Young Fresh Fellows- Seattle Center Flag Pavilion, Seattle, WA: October 5, 1990 (Gonna See The Fellows!!)

 

Amazing gig poster by Tom Bagley!

 

As I mentioned in the last post of 2025, this music blog is celebrating it's 20th anniversary this August. What better way to celebrate than to see my favourite band, the Young Fresh Fellows live in concert, next weekend in sunny Vancouver BC! If you've read this blog before you know how much I love the band, so much so I named the blog after one of their songs! I bought my ticket about a month ago and booked my flight soon after, so I'm set to see a band I haven't see live since 1992, when by coincidence I saw them in Vancouver at the Commodore opening for, They Might Be Giants. It's the only other time I saw a concert in Van and it almost didn't happen because I only saw they were playing the day of the show in the local entertainment paper. A day earlier, my brother and sister drove to Seattle in a rented car, bought a shit tons of records and wished the Fellows were playing in their hometown, so seeing them was definitely the highlight of that trip. The show on April 11 will be incredible and I'm grateful I have family there (save $$$) and I don't have to cross into the states (no updated passport) in a city I like a lot. I'm looking forward to meeting other fans, I know Vancouver has lots of them and this will be the dream show I've been anticipating since I last saw them and can't wait to soak it all in. Oh, and I plan to buy lots of records during this trip, this will be great!

 

  

To get you and me in the mood, here's a Young Fresh Fellows show I've seen sitting on for a long time. I acquired the tape with several others via a trade with someone from the Seattle area and though many aren't great sound quality, this one from 1990 sounds really good. I transferred it to CD a while back and recently digitized it. This seems like the perfect time to share this epic performance with the band (Kurt era) in top notch form. Lots of tracks, many deep cuts and it's up there with my favourite YFF live recordings. Hopefully, the upcoming tour will have similar memorable moments of splendor that gets captured on tape. 

Enjoy!

 

 

If you like this show, you'll love this one I shared in 2016!

Young Fresh Fellows- Lounge Ax, Chicago, IL 1990 

 

 

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

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

Please share!

 

  

YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS
Seattle Center Flag Pavilion
Seattle, WA
October 5, 1990
AUD

01. That Letter
02. Get Outta My Cave
03. My Boyfriend's In Killdozer
04. 76 Trombones
05. Carrothead
06. I Blew My Stack
07. When Things Is Cheap
08. Down At The Pharmacy
09. The Sharing Patrol
10. Back Room Of The Bar
11. 3 Sides To This Story
12. How Much About Last Night Do You Remember?
13. Mr. Salamander's Review
14. Middleman Of Time
15. Taco Wagon
16. Picture Book
17. Sesame Street Theme
18. Miss Lonely Hearts
19. Where Is Groovy Town?
20. Do The Fonzie
21. Gorilla
22. Gorilla/Do You Care?
23. High Time
24. Hillbilly Drummer Girl
25. My Friend Ringo
26. Sick & Tired Of Me
27. Two Lives
28. Young Fresh Fellows Theme
29. Sittin' Round Doin' Nothing
30. I Wish I Was Your Mother
31. When The Girls Get Here
32. Still There's Hope
33. Little Softy
34. Filet Of Soul
35. Rock 'n' Roll Pest Control

 

YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS- 1990-10-05 Seattle Center Flag Pavilion, Seattle, WA FLAC. rar

They Might Be Giants: 30 Year Flood- Live 1990

With each new calendar year, in the music selling biz there is the nostalgic "looking back" to past album releases and "celebrating" anniversaries from their original release date. Often they are celebrated in 10 year segments, 10th anniversary, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th...you get the idea. Annoyingly, the trend also celebrates in 5 year intervals, 5th, 15th 25th...etc, which is kind of pushing it, but 25th anniversary of anything still has a nice ring to it. It allows the artists (and/or the record companies) to cash in with a re-mastered special edition re-release of the original album maybe bulked up with bonus demos, outtakes, alt tracks from the same recording session (or no bonuses at all) to help sell something that was sold already. If the original album wasn't available on vinyl (or was), then a release on limited 180 gram vinyl is warranted or it may even constitute the box set treatment with possibly a booklet of photos and new flashy packaging which of course means a huge cash grab. It's weird nowadays since there's been a revival on vinyl LP records, that so many records in my collection are sold now as re-releases, but at least 2 to 3x the amount I paid originally, with no extras. As a record collector you are much better off seeking the original versions (if you want it on vinyl) usually at less money than the newer versions, and if there are bonus tracks, buy the CD, stream it or download it.

This anniversary trend also extends to the live concert tour with many bands focusing on a complete album where they perform the entire album from beginning to end. I've seen shows by the Pixies (Doolittle), Sloan (Twice Removed) and Posies (Frosting On The Beater) with this format celebrating the anniversary of those albums, with the rest of show a mix of their other songs. I think for the fans this can be special, especially if you are familiar and a fan of that album and it's an opportunity to relive that record live. It can be a very cool experience.

Currently, They Might Be Giants are on tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of their major label debut and arguably their best known record, Flood. (Flood was released January 15, 1990) They will perform all of Flood, as well as other stuff (2 sets!). The Flood tour is nearly sold out (except one show), with a tour that takes them from early January to mid-May in select U.S. cities and I wouldn't be surprised if the band took the show to Europe later in the year.

I thought instead of posting a current TMBG's show from the Flood Show tour, here's a show from the tour in support of Flood when the record was released. It's a fine sounding FM radio broadcast from almost exactly 30 years ago. On the original file I downloaded years ago, the concert is dated February 28, at Wien, Arena with the same setlist below. But according to the TMBW: They Might Be A Wiki- The TMBG Knowledge Base, there is a discrepancy because on Feb. 28 the band performs in Stuttgart, Germany. On February 24th, the show is listed at the Arena in Vienna, Austria. The comment for that show is that songs listed on the setlist were broadcast on FM radio, so this date makes more sense. For continuity sake since the file is already uploaded and in respect for the original uploader, take note the file will probably be wrongly dated as 1990-02-28 so adjust the text file with the download accordingly. Confused? Anyone have any better clarification on the the venue and date? Regardless, this is a great live recording with (then) new material from Flood as well as songs from Lincoln and the first record.
Enjoy!

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!
Do NOT convert to lossy formats (except for personal use)
Please share!

They Might Be Giants
Arena
Vienna, Austria
1990-02-24
(or Stuttgart, Germany 1990-02-28?)

FM - Cassette (Master) - Audacity - xACT > cdr> FreeRip>FLAC> rar

01
02 Lie Still Little Bottle
03 Someone Keeps Moving My Chair
04 Youth Culture Killed My Dog
05 Kiss Me Son of God
06 Ana Ng
07 Your Racist Friend
08 Particle Man
09 Lucky Ball & Chain
10 Whistling In the Dark
11 Istanbul
12 She Was A Hotel Detective
13 Where Your Eyes Don't Go
14 Birdhouse In Your Soul
15 Cowtown
16 Nothing's Gonna Change My Clothes
17 -DJ-

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS- Vienna 1990-02-24 FLAC. rar

Young Fresh Fellows- Lounge Ax, Chicago 1990

When I first began collecting live concert recordings my main focus was Replacements shows. I missed out seeing the band live before they broke up 1991, but my wishes finally came true when I saw them during their semi-reunion tour a couple years ago. A band I equally loved back then was the Young Fresh Fellows who not only inspired me to write this blog (and inspired the name of the blog), but they also topped my list of bands I wanted to get everything they recorded. I believe I have in one form or another most or all YFF studio recordings including 7"ers and rare hard to find tribute tracks. I've only seen the Fellows twice and if money and travel wasn't an issue I would have seen them a lot more live. Much like the Replacements, the Young Fresh Fellows live were unpredictable. but always entertaining, sometimes messy fun. More so than the Replacements, the Fellows were also outstanding musicians who could play any size venue, open for anybody and had the vigor and spirit of an extra talented garage band that will blow your mind.

Back in the days of exchanging traders lists, my top want was always the Fellows and at first they were hard to find, but after connecting with a bunch of generous taper/traders I traded for shows on cassette and my addiction to the Young Fresh Fellows was being satisfied. Thanks to traders I've traded with in the past; Mitch, Eric, Brett, Marc, Mike E, Mike P, Tim and more who sent me Fellows shows through trades.

One of my all time favourite Young Fresh Fellows live recordings is one I got from Mike P, an audience recording from Chicago's, Lounge Ax in 1990. To me this is the quintessential YFF show, a great performance with all the charisma and fun sometimes goofy antics I associate with the Fellows. A nice documentation of the concert and a fine article about the band was written in the Chicago Reader that really makes me wish I could have been there. At least we have this recording to help imagine how amazing this show must have been. I've been meaning to post this show for while, and as the first post of the next decade of TDIT I wanted something special,  it was the ideal choice. Thanks for reading!
Enjoy!

(Note: Teenage Dogs In Trouble is on vacation for the next 2 weeks. Lots to post when I get back!)

YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS
Lounge Ax
Chicago, IL
September 15, 1990

01. Amy Grant
02. Taco Wagon
03. Picture Book
04. Don't Let The Little Things Get Me Down
05. No One Really Knows
06. Groovy Town
07. My Boyfriend's In Killdozer
08. Sesame Street
09. Middleman Of Time
10. Woman's Prison
11. Rock'n'Roll Pest Control
12. When Things Was Cheap
13. Little Softy
14. Celebration
15. My Friend Ringo
16. Hangout Right
17. 76 Trombones
18. I'll Never Fall In Love Again
19. Young Fresh Fellows Theme
20. Hang On Sloopy
21. She's A Mystery
22. Rotation
23. Whole Lotta Pappy
24. When the Girls Get Here
25. My Sweet Lord
26. Topsy Turvy Theme
27. encore talk---
28. Ain't It Alright
29. Rock Around The Clock
30. Burnin' Love
31. Equator Blues
32. Wipe-Out
33. There's A Kind Of Hush
34. These Boots Are Made For Walking

YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS- 1990-09-15 Lounge Ax, Chicago, IL FLAC. rar

Mojo Nixon- Winnipeg Folk Festival 1990

Photo credit- Jace Hagen

Going to Winnipeg Folk Festival on Sunday for my annual one day walkabout to hopefully check out some good music. I'll attempt some live recordings as long as the weather cooperates and my fellow tarp-sitters cooperate and don't talk too much during the music (!)

A memorable Folk Festival memory is from 1990 with the always entertaining Mojo Nixon. I had seen him previously at the festival a few years earlier with Skid and it was definitely a highlight. He performed on the main stage as well as the smaller stages during the daytime workshops. He debuted a couple of his classics, Don Henley Must Die and Destroy All Lawyers, as well as jamming out with fellow workshop performer Loudon Wainwright III. A nice little sample that was fortunately recorded (not by me) and posted on Mojo's music sharing site that I downloaded years ago. You can access many more great shows from the audio vault at the Mojo Nixon World Empire.

The song Destroy All Lawyers is especially relevant if you've read the news in Winnipeg recently. It's in bad taste given the circumstances, but you can't help but agree with Mojo's opinion on lawyers..."There's a plague on the planet and they went to law school..."
Enjoy!

MOJO NIXON
Winnipeg Folk Festival
Birds Hill Park, MB
July 7, 1990
Audience Recording
(in lossy mp3 format- sorry!)

01. Destroy All Lawyers
02. Don Henley Must Die
03. Mojo Chatter
04. Louisiana Liplock
05. Mojo & Loudon Wainwright Jam!

MOJO NIXON- 1990-07-07 Winnipeg Folk Festival. Birds Hill, MB mp3. rar

Mr. T Experience At Gilman St. 1990

In my early days of tape trading I came across some great collections of live shows. I didn't have a lot to trade in exchange so I was lucky enough to connect with traders that were willing to sell me tapes for the minimum cost of a blank tape and postage paid. Some traders were also willing to do a "2 for 1" where you would send two blanks for the show I wanted, they would fill one and send back, while the other tape is for them as compensation for their time. This was a fabulous way to build a collection to trade with others and around the same time I began to record concerts broadcast on the radio and I got some recording equipment to tape local shows. I later discovered that the shows I recorded were of value and very tradable because they were masters and I would be trading the first generation and on top of that they were pretty rare since I haven't seen many (if any) other recording from shows I attended. 

A couple of my first trade partners were based in the Bay area and I acquired several shows from bands from that region and in the surrounding area. One of the most popular venues in the scene was 924 Gilman St, an all-ages, non profit collectively organized music club. At this time the club mainly featured punk rock bands NOT on major labels. Many of the bands that played there have gone onto bigger prominence and yes, major labels. Some of the more well known bands include, Green Day, The Offspring, AFI, Jawbreaker, Fugazi, Sleater-Kinney, Born Against, Against Me and the Mr. T Experience. Through these traders, I acquired a good amount of shows from Gilman St. which hopefully I'll share in upcoming posts.

Today's featured recording comes from the Mr. T Experience. It's a personal favourite of mine and it's another recording I freshly transferred from cassette. This was recorded when the band was a four-piece when Jon Von was still in the band. Though I have only seen MTX as a trio, the stage presence and banter between Dr. Frank and Jon Von is priceless, with Jon Von usually in the comedy relief role. I'm always on the lookout for more shows when Jon Von was in the band, which seem to be harder to come across and fortunately I have a few more recordings on tape to share, both pre and post Jon Von. This recording from Gilman St. has excellent sound and most likely it's from the soundboard (listen to the soundboard  "tape change" during Up And Down). A fun and enjoyable show, the band is top notch! Stay tuned for more.
Enjoy!

MR. T EXPERIENCE
Gilman St.
Berkeley, CA
December 15, 1990
soundboard (?)

01. Intro
02. What Went Wrong
03. What's In The Cuckoo Clock
04. History Of The Concept Of The Soul
05. End Of The Ramones
06. Love American Style
07. Velveeta
08. She's No Rocket Scientist
09. Last Time I Listened To you
10. Pig Latin
11. Up And Down
12. Make-Up
13. Psycho Girl
14. Sex Offender
15. Zero
16. So Long Sucker

MR. T EXPERIENCE- 1990-12-15 Gilman St., Berkeley, CA FLAC. rar