The Pandoras- Unreleased Live Album: Remembering Kim Shattuck

 

The Pandoras. (Kim Shattuck is on the left)

 

It's already been 7 years since Kim Shattuck's untimely passing and the memory of the music she left behind is not to be forgotten. Kim's main band, the Muffs , I often still listen to and if you've ever seen them live (I haven't) or seen concert footage on YouTube (yup!), you'll know she's diligent performer,  an unrated guitarist and her vocal style is both distinct and fascinating. Apart from the Muffs, Kim's side projects, included the Beards (with Lisa Marr who is married to Muff's bassist, Ronnie Barnett), White Flag, The Coolies (including Melanie Vammen bandmates from the Pandoras and Muffs) and filling in on bass with the Pixies after Kim Deal left. From 1985-1990, she was a member of the Pandoras playing bass and after the death of original vocalist and guitarist, Paula Pierce in 1991, Kim participated in Pandoras reunions (2014-2018) taking over lead vocals and guitar.

 

The Pandoras released only one live album during their original run in the 80's/90's, Live Nymphomania, which featured the band as a quartet. An earlier show was intended to be their live album (see below), but before it was released guitarist, Billi Jo Hash left the band, so it was withdrawn. Live Nymphomania contained only nine songs, which is kind of brief and not indicative of a live concert. Think of the show at Iguana's as "the album that never was" or maybe this should have been released instead. The sound is pretty good, a rocking live record that sounds somewhere between the Runaways and the Donnas. This is the later era of the band, with a slick sounding, heavy hard rock sound, departing from their original raw, garage psychedelic rock sound of the early records. It's still enjoyable and it's a joy to appreciate the talents of Paula Pierce and hearing the similarities of Kim's and Paula's screams!

Enjoy!

 

 

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

Please do NOT convert to lossy formats (except for personal use)

Please share!

 

THE PANDORAS 
"The Unreleased Live Album"
June 10, 1989
Iguana's, Tijuana, Mexico

 

4-track recording, said to be recorded and mixed by Mike Fey. The  Pandoras had intended this to be there live album, but withdrew it after guitarist Billi Jo Hash and the band parted ways. They released "Live Nymphomania" instead, a recording of the 4 piece lineup live in Dallas,Texas. 
Billi Jo was eventually replaced with Lisa Belltri-- anyone know what happened to either one of them? 

 
1. intro
2. Pacify Me
3. Run Down Love Battery
4. Burned
5. Craving
6. Steady
7. "We're recording a live album tonight" /band intros
8. Liar
9. Tear Down The Walls
10. Close Behind
11. Six Times A Day
12. Hard On Me
13. Hungry For You
14. He's Coming
15. -tuning
16. Bad Habit
17. Lick It Up
18. applause/talking
encore:
19. -talking/AC-DC
20. Loose 

 

Paula Pierce-guitar & vocals (6/23/60-8/10/91)
Kim Shattuck-bass & vocals
Billi Jo Hash-guitar
Melanie Vammen-keyboards & vocals
Sheri Kaplan-drums & vocals

 

THE PANDORAS- 1989-06-10 The Unreleased Live Album FLAC. rar

 

Bootlegs Gone Mainstream? Nirvana- Dreamerz, Chicago, July 8, 1989

 

 

Last week, I opened the entertainment section of the local newspaper and spotted an (over) half-page article titled, BOOTLEG BONANZA, with the subtitle, "Volunteers turn fan's recordings of 10,000 concert into online treasure trove". The fan in question, you've read about here on the blog back in December 2024, Aadam Jacobs has made 1000's of live recordings of shows he attended and archived them in his home before sharing them online. I check the collection on archive.org everyday to see the latest shows posted and I've downloaded a big chunk onto the hard drive in case they disappear at some point. So many great bands I'm already a fan of, as well as lesser known groups that you can listen to and sample without any cost. My first thought when I read the article (you can read it online on the CBC website with additional photos) was, "WOW", have bootlegs and live recordings gone mainstream? I still have the belief these kind of unauthorized live recordings were still considered a grey area and borderline illegal (obviously, I don't feel that way!) and for that reason I stay stealth and under the radar and don't openly record because some venues don't take kindly to audio recording (ban it!). Yet it seems to be common practice to blatantly wave around your smartphone and video record as much as you want without any concern. My definition of the term "bootleg" is more to do with the selling and profit from these recordings, but most of the recordings I've acquired have been through trades and sharing and my recordings have never been up for sale (yet, a local record store has in the past had my actual live concert recordings for sale at the store). This really is a bonanza for fans of live music, as my feeling is that hearing a live recording of a concert you attended is the ultimate souvenir of the show. For hardcore fans, you hear the band in their element, not just the studio versions of the songs, but the performer performing and capturing this moment is special. For many people, the inferior sound quality of an audience recording is hard to listen to with the crowd noise/talking a distraction, muffled vocals and distorted instruments, but for tapers, this is the actual sound we hear at the concert, it's real and it feels like they're there. I'm sure Aadam would agree, the audio recording of the band is just one of the elements of a live show. It's the atmosphere and experience that comes with being in a crowd of like-minded music fans and though there is nothing that beats actually being there live, you can at least relive some of this experience with a tape of the show. 

 

  

The Nirvana show from 1989 (below) is described in the opening paragraph of the article and is a terrific listen. The rawness of the recording is something hard to describe without hearing it and we can thank Aadam for being there in the moment. There are several shows of bands on the cusp of success before hitting bigger fame (and fortune?) and it's a treat to hear them play in smaller, intimate venues. There's another Nirvana show in the collection that took place a few months later in a larger venue, that shows the growth of band in a short period, which is cool. Reading the article reminds me I need to digitize the rest of my live recordings on cassette, before it's too late and this will be my goal in 2026.

Enjoy!

 

 

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

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

Please share! 

 

 

 

Nirvana

Dreamerz

Chicago, IL

July 8, 1989 

Recording generously loaned from the Aadam Jacobs Audio Archive.

Source: Aiwa CM-30A Stereo Mic > Sony TC-D5M > Cassette (M)
Transfer: Cassette (M) > Nakamichi LX-5 > WAV
Mastering: WAV > Audacity (tracking) > FLAC > MP3Tag

Recorded by: Aadam Jacobs
Transferred by: Avery/vanark
Mastered by: Kliked

Setlist 

1. Intro
2. School
3. Floyd the Barber
4. Love Buzz
5. Mr. Moustache  
6. Paper Cuts
7. Polly
8. Big Cheese
9. Spank Thru
10. Dive
11. About A Girl
12. Scoff
13. Negative Creep
14. Blew

Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar)
Krist Novoselic (bass)
Chad Channing (drums)
Jason Everman (guitar)

Opened for Precious Wax Drippings.

NIRVANA- 1989-07-08 Dreamerz, Chicago, IL FLAC. rar

The Replacements- Lake Compounce, Bristol, CT 1989

It's not often I hear a live Replacements soundboard recording I haven't heard before and in this case, I have heard it before. Recently, someone posted on Dime the soundboard recording from a Mats show when they opened up for Tom Petty back in 1989. The sound is excellent and the set is complete (they were the opening set, so short), and if the date and setlist sounds familiar, it's because the show appears on the live compilation (unofficial aka: boot), Shit, Shower and Shave. Actually, the recording below is NOT sourced from Shit, Shower..., but it does sound similar, though the version below includes a few extra seconds at the beginning with Paul and Tommy talking to the crowd before Talent Show. Anyways, this is a must-hear show, not only is the sound quality amazing, the performance is fantastic, especially rare during the Petty tour and the band plays it pretty straight throughout. Which means no drunkenness, sloppy playing and a good solid later era setlist. Very enjoyable!

Enjoy!

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

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

Please share!

 

 

The Replacements
Lake Compounce, 

Bristol, Ct.

August 31, 1989
(Opening act for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers)

The Recording:
Low generation soundboard recording from sound engineer's archive

The Set List:
01 Talent Show
02 Around and Around
03 The Ledge
04 Can't Hardly Wait
05 September Gurls
06 Another Girl, Another Planet
07 Within Your Reach
08 Left of the Dial
09 Alex Chilton
10 Nightclub Jitters
11 I'll Be You
12 Bastards of Young

 

The Performers:
Paul Westerberg        guitar, lead vocals
Tommy Stinson        bass, vocals
Chris Mars        drums, vocals
Slim Dunlop        guitar, vocals

REPLACEMENTS- 1989-08-31 Lake Compounce, Bristol. CT FLAC. rar

Scruffy The Cat- Live On WBCN, Boston, MA 1989

It's been a while, over a month since my last post. In fact, I missed all of July due to being employed full time+ working in the film industry as a set buyer. I'm all done (for now) and it's back to normal life without the 10-12 hour days with little or no weekends off. It's been only a couple of days since this job ended, but it's a relief I can sit back and enjoy the rest of my summer and just in time to take in some serious NHL playoff action. I can also get back to browsing for and listening to music and having a beer or two without worrying about getting to bed early because I have to get up at an obscene hour. The job had it's good points, I did a lot of shopping and browsing in thrift stores, rented a lot of cool and unique items and I spend a majority of time driving to source products or get them to set on time. I also did listen to a lot of music while driving and though this might sound relaxing, it wasn't. Unfortunately, I spent way too much time inside of Walmarts and dollar stores than anyone should, so wearing a face covering mask was wise choice. It was an interesting 5 weeks, even for the experience (and the money was good!) and I would probably do it again if something like this becomes available again. For now, back to what I do best in semi-retirement, making art, playing music and watching hockey!

Most importantly I can get back to posting on this blog again which remains one of my passions along with the other things I previously mentioned. I really haven't had the time or energy to write for the past month, but I have some ideas of some future posts that I will make time to pursue. One of the shows I had uploaded before the break is this short radio broadcast featuring a TDIT favourite, Scruffy The Cat live in studio in Boston from 1989. This was recorded in the last year of Scruffy's career including some songs the band never released. As noted below, an early version of Love Song #9, listed here as, Talking To Myself was the last official recording the band released (split 7" with the Young Fresh Fellows). A great sounding recording that I don't think has been shared before (?) is a must-hear for any Scruffy The Cat fans. Great memories, great band!

Enjoy!

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

Do NOT convert to lossy formats (except for personal use)

Please share!

SCRUFFY THE CAT

WBCN
Boston Emissions From Newbury Sound
Boston, MA
April 23, 1989

pre-FM? sbd> analog (master)> computer> cdr>
FreeRip> FLAC> rar

01. Introduction by Bill Abbott
02. Moons Of Jupiter
03. Talking To Myself
04. I Love The Way You Dance
05. The Doctor Song
06. Red Light
07. Kissing Galaxy
08. Carol
09. credits

Charlie Chesterman- guitar, vocal
Stephen Fredette- guitar, vocal
MacPaul Stanfield- bass
Burns Stanfield- keyboards
Randall Lee Gibson IV- drums

Note: from Charlie- "Talking to Myself" is in fact, an early version of "Love Song #9".

SCRUFFY THE CAT- 1989-04-23, WBCN, Boston, MA FLAC. rar

Day 2: Young Fresh Fellows- Live In NYC 1989

 If you've been following this blog for any length of time you probably already know who my favourite band is. The first clue is in the name of this music blog which is also the title of a song by the Young Fresh Fellows, from their debut album, The Fabulous Sounds Of The Pacific Northwest. Teenage Dogs In Trouble is the 12th track on the album which was released in 1984 and I hope this blog can do justice to the song (and the band). When I traded tapes back in the early 90's, my top band on my want list was any live recordings from the Fellows. A great starting point was the Gag Fah tape that featured a compilation of live, outtakes and rare tracks from pre-1990, but it took me a lot of list exchanges and searching to find any live recordings. Eventually I connected with some traders that had shows from 80's and 90's and once the internet took off I was able to work trades through sites like, Tapetraders.com, eTree and downloading on Dime.  Once you've compiled all you can buy from a band, like the Fellows or the Replacements (albums, CD's 7" ers, eps' etc) the search for live recordings and unreleased songs can only help the addiction to hear more. If you're a fan of the Young Fresh Fellows (or if you're not yet, you will be), four of the twelve days of trouble are for you!

This Young Fresh Fellows show came to me through a trade many years ago along with a couple other Fellows shows. It was transferred onto a CDR as one long track, but for your convenience and mine, I split the tracks and added a setlist. The album, This One's For The Ladies came out the same year as this show and it was the beginning of the Kurt Bloch-era both on record and live replacing guitarist Chuck Carroll. Funny thing is, this might be the first show of the tour after Kurt broke his arm or wrist during a previous show and he was temporarily replaced by the Pontiac Brother's, Ward Dotson on guitar. If you've heard Gag Fah, one of the live tracks is from this show with Dotson on lead vocals for the Mott the Hoople cover, Movin' On. A good sounding audience recording with some cool covers and a select of songs from the Ladies album and Dotson does a very commendable job filling in for Kurt. The date of the show that I had listed when I received the disc was October 11, 1989, but according to the Gag Fah track list, the date is November 16, 1989. I have another YFF show from November 24 in Cincinnati, so it might make sense the correct date is in November. If anyone has any recollection or knowledge of YFF tour dates in 1989, please let me know so we can confirm the date. On the last track (19. Equator Blues (partial)), I don't think this is from the same show and I don't have any information to it's source. Let's call this the bonus track. Anyways, this is a good one, one I've wanted to post for a while.
Enjoy!
#12daysoftrouble

Do NOT sell or convert to mp3 (except for personal use).
Please share!
 
YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS
Pyramid Club
New York City, NY
October 11, 1989 (or November 16, 1989?)
AUD

01. Girl From Ipanema
02. Get Outta My Cave
03. Taco Wagon
04. Picture Book
05. This One's For The Ladies
06. Ms. Lonelyhearts
07. Why I Oughta
08. I Started A Joke
09. Amy Grant
10. Movin' On
11. Middleman Of Time
12. My Friend Ringo
13. Topsy Turvy Theme
14. Rotation
15. Backroom Of The Bar
16. Have Love Will Travel
17. Beer Money
18. Born Free

19. Equator Blues

YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS- 1989-10-11, Pyramid Club, NYC, NY FLAC. rar

Camper Van Beethoven KCRW 1989

Here's part two of the CVB KCRW live in-studio broadcasts. Similarly to the 1987 session, the band plays songs live along with interview segments. This time Morgan Fichter replaces Jonathan Segel on violin and she adds a female voice to the band's sound with additional harmony vocals. A very nice listen, the sound is stellar, they play some rarities and the band is in good spirits. A nice companion (they fit together perfectly on disc) to the 1987 show for another trip through the 80's.
Enjoy!

Camper Van Beethoven
September 14, 1989
Snap, KCRW
Santa Monica, CA

FM radio broadcast

01. Opening Theme
02. Sweethearts
03. That Was Before I Met You
04. Introductions
05. When I Win the Lottery
06. Staying at Home with the Girls in the Morning
07. O Death
08. All Her Favorite Fruit
09. Loser
10. One of the These Days
11. Lincoln Shrine
12. Closing Comments, outro

CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN- 1989-09-14 KCRW FLAC. rar

Blake Babies- Live On WERS 1989

Another hotbed for talented bands in the 80's was in and around the Boston area. If you've frequented this blog you'll know I have a keen interest in many bands from this region. I should also clarify I don't live in this area, nor do I even live in this country. It's just that there is a lot of bands for whatever reason I enjoy and still follow from the state of Massachusetts. Some favourite bands that I have (or haven't yet) featured on TDIT from include: Pixies, Lemonheads, Dinosaur Jr, Buffalo Tom, Belly, Big Dipper, Scruffy The Cat, Mission Of Burma, The Breeders, Volcano Suns and Juliana Hatfield. Juliana's first band was the Blake Babies who formed in 1986 and gathered a modest following during the late 80's and early 90's and like many of the previously mentioned bands didn't receive much in the way of mainstream radio play, but instead relied primarily on college radio stations to spread the music. And speaking of comebacks, pretty much all the bands I listed have reunited or reformed in recent years and the interest in their earlier works has introduced their music to wider audiences that may have missed them the first time or have only heard them now for the first time.

After disbanding in 1991, the Blake Babies reunited in late 1999 (New Years Eve?) and they toured the U.S. in 2001. I still regret not travelling to Minneapolis in June of 01' to see the Babies (for the last time ever?), but I hope to see Juliana Hatfield again sometime in the future. The show I've posted is the earliest Blake Babies (or Juliana Hatfield) I have and it's a gem of a recording! The band was just hitting their stride with the release of  Earwig and they were still a couple years from their breakthrough album, Sunburn. I received this in a trade over 10 years ago and I've been hoarding it ever since, but I want to share it because it's one of my personal favourites. I don't recall seeing this available anywhere else online, but I'm sure there must be others that have heard or own this recording. This is an in-studio live radio session followed by an interview with the band. The sound quality is excellent and it's another in a series of recordings from Metrowave on WERS at Emerson College that I have previously posted. This is a must listen for any Blake Babies/Juliana Hatfield fans!.
Enjoy!

BLAKE BABIES
WERS "Metrowave"
Emerson College
Boston, MA
May 9, 1989
FM Broadcast

01. Outta My Head
02. Lament
03. Look Away
04. Your Way Or The Highway
05. Dead & Gone
06. From Here To Burma
07. Grateful
08. Alright
09. You Don't Give Up
10. Don't Suck My Breath
11. Tom & Bob
12. interview

(note: the date in the info file incorrectly lists the date as May 5, oops sorry)

BLAKE BABIES- 1989-05-09, WERS, Boston, MA FLAC. rar

Young Fresh Fellows- Beans and Tolerance

Aka, The Bootleg Album (or Wonderfully Simple, Simply Wonderful) is a self-released rarity the Young Fresh Fellows recorded following the departure of guitarist Chuck Carroll and before Kurt Bloch joined the band. As pictured above (from my vinyl copy), you can see the cover sleeve is plain white and the record has no label. If you look closely you can see the identifying markings on the LP are scratched and hand drawn in, it doesn't get more homemade than this! Along with the Fellows, Hits From The Break Up Album 7" box set, this is one of my prize YFF collectibles. I bought both records through mail order directly from the band in the early 90's and both remain exclusively on vinyl (though some tracks have appeared elsewhere) and very out of print. I believe, B & T was limited to less than 1500 copies. Instead of side A (or 1) and side B (or 2) the sides of the record are identified by "upson" and "downs", musically it's clear which side is more upbeat than the other.

Musically, the sound is raw and spontaneous. Trouser Press describes it as, "Recorded quickly with more enthusiasm than care, the twelve cavalier tunes — most in a gritty and/or psychedelic '60sish vein — add up to a joyous, rock'n'rolling studio party with massed backing vocals, one-take chaos, meandering guitar solos, bum notes and everything else that such great undertakings require. The Fellows even wrote a song in tribute to the Bootleg Album, Ballad Of The Bootleg on their 2009 release, I Think This Is.

I'm posting this by request. I have the original vinyl, but I'm posting a rip from a CD transfer I received in a trade years ago. Yes, I admit it I'm lazy, it's faster than ripping my vinyl. I also have a request for the Gag Fah cassette which I have an original copy. I need to transfer it to digital first as the CD copy I have has the 3 second gaps built into each track (very annoying!), so please be patient I'll get it up soon.
Enjoy!

YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS (aka: 3 Young French Fellows 3)
Beans And Tolerance (aka: Wonderfully Simple, Simply Wonderful and the "Bootleg Album")
Released in 1989

01. Rock and Roll Guitars
02. Fruitbasket Blues
03. Vacation Rock
04. NF in Trouble
05. Stop Breathing, You’re Foggin’ Up My Mind
06. Gorilla
07. Shake Your Love
08. Silhouette
09. I Wanna Die in a Woman’s Prison
10. After Eggs
11. Tell It to the Raven
12. Whole Lotta Pappies

YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS- Beans And Tolerance FLAC. rar