Shows
NO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: CANASTA (#494, JUN 30 2009).Canasta
new song (26.0 MB)
High Noon Saloon
Madison, WI
June 30, 2009
Way back around the time I started doing this podcast, I went to see Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. At the time, I only had a little over six minutes of recording time available with my 128MB memory stick, which meant I could only recording opening bands if I was there specifically to see them. That was a bad show for such a limitation, since I liked both openers -- Madison's the Super Eights and Chicago's Canasta -- much better than the headliners. I didn't get to see the Super...1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: LOCKSLEY (#482, JUN 13 2009).Locksley
"The Way That We Go" (16.5 MB)
from Be in Love
Majestic Theatre
Madison, WI
June 13, 2009
Thanks again to my tipster, I've got the name of this one and now know that yesterday's song is, in fact, called "21st Century." Just in time to correct them for YouTube!
As I noted previously, I was kind of surprised by the low-ish turnout for this show. The balcony was closed off, which I've never seen at the Majestic before, and I assume it's because they didn't need the room -- a few people wound up sitting up there during the Locksley set...1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: PALE YOUNG GENTLEMEN (#483, JUN 14 2009).Pale Young Gentlemen
"Up North" (11.4 MB)
from Pale Young Gentlemen
Marquette Waterfront Festival
Madison, WI
June 14, 2009
Experiment time! Since the Marquette Waterfront Festival is an outdoor event, I decided to try out shooting a clip with my Nikon D90, knowing the dissipated sound wouldn't overwhelm its little mic. The potential advantages to this: 1) it shoots in HD, though I realized later that I hadn't actually set it to HD, and 2) I get the visual benefits of shooting through a nice SLR lens, with all the options that implies. But the disadvantages were many: 1) it's a lot heavier than my camcorder, 2...1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: PALE YOUNG GENTLEMEN (#484, JUN 14 2009).Pale Young Gentlemen
new song? old song? (18.5 MB)
Marquette Waterfront Festival
Madison, WI
June 14, 2009
OK, Pale Young Gentlemen, I give up. My iPod has your two albums and your cover of "Paper Planes." If you have some stock of secret other songs that includes this one, I don't know about it. I do like this one, though.1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: PALE YOUNG GENTLEMEN (#485, JUN 14 2009).Pale Young Gentlemen
"Coal/Ivory" (19.2 MB)
from Black Forest (Tra La La)
Marquette Waterfront Festival
Madison, WI
June 14, 2009
This one provides a nice opening to the PYGs most recent album, and apparently it's also great to dance and spin around to. A section of newer stuff came up in the set starting with this song, but overall the set seemed to be mostly first-album stuff that maybe works a little better live.1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: PALE YOUNG GENTLEMEN (#486, JUN 14 2009).Pale Young Gentlemen
"Our History" (19.2 MB)
from Black Forest (Tra La La)
Marquette Waterfront Festival
Madison, WI
June 14, 2009
Even though, to be frank, we never went to a lot of Madison's many summer festivals, I was always really glad that they were there and will miss them when we move. They're great outlets for local music and give bands a chance to get in front of different audiences than they see in clubs. If anything I think this one might be growing -- it's the first time I've seen such a big-time stage setup for the Marquette Waterfront Festival.1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: ARCHIE POWELL & THE EXPORTS (#487, JUN 24 2009).Archie Powell & the Exports
"All Tuckered Out" (12.6 MB)
High Noon Saloon
Madison, WI
June 24, 2009
I believe this is the first instance of someone's new band being in the podcast, when that someone's previous band had also been featured. Indeed, I even recorded this song as performed by the Box Social (well, two of the Box Social in an acoustic set) last fall. So hey, milestone!
This is actually a pretty old Box Social song -- it was originally on their 2004 EP, then they started revamping it as they prepped new material last year. Much of that new stuff has transitioned...1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: ARCHIE POWELL & THE EXPORTS (#488, JUN 24 2009).Archie Powell & the Exports
"Enough About Me" (13.3 MB)
High Noon Saloon
Madison, WI
June 24, 2009
This is another late-model Box Social holdover, and it's one where you can really hear the difference between the two bands. Last time I heard this song it was a lot more raucous and careening (also it was in Madison's loudest venue), now it's got a distinct, new tone. In fact, if you take this band and the other post-Box Social band (the Nick Woods-fronted Direct Hit!) and combine them, you'll get something that sounds a lot like the Box Social. Which sort of seems obvious...1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: ARCHIE POWELL & THE EXPORTS (#489, JUN 24 2009).Archie Powell & the Exports
"Moving to the City" (16.8 MB)
from Loose Change EP
High Noon Saloon
Madison, WI
June 24, 2009
This is the lead track off the Exports' debut EP, which is available for free download at Bandcamp (and since I'll probably not get the chance to feature them before the podcast ends, you can get Direct Hit! there as well). The band had a set at this year's Summerfest and should be putting together a full-length album pretty soon, to go with upcoming shows around the midwest.1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: SPOON (#490, JUN 29 2009).Spoon
"Me and the Bean" (18.1 MB)
from Girls Can Tell
Summerfest
Milwaukee, WI
June 29, 2009
So I'm 30 now, as of this show. And even though the last two Spoon records had disappointed me, I found myself liking a lot of that material at this show. Maybe it's because I'm entering my middle-age rock phase, but I hope not. It could be because they threw this Girls Can Tell album cut out as the second song of the set, getting my "hey, I love this song!" vibe going early. This is still my favorite Spoon album and I think any song from...1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: SPOON (#491, JUN 29 2009).Spoon
"Don't You Evah" (19.2 MB)
from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Summerfest
Milwaukee, WI
June 29, 2009
This is one of those new songs I've come around on. After the show I found myself thinking I hadn't really changed my mind about the last two Spoon records -- the stuff I liked I liked maybe a little more, but the stuff I didn't like I still didn't like. But I didn't realize that this was one of the ones I thought I didn't like! When I pulled it up on my iPod later in the week I saw that I had it...1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: SPOON (#492, JUN 29 2009).Spoon
"Writing to You in Reverse" (24.6 MB)
Summerfest
Milwaukee, WI
June 29, 2009
We got a treat in this set with this new song, and I'm glad I searched for it online before listening through the Spoon back catalog trying to find it. They also played their newly released single, "Got Nuffin," which has a couple of new b-sides. Hopefully, now that I'm back on the Spoon bandwagon, this means they've got a new album coming together soon.1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: SPOON (#493, JUN 29 2009).Spoon
"The Underdog" (18.2 MB)
from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Summerfest
Milwaukee, WI
June 29, 2009
When a recent hit single is missing from the set, you can generally bet it's in the encore. And there it was! Closing out probably our last Summerfest for at least a while, this show was a terrific way to leave things. We nearly got stampeded trying to make our way through the Lupe Fiasco crowd to the exit, but that's the way of the 'Fest.1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: BLACK FRANCIS (#506, JUL 11 2009).Black Francis
"The Holiday Song" (10.4 MB)
from Come On Pilgrim
High Noon Saloon
Madison, WI
July 11, 2009
It's sort of fitting that this podcast should end with Frank Black playing an early Pixies song, since seeing the Pixies in late 2004 was what prompted me to get a small digital camera I could take into shows. This show provided as much excitement as that Pixies show, surprisingly, with so many songs I really wanted to hear ("Cactus" and "Bullet" were the highlights).
Now I'm on sort of a permanent holiday. I hope to get back to something like this in the near...1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: CANASTA (#495, JUN 30 2009).Canasta
"Tony's Song" (23.8 MB)
High Noon Saloon
Madison, WI
June 30, 2009
Another solid new one from a too-short set -- sadly, I missed recording any of the trombone numbers. This is one of the Chicago bands that I could imagine making a stop in Carbondale at some point, and I hope they do. They seemed to impress the crowd at this show and I think they may be on the verge of big success with their new album.1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: WHITE RABBITS (#496, JUN 30 2009).White Rabbits
"They Were Wrong/We Were Wrong" (24.2 MB)
from It's Frightening
High Noon Saloon
Madison, WI
June 30, 2009
After seeing Spoon and coming away with a greater appreciation for their later material, I wondered if a live White Rabbits show could get me to like their somewhat-disappointing new album a bit more. It's a weird record, in that it sounds so much more stripped-down than their debut; it doesn't sound like an album made by a band with six members.
And, well, it didn't -- it still sounds pretty much the same on record. But, the performance on stage was...1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: WHITE RABBITS (#497, JUN 30 2009).White Rabbits
"Company I Keep" (19.2 MB)
from It's Frightening
High Noon Saloon
Madison, WI
June 30, 2009
This is a song where you can really hear the difference the band's two albums. Fort Nightly didn't have anything this stripped-down -- even the slow, ballad-y stuff was deeply layered. It's actually kind of odd to see, because on stage there are still six guys, but they're doubling each other, or doing nothing but tapping a tambourine and generally not adding much to the sound.1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE (#498, JUL 8 2009).Fountains of Wayne
"The Summer Place" (18.6 MB)
High Noon Saloon
Madison, WI
July 8, 2009
I wondered before this show if Fountains of Wayne had ever played Madison before -- I knew they hadn't since I've been here -- and Chris Collingwood remarked during the set that he thought they hadn't. So it's kind of odd that their first visit, a decade and a half into their career, would be a stripped-down, semi-acoustic set. Making it even a little odder, they played several new songs, which could sound totally different when they're released on the next FoW record sometime in the near-ish...1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE (#499, JUL 8 2009).Fountains of Wayne
"Cold Comfort Flowers" (23.1 MB)
High Noon Saloon
Madison, WI
July 8, 2009
I liked this one the best of the new songs that they played, and everything seemed to get a positive response from the crowd. The only one that was really a miss to my ears was the last one they played, "A Road Song," which, despite name-checking Wisconsin, felt really forced and seemed to borrow a lot lyrically and musically from "Valley Winter Song." Their last album was their first I didn't like, so hopefully the new one draws more from this song than the other...1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE (#500, JUL 8 2009).Fountains of Wayne
"Hey Julie" (13.9 MB)
from Welcome Interstate Managers
High Noon Saloon
Madison, WI
July 8, 2009
What do you do when you bring people up out of the audience to play incidental percussion parts, but then one of them starts singing unsolicited back-up vocals? Apparently, you just go with it. The guy on the right sang, I think, the entire song, and I don't think the band actually noticed. Meanwhile, the scarf-wearer on the left was on stage for the second time of the night -- he was also picked to come up and play a piano line during Jon...1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: THE HOLD STEADY (#501, JUL 10 2009).The Hold Steady
"Girls Like Status" (16.7 MB)
from Boys and Girls in America
Majestic Theatre
Madison, WI
July 10, 2009
I hate the Majestic and I love the Hold Steady, and love always wins. I'd wanted to shoot video from the main floor for this show, but for a variety of reasons (mainly the woman in front of us who kept whipping her arm back into my face) it didn't happen. But no matter, the show was great as always. It was the second time in the last three shows that they played this somewhat obscure tune -- a bonus track from...1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: THE HOLD STEADY (#502, JUL 10 2009).The Hold Steady
"Yeah Sapphire" (18.1 MB)
from Stay Positive
Majestic Theatre
Madison, WI
July 10, 2009
If I'd ever gotten around to writing up my top albums of 2008, the Hold Steady's Stay Positive would've been their second-straight #1. Though not as instantly enthralling and masterwork-level as their previous effort, it was a hugely engaging, progressive step for the band and a victory lap of sorts after the success of Boys and Girls in America. The opener, "Constructive Summer," is the most viscerally inspiring song I've heard in years, while the title track is the band's salute to its scene and its fans, and...1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: THE HOLD STEADY (#503, JUL 10 2009).The Hold Steady
"Stevie Nix" (27.3 MB)
from Separation Sunday
Majestic Theatre
Madison, WI
July 10, 2009
One nice thing about Hold Steady is that they frequently pull out deep cuts from their first two albums, which were a little under the radar. Last time we saw them I recorded "Modesto Is Not That Sweet," an Australian bonus track from their first record; this time the highlight was probably this rollicking meditation on age from Separation Sunday, which they followed immediately with "Multitude of Casualties" and later with "How a Resurrection Really Feels." The showcase of older songs was certainly appreciated by the...1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: BLACK FRANCIS (#504, JUL 11 2009).Black Francis
Medley: "Brackish Boy," "Crackity Jones" and "Two Reelers" (34.8 MB)
from Frank Black, Doolittle and Teenager of the Year
High Noon Saloon
Madison, WI
July 11, 2009
I never would've guessed this show would be such a blast, especially considering how little I know of Frank Black's solo material (and yet, he'll always be Frank Black to me for some reason). Opening his bottle of wine and launching the show with this medley got the crowd going quick, and was a surprising burst of energy from the nearly empty stage.1970-01-0100 minNO! THIS is what I call music: The PodcastNO!: BLACK FRANCIS (#505, JUL 11 2009).Black Francis
"Angels Come to Comfort You" (19.1 MB)
from Bluefinger
High Noon Saloon
Madison, WI
July 11, 2009
It was an odd coincidence that our last two High Noon shows were of the intimate, semi-acoustic variety. Opening for Frank Black was Mark Waldoch of Milwaukee's Celebrated Working Man, kind of the mirror-image of Jon Auer. While playing he was supremely confident and poised, but between songs he seemed a little overwhelmed by opening for a legend and playing to a legend's crowd. He actually complimented the audience for their kindness and the weird thing was he was right -- it was the...1970-01-0100 min