5. Run Outta Luck
6. Wheel Of Fortune (Nineteen Hundred & Eighty Five)
7. Elevator Man
8. Yeah!

note: For some reason the songs may not download or play properly. The Broken West songs from the previous post seem to work fine, so I'm not sure what's up with that? I'll investigate and try to get these songs back. For a listen go to CBC radio 3 and click on concerts & sessions on the top bar, click the browse by name: t-z , scroll down to The Golden Dogs and click the session in Vancouver. From there you can play all the songs or one at a time....enjoy!

Broken West - Live On KCRW

Here's a nice companion piece to the debut full-length CD from East L.A.'s Broken West, I Can't Go, I'll Go On. This was aired on Morning Becomes Eclectic on KCRW in Santa Monica on April 19, 2007, I've edited out the interview segments and have just posted the songs recorded live in-studio. This is a fantastic sounding recording and if you have never heard The Broken West, this is a great introduction. If you want to watch the entire video of the studio session, go here.
Enjoy!

Down In The Valley
So It Goes
On The Bubble
Shiftee
Slow
Hale Sunrise
Big City
Brass Ring

10 Years After The Flood

It was 10 years ago this month that the flood of 1997 overflowed the Red River of the north and ravished a large percentage of North Dakota, Minnesota and Southern Manitoba. It was the most severe flood of the river since 1826 and it caused the evacuation of residents from many towns and cities alongside the Red. Most devastated by the flood waters was Grand Forks, North Dakota (75% evacuated) and its counterpart, East Grand Forks, Minnesota (100% evacuated), schools and universities were cancelled for the rest of the term as the water spread over 2 miles away from the river. Thousands of houses were flooded as water elevated higher than the dikes that were raised in the city, the river crested at 54.35 feet and because water drained so slowly, especially in low lying areas, many homeowners couldn't visit their properties until later in May.

One of the most memorable images that I remember was the fire that engulfed some downtown buildings in Grand Forks. The image of flames, fire and smoke contrasted with canoes paddling along the water filled streets was both sad and horrifying. In total there was over 2 billion dollars in damages and thousands of people relocated, believe it or not, no one was killed during this disaster.

One cool thing that occurred as a result of the flood was that Minneapolis legends, Soul Asylum played a concert for a joint high school prom for schools in Grand Forks. After The Flood: Live From The Grand Forks Prom, June 28, 1997 was recorded two months after the epic Red River flood in one of two hangars at nearby Grand Forks Air Force Base. Image having a band like Soul Asylum playing your high school prom, sure beats a DJ or some crappy tribute band! On this unique live album, Soul Asylum was at their height of popularity, and they blasted off a great set of hits and interesting cover tunes. Posted below are a few mp3's from the event.

SOUL ASYLUM -
After the Flood: Live At The Grand Forks Prom, June 28, 1997 (2004)

School's Out
The Tracks Of My Tears
Sexual Healing
To Sir With Love
Rhinestone Cowboy

Unforgiving Sounds...

..Of Maow!
As promised here are some cuts from the recently re-released CD from Vancouver's Maow. Historically, this is an interesting recording because Neko Case, the group's drummer and co-vocalist, has enjoyed recent popularity as a solo artist and as an original (and some-time) member of the New Pornographers.

I'm sure Mint records is re-releasing this disc to cash in on Case's (now) fame as I remember seeing this CD in the bargain bins in the late 90's. Supposeably this is re-mastered, but it offers no extra tracks or added insight into the band. Download the whole CD (it's only about 20 minutes long), it's not a bad listen, kind of rockabilly, country punk in an amateurish type of way.

MAOW  

Unforgiving Sounds Of (1996)

1. "Wank" – 1:41
2. "Mean Mean Man" – 0:59
3. "Sucker" – 1:51
4. "Ms. Lefevre" – 1:52
5. "Rock 'N' Roll Boy" – 1:12
6. "Very Missionary" – 1:09
7. "Mommie's Drunk" – 1:32
8. "Woman's Scorn" – 1:30
9. "Showpie" – 1:09
10. "J'ai faim" – 0:39
11. "Man What's Got a Gun" – 1:05
12. "How Does That Grab You?" – 2:01
13. "Party Tonite!" – 0:54
14. "Cat's Meow" – 0:43
15. "One Nite Stand" – 1:01
16. "Catastrophie" – 1:03

MAOW- Unforgiving Sounds Of FLAC. rar

(NEW upload, now FLAC lossless!) 

 

Maow - Ms. Lefevre (featuring Neko Case)

This is the lazy man's way of blog posting. Here's a rare treat, for all you Neko Case fans out there, Vancouver's Maow (featuring Neko on drums and vocals), circa 1996. Despite the fact this video is so goofy and over the top, it's still quite enjoyable (for most of the 1:44) and Neko Case is still hot!

On April 4th, Mint Records re-released Maow's only full length CD, "The Unforgiving Sounds Of Maow". Stay tuned as I'll post some samples of Neko's first album as a vocalist...it's not bad, really!

OK Go - Here It Goes Again

Since everyone in the world has seen this video, I thought I should post it for the YouTube illiterate. This has been viewed over 14 million times and recently was awarded as "the most creative video" during the YouTube awards (I didn't know there was such a thing). I'm not usually a huge fan of music video's, but this one is very cool. This can be best described as synchronized treadmill gymnastics, if this was filmed in one unedited take, this is truly amazing...see for yourself!

Hear About "Traffic and Weather" Now

The date for the highly anticipated release by Fountains Of Wayne is set for April 3, but I have the album in advance. This has spent only about a week on the ol' Pod and I'm going back for repeated listens, this is a good sign, usually it takes me a while to warm up to anything new, but with so much new stuff on the Pod I'm forced into forming quicker opinions. The new Son Volt album, The Search, I talked about last post is outstanding, it gets better and better every listen, ever song has something to offer, I highly recommend you get it!

Traffic and Weather is the first release of new material (2005's Out Of State Plates was a b-side compilation) since 2003's breakout disc, Welcome Interstate Managers. That CD put FOW on the radar of commercial radio and MTV and earned them a couple of Grammy nominations, including "Best new artist", which was kind of bizarre considering this was their third album and Fountains of Wayne have been recording since 1996. This disc has more of the same, a little bit country, a little rock 'n' roll, their sound rings flashes of Beatlesque 60's, riff heavy 70's, New Wave 80's, and a very detailed narrative style that is distinctly their own. This disc is as catchy as hell, infectious even only after a few listens and everyone that I have played this for has started to hum along or bob their head, this is Power-pop at it's best! I just hope there isn't a huge hit like "Stacy's Mom" on this one, I grew to hate this song after it was played at every sporting event, shopping mall and on crappy light-rock radio stations.

If you want to see the "animated" Fountains of Wayne, check out Hey Joel, a short-lived show from 2003, it's now playing on the Teletoon network (in Canada, VH1 in US?), they play themselves and sing little 20 second song narratives between scenes. They provided the theme song and two new songs every episode. Watch it while you can, it's not too bad.

Traffic and Weather (to be released April 3, 2007)
Someone To Love
Yolanda Hayes
Fire In The Canyon
This Better Be Good
I-95
myspace.com/fountainsofwayne (listen to: '92 Suburu)

Jeff or Jay? You Choose..

When Uncle Tupelo broke up 13 years ago it was sad, we were losing a truly great band with two extremely talented songwriters. This loss turned out to be a blessing, as both Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar split to form two separate bands, Wilco and Son Volt. Both bands have explored different musical styles and directions, both bands have undergone many personal changes and both songwriter's have enjoyed successful solo ventures. I own all their albums and CD's, but I'm definitely more of a Wilco completist. I have at least three boxes of Wilco's live recordings, two Wilco books ("The Wilco Book" and "Learning How To Die"), one DVD (I Am Trying To Break Your Heart) and have seen the band 4 times (twice in Minneapolis and twice in Winnipeg).

It's appropriate that Son Volt and Wilco are releasing albums a few months from each other, since I saw both bands live last summer. Wilco at the Burton Cummings Theatre on Canada Day (July 1) and Son Volt at the Winnipeg Folk festival a week later, both excellent shows.

SON VOLT - The Search (released March 6, 2007)
On Son Volt's 5th album, they tone down the driving guitars of 2005's Okemah and the Melody of Riot and have released probably Jeff's most mature work to date. Farrar pulls together a full and powerful sound offering a finer balance of piano, organ, guitar and even horns. I've only listened to this disc once through and my first impression is it may not rock as much as Okemah, and it may take repeated listenings to really appreciate it, but so far I'm not disappointed.

The Picture
Adrenaline And Heresy
Satellite
Automatic Society
( myspace.com/sonvolt - listen to the Search, Circadian Rhythm, Metamphetamine)

WILCO - Sky Blue Sky (to be released May 15, 2007)
A few days ago I read that the upcoming Wilco CD has leaked and has appeared on various blogs and torrent file sharing sites. Worried about being caught out of the loop, I immediately searched and found the complete recording of Sky Blue Sky. There is an uncertainty whether this is the recording that will actually appear on the upcoming disc in May or if it's a preliminary mix. Either way, I've had a quick listen and it's not bad, I've literary only had a chance to listen to this at work today and at home while making dinner. I'll have to sit down and have a listen with the headphones to get a much clearer idea. First impressions: It seems mellower, a couple songs recall earlier Wilco (alt-country-ish), extended guitar solos (similar to Ghost), more keyboards, a little sparser sounding...you be the judge, comments?

Either Way
Sky Blue Sky
Side with Seeds
Shake It Off
(myspace.com/wilco - listen to What Light)

Geez, These Kid's Nowadays!

I love to go out and listen to live music, but it's a special treat when it's one of your kids, and it's a bonus when it's two of your offspring. Last Thursday night at the Academy Bar and Eatery in Winnipeg, my son Jesse performed as the opening act for his friend's band, Locker 369. His group (with band-mates, Leif on drums and keyboards and sister Alex on vocals) played 8 songs to a packed house mainly of school friends and curious relatives. They handled themselves quite well exhibiting a wide range of musical styles with a mixture of originals and covers. Jesse has only about a year's worth of experience performing music live having played at other coffeehouses, the Fork's and the Winnipeg Folk Festival, as part of their Young Performer's Program.

I'll keep you informed of any future gigs, but for now I'm posting part of the show to download and listen to. If you have any comments, please click the highlighted comment button on the bottom, I'll make sure he reads them. If you want to hear the whole show (in better quality WAV form), let me know and I'll make sure you get a copy)

Jesse Miki And Friends
Winnipeg March 1, 2007
Audience recording-setlist
Pathway To the Moon
Wet Ground (Sondre Lerche)
Modern Nature (Sondre Lerche)
Miss Spelled Desire
Wind Cries Mary (Jimi Hendrix)
Locked In The Dark
Johnny, Let Me Go (Sondre Lerche)
Calling For

We Are the Police And We're Back!

Usually I try to avoid watching award shows. I never see the movies, TV shows or listen to the music that is rewarded at these "mainstream" events. If I do tune in to the Academy Awards or the Juno's or even the Grammy's, it's because of that, "hard to turn away from a car crash" mentality again. When I heard the Police were getting back together for the Grammy's I figured I should for the sake of this blog and my own curiosity watch at least the first few minutes. Fortunately, the Police opened the program, It wasn't too disappointing, Sting looked literally pumped in his tight sleeveless t-shirt, Andy Summers has that Paul McCartney-neck thing happening and Stewart Copeland (with his glasses) looked even more intelligent than Sting thinks he is. I love the song Roxanne, (my kid's said, "this is the original?" they have only heard the Moulin Rouge version) but what's with the annoying middle instrumental bit, Sting couldn't remember the second verse? and couldn't he reach up an octave higher during the chorus? Don't get me wrong, I like the Police, well I loved them circa, their first two albums. They got too big, then their music got too commercial and boring and I never felt a love for Sting. Outlandos d'Armour and Regatta de Blanc were excellent albums to me they never topped, this was when they were at their punkiest and best. With the help of MTV and the music video craze, their follow up albums sold massively worldwide, and they became huge and so did Sting's ego.

As expected, the Police announced dates for their first North American tour in 23 years. I saw them on their last tour (Synchronicity tour) at the Winnipeg Arena back in 83 or 84. I remember this show clearly, I worked at the concessions so I could get into the show, I worked only during the warmup band and the intermission, then I was able to escape to see the whole Police set. I remember it being swelteringly hot sitting in the upper deck looking right down onto the band, it felt very surreal, I didn't care for their newer material on vinyl, but it sure sounded great live. This was a concert experience that I will never forget, it probably was the first time (and wouldn't be the last) I saw a band without a friend with me, it was a chance to really savour the moment. This was well before I taped shows, which is too bad because I don't think there's a recording out there for this show. I remember the awful opening act was the Thompson Twins, a band I despised, probably the worst band of the 80's. This gave you an idea of what kind of audience the Police were then attracting, so it was cool they were still able to please an old die-hard like myself.

Tickets for the 2007 tour will probably reach unbelievably high prices and they will only be playing in hockey arenas and football stadiums, but like all major reunion tours, the fans will be a little older (need to sit down) and a lot richer than they were the first time around.

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR ITINERARY 2007

28 May GM Place, Vancouver BC
06 Jun Key Arena, Seattle WA
09 Jun Pepsi Center, Denver CO
15 Jun MGM Grand Garden, Las Vegas, NV
16 Jun Bonnaroo Festival, Manchester, TN
18 Jun US Airways Arena, Phoenix, AZ
26 Jun American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
30 Jun New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA
02 Jul Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MO
22 Jul Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
25 Jul Bell Centre, Montreal, PQ
28 Jul Fenway Park, Boston, MA
01 Aug Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
03 Aug Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

additional dates may also include (closer to home), Minneapolis and Edmonton.

POLICE- Grammy Awards, February 11, 2007
Roxanne (live) mp3
Roxanne (live) video (Youtube)

In Case You Missed It The First Time

I've had a few requests to repost the Immaculate Machine show over at Dime from October 14, 2006 in Winnipeg. If you aren't a member of Eztorrent (Dimeadozen.org) and you really, really want a copy of the show, leave a message so I can contact you and I can send one out to you.

Since that tour that took the IM across Canada on the Mint tour (w/New Pornographers & Novillero), they have received much attention from the media and press. Last week on the national CBC afternoon show, Freestyle, they were the featured artist of the week, they played many of their tunes as well as an interview with Brooke to discuss their new French language EP, Les Un Mais Pas Les Autres. This is a collection of songs from Ones & Zeros translated into french.

90's Flashback: Zumpano Does Burt

For Christmas I received two gifts that will hopefully enhance my ability to post more music for sharing. No, it's not drums! I now have an external hard drive with 320 Gig capacity (actually only 298G of real space) to store my music. I've been storing all the albums I've been snatching, and I usually burn then delete live shows that are received in WAV or FLAC format because of it's size. Now I can pick and choose whether I want to keep it on my hard drive without worrying about filling up my drive. The other item is Instant Music, which is capable of recording analog sources such as cassettes and LP's onto the computer via the USB. I also have a stand-alone CD recorder connected to the stereo that works great, but I'm hoping this new toy will help cut back on discs and possibly a quicker method to transfer music straight to the hard drive (but, you have to remember that transferring tape or LP is in real time).

Since I'm hoping to eventually convert most of my concert tapes to CD, I thought I would start with an interesting radio recording that's been collecting dust on my cassette shelf since 1999.

Zumpano formed in 1992 in Vancouver and featured lead vocalist/guitar player Carl Newman. Carl may be familiar to most as the frontman for the New Pornographers who formed in 1997, and for his solo project, A.C. Newman. On this recording, Zumpano performed semi-live in the studio on the now defunct CBC radio show Radiosonic which was a fantastic program that featured interviews, in-studio sessions and live concert recordings. A dream come true for a concert taper geek, like myself. All the concert footage was decent FM quality, it's too bad I recorded most of the shows on cassette. This unique recording is an all-Burt Bacharach special, with Zumpano playing an all-Burt set to the delight of anyone that appreciates the complex time signatures and frequent modulation of Bacharach pop classics. It's clear that Zumpano is a group of very talented musicians that should be further explored if you don't already own their two CD's, Look What The Rookie Did (1995) and Goin' Through Changes (1996), both these discs are highly underrated and should be considered power-pop classics.

I've posted mp3's of the songs, minus the interview portions. If you want the whole session complete with host Leora Kornfeld's lovely voice in FLAC format (that converts to uncompressed WAV), download it from dimeadozen where it's presently posted (need to be a member).

ZUMPANO - CBC Radiosonic, Vancouver, BC- January 26, 1999
Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa
Anyone Who Ever Had A Heart
What the World Needs Now
Always Something There To Remind Me
Little Red Book

WILCO - Moon, Australia or Bridge?

Good news Wilco fans, in case you haven't heard yet the new Wilco album, Sky Blue Sky, is set for release May15th. Currently Jeff Tweedy is on tour through the southern US and Wilco is scheduled to tour Australia in April.

To tide you over until the new record, I'm posting the More Like the Moon EP (..or Australian EP or Bridge EP) from 2002, I saw this posted on one of the many blogs I've bookmarked (I Am Fuel, you Are Friends) and it reminded me, why haven't I downloaded this already? It's available for free download at Wilcoworld and if you want your own CD covers, you can print them off yourself, they've provided you with a choice of three. This disc was originally a bonus disc for the Australian version of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, a year after YHF was released Wilco offered it up at their site for anyone that purchased the album, it's now available to everyone. These songs were recorded during the YHF sessions, so they are alternative versions or unreleased songs. The YHF sessions must have been epic as there have been a few different versions and incarnations of the album floating around. I have a disc of demos and another disc of the engineer's demo mixes, I prefer several of the alternative versions to the released versions, but with every group of unreleased songs comes much filler and duds...looking forward to the new album!

WILCO - More Like The Moon EP
Camera
Handshake Drugs
Woodgrain
Magazine Called Sunset
Bob Dylan's 49th Beard
More Like the Moon

Meet the Smithereens?

Despite the title this is not the debut album of a "new" band called the Smithereens, no it's actually the seventh studio album from the New Jersey based rock band the Smithereens. A quick history lesson; the Smithereens were formed in 1980, had a string of great (near great?) albums in the mid-eighties (Especially For You and Green Thoughts, 11), kind of coasted through the nineties somewhat under the radar and released several best-of/rarities/greatest hits anthologies in the 00's. Personally I didn't think they were still around, but a quick check to their website reveals they are still alive and touring like it's 1986 again. I remember when their first album came out in 1986 and they swung through Winnipeg virtually unknown. The radio DJ of the I can't-remember radio station (it wasn't a College station because we didn't have one!) announced they were playing that night (I think they were just passing through and we're looking for a place to play) and offered some sort of money back guarantee if you didn't like them (I seem to remember the band drew a sparse crowd). The radio station played their single , Blood and Roses and Behind the Wall Of Sleep, and I was hooked, to this day I regret not attending the show.

Meet the Smithereens! is their tribute to the Beatles album from 1964's Meet The Beatles! The Smithereens have rerecorded song-by-song the album in its entirety, and they have maintained the sound and style of the fab 4 right down to the drum and guitar sound circa '64. At first listen this may sound like a tight Beatles cover band, but if you are familiar with the Smithereens sound, you know they have stayed true to their own sound while giving the listeners a fresh interpretation to this classic. The hits are great, while some of the lesser known songs do tend to drag in spots (blame the Beatles) the overall listening experience is enjoyable, though too short (again blame the Beatles). Meet The Beatles was their groundbreaking album as it was their first release in the US and it contains songs written by Lennon and McCartney instead of covers like on their UK debut, With The Beatles.

THE SMITHEREENS- Meet The Smithereens!
All My Loving
I Saw Her Standing There
I Wanna Be Your Man
I Want To Hold Your Hand

The Arcade Fire Previews The Neon Bible

In case you weren't lucky enough to be in Montreal last Saturday night, the Arcade Fire, after a year long hiatus, performed an unannounced show for the band's friends and those who heard about this show only hours before. They played in the basement of a Polish Catholic Church, (with only a small P.A. system) in the Mile End area of Montreal where the band lives, to an enthusiastic hometown crowd. (For a full account of the festivities, read this review) The previous night the Arcade Fire debuted songs from their forthcoming CD, Neon Bible, at an Ottawa High School where member Richard Perry attended. The Arcade Fire are playing a series of "warm-up" shows, including a run of 5 consecutive sold-out dates (in each city!) in London, Montreal and New York, before embarking on a European tour throughout all of March and some of April.

Fortunately, someone recorded the show and if you want to hear the whole concert, head over to Dimeadozen.org. (registered members). I'm posting a few of the brand new songs, beware the sound quality isn't perfect (this is a church basement for Christ's sake!), but it still captures the band's energy that makes them so great to see live and it's a chance to hear them showcase the new material. If you are an Arcade Fire fan, this should get you excited and drooling for their new album (out March), if you're not familiar with their sound, get Funeral NOW!

ARCADE FIRE - January 20, 2007 St. Michel Church, Montreal, Quebec

Black Mirror
Keep The Car Running
My Body Is A Cage
Intervention
The Well And The Lighthouse

New Year, New Music

We are only into the second week of the new year and already there is lots of great new music. I think everyone in the world knows that the Shins are releasing their newest disc Wincing The Night Away, on January 23rd, and they will make a few high profile TV appearances on Saturday Night Live (January 13th) and Late Night With David Letterman (Jan. 23rd). The first date on their current tour will be at the First Avenue in Minneapolis on February 8th, this will be closest they'll come to Winnipeg.

SHINS - Phantom Limb

SONDRE LERCHE - Phantom Punch
The year of the Phantom, you think? Anyone familiar with Sondre's music will be interested to hear him explore his "rock" side a little more. His previous releases, Faces Down and Two-Way Monologue rely heavily on Sondre's smooth vocals, classic pop sounds and lush melodies, while 2006's Duper Sessions was more acoustic and band focused. The songs on Phantom Punch definitely have been punched up both in volume and tempo. This album will surely catch the attention of the masses and Sondre Lerche will get the critical acclaim from North American audiences he truly deserves, trust me on this one.

SONDRE LERCHE - Airport Taxi Reception
SONDRE LERCHE - The Tape
SONDRE LERCHE - Say It All
SONDRE LERCHE - John, Let Me Go (also known as "Johnny Johnny Ooh Ooh")

SUKI BROWNIES - Suki Brownies
I don't know too much about this band, I read their bio on their Myspace site and from I can gather the band is from Lyon, France and their lead singer Suki is actually from England (she has a distinct British accent sometimes when she sings/talks). The songs ranges from Britpop to melodic, piercing guitar rock to a hypnotic electronic sound overlayed with poetic texts. A very interesting listen, I believe they are still indie, so this may be hard to find...impressive debut.

SUKI BROWNIES - A Billion
SUKI BROWNIES - Papa
SUKI BROWNIES - For Me
SUKI BROWNIES - Cregs