Liz Phair- Lounge Ax, Chicago, IL. March 14, 1999

  

 

As the Aadam Jacobs audio archives continues to be shared, I hoped a Liz Phair show would appear at some point since Chicago was her home turf and she performed there frequently, especially in the "early days". Fortunately, there is a recording from the Lounge Ax, a smaller intimate venue that would have been wild to see Liz live. This show from 1999, was actually a fundraiser featuring, a Hot Damn Fashion Show (by Liz's sister-in-law) that followed Phair's set (Sally Timms opened), where she was accompanied by Buddy Judge on guitar. This show wasn't publicized or listed on the Ax's website and it wasn't handled by her management. The cool thing was that tickets were a mere $15 and only sold at the bar. It's not a full blown band show, but the up-close and personal aspect of the evening must have quite the thrill to be there! The sound quality is incredibly good and the performance is fun, loose and well worth the listen!

Enjoy!

 

 

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

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

Please share!

 

Here's the link for Aadam's original post on the archives. There are lots of amazing shows to listen to and enjoy there! In the banter between Polyester Bride and Go On Ahead, it's interesting that Liz says she was asked if she was pissed with bootlegs and replies, "I am so thankful someone has a record of all this stuff". Yes!!

 

 

Super-fan, Katie Brown accompanied Liz on vocals, for Flower.

 

Liz Phair
Lounge Ax
Chicago, IL

March 14, 1999

Recording generously loaned from the Aadam Jacobs Audio Archive

Transfer:
DAT (M) > Panasonic SV-3700 SPDIF > Marantz PMD570

Mastering: FLAC > WAV > Cool Edit Pro 2.0 (normalization; added fades at beginning and end; 16/44 conversion) > CDWav (tracking) > Trader's Little Helper (level 8) > FLAC > TagScanner 6.1.20 (tagging)

Recorded by: Aadam Jacobs
Transferred by: John Bartol
Mastered by: elegymart


Total running time [1:02:21]
---------------------------------------------------
01  intro 
02  Liz intro 
03  Glory
04  Girls Room
05  6'1"
06  Divorce Song
07  Wild Thing
08  Johnny Feelgood
09  Dance of the Seven Veils
10  Flower
11  Mesmerizing
12  Perfect World
13  Polyester Bride
14  Go on Ahead
15  Conversation Overheard Between Two Bouncers
16  Fuck and Run
17  Explain It to Me
18  Supernova
19  MC / Liz comments


Band line-up:
Liz Phair - vocals, guitar
Buddy Judge - electric guitar
Katie Brown - harmony vocals on t10

LIZ PHAIR- 1999-03-14 Lounge Ax, Chicago, IL FLAC. rar

 

Scott McCaughey- Lounge Ax, Chicago, August 16, 1997

 

It's a double play!

As promised, here's the opening set for the Minus 5 show at the Lounge Ax in 1997. The Young Fresh Fellows & Minus 5 front man, Scott McCaughey performs an acoustic solo set that includes mainly Fellows songs, as well as a Replacements (Westerberg) track, If Only You Were Lonely. I personally love hearing the "stripped down" version of songs, especially from such a great (and underrated) songwriter such as McCaughey and they hold-up well without the full band treatment. For the full concert experience (well, minus the Jon Langford's Skull Orchard set), listen to this solo set followed by the Minus 5 set, close your eyes and crank it. Another must-hear for fans of the Fellows!

Enjoy!

 

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

Do NOT convert to lossy formats, except for personal use

Please share!

 

 

SCOTT McCAUGHEY

 Lounge Ax
Chicago, IL
August 16, 1997
(Opened for Jon Langford's Skull Orchard & Minus 5)

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: (32:30)
01 Intro
02 Beer Money
03 Deep Down And In Between
04 Sittin' On A Pitchfork
05 Hank, Karen & Elvis
06 Hillbilly Drummer Girl
07 Somewhere We Went Right
08 Middle Man Of Time
09 If Only You Were Lonely
10 When The Girls Get Here
11 Rock 'N' Roll Pest Control
12 Chat
13 Back Room Of The Bar
14 The Telephone Tree

Scott McCaughey - vocals & guitar

Recording 00841 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

 

SCOTT MCCAUGHEY- 1997-08-16 Lounge Ax, Chicago, IL FLAC. rar

 

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

 

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

Minus 5- Lounge Ax, January 9, 2000

Hey music fans, this Saturday, April 19 is the seventh annual Record Store Day! (RSD Canada) Its purpose is to celebrate the culture of the independent record store. Just to clarify, I mean independently owned, no corporate chain stores, not Starbucks, not iTunes or Apple Store, but the once dying breed, the record store. In the past several years, there has been a revival in vinyl, which is a good thing because so many people nowadays listen to their music on their phones or other "smart" devices more for the convenience than for the music listening experience. The sound quality of these pathetic "music listening" devices is so crappy sounding our perception and standards of quality music have been lowered. Many are clueless to the low fidelity and many don't care. Blame mp3's, blame iTunes, blame the internet, blame American Idol...these are all part of the problem and Record Store Day is about the awareness of good music, getting back to how music was bought and listened to in my day (yes, I'm sounding old!). The memories of hanging out at the record store, browsing through the racks and discussing new releases and must-haves with staff and friends is the culture of what RSD is trying to recreate. Think of the record store as the organic food version of music, it tastes and sounds better and you'll feel better about yourself for caring about your health and well being.

One of the highlights of RSD is the exclusive releases sold at stores. A pdf list of what's available is here. One release that caught my attention is the Minus 5- Scott the Hoople In The Dungeon Of Horror. It will be only released on vinyl (5 record set) and limited to only 400, the price is somewhere in the $89 dollar range. I haven't been on the ball enough to request it from my local stores and I'm not sure if it will be in stock here. Also I'm working this Saturday so I won't be able to shop in person, if anyone has any ideas or help about purchasing a copy, let me know. This record should be crazy good (5 discs?!!) and I'm such a hardcore Scott McCaughey fan this is a must-have.

To get you in the mood, I'm posting a Minus 5 show from 14 years ago. This was recorded during the final days of the Lounge Ax, a cool intimate club in Chicago, with Scott McCaughey and members of Wilco (with Jeff Tweedy on bass) as his backing band for a make shift version of the Minus 5 opening for Summer Teeth (Wilco). Most of the songs during the set were new songs written for the occasion that had never been performed before and the band played them without a rehearsal, some of the songs were eventually recorded and later appeared on the In Rock album. This remains one of my favourite Minus 5 live recordings, loose, fun and some amazing musicianship.
Enjoy!

MINUS 5 (w/Wilco)
Lounge Ax
Chicago, IL
January 9, 2000
SBD

01. Courage Is The Smallest Bird
02. In A Lonely Coffin
03. I'm Not Bitter
04. Dear Employer
05. Lies Of The Living Dead
06. The King Of Carrot Flowers Part 1
07. Disaster Nurse Fan
08. I've Got A Lyrical Stance
09. The Night Chicago Died Again
10. Last Call For Corporal Barry
11. I Still Miss Someone *
12. Home Of The Blues *
13. I Wish I Was Your Mother

Minus 5: Scott McCaughey & Wilco with Kelly Hogan and Jon Langford*

MINUS 5- 2000-01-09 Lounge Ax, Chicago, IL FLAC. rar