Monday, May 28, 2007

Wanna See Dinosaur Jr?


I know it's almost show time, but if you live in Winnipeg and it's before 6:30pm Monday May 28th, call me or leave a message. It seems I have an extra ticket as my concert partner is out of town and J canceled to go to a party instead. I've been hesitant to ask anybody as I know Dino Jr are an extremely loud band and may not be the preference of most over 30 year olds. As proof, I saw Dinosaur Jr 10 years ago in Minneapolis and it was a great ear-ringing show. I'll tell you J Mascis is probably one of the greatest living guitarists out there who has stayed true to his sound and if their new reunion album is any indication, they are better than ever.

Beyond was recorded with the original line-up consisting of Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph. I think it's their most consistant, listenable album of their career and I would actually be happy to hear a lot of those songs tonight. Not many bands can reform and capture some of that magic from the past. According to Micheal Azerrad's book, Our Band could Be Your Life, the chapter on the early days of Dinosaur Jr details that there never really was any happy times. These guys hated each other, they fought physically and mentally between themselves, they had power struggles and they couldn't communicate with each other much like a dysfunctional family. They split up after only 3 albums until Mascis reformed the band without Barlow, who went onto (arguably) equal success with Sebadoh. As Mascis kept Dinosaur Jr running through the 90's they began to sound stale and somewhat boring, diluted might be a better term to describe they're last few albums. I don't know if the time, money, forgiveness or just a rejuvenated energy has brought them back together better than ever.

With that in mind, I gotta go to the show. So, If you want to see a bunch of guys in their forties rocking out louder than anything you've ever heard and reliving the 80's, get your earplugs and head to the Garrick. If everything goes to plan, I'll have some noise samples to share in the next few days.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

The Golden Dogs - CBC In-Session


Just as KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic showcases great musical talent, the same can be said for Canada's version, CBC's Radio 3. The mainstream takes a break as CBC 3 presents concerts and studio sessions by some of the hottest "alternative" bands in the country. They are not restricted to Canadian talent, but also include international alt-heroes such as Billy Bragg, Cracker, Spoon, Minus 5, and The Shins. Back a few years ago these concerts were broadcast Saturday night on CBC Radio 2 (FM) under the name Just Concerts. This was an excellent opportunity for fans (like me) to record these shows in brilliant FM radio quality to trade and share with our neighbors to the south.

This show is from Toronto's Golden Dogs who have released two fine albums, 2003's Everything In 3 Parts and 2006's Big Eye Little Eye. The band has an energetic infectious sound that has gained considerable indie popularity with their latest release. They have been through Winnipeg twice in the past half year and I regretted each time I missed seeing them, as I've heard they put on quite the live show.

The GOLDEN DOGS- CBC studio 2,
Vancouver, BC
November 13, 2006

1. Birdsong
2. Construction Worker
3. Saints At the Gate
4. Strong
5. Run Outta Luck
6. Wheel Of Fortune (Nineteen Hundred & Eighty Five)
7. Elevator Man
8. Yeah!

note: For some reason the songs may not download or play properly. The Broken West songs from the previous post seem to work fine, so I'm not sure what's up with that? I'll investigate and try to get these songs back. For a listen go to CBC radio 3 and click on concerts & sessions on the top bar, click the browse by name: t-z , scroll down to The Golden Dogs and click the session in Vancouver. From there you can play all the songs or one at a time....enjoy!

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Broken West - Live On KCRW


Here's a nice companion piece to the debut full-length CD from East L.A.'s Broken West, I Can't Go, I'll Go On. This was aired on Morning Becomes Eclectic on KCRW in Santa Monica on April 19, 2007, I've edited out the interview segments and have just posted the songs recorded live in-studio. This is a fantastic sounding recording and if you have never heard The Broken West, this is a great introduction. If you want to watch the entire video of the studio session, go here.
Enjoy!

Down In The Valley
So It Goes
On The Bubble
Shiftee
Slow
Hale Sunrise
Big City
Brass Ring
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