Duotang- Hometown Reunion, December 26, 2014

As we near the end of 2014, it's time to reflect on the past year. One of the things that stood out for me was it seemed like it was the year of the comebacks and reunions. Even CBC.ca agrees with me, 2014: The year of the Canadian indie-rock reunion. Bands such as Constantines, The Smalls, Moist, Bum and Winnipeg's, Duotang all reformed either for new recordings, gigs and even tours. For Duotang, they've been on indefinite hiatus (except for the Mint X-Mas party in November) since 2006, so the idea of playing together again must have been daunting. Singer/bassist, Rod Slaughter has been active since in other projects such as Novillero, who achieved moderate success releasing three excellent albums from 2002-2008 and The Shallow End, while drummer, Sean Allum stopped playing live after Duotang. A Duotang reunion was a much anticipated show especially for fans of Winnipeg indie-music in the 90's and early 2000's. I saw Duotang at least twice in the mid-90's and a memorable show opening for The Smugglers and Mr. T Experience at Wellingtons in 1996 was amazing!! I believe I recorded The Smugglers and Mr. T sets on my old tape recorder (in case you're interested?).

Some interesting pre-reunion show reads in the local papers:
Winnipeg Free Press- Winnipeg bass-and-drums duo having a blast revisiting the 90's
Winnipeg Sun- Spend Boxing Day with Duotang

For a band that hasn't played much in the past 10 years, Duotang sounded tight. The sound was good at the Good Will and the hometown crowd was enthusiastic and appreciative. Angus Kirkpatrick (Grand Theft Canoe), who toured with Duotang (as a second bassist), guested during the later part of the set and encore finale, as well as Robert Dempster (Transonic) on backing vocals for Toast To The Life-Long Friends. The band closed the show with an ambitious cover of The Who's, A Quick One. An incredible feat for any band, but especially a band with 2 bass players and a drummer...sloppy, messy and a lot of fun!
Enjoy!

Feel free to share, but please do NOT sell or convert to mp3!

DUOTANG
The Good Will
Winnipeg, MB
December 26, 2014
"Reunion show"
AUD Master

Sony ECM-DS70P mic> Tascam DR-07> USB> 16 bit Wav>
Direct Wave MP3 splitter> FLAC> rar file

01. Smash Ships And Raise The Beams
02. Present Blind
03. Message
04. Thomas Green
05. Disaffected
06. Witch-Hunters
07. Friends
08. Review
09. Slow Down
10. Ghosts
11. Call Your Side
12. Don't Give Up, Just Back Off A Bit
13. Toast To The Life-Long Friends
14. Far From Heart, Deep In Mind

Encore
15. 10:15 Saturday Night (Cure cover)
16. King Of Beliefs
17. A Quick One (The Who cover)

DUOTANG- 2014-12-26 The Good Will, Winnipeg, MB FLAC. rar

John K. Samson at The Good Will 2014

I was trying to recall the amount of times I have seen The Weakerthans/John K. Samson live in concert and just based on ticket stubs, I've seen The Weakerthans 10 times and JKS (& The Provincial Band) once. The venues have varied from the larger/medium-sized halls (Burton Cummings Theatre, Le Rendezvous, West End Cultural Centre) to bars (Pyramid, Royal Albert) and at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. I may have seen John and/or the band additional times, but none were as small and intimate as John K. Samson's show on Sunday night at The Good Will. This was the first time I've been to this somewhat new venue (opened officially last month) and I have to admit it isn't bad. The room is long and narrow which means good sight-lines and the music is well contained and directed nicely to the audience. It was perfect for a solo acoustic show, but I'm skeptical whether the sound will be half as good for a loud electric rock show. I'll have to check back later.

This is not meant to be a review of the show (Anthony's review for Exclaim is here), so I have nothing but good things to say about the show. John, of course played songs from his band, The Weakerthans, as well as his solo effort, Provincial, but the bonus for fans (especially for a taper) was two new songs, Fellow Traveller and Oldest Oak At Brookside. Promising and likable, it will be interesting to see if they appear on a project in the future. Hearing all these songs in their bare-bones versions really showcase Samson as a master lyricist and very competent musician. The solo acoustic format allows Samson to highlight the song, closer to poetry set to music, than in the full band format, powerful, but in a different way. It's been a while since I've seen John play and this was a real treat.

This Winnipeg solo show was a warm-up for an upcoming solo tour starting later this week, that will take Samson across the Atlantic to Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and the UK.

Unplugged! Not only is John hard to see, but he was also hard to hear.

The recording was recorded in the sweet spot, dead centre, near the back edge of the floor in front. The sound is near perfect, definitely one of the better sounding recordings I've done. Crowd noise wasn't an issue, though I did have a "singer" beside me that I tried to turn away from. I adjusted and lowered the levels during the second song, so you might want to turn up the volume after that one. It's always safer to set the levels lower than to have the sound distorted by heavy strumming and crowd clapping.
(Note: The last song (#19), Samson is at the edge of the stage, unplugged and off mic...turn it up!)
Enjoy!

JOHN K. SAMSON
The Good Will
Winnipeg, MB
November 23, 2014
AUD MASTER

solo acoustic

Sony ECM-DS70P mic> Tascam DR-07> USB> 16 bit Wav>
Direct Wave MP3 splitter> FLAC> rar file

01. Heart Of The Continent
02. Plea From A Cat Named Virtute
03. Reconstruction Site
04. Letter In Icelandic From The Ninette San
05. When I Write My Master's Thesis
06. Elegy For Gump Worsley
07. Pamphleteer
08. Time's Arrow
09. Fellow Traveller (new song)
10. Oldest Oak At Brookside (new song)
11. Relative Surplus Value
12. Hospital Vespers
13. One Great City!
14. Aside
15. Left And Leaving

Encore
16. Tournament Of Hearts
17. Bigfoot
18. My Favourite Chords
19. Virtute The Cat Explains Her Departure (off-mic/unplugged)

JOHN K. SAMSON- 2014-11-23 The Goodwill, Winnipeg, MB FLAC. rar

The Replacements at Midway Stadium- September 13, 2014

Back in late April, when it was announced the Replacements would play their first show in Minneapolis/St. Paul in over 23 years, I thought this was too good to be true. A while back I had written a blog post where I listed the reunions I would love to see. I think my #1 choice was to see the Replacements (...half the original band) get back together to play some shows. It's been a year since they first stepped back on the stage together in Toronto during Riotfest and sporatically since at multi-band music festivals. Not only would the show in the Twin Cities be a return to their hometown, but it would be their first true headlining non-festival full set concert.

The first time I heard the Replacements was back around 1986 (circa. Tim) when a friend gave me a mix tape of music he thought I might enjoy. I can't remember exactly was on the tape, but I think there were groups like, the Jazz Butcher and Beasts Of Bourbon, but the songs that stuck with me the most were the Replacements tracks. I know for sure, Kiss Me On The Bus, Waitress In The Sky and Lay It Down Clown were on the tape. I tracked down the album, Tim later that week and I bought Pleased To Meet Me at Record Baron as soon as it was released a year later. On my next trip to Minneapolis, I snagged copies of their first four albums (Sorry Ma, Stink, Hootenany and Let It Be) from the long gone, Northern Lights Records on Hennepin. Their final two albums, though slightly disappointing, still was better than anything else on the radio at the time. My interest in the Replacements was renewed a few years later when I read a series of articles in a magazine/fanzine I subscribed to, Tapers Quarterly about collecting the Replacements (video, live recordings and outtakes/demos). It was an excellent article that intrigued me because the band's live shows were unpredictable with setlists that were never the same, with unlikely covers and wonderful spontanious moments that would either fly high or flop badly. Since that article I have gone on to collect a large number of Replacements shows through tape trades and fellow fans that have shared their recordings. I definitely have more Mats shows than any other band in my collection of concert recordings and any one of them I could throw in the tape deck (or CD player) and experience a unique Replacements show that I would never tire of.

 

Yes, these are the clearest and least blurry of the dozens of photos I took.

When tickets went on presale on May 1, I was determined to one of the lucky 15,000 or so fans to get tickets. And I did! The presale and the following public ticket sales sold out almost intantly with many Twin Cities natives stunned tickets disappeared so quickly. A road trip to Minneapolis is always exciting especially with an event such as this as the highlight. My brother and his friends were also lucky enough to come through with tickets, but I travelled with my wife and daughter. Personally, this would probably have to be the most anticipated concert in my life. I've waited a long time for this moment and I feel bad I missed out the first time around in the 80's. Just as a whim on the week of the concert, I entered a "Pleased to meet and greet" contest on The Current (MPR) website after filling in my picks for their Top 30 Replacements songs poll. Imagine my surprise (or should I say shock!) when I received an email on Thursday saying I won. The prize included two tickets to the show and a special meet and greet with the band...HOLY CRAP!

I was able to sell my previously bought tickets (at list price) when I came to Minneapolis (thanks Helen! hope you enjoyed the concert!) and then it was off to Midway Stadium. We arrived just before doors opened and after collecting our VIP after-show passes and tickets we grabbed a spot on a massive tarp in front of the stage and between the sound tent. We shifted closer to middle and closer up during the first two bands (Lucero and The Hold Steady) and wound up in good position in the middle of the mass for the Replacements. It was increasingly frustrating to have more and more people shove their way towards the front and squeeze their bodies smack dab in front of my face. There was lots of shoving and pushing, jocking for position and I was stuck directly behind three of the tallest guys in the crowd, of course! This is not the ideal recording situation, first, it's an outdoor venue and sound can be affected by wind and secondly, I was surrounded on four sides by taller people so my mics were blocked and pushed into the back of the person in front of me. This resulted in muffled sound and it didn't help that the guy directly behind me sang along with almost every song directly in my ear (and mics). I swear during Skyway, I couldn't hear Westerberg at all, only the American Idol wannabe behind me. To top it off, my SD card in my recorder malfunctioned and I had to switch cards on the fly. I ended up missing 3 songs, ouch! Fortunately, I figured this show more than any other show on the tour would be recorded by other tapers and luck would have it there are at least three other recordings posted online. The band's extended setlist (compared to the festival shows) provided all the highlights I was hoping to hear. I've seen Paul Westerberg solo on two occasions and he's played a handful of Mats songs, but it was amazing to hear the Replacements live renditions of Bastards, Left Of the Dial, I Will Dare, Alex Chilton, Skyway...aw, too many great moments...and to close the show during the second encore, Unsatisfied. Westerberg and Stinson sounded and looked good and the support from Josh Freese on drums and Dave Minehan on guitar was stellar. The concert was crazy good, the sound was decent and I technically was close enough to see the band clearly (peeking between heads, bodies and foam fingers), so I feel very fortunate to have been there for this once in a lifetime moment.

Everything after the concert seemed surreal. My wife and I along with the other contest winners (I think 8 plus guests) were led past security behind the stadium fence and through the backstage area past a tent for family/friends and crew members to a building where we would meet the band. We lined up on the steps outside the building and in pairs met, shook hands (Tommy hugged/wrestled me), briefly chatted and posed for photos with Tommy and Paul. And for a gift we received an autographed poster from the show! I know bands probably have to go through this kind of fan interaction every show through promoter committments and whatever, but the guys were soft-spoken and seemed genuinely sincere to meet us. I can now say I've met three of my true music heroes (Scott McCaughey, the other) and it was a thrill and an experience I will never forget.

Pleased to meet and greet with Tommy and Paul!

Due to the sub-par quality of my recording, I've posted a recording I downloaded from Dime. Perks has given permission to post that recording here to share. The sound is really good and considering the conditions of an outdoor concert (listed above), this is an excellent document of the show. It really has that "just like being there" feel to the recording. Thanks Perks!
Enjoy!

The Replacements
September 13, 2014
Midway Stadium
St. Paul, MN

Source: Schopes MK41's > active cables > Nbox > Edirol R-05 @ 24/48.
Transfer: Emtec 16GB SDHC Card > Dell PC > 24bit WAV > Sony Sound Forge 9.0e > CDWave Editor > Trader's Little Helper > FLAC16.

Recorded and transferred by perks.

1. Crowd/Tuning
2. Favorite Thing
3. Takin' A Ride
4. I'm In Trouble
5. Don't Ask Why
6. I'll Be You
7. Valentine
8. Waitress In The Sky
9. Tommy Got His Tonsils Out > 3rd Stone From The Sun
10. Take Me Down To The Hospital
11. I Want You Back
12. Going To New York (with Tony "Little Sun" Glover)
13. Color Me Impressed
14. Nowhere Is My Home
15. If Only You Were Lonely
16. Achin' To Be
17. Kiss Me On The Bus
18. Androgynous
19. I Will Dare
20. Love You Till Friday > Maybelene
21. Merry Go Round
22. I Won't
23. Borstal Breakout
24. Swingin' Party
25. Love You In The Fall
26. Can't Hardly Wait
27. I Don't Know > Buck Hill
28. Bastards Of The Young
29. Skyway
30. Left of The Dial
31. Alex Chilton
32. Unsatisfied
33. Crowd

The Replacements- 2014-09-13, Midway Stadium, St. Paul, MN FLAC. rar

Arcade Fire- Live In Winnipeg 2014

I wasn't even planning to attend the Arcade Fire concert, we bought tickets back in December 2013 as Christmas presents for my daughter and my bro in-law and at the time didn't really have a great interest in going. I had seen them two previous times (both outstanding shows!!), but I wasn't crazy about their new album and I didn't think I needed to see them again. As faith would have it my daughter went to Europe for most of the summer and would miss the show, so I made sure the tickets didn't go to waste and I'm sure glad I did!

The tickets were in the 300 level which in price terms are the cheap seats, but they were first row and nicely in line with the stage that promised a clear, unobstructed view of the stage. I almost didn't bring my recording gear because I figured the sound would suck being up so high as the sound would get lost in the upper reaches of the sketchy acoustics of the MTS Centre ceiling. When we arrived at the arena, the 300 level was closed off and we were informed all the 300 level seats were being "up-graded" to lower sections. In one hand being lower is an upgrade, but our fear, being older and less energetic we would have to stand during the show. We were reassigned to seats in the second row of the 200 level directly below our original tickets. What this means is that sales apart from the floor and the main lower bowl (100 level) were very low considering the 200 level seats were only occupied about 4-5 rows up in most of the sections in the arena. The good news was a much closer view and better sound. I have to admit I'm impressed by how decent the sound for concerts is at the MTS Centre. The volume is loud and the clarity despite a band like Arcade Fire that boasts 12-13 band members on stage isn't muddled. It wasn't the case with the opening band, Tune-Yards which sounded like a rumble of noise that might have translated better in a smaller venue.

Everytime I have seen Arcade Fire they impressed me beyond my expectations. When I saw them in 2005, I was vaguely familiar with the band and was blown away by their energy and how they played every song like it was their last. At the time I confessed to someone, this was one of the most amazing concerts I had seen! My seats were first row balcony and they offered a perfect straight on view of the band and the sights and sounds of the band kept me focused all night. Their show at the MTS Centre for their Suburbs tour further impressed me. Situated on the floor it was a totally different experience moving shoulder to shoulder with the crowd, the visuals were even better and the music quality upped it's ante, as Arcade Fire was now more than an indie band.

This year's concert was a continued assault of sight and sound. The stage visuals, the state of art light show and creativity and artistry of their presentation has surpassed anything I've seen live (to be fair I usually skip the BIG name shows at the arena or stadium). The "tin-foil" man dancing on the b-stage, the large bobble-head characters during the opening processional march through the crowd to the stage and during the encore break "performing", These Eyes, the crowd dressed formally or in costume were just some of the visual highlights of the show. The music was good too, even the newer stuff sounded better live, but is there a need for 5 percussion players for some of the songs? The two full drum kits not enough? Overall, I was impressed and at times wondered how do you top this. It may be a while until I see something so original and mind-blowing as Arcade Fire and I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't until they come back to town during their next tour.

Note: The recording was pretty good despite not being in an ideal position in front of the stage, but the sound is loud and clear enough and less audience chatter/noise than if I was on the floor. Sorry if the track separation isn't perfect, it's hard to distinguish the end and start of songs because they like to segue to the next song without a break.
Enjoy!

Reviews and photos from the show-
 Winnipeg Free Press
Metro
Consequence Of Sound

ARCADE FIRE
MTS Centre
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
August 14, 2014
AUD Master

Sony ECM-DS70P mic> Tascam DR-07> USB> 16 bit Wav>
Direct Wave MP3 splitter> FLAC> rar file

01. Here Comes The Night Time
02. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
03. Flashbulb Eyes
04. Reflektor
05. Joan of Arc
06. Month of May
07. The Suburbs
08. Ready to Start
09. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
11. We Exist
11. No Cars Go
12. Haiti
13. Afterlife
14. It's Never Over (Regine on B-stage)
15. Sprawl II

ENCORE
16. These Eyes (fake band on B-stage)
17. Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown (Neil Young cover)
18. Normal Person
19. Rebellion (Lies)
20. Wake Up

ARCADE FIRE- 2014-08-14 MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB FLAC Master part 1. rar
ARCADE FIRE- 2014-08-14 MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB FLAC Master part 2. rar

Evan Dando- West End Cultural Centre 2014

It's seems crazy this is the first concert I've been to in about a year and a half (Kathleen Edwards- September 29, 2012), which means in 2013 I didn't see any live music. No music festivals, no free stages downtown, no bar shows, no theatre/arena concerts, nothing! 2014 so far, looks like a promising year with upcoming shows by Jonathan Richman, Heart (seriously!), The Replacements and last week's concert, Evan Dando of the Lemonheads.

The Evan Dando show at the West End Cultural Centre was a nice low-key, casual acoustic show with a smallish intimate crowd who's "enthusiasm" seemed to match the energy of the performers. This is NOT a review of the concert, but here's small random thoughts about the show.

• Opening the show was Sara Johnston from the band, Bran Van 3000. I must admit I'm not familiar with her music, but I do remember Bran Van 3000 received a fair bit of attention in the 90's, but I never actually listened to them because I'm not a fan of electronica and dance-type music. Johnston's solo set was short and sweet. She obviously is very talented as her voice is the centrepiece of her songs, but it wasn't enough to have me run to the lobby to buy her CD. To be fair I'll explore her studio records at a later time to get a better idea of her sound, but her solo performance was a nice sampling of her abilities.
• When Evan Dando entered the stage with his guitar (strapped on) carrying a music stand, I suspected Dando wouldn't be engaging the audience with witty and spirited banter. From the start to the end of the last encore, he was all business. Plowing through song after song rarely acknowledging the audience paying more attention to the sheets on his music stand. He is a man of few words and I knew that coming in, so I wasn't surprised about his lack of stage presence. To be fair, Dando had the sniffles later in the set and wiped his nose on his sleeve several times. He could have been suffering a minor cold, and if so, kudos for carrying on with the show.
• I was predicting Dando would wear a outdoor jacket or hoodie and sure enough it was a hoodie. That's one thing I do admire about Dando, despite the press he received about his good looks in the 90's, he downplays it by often looking scruffy and unpreoccupied about his appearance. Casual and comfortable, I always say!
• Despite his stage presence, Dando still has the voice and his songs are so good! It's a pleasure to hear them played live in any format, acoustic or electric with the Lemonheads. His setlist altered between his best known Lemonheads and solo material with plenty of covers by Hank, John, Gram, Victoria, Emmylou, Lucinda and the Misfits. With the re-release of the earlier Lemonheads records and the It's A Shame About Ray tour last year, it's great to see there's an increased  interest in his music and I'm happy Dando continues to tour constantly.
• More photos from the show are posted on the TDIT Facebook page.
• In typical Winnipeg hospitality, the West End Cultural Centre posted an alert that Dando's tour van was broken into while in Winnipeg and an acoustic guitar and cello was stolen. Not cool!

Update (as of May 28): Good news! Apparently Winnipeg does have some considerate people. A good Samaritan bought Dando's guitar from Kijii, saw posts online about the thief and returned the guitar. Local music store, Long & McQuade covered the shipping to have his guitar returned to him safely. Unfortunately the cello is still at large.

Enjoy!

EVAN DANDO
West End Cultural Centre
Winnipeg, MB
May 18, 2014
AUD Master

Sony ECM-DS70P> Tascam DR-07> USB> 16 bit Wav>
Direct Wave MP3 splitter> FLAC> rar file

01. My Idea
02. Tenderfoot
03. Being Around
04. All My Life
05. Hard Drive
06. Won't You Sometimes Think Of Me
07. Outdoor Type
08. Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness
09. Confetti
10. Ride With Me
11. Why Do You Do This To Yourself?
12. My Drug Buddy
13. How Much I Lied
14. The Turnpike Down
15. Bit Part
16. Rudderless
17. Hannah And Gabi
18. It's A Shame About Ray
19. Frying Pan
20. Down About It
21. Long Black Limousine
22. Into Your Arms
encore
23. Big Gay Heart
24. Frank Mills/ crowd
encore 2
25. We'll Sweep Out The Ashes (aborted)/ Abandoned
26. Skulls

EVAN DANDO- 2014-05-18 West End Cultural Centre, Winnipeg, MB FLAC Master. rar