Full Show Friday: Darkthrone Live in Oslo 1990

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's.  These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week.. Darkthrone!

It is upon us!  BLACK Friday! In a tradition we started last year it is time for the most evil Norwegian Black Metal ever; because really it is the perfect soundtrack if you are hitting the brutality of shopping on this day. Granted we here at RtBE are not huge fans of the genre but have researched a few bands after enjoying the documentary Until The Light Takes Us. 

Here is Darkthrone during their heyday the early 90's when they helped shape the genre. The quality isn't the best, but the music is completely bad ass. A bit more palpable then others in the genre for us to listen to as it goes for a death metal feel. The performance takes place in 1990, hey the same year we highlighted yesterday, but this isn't a parade. It is a show at the beginning of the groups "Unholy Trinity" phase as the Norwegian's moved more from Death to Black metal.  

Enjoy the darkness:

Happy Thanksgiving from RtBE!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving. Make sure you spend sometime over this holiday doing what is truly important...Watching The Last Waltz:

Also make sure to enjoy your time with loved ones and family.

 Last year we had some clips from 1986's Thanksgiving Day Parade, today we are tossing it back to 1990. First up we got some Muppet's as this was the first parade after the death of Jim Henson

Some cool info in that piece.

Now how about Patti LaBelle singing "Wouldn't It Be Beautiful" on top of a giant turkey:


We will also give a shout out to the kids who march and play the music, so here is a full piece on the Marching Spoofhounds as the MHS marching band shares their journey to the parade.  

Album Review: The Pack A.D.- Do Not Engage

The Pack A.D.

Do Not Engage

** out of *****

The Vancouver based two piece noise-rockers The Pack A.D. have released their newest album and are paired with Detroit producer Jim Diamond for the first time, so the scuzz factor is amped up on Do Not Engage. Stripped down rock and roll is what guitarist/singer Becky Black and drummer Maya Miller offer.

"Airborne" opens things and lays a positive framework as the group layers fuzz pedals, bury the lyrics, and proceed in a less grandiose My Bloody Valentine style. Tracks like "Big Shot" and "Loser" take punky lyrics and color them with pop flourishes. The self explanatory titled "Stalking Is Normal" puts an interesting female spin on things while "The Water" picks up the tempo and motors in a more traditional rock and roll way.  

"Animal" is the best offering here showcasing police siren guitar effects with a tambourine and a garage sound that crackles alive. "Rocket" displays the bands pop-rock chops and the underwater vibe/slapping drum of "The Flight" is effective as well but too often the songs on Do Not Engage run out of steam.

Tracks like "Creepin' Jenny" with distorted, constantly pounding cymbals and the bludgeoning "Battering Ram" are symptomatic; decent ideas that in their final presentation are too dull for their own good. Tempos stay stagnate and running over or close to 4 minutes sapping the vitality.

Like a lot of the other bands Diamond has worked with (The White Stripes, Dirtbombs) raw rock and roll is the prescription, except in The Pack A.D.'s case, they overdue it with the cure. These songs are simple, awash in feedback and distortion, but have a poppy center, however almost all run on at least a chorus and a verse too long. The ideas go around and around for extra spins without adding anything to the overall product; edting them down, a tighter reign overall and punchy production would better serve Do Not Engage. 

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Support the band here, buy the album here and peep some video below:

New Track from Imaginary People "Paris In Chains"

A new tune from NYC's Imaginary People has been released with some vintage dancers strutting their stuff. You can watch Imaginary People's newest "Paris In Chains" below:

Love the tempo of the tune and happy to point out that the band had the video's premier on Pure Volume last week. Some inside baseball is that we are friends and went to school with lead singer Dylan Von Wagner and are psyched that he is working with another excellent band after he played with Linfinity who were fun live back in 2010.

We haven't caught up with Imaginary People yet but we are hoping to see them soon.  

Album Review: Gateway District- Partial Traces E.P.

Gateway District

Partial Traces E.P.

*** out of *****

The Minneapolis based rockers Gateway District are at it again with their brand of power -pop-punk that motors. Conceived as a side project the group has produced albums that are on par or surpass their main acts and Partial Traces continues their style for 5 more excellent songs.

Consisting of Maren Macosko - guitar/vocals (The Soviettes) Carrie Bleser - bass/vocals (The Salteens) Nate Gangelhoff - guitar (Banner Pilot, Off with Their Heads, Rivethead) Brad Lokkesmoe - drums (Dear Landlord, Rivethead) the group don't get fancy but reward with their simple style.

Buffeted by the fine fighting vocals between Bleser and Macosko the tunes take on a broken hearted feel that jives with Minnesota winters countered by the upbeat playing and lyrics that shine like rare January sun through depressing snow.

The short bursts of power punk flow in and out with ease but also add tricks to catch the ear such as the distorted guitar outro to "Skyline Drive" or the chugging intro that mimics the boats engine on "Staten Island Ferry". A track like "Corner Store" is right in their wheelhouse as it displays what the band does best but the closer "Coyotes" is the most exciting offering a nuanced feel with it's tempo changes, blasting drums and cinematic lyrics.

Any fan of high energy rock and roll should spin by the Gateway District, and Partial Traces is as good a place as any to start at.
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We simply love Perfect's Gonna Fail, which now thanks to bandcamp you can stream right here. We loved it so much it made our top 3 from 2011. Somehow we missed their 2012 release, Old Wild Hearts, but we are in the process of grabbing that one right now. This EP is more of the same.

Support the band here, grab the disk here or stream it below:

Dylan Cover #165 Chet Atkins & Terry McMillan "Don't Think Twice It's Alright"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune comes from the Chet Atkins & Terry McMillan and is a live cover of "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" 

Thought's on Original:
From the first time we reviewed a cover of this tune:
Yet another one of the mega-Dylan tunes that we haven't covered someone else covering on this site (got that covered?).  Hard to believe because this song is so iconic and flat out awesome.  Biting and yet not bitter, a toss off of the grandest proportions, "Don' Think Twice" is epic and yet so straight forwardly simple.  It easily ranks as one of the bard's best works, truly a classic.  
Cover: 
Thoughts on Cover Artist:
Like another version of this song we talked about, Chet Atkins is one of the very few in this series who probably influenced a young Bob Dylan himself as he is a country music legend. Here he is playing with the late great Terry McMillan on harmonica and that boy can blow.  
Thoughts on Cover:
Beautiful. That is the word that comes to mind when I hear this cover. It is restrained and gorgeous, better off for being simply instrumental. It is a brilliant live cover, never simple but easy flowing. Hopefully like this work week for all of you, enjoy.    

Full Show Friday: Rage Against The Machine London 2010

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's.  These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Rage Against The Machine!

I am not sure how I missed the amazing scenario that Chuck D elegantly describes in the opening to today's Full Show Friday, but it is dope. Rage Against the Machine are a fantastic group, one of the very very few who can combine hip-hop and metal. They put on a show we still think about often back in Roseland in '96 that was mega and unforgettable for lots of reasons.

Zack just popped up in Run The Jewels 2 so we thought we would focus on his biggest band (not his first but we love them too). This show is killer and for a pretty crazy reason...fuck X Factor.

Enjoy:

00:00 - INTRO
3:20 - TESTIFY
7:15 - BOMBTRACK
11:39 - PEOPLE OF THE SUN
14:17 - KNOW YOUR ENEMY
20:22 - BULLS ON PARADE
24:56 - TOWNSHIP REBELLION
30:10 - BULLET IN THE HEAD
40:43 - WHITE RIOT (THE CLASH COVER)
42:53 - GUERRILLA RADIO
46:36 - SLEEP NOW IN THE FIRE
52:11 - FREEDOM
1:00:57 - KILLING IN THE NAME

Huge Noiserock Sampler Blooming from Fleeting Youth Records

Did this morning's J Mascis post start you itching for some real fuzz laden high energy rock and roll? Well Fleeting Youth Records is here to scratch that itch with it's mega sampler LP titled Blooming which showcases (in their words): 90+ minutes of fuzz-fucked bliss from 33 different bands.

You can stream the full album here on Soundcloud and it is a doozy with the majority being high quality rock and roll that gets fuzzy/scuzzy/punky/groovy in the right spots. Lots of noisy riffs, feedback drenched bass and smashing cymbals. Give the whole thing a listen there are lots of interesting bands and a few who we hope to feature full album reviews on their own in the near future. RtBE will take a second though and highlight a few tunes that jumped out at us below with links to the bands full site if available:

J Mascis Covers Mazzy Star, Record Day Vinyl Special

A few weeks ago we caught one of our favorite guitarists J Mascis play Bowery Ballroom (our favorite venue in NYC).

It was a fun night you can read the full review here and you can see our RtBE post here. The clear highlight from the set though was being able to catch J cover Mazzy Star's classic "Fade Into You" in his soloing style.

A few days after that post went live we got an email from Sub Pop stating that J would be releasing a cover of that on 7" vinyl for the upcoming Record Store Day on Nov 28th. Exciting stuff, make plans now for the vinyl freak on your list and help out on the 28th. Until then peep this live cover from a fan video at this years Timber! Fest:

Album Review: Run The Jewels- Run The Jewels 2

Run the Jewels

Run the Jewels 2

****and1/2 out of *****

The second offering from the successful Run The Jewels duo of Killer Mike and El-P is more of the same complex wordplay and stark, deconstructed EDM beats; in the end not only is it their best collaboration, it is the high-water mark in both of their careers.

Produced primarily by El-P with help from friends the beats don't look back, they stare into the future with random laser blasts, gunshots, digital bleeps and bass burps. It could sound chaotic and fraudulent in others hands but behind Killer Mike's ATL confident revved up rhyme style and El-P's own lines thing stay linked and flow in full.   

Individual songs stand out, but the duo wanted this to be a complete album just as much as they want this to be a "band" as opposed to another side project. They are onto something with tracks as powerful as "Blockbuster Night Part 1" which, in front of digital scratches, allows Killer Mike to drop the groups own press release "This Run The Jewels is, murder, mayhem, melodic music".

In a full album of good lines the two best lyrical offerings close the disk with "Crown" having a split tour-de-force as Mike recounts past mistakes with drugs, lovers and children leading to the hook that is less about boasting and more about recognizing what keeps you from the top. El-P's artistic contribution could be a metaphor for violence, drug use, male on female abuse or a combo of all three with amazing flows like:

This is for everything you’ve ever loved/
Use all the pain that you’ve felt in your life as the currency go out and trade it for blood
You are not you/You are now us
We are the only ones that you can trust

Disk closer "Angel Duster" focuses on dropping the RTJ name over and over sealing the deal of this groups power as mega truths are spit from both of the MC's with Killer Mike delivering powerful ideas:

God really exists I tell you like this it reside inside
And anybody tell you different, just selling you religion, tryin' to keep your ass in line
I kill my masters/I mentor none

While the duo run the show a few guests easily slide in and enhance things, top of that list is Zack De La Rocha contributing to "Close Your Eyes (And Count To Fuck)". Sampled and sped up for the hook before dropping the last verse in which he shouts out to Miles Davis, Philip K Dick Rakim and the death of the working man. Producer Boots also helps out on "Lie, Cheat, Steal" where El-P gets his Hotlanta flow on as the beats pick up and the track flows downhill capturing all of Killer Mike's questions about society in sticky syrup.

Boots sticks around and helps out on the cop abuse jam "Early" and the groups gets its sex rhymes on during "Love Again" with the female side of the dirty acts represented by the Memphis based Gangsta Boo. Clocking in at around 40 minutes RtJ2 is a complete work that engages challenges and bumps with ease and will easily top some best of hip-hop (and other) lists come years end.    

Far from a traditional sounding hip-hop album Run The Jewels have made something that sounds distinctly like the year 2014 yet still manage to infuse their sparse beats and rhymes chock full of old school references (Jungle Brothers shout out in the bumping "All Due Respect") resolving into a full length effort that old school hip hop heads can get behind as long as they have an ear towards to the future.  
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Very pumped to have heard this after getting turned onto "some of the best hip hop of the year" a few weeks ago and not digging it all that much. This is that, Run the Jewels is a much better combination of skills and this album is damn solid. It is easily the best Hip-Hop disk we have heard so far in 2014, possibly in much longer.

Support the group here, buy the album ( the digital for free) here and peep some video below.

Album Review: The Buzzcocks- The Way

Hey all got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!

Our last review was punk rock for Glide and now we go back to some originators of the genre. The Buzzcocks kick ass, plain and simple and Singles Going Steady should be mandatory for any fans of good rock and roll music. I will admit getting into them much later then a lot of other punk bands, for some reason they never hit the radar growing up so I am more attached to the Ramones. When I mentioned to some English friends that I just got into them in the early 00's they were shocked.

Anyway, they are worth hearing and so is The Way for long time fans because some songs still have the pop/punk combo that the band perfected. Support the band here, buy the album here and peep some video below:
  

Dylan Cover #164 The Wild Feathers "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a live cover by The Wild Feathers playing "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" 

Thoughts on Original:
From the first time we addressed this cover:
A great song, and one that sounds so simple.  It always felt to me that these are the kind of songs Dylan has seeping out of his pores, with lines like "Tailgates and Substitutes" that anywhere else would sound foolish yet here works wonders.  The musical backing from the original Band version is loose and matched fantastically with the lyrics.  I am sure it wasn't as easy going as it sounds on the final version, but what a gem of a track.
Cover:


Thoughts on Cover Artist:
We actually caught The Wild Feathers do this exact cover but not in a van, at our favorite show of 2013 and they were a definite highlight. We really liked their last album but got to it a bit to late to review it. They play Iriving Plaza on Friday and we are planning on attending, you should too.      
Thoughts on Cover:
After last week when we got deep we wanted to scale things back with a easy rolling Dylan tune and The Wild Feathers delivered perfectly. Really cool cover version, love that the band took it's driving time to practice and record this song in a really sweet/personal fashion. No pretension here and the song/cover is better for it. Vocally it is dynamite and it fits the traveling the open road vibe perfectly. Well done amigos.

Full Show Friday: The Temptations Live in 1983

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's.  These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...The Temptations!

We are getting on with some singers and funky stuff this Friday as we dip into the Temptations from 1983. There is a bit of 70's disco in today's performance, but the cheese doesn't weigh things down, especially when you consider they are playing a Casino in Atlantic City and end the opening "Superstar" with a nod to Jesus Christ Superstar. 

Pro shot and pro sound throughout. At 17:40 the players break out my favorite Temptation tune, "Cloud Nine" and they do it all sped up, cooking into "Psychedelic Shack". The classics of "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" and "My Girl" still sound great. As do some of the lesser known tunes...and the crazy cover of "Eye of the Tiger". Never thought I would hear the Temp's cover Survivor...ahh the 80's. 

Enjoy:

Setlist:
1. Superstar
2. Masterpieces
3. Get Ready
4. the Way You Do the Things You Do
5. Ain't too Proud to Beg
6. Beauty is Only Skin Deep
7. I Wish It Would Rain
8. Cloud Nine
9. Psychedelic Shack
10. Runaway Child, Runaway Wild
11. Old Man River
12. Eye of the Tiger
13. My Girl
14. I Can't Get Next to You
15. Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)
16. Papa Was a Rolling Stone
17. Love on My Mind Tonight
18. Surface Thrills
19. What a Way to Put It

Album Review- El Camino Sutra: Bloom EP

El Camino Sutra

Bloom

**and1/2 out of *****

Here is the best new band name we have yet to come across in 2014 as El Camino Sutra simply nail it. Naming a band is no easy task and this one succeeds as playful, retro, and bad ass. Outside of the pun-y yet hip moniker, the trio from Monterey, California have crafted their second EP of 2014, Bloom around some upbeat catchy surf garage rock.

First track "When I Knew Why (Part 2)" has some high octane riffs and nasal singing before a bass break and crashing finale. The crusted in fuzz pop/rock of "Bloom/Melt" deals with isolation over waves of riffs. "Timeline" chugs along like the ticking of the clock with angsty lyrics before a bright break and chorus. The finale finds El Camino Sutra punching up the tempo with the pop-punk of "Small Talk" a fitting end to a short fun ride.  

More then just a catchy name the band has a solid, quick, EP under its belt with enough distortion and changes to keep listeners engaged while keeping a straight ahead format that's familiar. Vocally some listeners may be distracted by lead Keith Damron's singing style which picks up on a whine level somewhere between Doug Martsch and Daniel Johnston, but it completely fits the full song presentation on Bloom, which is the new EP by El Camino Sutra...a bands whose name I can't type enough.  
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Just like RtBE going from one of the biggest bands in the world to yet another great bandcamp find.  A+ for the band name, hot damn that makes me jealous. Oh and we would def rather listen to this all day then the boys from Ireland's newest. 

Support the band here, buy/stream the album here or below:

New Screaming Females Song; Album due in Feb '15

One of RtBE's Personal Favorites the Screaming Females have announced that they have a new album coming out in February titled Rose Mountain.

The band never seems to stop and take time off. Consistently touring, and recording, and thankfully the music never suffers from the hectic schedule. Here is the first song from Rose Mountain: 


The video is kind of hysterical, and the song fucking cooks! Love the heavy as all hell bass that kicks through it. With the peeling skin raw lyrics there is a flair of metal here which is great. The band is one of the most solid rock outfit's out there in any sub genre; very excited that things keep on rolling with "Ripe" and this is a great sign for things to come.

Check out more about the band here. We can't wait to hear the full length and grab the vinyl.

Album Review: U2- Songs of Innonce

U2

Songs of Innocence

** out of *****

It is impossible to discuss the new U2 album without talking about how it was distributed to everyone with any iPhone or as Apple says, "gifted" to its users.  It has caused lots of uproar and even a search for the album title and phrase iPhone in Google a month after it was released has lots of "How To Remove" instructions on the first search page.

A few of U2's fellow big time rock stars have also weighed in on the "gift", along with others and a slew of outraged Apple users and others are pretty dismissive of the procedure. This speaks to how in complete and utter disarray the music industry truly is, how artists are struggling to connect at all with the public in an over-saturated market and how insanely entitled we as a culture just may be, but all of that should/will be flushed out in a much longer post/discussion. This is supposed to address the actual music that landed on my new iPhone with zero prodding so here we go:

It is blase.

It is a U2 release and at this stage in their career, no matter the delivery terms, the producer or the phase of the moon, this is basically what should be expected. A clear single/commercial, a bunch of mid-tempo numbers, an experiment or two and a huge tour to follow where two songs off this (max) should get played. Long time fans will eat it up, people who haven't listened to the band in over two decades will ignore it (or have to delete it) and people will wait for Bono's next announcement/philanthropic endeavor.  The pairing of All-Star Producer Danger Mouse has not done much to alter the groups sound or style and while his typical relaxed, chimes whistles keys are there the pairing isn't artistically successful.

This isn't to say the music on Songs of Innocence is bad, but the band has reached such a level that they could do this in their sleep, and at times it unfortunately it sounds like they are. Most of these tracks stay middle of the road with no pressing feeling, desire or narrative. Even when Danger Mouse is at his best on past produced albums his style is in that calm, tripped-out-lounge vibe and that just dulls the songs here. "Every Breaking Wave"  makes it easy to see why Cold Play so admires U2 while "Iris (Hold Me Close)" has the personal lyrics from Bono but is matched inadequately with a dance drum beat and sparse chorus.

The opener and first single "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)" is a strange duck, working as a way to sell almost anything on TV, but never really speaks to the title characters energy. "Ceaderwood Road" has an interesting "old style U2" intro that unfortunately gets crushed by the symphonic and then dissolves into dull vocals and schmaltzy musical progression. "Raised By Wolves" feels scattered, as if it was a part of all three of the albums U2 are currently producing (this disk, a dance tinged release, and a meditation-centric album).    

There are noticeable increases in keyboard use on Songs of Innocence but specifically during "Sleep Like A Baby Tonight" and "California (There is no End to Love)" but that brings up another issue. Does a band as big as U2 need to write another California song and one as nondescript as this? If this is where Bono and crew are looking for inspiration it seems the well has run a tad dry.
 
The end of the disk actually offers the best tracks with the spacey minimalist "The Troubles" that pairs the band with Lykke Li who adds a dreamlike dynamic to close things out.  The keys, effects and oddly futuristic tribal intro for "This is Where You Can Reach Me Now" start off the most interesting song on the album as the band seems to be looking forward but playing to their strengths. It isn't like the other smoothly crafted numbers on Songs of Innocence but that is what makes it standout. Both of these hint at the more U2 has to offer, which makes the dull rock that comes before much more depressing.            

U2 honestly didn't need to make another album after Achtung Baby (some would say they shouldn't have either) but here they are, and they continue to be one of the biggest bands in the world, no matter what phone you are using.
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Support the band here, ahhh buy the album wherever itunes is, and peep some video below:

Veterans Day 2014

We got a day off from the day job so we are extending that out to RtBE. Veterans Day is an important one in our history, read more about it here.

Since this is a music site we will pay homage in our way and especially since our friend Glen has recorded a song with his great NYHC band Billyclub Sandwich titled "Veteran's Day". You can listen to bad ass tune below following the perfect Patton quote that the group used to intro it:

No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.

"I choose to fight for what I live for" Well said fellows. Well said. 

Dylan Cover #163 Bon Iver "With God On Our Side"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a live cover by Bon Iver playing "With God On Our Side"

Thoughts on Original
From the first time we talked about this on Veterans Day as well:
Perhaps the most poignant and lasting song Dylan has written and that speaks volumes. Lyrically it is perfect; using history, the warping of religion and politics to get across the point that man will rationalize anything, even war. Only played live 30 times since it's debut at Dylan's historic Town Hall show the song has added weight and meaning when it is played.

Morality and War, Religion and Righteousness, all just words when it comes down to it, hold life inside those letters. Musically stark Dylan uses his impressive lyrics to express the confusion perfectly. Should be mandatory listing in every history classroom.   
Cover

Thoughts on Cover Artist
Bon Iver has never been one of our favorites, but we did love his production on the Last Blind Boys disk. He has had an interesting career though to say the least.
Thoughts on Cover
This cover is a great take on the track, especially with that huge baritone sax adding to the mix. The massive band swells adding dramatically to a powerful as all hell song. In a year with so much violent turmoil this song continues to resonate and unfortunately war over religion will never go away. Oh well, we have talked about this song on Veterans Day (or the week of) every year since we started doing this series and we will continue to, this version will probably rank as one of the best.

Full Show Friday: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers 12/30/78

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's.  These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers!

We are going to spend some quality time at Winterland back in 1978 with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers this Friday. A cool show from closer to the beginning of the groups career and right before their mega breakthrough Damn The Torpedoes. Things aren't perfect but it is a good capture of that night. The following evenings NYE show is up there as well so maybe we will get to that one next year. Anyway on with the gig we are presenting here. 

Love all the covers they mix in, especially "Dark End Of The Street" which is one of our favorite tunes. The original came out of Muscle Shoals and is a doozy, the bands version here is great as well. "Shout" and "I Fought The Law" whipped the crowd into such a frenzy Tom got pulled off stage.

As for the originals, we get a glimpse of the rare and spooky "Casa Dega" that is accented nicely by organs. I love the dark vibe hanging over "Fooled Again" along with the mixing of pure pop "American Girl" and desperation of "Breakdown". A fun peak into early Heartbreaker setlists and shows.

Enjoy:

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Live in Winterland, San Francisco, CA Dec 30, 1978
The Crowd Pulls Tom off Stage 1:14: 04

Tom Petty- Guitar & Vocals
Mike Campbell- Guitar
Benmont Tench- Piano & Vocals
Ron Blair- Bass & Vocals
Stan Lynch- Drums & Vocals

1. Surrender 0:00
2. Anything That's Rock 'N' Roll 3:03
3. Fooled Again (I Don't Like It) 6:48
4. Casa Dega 13:32
5. I Need To Know 19:09
6. Take a Bow, Phil 21:40
7. Refugee 23:05
8. Dark End Of The Street (Making Love) 27:10
9. Listen To Her Heart 36:08
10. You're Gonna Get It 39:19
11. Mystery Man 44:45
12. American Girl 47:20
13. Breakdown 50:09
14. Strangered In The Night 59:17
15. Too Much Ain't Enough 1:03:50
16. Shout 1:08:58
17. I Fought The Law 1:19:09
18. Any Way You Want It 1:22:00
19. Even The Losers 1:26:40

Album Review: Ex Hex- Rips

Ex Hex

Rips

**** out of *****

This trio from Washington DC's newest album Rips is an energetic mix of 60's fuzz garage rock, 80's glam attitude, and power pop that as a whole ends up retro-ly exciting. 

Right from the start the warbling guitars and tambourine vibrate through the fantastic disk opener "Don't Wanna Lose" as Mary Timony, Laura Harris, and Betsy Wright keep a tight pocket but sound vibrant and daring; the disk highlight and a great example of what is in store on Rips.

"Beast" bops over to the pop side of things behind a meaty riff from Timony (who shines here) while Wright's bass lines propel the upbeat "You Fell Apart" into pop-punk territory. Things never get overly aggressive though or too far away from that radio friendly vibe as Harris' drumming is restrained, content to keep the pace,"Waterfall" being an example of a tune that could have slammed punk but stays pop.

"How You Got That Girl" could have been an MTV staple back in '82 with it's "Jessie's Girl" sounding chorus while "Hot and Cold" recalls another classic from that era, "My Best Friends Girl". While these are two mainstream analogies, Ex Hex isn't pure bubblegum, but certainly striving in that ear friendly direction. "New Kid" would fit in a Ramones or Joan Jett setlist and "Radio On" is probably the best of the groups style; a tune people as diverse as Pat Benatar or The Turtles would both be proud to have written or perform, a neat trick.

The only downside is that all twelve songs are clearly in that vein and style that there isn't much variety in the 12 offerings. "War Paint" sticks around a bit to long and a track like "Waste Your Time" ends up sounding second rate behind all the other jams in this same style, while not being a bad song in itself.

Overall Ex Hex have crafted a great summer listen with Rips for the fall/winter that will hopefully get people thinking about convertibles and beaches while they bundle up and bounce around to these infectious tunes.  
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A really fun listen that makes me wish summer was still here in NYC. Sucks I was out of town when this band came through this past weekend (stupid weddings), would have loved to have seen them....oh well, next time.   

Support the band here, buy the album here and peep some video below:

Album Review: Vince Staples- Hell Can Wait EP

Vince Staples

Hell Can Wait EP

** out of *****

The first release from Long Beach, California MC Vince Staples finds him working with different producers of beats and a pure street rhyme style on Hell Can Wait. Partnering with very varied styles of production lend a more mix-tape feel but Staples flow seems locked in, making one question what this will lead to.

The opener "Fire" is more of a skit/tone setter, which is odd for a quick EP, but it does it's job projecting a barren outlook and "going to hell anyway" attitude that colors things from the get go. The most engaging production on Hell Can Wait comes from Infamous for "65 Hunnid" as a funeral procession is warped via slow sweet trumpet keys and deep ass bass drums providing a killer backing on the highlight track.

Staples goes back and references Goodie Mob's "Cell Therapy" with window peepers on the codeine slinging story contained in "Screen Door", unfortunately calling to mind the more successful song dwarfs this effort.  

"Blue Suede" finds producer Hagler falling in love with a god damn annoying siren that never lets up, acting more as an irritant then enhancement. Hagler seems to be taking a minimalist artistic approach which works better on "Limos" via a repetitive piano line that floats around a minimal club slow jam but perhaps the best matching of Staples flow and beats is on "Hands Up" where California based No I.D. produces a tale of anger over police violence in the year 2014.

Overall the bleakness of Staples rhymes are buoyed by some unique production work and Hell Can Wait is a brief showing of talent. Nothing mind shatter, or hip swaying but a decent first effort from Staples and the producers involved.
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If this is the best 2014 Hip Hop has to offer things are pretty barren. It also doesn't surprise us that our favorite song here, "65 Hunnid" has a NOLA influence.

Support the artist here, buy the album here, peep some video below:

Sleater-Kinney to Tour Behind New Album in 2015

In some very exciting and unexpected news Sleater-Kinney have recorded a new album and will be touring behind it in early 2015! And seriously, sorry Pretty K, fuck this headline

This news is pure Boosh, we got into SK late in the game, sometime just after the release of One Beat.

After that one we dove into their back catalog with Dig Me Out ending up our favorite:

Then we simply LOVED The Woods ranking it in our list of the best of the decade over on Glide. We have had The Woods and Dig Me Out as well as Corin Tucker's latest on our ipod/phone continually since the group disbanded in 2005. 

So facking cool that they are coming back as we only saw them once waaaaay back in their early days (I want to say 96?) so getting a chance to see them again would be amazing. Sleater-Kinney can get punky, groovy (even without a bassist), noisy, and honestly they have never put out a bad album in their full catalog. Here is hoping that trend will continue as we have liked the individual players albums they have put out during the trio's hiatus.

They have released their first new single which you can hear below and Slate has put together an excellent collection of where to start if you are not familiar with the band. Glide also put out there rankings, and by reading our post here, you already know Glide got it right. Get familiar cause Janet, Carrie and Corin are a fucking killer rock trio, here is the bad ass "Bury Our Friends":

 

Continuing the Halloween Spirit Through Tunes

On of the best blogs out there, WFMU's Rock and Soul Ichiban has put together a great collection of Halloween inspired tunes and playlists. 

They have crafted one dealing with ghosts which you directly download here. Another that tackles vampires and you can grab that one here directly as well. Both of these are fantastic and as always Ichiban gives us old songs that are brand new to us...and are also flat out awesome! I mean how could we have missed The Bar-Kay's "Holy Ghost" for all of these years?

Damn that is some funky stuff. WFMU Rock and Soul Ichiban always delivers the goods, but this year they got some help from their friends over at Fringe Factory who offered up a Halloween themed show themselves right here.

There isn't enough time in the day to hear all these great tunes that the people over there dig up, but we can always try to listen to it all. Here are a few songs that jumped out to us from these shows/free downloads:
The Pastel Six: "The Strange Ghost"

The Primates "The Creep"

The Upsetters "The Vampire"

Virgil Holmes "Ghost Train"

Dylan Cover #162 Joshua Hyslop "Shelter From The Storm" Live

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a live cover by Joshua Hyslop playing "Shelter From the Storm"

Thoughts on Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this song:
An epic track, feeling simple and etched in history at the same time. Religious overtones, passionate asides all mix within the confines of the illustrious/mysterious "She" who is bringing us all in. A gorgeous song and one of my favorite odd phrases Dylan has ever recorded, "Hunted like a crocodile/Ravaged in the corn".  I have no idea what it is supposed to mean and I don't care, it is perfect.  One thing that may bring this one down a peg overall is the connection to another great song "Up To Me" which is basically the same tune...hearing one always makes me want to hear the other.
Cover:


Thoughts on Cover Artist:
Like a lot of artists in this ongoing series I had not heard of Joshua Hyslop before listening to this cover. He is a Canadian Folk Singer and you can find out more about him here.
Thoughts on Cover:
An excellent delicate cover of this in the live acoustic setting. Accompanied by a cello thats adds some undertones, Hyslop's picking is nuanced and free. What stands out are his breathy vocals though as he exhales his way through the tune. Different then the original but a fine approach and obviously one the ladies in the audience loved.