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