Green Alien Chick

THE BEACH BOYS - Washington, DC 1981

2011-11-04T22:05:00.000-07:00

It's starting to get downright damn chilly and rainy here in L.A., but this week is still all about that bright sunny SMiLE. Yes, as all followers of this and my other blog have surely heard, Mr. Brian Wilson and His Beach Boys' long-dormant album project has finally been officially released after a mere 45-year wait. And while I'm still anxiously awaiting my copy in the mail, my adoration of Brian's monumental 2004 SMiLE recording knows no bounds, so I can only imagine that the remastered, reassembled original will be at least as great. No megabudget Hollywood epic can hold a candle to these mind-movies, baby. (Of the hundreds of reviews online, my favorite is here; as usual, U.K. critics and fans are way ahead of us when it comes to this quintessentially American band. It bears mentioning too that The SMiLE Sessions received an extremely rare 10 rating from those annoying hipster dick-dweebs at Pitchfork.)

Speaking of Mr. Wilson, my main man also happens to have a charming new CD of Disney songs, In the Key of Disney, out now as well. (I played this track for my 14-month-old son many a time today...yes, Wilson Sings Newman!) This on top of last year's deeply wonderful Reimagines Gershwin album, and in addition to regular worldwide touring. Not a bad run of productivity for a senior citizen whom many wags long ago wrote off as a braindead waste-case loony tune.

All of this to say that this is a uniquely exciting time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the beloved B-Boys. In that spirit, I proudly present one of their hugely attended 1980-'85 Independence Day concerts on the National Mall in my hometown of Our Nation's Capital. This one, a complete FM broadcast (from Q107, my fave station as a kid!), was my first Beach Boys concert and I vividly remember watching from atop my dad's shoulders. I believe too that 1981 was the last year that all six members of the band performed live together. As with everything Beach Boys, it contains a lot of joy laced with a little sadness...

THE BEACH BOYS
The National Mall - Washington, D.C. - July 4, 1981
(FMB @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD

OZZY OSBOURNE - Memphis, TN 1982

2011-10-25T13:43:00.000-07:00

The maaadmaaan is baaack!!!

And so am I, in a momentary break from my new life as Mr. Mom. Apologies for the long break; I promise I will try to keep it up a bit more on the blog front...

Now allow me to lay upon you a prime slice of a loony, still-young and very high Ozzy chopping it up on Elvis' home turf. This here is a brand new 2011 release of FM-broadcast-@320 wickedness, and a bat-biting bloody good time.

OZZY OSBOURNE
"Silver Cross"
Mid-South Coliseum - Memphis, TN - April 28, 1982
(FMB @320 kbps)

Thanks to Viva Les Boots, and...
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

BEN SOMMER - "Fist" (Special Album Preview Track)

2011-10-04T19:30:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the long-ass break. Had to hop back online and tell y'all how glad I am to hear that my all-time-fave indie post-prog libertarian rock brainiac Ben Sommer is up to his old tricks again.

Ben has kindly furnished Green Alien Chick with track 7 -- the fantastically energetic rocker "Fist" -- from his upcoming long-player entitled Super Brain, which sounds to be even better than his much-admired debut, 2009's America'd.

As always for the eclectic Mr. Sommer, "Fist" is catchy, quirky, and all kinds of up in your face. Check it out on the player at bottom, and/or head on over to the album page on Ben's site, where you can hear this and all the other new tracks so far.

So wake up, America: it's Sommertime!

HAPPY 65th BIRTHDAY, FREDDIE!

2011-09-06T20:56:00.000-07:00

I'm just tickled to be living in an era when the phrase "Freddie Mercury memorial Google doodle" not only makes sense, but describes something that currently exists.

Long live Fred!

THE BEACH BOYS - "SMiLE" SESSIONS...It's Happening!

2011-09-03T23:08:00.000-07:00

Back soon with a regular post -- I promise! But for the moment, this was too exciting -- too utterly unbelievable, really -- not to feature on the blog.

All I can say is that after almost 45 years of waiting (three years longer than I've been alive), I am most definitely ready to SMiLE.

Are you?

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND - Cleveland, OH 1978 (R.I.P. Clarence Clemons)

2011-06-30T18:20:00.000-07:00

Oh, why not...since it's America's birthday weekend, how 'bout one last tribute to the Big Man and the Boss Man? And maybe even the best of the lot while we're at it?

Like oh so many Americans -- not to mention so many Springsteen song subjects -- I've been laid off. As of tomorrow evening I will be officially unemployed for the first time in seven years. The greed goes on, the country heads straight down the shitter, so let's all celebrate with beer, hot dogs, fireworks, and Transformers 3. Yippee!

Anyway, good times. I can't be sure when I'll be posting again; I have to get my own damn PC first...

Wish me luck if you please, Happy July 4th, and I'll be back!

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND
"Agora Night"
The Agora - Cleveland, OH - August 9, 1978
(FMB @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2 / DOWNLOAD 3

Thanks once again to Addicted to Vinyl.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND - San Francisco, CA 1978 (R.I.P. Clarence Clemons)

2011-06-24T16:31:00.000-07:00

As promised, one more shot of epic '78 Boss, in honor of the late great Big Man.

This is the legendary, four-hour (including bonus tracks) KSAN-FM broadcast from San Francisco's venerable Winterland -- two weeks before it closed forever -- introed by Mr. Bill Graham himself.

'Nuff said for now.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND
"Winterland Night"
Winterland Ballroom - San Francisco, CA - December 15, 1978 (FMB)
DOWNLOAD

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND - Passaic, NJ 1978 (R.I.P. Clarence Clemons)

2011-06-20T18:24:00.000-07:00

How will the Boss ever replace the mighty Big Man?

To commemorate the beloved sax king's passing this weekend, possibly the single greatest Springsteen/E Street band show ever -- certainly one of 'em. More will follow.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND
"Passaic Night"
Capitol Theatre - Passaic, NJ - September 19, 1978 (FMB)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2 / DOWNLOAD 3

Thanks to Addicted to Vinyl.

JETHRO TULL - Seattle, WA 1975

2011-06-16T18:32:00.000-07:00

Time to change it up for summer, dudes! Just saw good ol' Tull for the first time last Saturday at the Greek Theatre, and probably the last time. Nothing against them, they were lovely -- but in my exciting "I'm a new dad who just got laid off" life, they must fall under the "see-them-once-and-check-them-off-the-list" heading.

Anyway, I had already posted a couple of sweet early Tull boots over on my all-'60s blog, Heavy Sugar Radio, so do check those out as well.

As for this one, it's a recently remastered @320 beaut, with solid sound quality and setlist and a stream of frequently hilarious between-song banter by the always fluterrific Ian Anderson.

JETHRO TULL
Seattle Center Coliseum - Seattle, WA - July 25, 1975
(AUD @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2 / DOWNLOAD 3

PRINCE - Los Angeles, CA 2011 (21 Nite Stand, Show #3)

2011-06-10T19:42:00.000-07:00

Alrighty, one last blast of royal rockin' funkage from that lusty young knave, Mr. Rodgers Nelson, and we out. Off to celebrate my first wedding anniversary on Sunday.

Much love, y'all!

PRINCE
The Forum - Inglewood, CA - April 22, 2011 (AUD @320 kbps)
Welcome 2 America: 21 Nite Stand -- Show 3
DOWNLOAD

PRINCE - Los Angeles, CA 2011 (21 Nite Stand, Show #12)

2011-06-02T17:16:00.001-07:00

I think this might be my first post ever in which the accompanying photo was taken by yours truly!

Ah, another week, another regal Prince boot fo' ya. But this one is different, since it documents the second of the three shows I attended during the already-legendary, now apparently concluded "21 Nite Stand" at ye Olde Fabulous Forum. As it turned out, by His Purpleness' math, "21 nites" actually ended up only being "15 nites," but who's counting? (Oh wait, I was. Even though I made it to what turned out to be the final show on May 29, I still wanted more!)

This one is especially special to me because at this very show, my dear cousin Daniel and his lovely girlfriend Christine got engaged, during "Take Me with U" as it happened. My wife and I walked up to their section, unrolled a banner with the big question written on it, and about 3,000 amped-up concertgoers, family and friends went even crazier as my man got down on one knee...a moment I will never forget.

Even better, this wonderful audience recording is possibly of even better audio quality than the first one I posted; it's also 320 kbps. How do these cats do it? (Setlist linked here.)

Congratz again to Daniel and Christine, and thanks to whatever magnificent bastard did such a fine job taping all 2 hours and 40 minutes of this glorious show!

PRINCE
Welcome 2 America: 21 Nite Stand -- Show 12
The Forum - Inglewood, CA - May 14, 2011 (AUD @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD

PRINCE - "Small Club" Live and "Lovesexy" Tour Rehearsal, 1988

2011-05-20T16:06:00.000-07:00

This Saturday night will be, unlike the past two, a Prince-free evening. Reason being, the Purple Yoda is taking a break from L.A. and heading up north to play this weekend. So if the world doesn't end tomorrow, I will sure as hell try to attend one more "21 Nite Stand" show. 'Til then, we better party like it's...

1988! That's the year of this glorious two-fer of musical majesty. Both halves are equally acclaimed as two of the best Prince boots ever: Disc 1 is the legendary after-show club gig at the Trojan Horse club in The Hague, Netherlands; Disc 2 is from the Lovesexy Tour rehearsals at Prince's own Paisley Park Studios. Both boots are complete and perfect soundboard recordings, 100% official-release quality all the way.

If you're any kind of Prince fan, you need these. 'Nuff said!

PRINCE
"Small Club"
Trojan Horse - The Hague, Netherlands - August 18, 1988
and
Lovesexy Tour Rehearsal
Paisley Park Studios - Minneapolis, MN - April 5, 1988
(Both SBD @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

PRINCE - Los Angeles, CA 2011 (21 Nite Stand, Show #8)

2011-05-13T16:45:00.000-07:00

What's up y'all? I've been snooping around for another Queen show that will uphold the sky-high sonic standard of the first two boots I posted in honor of the Royal Wedding, but so far no luck finding it. However, since I'm not quite ready to switch out the above banner featuring The Future Queen Formerly Known As Kate Middleton, I've decided to stick with the royal theme for awhile yet...

Now, I've been seeing me some shows lately: the past three weeks have encompassed Paul Simon, Robert Plant, and Elvis Costello -- wonderful shows all. And Sunday night brings my beloved Black Angels. However, any music fan or musician -- including all of the above esteemed artists -- will tell you that the reason L.A. is the center of the musical universe right now is due to one man: his name is PRINCE, and he is funky indeed. (At last night's show, Elvis C. even played a little "Purple Rain" in tribute.)

As you may have heard, the Purple One is currently blanketing the City of Angels with love. His current Welcome 2 America tour kicked off last December on the East Coast, but the already-legendary "21 Nite Stand" residency has been happening out here for a solid month now and it still ain't done! I took the wife last Saturday as a Mother's Day gift, and we're headed back tomorrow night for more. Lord knows we might even squeeze in a third show before the purple party's over.

In addition to throwing a nonstop funk-rock bash like you ain't never seen or heard, Prince is also actually performing a great public service for L.A. by staging the entire 21 Nite Stand so far -- unless you count Wednesday night's two surprise gigs at the Troubadour in West Hollywood -- at the venerable and vulnerable Forum. Followers of my blog will know that I happen to love this old shed, which opened way back in my birth year of 1968 down in the 'hood of Inglewood (and yes, it really is the 'hood.) Historic arenas such as this are being torn down by the dozens, and the Fabulous Forum, which is now owned by a church, will no doubt reap great benefits from Prince's 15 shows and counting, despite the fact that most seats are priced at $25 all-in, which obviously benefits the fans far more than the artist or the venue. But if Prince worried about being able to sell that many seats for that many shows, he needn't have once word-of-mouth got out about what a unique event this is, and what an epically great time.

So: great musician, great venue, and great shows, of which this bootleg is one. For an audience recording taped under what I'm sure must have been severe duress -- Prince frowns on any photos being taken at his concerts, not to mention bootlegs being recorded -- this thing sounds fantastic, well-balanced, with the vocals right up front, nice and clear. The two-and-a-half hour show begins in a mellow mood with a jazzy-cool vamp, which then turns into a (gulp) slow jam, my least favorite genre of music in the world. But that's redeemed -- destroyed, really -- by a (no shit) Van Halen-style geetar solo at the end. And then we're off into a cover of "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough" and the party is on. (Setlist linked below.)

If you're anywhere near L.A., get here. If you ain't, then download it and weep!

PRINCE
Welcome 2 America: 21 Nite Stand -- Show 8
The Forum - Inglewood, CA - May 5, 2011 (AUD)
DOWNLOAD

QUEEN - London, England 1977

2011-05-04T17:44:00.000-07:00

One great '77 Queen boot deserves another, wouldn't you agree, my lovelies? So here you go, in keeping with our Royal Wedding-themed FredFest, and also -- because why not? -- to celebrate that other historic news story from this past weekend (how do you say "fish shit" in Arabic...?)

This one represents the penultimate show of the group's American-European A Day at the Races Tour, which along with the final show on June 7 were pro-taped for an official release that never materialized, possibly due to Freddie and the boys' understandably not-quite-perfect voices, these being the last shows of a six-month tour. That said, and some vocal dropouts and other quirks aside, this is a near-perfect show, and a full 28 tracks just like the Houston Summit gig.

More soon. God save the (future) Queen!

QUEEN
Earls Court Exhibition Centre - London, England - June 6, 1977
(SBD @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2 / DOWNLOAD 3

QUEEN - Houston, TX 1977 {MP3 & .WMA}

2011-04-27T17:54:00.000-07:00

OMG, I like totally can't decide what I'm more psyched about: the Royal Wedding on Friday, or the first box set of brand-new, 40th anniversary Queen remasters (out May 17 on our side of the pond).

I well remember, exactly 20 years ago, the first Queen remasters -- actually the first domestic CDs of Queen's Elektra albums -- coming out, along with their bittersweet studio swan song Innuendo, on Disney's Hollywood Records; what an odd fit that seemed, but I was so glad that one of my all-time favorite bands might again get some shred of recognition and even respect in the benighted U.S. of A. at last!

Little did I realize at the time how Freddie's death late in 1991, coupled with the high silliness of the hit Wayne's World movie, then the massive Tribute Concert in April '92 (of which I was a lucky and proud attendee), would bring the boys roaring back to American and even greater global consciousness. 20 years later, they've still never left, long since universally acclaimed and beloved as one of the very top British bands of all time.

(However, the latest slab of printed pomposity from Mount Rolling Stone, its new "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" list, slights the band as always by placing them no higher than number 52. That's behind both Run-DMC and Public Enemy, which can only be called a bad joke. While hip-hop's inexplicably enduring popularity is an unfortunate given, Rolling Stone's tiresome insistence on placing this shallow, monotonous, artless genre on the same level of historical -- not to mention musical -- importance as rock, blues, soul and jazz is at once hilarious, pathetic, and reeking of middle-aged desperation to appear "down with the kids." Alrighty! End of digression.)

Anyway: 1977. In pop culture terms, I recall that long-ago-and-far-far-away year as being entirely about three things for me: Star Wars, KISS and Queen. Having recently graduated from Sesame Street and Disney 45s to my first rock record, the gift of Elton John's Greatest Hits LP, I was now, at age eight, striking out on my own, and in 1977 that meant KISS' monstrous Alive II and Queen's expansive, eclectic News of the World, which were released only two weeks apart.

This brilliant 28-track behemoth of a bootleg comes from that tour, and is widely esteemed as a quintessential Queen concert. The sound is rip-roaringly great and it features all the hits and deep cuts you could want, everything from punk slammers "Stone Cold Crazy" and "Sheer Heart Attack" to gossamer delights "The Millionaire Waltz" and "My Melancholy Blues." If you're as tickled as I am by the idea of Freddie trilling the outrageously queer "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" to 16,000 fans deep in the heart of Texas, then this is most assuredly the show for you.

Here's to a right Royal weekend, my darlings!

QUEEN
The Summit - Houston, TX - December 11, 1977
(SBD @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

(Also: .wma @192 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

Note: Top links are 320 kbps MP3s, bottom are the .wma files I orignally posted. This is such a sweet-ass boot that I will leave both sets active for you all.

PS -- The reason I posted the "Definitive Edition" DVD cover above is that since I've heard the pro-shot tape of the complete concert is one of the absolute best Queen video boots ever -- which might explain why it's proven impossible to purchase so far, and I don't download video -- I'm hoping that somehow it'll magically manifest one of these days. Anyone...anyone...any way the wind blows...?

BRIAN WILSON - London, England 2004 ("SMiLE" Live!)

2011-04-22T17:33:00.000-07:00

In a hurry to get home to the family, but I wanted to thank "Anonymous" who kindly furnished me, on my previous Brian Wilson post, with the below links to this magnificent live boot from the very first concert performances of Brian Wilson's legendary "SMiLE", inexorably emerging as my favorite album of all time.

It's all here and much much more -- 40-some tracks worth! Thanks also to whoever in the lucky audience recorded the show: job well done, very well done indeed.

Smile on, y'all!

BRIAN WILSON
"SMiLE" Live!
Royal Festival Hall - London, England - February 24, 2004 (AUD)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

THE STROKES - Cannes, France 2008

2011-04-13T16:59:00.000-07:00

Headed out on a road trip up to my beloved Napa, but wanted to leave you with a sweet boot from those loose, louche, always too-cool-for-school boys known as the Strokes.

I believe their new LP, Angles, happens to be their strongest since Is This It, the epochal debut of ten years ago (!) now. Quality live boots of the band seem to be in short supply, but this powerful, 18-track soundboard is surely one.

Till next time, lay chilly...

THE STROKES
Eurock - Cannes, France - April 23, 2008 (SBD)
DOWNLOAD

DEVO - Boston, MA 1982

2011-04-01T16:06:00.000-07:00

As promised, one last live Deev boot from the Orpheum in Boston.

No foolin': it's wicked pissa!

DEVO
Orpheum Theatre - Boston, MA - November 11, 1982
(SBD @256 kbps)
DOWNLOAD

DEVO - Boston, MA 1980

2011-03-25T16:51:00.000-07:00

I am stupid fond of Devo right now, and still aglow from seeing them live for the first time last weekend here at Club Nokia. If you've never had the pleasure, oh my GAWD is it a good time. I got everything I wanted from Mothersbaugh & Co., muscially and visually, plus a whole lot more flat-out rocking than I ever expected.

My lovely wife thinks my febrile Devo love is silly and totally out of character for me; I might agree with the latter part. But as much as they're associated with '80s new wave, the genesis of the band couldn't be more '60s: they were essentially born out of the Kent State student shootings in May 1970, during which founding member Gerald Casale dodged bullets and saw two of his friends shot dead. If that ain't heavy, maaan, what is?

Now then: for whatever reason, Beantown's historic Orpheum Theatre seems to have been a magical venue for the Ohio quintet, yielding fantastic live boots from three years running: this amazing July 1980 WBCN FM broadcast, a November 1981 show previously posted here, and a November 1982 show which I'll try to post next.

Oh, and anyone who still doubts that Devolution is real -- I mean realer than real -- should just read this.

DEVO
Orpheum Theatre - Boston, MA - July 17, 1980
(FMB @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD

PS -- Incidentally, your everloving unearthly Chick got some big-time Mainstream Media press coverage this week. Well, not really, but do check out the new LA Weekly's Letters page, now known -- in a nod to today's exciting computer technology -- as "Comments." You see, I couldn't resist the uncontrollable urge to scold my beloved local lefty rag for its inexplicably, laughably yet depressingly fawning cover piece on the dreaded Insane Clown Posse and their idiot fans (speaking of Devolution).

So here is the printed exchange in its entirety:

"Green Alien Chick writes: 'There is some great music being made in the world, and none of it is by this ridiculous duo of fools. Why would you waste your time and ours on such moronic garbage?'

'A real ass OC juggalo' responds: 'Ummmmm, fuck you and go read about your favorite faggot ass artist bitch.'

Alien Chick's response: 'Exactly. See? Couldn't have said it better myself.'"

Can I get a "AMEN!" up in here, bitches?

THE BEACH BOYS - "Landlocked" 1969-'70

2011-03-15T18:49:00.001-07:00

I'm so beyond thrilled about last Friday's momentous announcement -- possibly the single happiest piece of music news I've ever had the pleasure of receiving -- that in celebration I'm posting two versions of the same bootleg.

(In case you haven't heard, the news can be summed up in one word: SMiLE.)

As for "Landlocked", what we have here is a lovely compilation of outtakes, alternates and demos for the post-Capitol tracks that would comprise much of the Boys' first two, equally sublime LPs for Warner Bros.: 1970's Sunflower and 1971's Surf's Up. The first link is for the original, 12-track version in top bitrate; the second is for an expanded 24-track version in slightly lower quality. Both sound great.

Take your pick, or take both. Either way...smile!

THE BEACH BOYS
"Landlocked" 1969-'70 (STU)

DOWNLOAD (12 tracks @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD (24 tracks @192 kbps)

ERIC CLAPTON - Richmond, VA 1985

2011-03-08T15:48:00.000-08:00

Sorry not to have posted any toonage since the Super Bowl...man, having a 6-month-old baby boy can cut into one's bloggin' time!

Anyway, tonight I'll be happily seeing my first show in ages: in a word, GOD. (No, not Hendrix -- I mean the ORIGINAL psychedelic-blooze-rawk geetar god.) I've only ever seen Clapton twice; once recently, with short-lived Blind Faith bandmate Steve Winwood at the Hollywood Bowl, and once way the hell back in high school, at the Baltimore Civic Center, the very night after this live boot was recorded. This here show was recorded FM-stylee for ye olde King Biscuit, so it's an all-'round ass-blaster.

Promise to be back sooner than later...'till then:

ERIC CLAPTON
Coliseum - Richmond, VA - April 22, 1985 (SBD @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD

LIL WAYNE - "Green & Yellow" 2011

2011-02-07T18:53:00.000-08:00

Y'all know I'm the farthest thing from a hip hop fan, but c'mon!

Dude dropped this track like five days ago, and he calls it, nails it, sees the future that -- glory be! -- came to pass last night. Right down to Rodgers as MVP!

At the end Weezy says "I gotta say, this ain't a dis song -- I just love my team." Well I love 'em too, and the shit sure sounds like a dis to me...and that sounds goood. In fact, right now it sounds like the best goddamn hip-hop jam ever recorded!

You aiiight, Weezy.
For the last time (until September): Go Pack Go!

ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA - Koln, Germany 1981

2011-02-04T12:44:00.000-08:00

Appreciate all the kind comments, readers! Always good to hear from you and know you're out there digging what we do here...

Been on something of an ELO tear lately, as is my occasional tendency. Thought I'd add to my previously posted Boston '76 and Osaka '78 live boots with this one from the Time tour of 1981-'82. Time is a sorely underrated album, silly sci-fi time-travel "concept" or not, and in my opinion the band's last gasp of greatness. Sure, Jeff Lynne replaced sweeping orchestration with cheezy '80s synths, but the songs are all pretty wonderful and some are flat-out magnificent. This performance nicely represents hits both old and new, with a generous sampling of the best Time tracks. Lynne's way with a memorable melody was as strong as ever on Time; too bad by that time not many still cared, at least among record buyers. But the band was still a major live draw from the sound of things here.

Speaking of sound, I'll come out and admit that the audio on this one isn't quite up to the standards of those prior boots. But for a band as underrepresented by quality live recordings, official or otherwise, as ELO -- damn those studio perfectionists! -- we'll take what we can get, yes?

And those who continue to dismiss Lynne as too much of a slickster should remember that only three producers ever worked with the Beatles: George Martin, Phil Spector, and Jeff Lynne.

ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA
"Twilight"
Sporthalle - Koln, Germany - March 2, 1982 (AUD @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

Cheers to the great and powerful Viva Les Bootlegs.

Now, one more time...
Go! You Packers GO!

JELLYFISH - San Francisco, CA 1993

2011-01-31T17:47:00.000-08:00

Today's post will wrap up my epic Jellyfish streak -- the longest by a single act that I've ever done -- and I hope convincingly rest my case for them as a tremendous live band. I would have dearly loved to see them at The Warfield, one of the best music venues in San Francisco, Jellyfish's hometown and my absolute favorite city in these United (or is it Untied?) States.

I should be a "Child of the '80s" due to my age, but I'm most assuredly not. Unlike many of my peers, who pine ceaselessly for those halcyon days, I tend to be far more nostalgic about the early to mid-'90s, which roughly coincided with my early to mid-20s, i.e. my sex-drugs-and-rock-'n'-roll years. In fact, just about 20 years ago now I had a hellacious psychedelic experience at The Warfield during a Blues Traveler show (in brief: mushrooms, pot and dehydration don't mix. I just took a big swig of cool water after writing that sentence; a lesson learned once and never forgotten!)

I found the '80s -- at the time and far more so now -- to be rather a barren wasteland of pop culture, especially musically, not to mention politically: a decade that began with the murder of John Lennon and the election of Ronald Reagan is by its very nature not a good decade.

The early '90s, on the other hand, brought a swift corrective in the form of grunge (not to mention Bill Clinton) and stayed strong until about 1999, when the inevitable decline set in with all the vapid pop tarts, boy band retardoids and nü-metal meatheads.

Man, how I wish these much-missed Jellies would bury the hatchet and get it together...we could use them now more than ever! But until then...

JELLYFISH
The Warfield - San Francisco, CA - July 7, 1993 (SBD @320kbps)
DOWNLOAD

JELLYFISH - Frankfurt, Germany 1991

2011-01-25T15:48:00.000-08:00

And we're back. More Jelly for ya on a Tuesday afternoon; this one goes out to Anonymous, who wrote in asking for...more Jellyfish!

Here we're blessed with a complete concert from what sounds like a rather modestly sized club in Frankfurt, on the Euro leg of their tour promoting the ever-tasty debut LP Bellybutton. The show was pro-recorded for German TV, so this DVD rip sounds just wunderbar.

In addition to all the incredible music (bonus: plenty of cover tunes!), this one amusingly climaxes with a persistent, loudmouthed American fan being told just what to do.

Work calls, gotta hop -- more Jelly for your belly soon!

JELLYFISH
Music-Hall - Frankfurt, Germany - April, 1991 (SBD)
DOWNLOAD

Oh, and...GO PACK GO!

BEN SOMMER - "America'd" Album, 2011

2011-01-18T18:03:00.000-08:00

Taking a break from Jellyfish for a minute, this is a first for me: endorsing a brand-new artist's brand-new album. But I must say that this Ben Sommer is rather an interesting cat. If the measure of a good album is the desire to listen to it five times in a row without blinking, then this is 34 minutes of pure "edgy, political prog rock" goodness -- maybe, I daresay, even greatness.

The plentiful nods to Rush, Yes, the Who, Van Halen and especially Zappa -- sometimes in the same song -- are as whimsical and witty as they are utterly unsubtle. I'm all for unsubtle, in case you haven't noticed. The playing, production and arrangement, down to the harmony vocals, are top-notch.

And if you never thought you could sing along to choruses that go "Itchy-kitchy-kitchy-koo, waah-waah!" and "Thread-count fetish, thread-count fetish, oh-whoa-oh...," then all I can say is, think again. This political prog rock is brainy and complex stuff, sure, but it's also catchy as hell. Even the obligatory rap parody, "Kill the Estrogen Queens," brings some serious Funkadelic flava. Some listeners might find it offensive, but speaking as someone who believes that over the past 15 years or so hip-hop has mutated into an unkillable cancer on popular culture, you'll hear no such complaints from me...

Even after multiple listens it's tough for me to tell where exactly the satirical Mr. Sommer places himself on the political spectrum, which I'm quite sure is the point. When he sings about Henry Kissinger, based on the funny lyrics he sounds as if he's aware of the fact -- not widely believed, apparently, but a fact nonetheless -- that Kissinger is a vile pig of a war criminal on whose orders a million people were slaughtered for no reason. But I couldn't tell you for sure! As a dug-in Repuglican hater -- yes, I did say hater, and I mean that shit too -- I'd be damn curious to find out where Mr. Sommer's head is really at. Maybe next album?

He's an educated East Coaster, which makes him a homeboy to me and an enemy to the GOP. On his website Mr. Sommer teasingly IDs himself as "libertarian," but the definition thereof has always struck me as spongy at best, especially these days. At least half of the Tea Party psychos call themselves "libertarians," yet last November these "fiercely independent" yahoos happily voted in the same breed of assholic country club Repuglican that drove this country into the shitter in the first place. (John Boehner thanks you all, by the way.)

Anyway! Good times.

So, to grab America'd, head to the below link to DL the individual tracks, or -- why not? Trust me! -- actually buy the album in exciting new Compact Disc format.

You'll be damn glad you did, America!

BEN SOMMER
America'd - 2011
DOWNLOAD

JELLYFISH - San Juan Capistrano, CA 1993

2011-01-07T17:37:00.000-08:00

As promised, more live Jelly fo' ya.

This one is an FM recording of a sweet show down San Juan Capistrano way, plus four bonus tracks from various 1990-'91 Cali dates. It amply proves how surprisingly strong this band of consummate studio rats was in a live setting; the musicianship and especially the harmonies are note-perfect.

A weekend of work calls, so that's all...for now.

JELLYFISH
"California Dreaming"
Coach House - San Juan Capistrano, CA - April 4, 1993 (FMB)
DOWNLOAD

JELLYFISH - "Socrates, Pathos, and Plato" Live 1993

2010-12-29T16:38:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while I'm reminded, for no good reason, of how much I love and miss the great pop-rock collective known as Jellyfish. It's a sad fact of rock history that this band of brilliant young lads only lasted three years, during which time they released a precious two studio albums (while, on the other hand, the worthless Bon Jovi has been stinking up the place for over a quarter-century).

You'd be hard-pressed to find a more perfect collection of 1990s power pop than their swan song, the utterly sublime Beach Boys-Beatles-Queen-Supertramp-10cc mashup masterpiece Spilt Milk. If you've never heard it -- and chances are you haven't -- then by all means get on the good foot (that means buy it; I bet they could use the money). I consider "Joining a Fan Club" and "New Mistake" to be the two greatest songs of the '90s, for starters.

I'll be posting a few more tasty Jelly boots to ring in 2011, but this one is an ideal place to start. It's a beautifully recorded compilation of live tracks from November 1993, not far from the end of the line for the band, who called it quits about the same time a certain Seattle grunge icon did too.

If you, like me, were fortunate enough to have snapped up the 2002 limited-edition box set Fan Club you'd have most of these tracks plus the bonus B-sides. If not, then feel free to drop that $120-$300 on Amazon or eBay...or click below, and stay tuned.

Because, oh yes indeedy, I do think you're ready for this Jelly.

JELLYFISH
"Socrates, Pathos, and Plato"
Universal Amphitheatre and other venues - November 1993
(SBD @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART - "Bat Chain Puller" Original Version, 1976 (R.I.P. Don Van Vliet)

2010-12-20T12:14:00.000-08:00

I've never been a big Beefheart fan, or much of one at all to be honest. But his death last Friday -- also my 42nd birthday, as it happens -- seems as good an occasion as any to post my first (and most likely last) Beef boot.

Like the below-mentioned Roky Erickson, the crazy ol' Cap'n might have been a bit too far out for my taste. But most agree that Bat Chain Puller, even in its rejiggered 1978 official version, is one of his finest later works. A few of the tunes ("Harry Irene," the instrumentals "Flavor Bud Living" and "A Carrot is as Close...") are even rather pretty, I daresay. Then there are the slide guitar-powered classics "Floppy Boot Stomp" and the Hold Steady-inspiring "Owed T'Alex," which represent Beefheart at his flat-out rocking best.

Word from the Zappa estate, which holds the rights to this original 1976 version of the LP, is that an official release will finally be forthcoming in the next year. Until then, I present by far the best-sounding version available.

So git on yer trout mask, or a replica thereof, and freak out!

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART
"Bat Chain Puller" Original Version, 1976 (STU @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD

PS -- For some rare early Beefheart, please visit my all-'60s blog, Heavy Sugar Radio.

ELVIS PRESLEY - Las Vegas, NV 1974

2010-12-03T17:35:00.000-08:00

From one group of Black Angels to another...

Just a real quick li'l post for your weekend and mine. This is a recently unearthed, high-quality first-generation soundboard recording of a chatty, funny, loosey-goosey, pill-popping, karate-chopping '74 Elvis.

This show also features what is likely the only recorded instance of The King saying "fuck you" to an audience member. Now if that ain't worth the price of admission, what is?

As ever, thankyaver'much.

ELVIS PRESLEY
"Black Angels in Vegas"
Hilton Hotel - Las Vegas, NV - August 30, 1974 {Midnight Show}
(SBD)
DOWNLOAD

THE BLACK ANGELS - Tilburg, Netherlands 2010

2010-11-18T17:32:00.000-08:00

Good evening, psychonauts. What can I say about The Black Angels out of Austin, TX except that they are my favorite new band in the world? I've been listening to them so obsessively that I can't even remember how I first heard about them (read about them, actually) even though it couldn't have been more than a week ago. Or maybe it was a century, or even a millennium, whoa wow whoaaa...what does it mean...?

They're even more mind-blowing than a double complete rainbow, is alls I know. While they've been perfecting their brand of spacey yet hard-rocking retro-garage psychedelia for about five years now, it's their recent third LP Phosphene Dream that's really shot them over the top, onto Letterman and the college charts, into Rolling Stone and a sold-out show at the El Rey next week which I'll sadly be missing.

As I may or may not be the first to opine, the Angels' trippy sound basically comprises Austin psych legends the 13th Floor Elevators with better songwriting, melodies, vocals, playing and production. Sue me, but I happen to dig Roky Erickson and the Elevators more for what they symbolize than for what they managed to record. What the Angels represent to me is what those pioneering Elevators attempted 45 (!) years ago brought to fruition, to perfection. And it's because of heavy outfits like the Black Angels that the '60s will truly live on forever. (The less said about comparisons to the dreaded Jesus and Mary Chain, possibly the most overrated band of the '80s, the better.)

Since Phosphene Dream is far and away my favorite album of 2010, I wanted to post a recent show, as opposed to one from four or five years back, of which there seems to be an abundance out there. It wasn't easy to find, but find it I did, and here it is.

Hope y'all dig them crazy Angels as much as I do!

THE BLACK ANGELS
013 - Tilburg, Netherlands - January 26, 2010 (SBD @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD

PS -- The poster shown above is not from this show, but it is pretty damn cool, no?

13th ANNUAL BRIDGE SCHOOL BENEFIT CONCERT - Mountain View, CA 1999

2010-11-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

Hey all. To make up for (yet another) long delay in posting, I'm favoring you with a complete recording one of the best concert experiences of my life, and to my ears one of the best Bridge School Benefit Concerts ever.

As a matter of special interest, the second show is the only Bridge School concert that's ever taken place on Halloween night; yes, costumes were worn by the artists, with Sheryl Crow looking especially cute in a pink tutu and halo.

But more importantly, these shows marked the return of the great Brian Wilson -- no, not the beardy Giants pitcher, although I gather he has a few fans in the Bay Area as well -- to live performing after almost 35 years of god-only-knows-what. Who knew that these concerts would be remembered as just the beginning of an incredibly fertile period of almost nonstop touring, recording, and award-collecting that has lasted to this day? (Listen especially closely to the joyous "Surfin' U.S.A.," which featured backup vocals by Neil Young, Roger Daltrey, Eddie Vedder and Sheryl Crow. Not too bad.)

Due to family obligations I missed this year's Buffalo Springfield-powered blowout; better luck next year for the 25th anniversary. In 1999, however, I was still relatively young and carefree. I went to both shows and I will never forget them.

13th ANNUAL BRIDGE SCHOOL BENEFIT CONCERT
Shoreline Amphitheatre - Mountain View, CA - October 30 and 31, 1999
(SBD @320 kbps -- 6 CDs in one link)
DOWNLOAD

Big big big thanks to So Many Roads.

ALICE COOPER - Saginaw, MI 1978

2010-09-28T16:04:00.000-07:00

Aaaaand I'm back!

Yes, my lovely son Luke got himself born on September the 4th, and all is well! Thanks to everyone who visited in the interim. Life is grand...well, except for one thing:

As of today's preposterous nominations announcement, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has offically lost all credibility. Forever. As in, permanently jumped the shark, never to recover.

By nominating the poodle-maned clowns in Bon Jovi before ever having nominated Rush (not once; not to mention Randy Newman, The Zombies, Yes, Todd Rundgren, Deep Purple, The Smiths and countless others left waiting in the wings), the Hall of Lame has committed a serious crime against music and must no longer be taken seriously again. Joel Peresman, Jon Landau, Jann Wenner, and every last member of the feckless nominating committee should all go kill themselves at once.

I can only imagine what kind of sleazy, schmoozy music industry political bullshit led to such a calamitous decision, since it certainly wasn’t based on artistic merit; in Bon Jovi’s case, there simply is none. Even if one were to argue -- as I’m sure some nameless, highly-paid idiot did -- that giving Bon Jovi the nod is based purely on their (mystifyingly) enduring popularity, then bands from Kiss to Chicago to (if the slot had to go to an '80s hair-metal group) Def Leppard or Motley Crue would be more qualified than the vapid and personality-free Bon Jovi. At least Kiss has the makeup, costumes and pyro to make them distinctive.

I don't care how many "units" they've shifted, or how many "sheds" they somehow keep filling with their philistine fans: Bon Jovi is as musically worthless a group as has ever existed. They are mediocrity incarnate, corporate rock at its most generic, the perfect example of everything that went wrong with mainstream rock in the benighted age of Reagan. They embody everything that Nirvana came along to wipe out. Bon Jovi has not recorded or performed a single line of lyric or note of music that is not a complete cliché. Possessing not an iota of imagination, intelligence, wit, artistry, originality, or genuine emotion, with no musical value whatsoever, these insipid cheese merchants are the sonic equivalent of McDonald's.

Now, lots of people eat at McDonald's -- but no one gives McDonald's an award, because McDonald's food doesn't deserve awards and everyone is smart enough to know this, including McDonald's.

Apparently the Schlock Hall is not this smart. Lest we forget that Black Sabbath and The Stooges -- monumentally influential bands that were instrumental in creating entire genres of rock music -- had to wait 10 years and 16 years, respectively, to be inducted. But not the geniuses of Bon Jovi. In only their second year of eligibility, it's "Step right up, boys!" (And don't even get me started on TV actor/fitness pitchman LL Cool J, another utterly unworthy nominee, who is not now and never was a musician.)

Following the debased precedent now set by the Schlock Hall, I eagerly await the awarding of next year's Best Picture Academy Award to The Last Airbender.

Anyway, congrats are due to 2011 nominee Alice Cooper. He plays actual rock music, and thus is vastly more worthy of induction to this pitiful institution than almost all of this year's other nominees.

ALICE COOPER
Wendler Arena - Saginaw, MI - October 5, 1978 (SBD)
DOWNLOAD

(With thanks to Viva Les Bootlegs.)

BRIAN WILSON - New York City, 2004

2010-08-27T17:56:00.000-07:00

This is a very special one, for a number of reasons:

First, my son missed his birthday yesterday -- I mean his actual birth day. He's officially a day overdue now, which gives us one more weekend to prepare his room...so we got that going for us, which is nice. He's most welcome to get born any day now.

Second, my main man Mr. Wilson has just released an exquisite new album you may have heard about -- it was even #1 on Amazon for a minute this week.

Third, I've been looking for this live boot for ages, and suddenly it popped up today without even trying! It's a perfectly recorded -- by Brian's own engineer, Mark Linett -- NPR FM broadcast of the Carnegie Hall show from Brian's magnificent 2004-'05 "SMiLE" Tour, still one of the peak concert experiences of my life (two times: at Disney Hall and the Hollywood Bowl).

All in all, a happy time. So smile, y'all...!

BRIAN WILSON
"Practice, Man, Practice!"
Carnegie Hall - New York, NY - October 12-13, 2004
(FMB @256 kbps)
DOWNLOAD

ELVIS PRESLEY - Memphis, TN 1974

2010-08-16T15:09:00.000-07:00

Thirty-three years on, thirty-three years gone...

Pay your respects by checkin' out this excellent live boot, which documents Elvis' very first concert performance in his adopted hometown since 1961.

Here at Green Alien Chick we always give it up for The King!

ELVIS PRESLEY
"Hello Memphis"
Mid-South Coliseum - Memphis, TN - March 16, 1974
(SBD @ 256 kbps)
DOWNLOAD

RUSH - Largo, MD 1984

2010-08-11T16:43:00.000-07:00

Rush's long-awaited (by me) Time Machine Tour show tonight at the hallowed Gibson Amphitheatre will be, if all goes according to plan, my last concert before the birth of my first child, two weeks from now. Fitting that it's a show by one of my all-time favorite bands -- one I try to see every time they come through L.A. -- at one of my all-time favorite venues.

As Geddy might exclaim in his faux-Scottish burr: "Ah cannat weet!"

So here's one of the great live Rush boots to mark the occasion, a soundboard show taped at (as any regular reader will know) my hometown rawk venue, the late, unlamented Cap Centre.

Enjoy, and please...wish us luck!

RUSH
"Cool Under Fire"
Captial Centre - Largo, MD - September 27, 1984 (SBD)
DOWNLOAD

DEVO - Boston, MA 1981

2010-08-02T20:24:00.000-07:00

Following last week's primo Petty post, here's another cracking live show from 30 years ago, and another FM broadcast as well, this one from ye olde King Biscuit. I'm digging on the Devo lately, not sure why, but I'm on a bit of a kick; their nifty new album (after 20 years!) doesn't hurt. I know they're touring now as well, so I do hope to catch them...

I also love this early moment of the '80s, my 6th/7th grade year. It was post-John Lennon assassination and Ronald "Rambo" Reagan election (adieu, 1960s!), but pre-Big '80s obnoxious patriotic yuppie neon moussed pompadoured cokehead/greedhead acid-washed awfulness. And Devo was one of those transitional post-punk, pre-new wave bands (like Blondie and Talking Heads) that looked '80s but still sounded kinda '70s.

Anyway, this is one punchy half-hour show, nine songs flat, but four of those are "Whip It," "Girl U Want," "Through Being Cool" and "Working in a Coal Mine," their final hit before most Americans threw away their energy domes and stopped giving a shit.

DEVO
Orpheum Theatre - Boston, MA - November 5, 1981 (FMB @320)
DOWNLOAD

Password: http://dexondaz.blogspot.com/

TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS - London, England 1980

2010-07-23T18:44:00.000-07:00

I know I promised (a month ago!) to post more often, but what the hell...life keeps getting in the way.

Well, instead of apologizing, I'll simply post a perfect live boot from TP and the Heartbreakers. And I mean perfect, in every way: audio quality, set list (21 songs), even the between-song-banter -- everything is 100% FM broadcast, top bitrate, official-CD-release brilliance.

I love the brand-new TP album, Mojo, but this show has him and the band riding high on Damn the Torpedoes, so "explosive" is the word here, boys!

TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS
Hammersmith Odeon - London, England - March 6, 1980
(FMB @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD

IRON MAIDEN - Perth, Australia 2008

2010-06-22T18:38:00.001-07:00

Whilst enjoying the legendary Irons live last Saturday night out in good old San Berdoo, it struck me that I haven't posted here in over a month! Well, sue my ass: I've been dealing with hideous computer issues, moving for the second time in four months, and oh yeah: getting married (a wedding which my now-wife and I planned ourselves). So phew!

But this post means the start of my return journey to Bootland, and it's good to be heading back at last...

It's always a privilege to see Maiden live in the U.S., given that they never seem to play more than ten dates at a stretch here. I haven't yet found a good boot from the current Final Frontier World Tour, but I have such fond memories of seeing them twice on the last one -- the massive greatest hits-geared Somewhere Back in Time World Tour -- that I thought I'd post one of those shows.

This boot is from only the second night of that epic 14-month tour, but the performance is tight and strong, in a decent-sounding audience recording, perhaps not up to our usual sonic standards but certainly worth the download. Hey -- I might be a little rusty, but I'm back!

IRON MAIDEN
Burswood Dome - Perth, Australia - February 4, 2008 (AUD)
DOWNLOAD

MUSE - "Neutron Star Collision" NEW SONG!!!

2010-05-18T10:38:00.001-07:00

Surprise! Lo and behold, we have a hot new Muse tune, just released yesterday.

Upside: it's Muse, it's sweeping and swooning, and let's just say the Queen influence hasn't exactly diminished lately.

Downside? It's from the soundtrack of one of them boring-ass virgin vampire movies -- there must be new one coming out, I guess. Hell, I'm 41 years old, what do I know...?

I do know that I well and truly love me some Muse!

MUSE
"Neutron Star Collision (Love is Forever)" (@320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD

THE HOLD STEADY - Philadelphia, PA 2010

2010-05-14T16:26:00.000-07:00

Love The Hold Steady, love their new record, love this recent WXPN/NPR broadcast.

Positively love your weekend!

THE HOLD STEADY
World Cafe Live - Philadelphia, PA - April 30, 2010 (FMB)
DOWNLOAD

QUEEN - Boston, MA 1976

2010-05-10T19:30:00.000-07:00

Been awhile, and man I been busy. Planning a wedding, don'tcha know. But every so often, booty duty calls...

Simply stated: if you love Queen, you'll love this. A royal, regal Top Ten live show, if ever I heard it. Better yet? It's a full-length recording by legendary New England taper Dan Lampinski, the sneakiest and most mad-skilled sonofabitch ever to wield a Sony ECM-99 stereo mic.

Trust me, all of Dan the Man's audience tapes sound fuller, richer and ballsier than most soundboards, and this is one of the absolute best. Worship it, my darlings!

QUEEN
Boston Music Hall - Boston, MA - January 30, 1976 (AUD)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

ALICE IN CHAINS - Seattle, WA 1992

2010-04-15T18:24:00.000-07:00

I'm back! And all is well Stateside...well, not really, but hey. Happy Tax Day! We're still alive, and I'm gonna be a daddy in four months' time. So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

Real busy at work here, catching up after being away for almost a month. Thanks for all the kind (and not-so-kind) comments during my absence. I even got my first DMCA warning from Blogger -- somebody out there likes me!

For something a little different, how about the best-ever AIC boot (one of the very few, actually, and by far the finest). It's a hometown gig, promoting their just-released masterpiece, the harrowing heroin diary Dirt, one of the greatest works of art about hopeless drug addiction ever created in any medium. The late Layne Staley's gritted-teeth intro to "Love, Hate, Love" says it best: "This is a song about pain."

Good times!

ALICE IN CHAINS
"We Die Young"
Seattle Center Arena - Seattle, WA - December 20, 1992
(SBD @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

THE ROLLING STONES - Toronto, Canada 1989

2010-03-17T19:15:00.000-07:00

Headed outta the country for three weeks (including a visit to the Emerald Isle), so I thought I'd leave you with another top-tier live Stones boot.

This one is from their huge Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour, on the back of the so-so Steel Wheels platter. Aside from some painfully Big '80s!!! synth-horn squiggles, it's a stone groover.

Happy (what's left of) St. Patty's Day!

THE ROLLING STONES
"Sweet Toronto"
CNE Stadium - Toronto, Ontario, Canada - September 3, 1989
(SBD @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD

PS -- for some classic '60s live Stones, go here!

THE ROLLING STONES - "Ladies & Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones" Soundtrack, 1972

2010-03-12T16:12:00.000-08:00

Hey now, next week is Rolling Stones week on "American Idol," and two months from now this baby comes out! What better time to make with some classic '72 live Stones?

This is the unreleased soundtrack to their long-lost concert doc of the same title, so the sound quality is phenomenal. 16 tracks of 320 kbps smack and whack for the weekend -- c'mon! Lick it!

THE ROLLING STONES
Ladies & Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones Soundtrack
Various venues - Fort Worth and Houston, TX - June 24 and 25, 1972 (SBD @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD

RUSH - Poughkeepsie, NY 1980

2010-03-02T20:07:00.000-08:00

I've spent the last ten days moving, so my ass is beat.

Since it feels like eons since I posted any Rush, a quick live boot is all I can manage at the moment. By "quick" I mean short -- this one doesn't have the whole setlist, and contains a medley broken up into very brief individual tracks (hey, I can't lie -- I'm too tired!)

However, it's worth a DL because the 320 sound is terrific, especially on the Neil solo. Both that and the climactic "La Villa Strangiato" go nuts with the stereo panning effects, certainly rare for any bootleg.

'Nuff said? "Okay, Poughkeepsie!"

RUSH
"National Sound"
Mid-Hudson Civic Center - Poughkeepsie, NY - January 26, 1980 (SBD @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD

GENESIS - Liverpool, England 1975

2010-02-25T18:59:00.000-08:00

Working on getting into these guys, the Gabriel era that is. Never been a big fan. It's a process.

I still maintain that Yes, the quintessential (pompous, pretentious etc.) prog band, should have been inducted into the Hall of Fame first -- '80s hit singles, record sales and solo careers be damned.

But it's awfully hard not to groove on The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Gabriel's swan song with the group and by most reckonings their finest effort. For your enjoyment, courtesy of our good friends at Viva Les Bootlegs, here's the most acclaimed bootleg from the epic 1975 Lamb tour.

GENESIS
Empire Theater - Liverpool, England - April 19, 1975 (SBD @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2 / DOWNLOAD 3

THE KNACK - Long Island, NY 1981 (R.I.P. Doug Fieger)

2010-02-16T16:56:00.001-08:00

It's a shame that the late Doug Fieger and his band The Knack are today remembered, if at all, more for the rock-snob backlash that greeted their instant success than for their music. They've been permanently tagged as one-hit-wonders thanks to the staggering success of their debut single, the legendary you-know-who:

(See? You don't even need to see her name.)

Now, I haven't listened to a note of any of their albums after the debut, Get the Knack, and I'm making no grand claims of eternal genius here. But one listen to that fantastic debut LP tells you this was no one-hit-wonder act. Ignore the infamous Beatle-baiting cover photos and marvel at how it's packed with snappy, witty, tightly played, catchy-as-hell tunes. (I count "Oh Tara" as a particular favorite. I mean, how was that not a #1 single?) The thing just kills from beginning to end, sounding as fresh today as it did to my virgin ears in the summer of '79.

So they didn't become the next Cheap Trick. So sue 'em! Get the Knack remains a flat-out great album; the fact that it portended no further greatness doesn't diminish its own inherent greatness one bit. Maybe poor Mr. Fieger took some comfort in witnessing similarly steep quality/popularity dropoffs suffered in later years by The Strokes, the Hives, the Arctic Monkeys and a thousand other anointed power-pop "saviors."

Anyway, this zippy WLIR-FM soundboard show -- by far the best-quality Knack bootleg -- captures them promoting their third album, by which time the rock press and most listeners had long written them off as has-beens. Listen and judge for yourself. But remember: one listen to rock radio in 2010 should remind you that writing a great power-pop song, not to mention a whole album's worth, is no piece of cake.

THE KNACK
Venue unknown - Long Island, NY - December 10, 1981 (FMB)
DOWNLOAD

CRISIS OF CONFORMITY - "Fistfight in the Parking Lot" (SNL)

2010-02-10T17:39:00.000-08:00

Y'all know I hardly ever post vids on this blog, but I couldn't resist...

This spot-on skit was on last weekend's Saturday Night Live -- in the dead-last slot, naturally -- and it's my fave in ages. (Probably since this one, and that's saying something.)

If you happen to have grown up in '80s "harDCore" D.C. like I did, you'll get it and dig it.

"Ya hear that, Alexander Haig?!?"

(PS -- In case the above link goes dead, here's the skit on Fred Armisen's SNL Blog.)

THE WHO - Largo, MD 1973

2010-02-05T17:38:00.000-08:00

Rumor has it that The 'Oo is playing a quick-cash, smash 'n' grab gig at some football game this weekend. I wouldn't know anything about that, being a Packer Backer myself.

This Quadrophenia Tour concert was recorded for ye olde King Biscuit Flower Hour FM radio show at my hometown arena (or near enough to D.C., anyway). Yeah, too bad about them 'Skins...

Oh, well: go Saints!

THE WHO
Capital Centre - Largo, MD - December 6, 1973 (FMB @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

PS -- more classic live Who here.

LED ZEPPELIN - Cleveland, OH 1977

2010-02-02T14:30:00.000-08:00

My good buddy "RC" left such a kind comment on my previous Zeppelin boot post (see below) that, well, hell, I just couldn't resist posting another. You wanted '77 Presence Tour Zep, you got it!

This was the band's hugest and lastest tour ever, the one with the immortal T-shirt design still proudly worn by 15-year-old stoners to this day (of course I found it in green):

Word is that this live soundboard recording is the best-quality boot of that entire legendary tour. However, I must admit I don't think it quite matches the '75 show posted last week. The performance is certainly on par, but the audio is a bit trebly and the stereo separation not as wide. At any rate, it's still goddamn good, and I did find it in the highest bitrate available.

So I hereby post it for your rocking pleasure...and yes, it must now be said: Hello Cleveland!

LED ZEPPELIN
"Destroyer"
Richfield Coliseum - Cleveland, OH - April 27, 1977 (SBD @256 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2 / DOWNLOAD 3 / DOWNLOAD 4

MUSE - Berlin, Germany 2009

2010-01-29T17:45:00.001-08:00

This one's a winner, great sound, trust me, download it, have a good weekend, okay bye.

MUSE
O2 World - Berlin, Germany - October 29, 2009 (AUD @320 kbps)
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LED ZEPPELIN - Baton Rouge, LA 1975 (HOT NEW LINX!)

2010-01-22T16:24:00.000-08:00

Greetings from once-sunny Los Angeles, where the rain continues to come down with such torrential, apocalyptic force that it appears Blade Runner's long-ago vision of the soaked city may finally be coming to pass...nine years early, in fact.

And what better soundtrack for such an epic time than the mighty levee-breakers of Led Zep?

This live boot is particularly exciting because it's brand-new, and according to my bros at BigO:

"The soundboard version of this show has just surfaced -- previous versions were audience recordings...

For those who need a bit of refreshing, Led Zep’s 1975 tour took place about two years since the group last toured and, as the Wiki pointed out, 'as a result, some critics have suggested that the band seemed sluggish and rusty upon their return to the stage, with the group lacking dynamics and giving rather ''heavy'' performances.'

Barely four days earlier, Led Zep released the Physical Graffiti album and songs from the album which were played for the first time on this tour included 'Sick Again', 'In My Time of Dying', 'Kashmir' and 'Trampled Under Foot'."

So Zeppelin giving a "heavy" performance is a bad thing? Okay...well, whatever Wiki says about early 1975 Zep, this performance sounds absolutely top-flight to me. The sound quality is just phenomenal; after a slight bit of distortion early on it smooths out into slashing, shattering, staggering, offical-release-quality blood and thunder. It's at 320 kbps here, and it's one of the killerest Zep boots I've ever heard, so git it!

LED ZEPPELIN
"Rampaging Cajun"
LSU Assembly Center - Baton Rouge, LA - February 28, 1975 (SBD @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2 / DOWNLOAD 3 / DOWNLOAD 4

Cheers as always to T.U.B.E. Mach 3.

THE STOOGES - New Orleans, LA 2003

2010-01-19T19:07:00.000-08:00

Regarding the news of this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, the main thing is this: congrats to Iggy and the Dum Dum Boys. After seven years of nomination sans induction -- a shameful slight outdone only by Black Sabbath's preposterous 10-year wait -- ya finally made it, punks!

Of course, Sir Ig is probably also deserving of induction for his spotty but amazingly long-lived and occasionally brilliant (at least on his first three LPs, The Idiot, Lust for Life and New Values) solo career, so he's got that goin' for him. Which is nice.

Too bad poor old Ron Asheton didn’t make it -- missed out by a year. But hey, that’s the Stooges' luck for ya. If they didn't have bad luck, they'd have no kind at all. (Speaking of which, the MC5 probably deserve a shot as well, but I won’t hold my breath.)

So here, behold the freshly reunited Stooges tearing it up in NOLA. I wanna be your dog...two times!

THE STOOGES
"The Battle of New Orleans"
Voodoo Music Experience
City Park - New Orleans, LA - November 1, 2003 (SBD @256 kbps)
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ELVIS PRESLEY - Richmond, VA 1972 (HAPPY 75TH BIRTHDAY TO THE KING!)

2010-01-08T15:02:00.000-08:00

Hey, hey, what can I say? Elvis would have been 75 today.

Far be it from li'l ol' me not to celebrate that stunning fact the best way I know how -- with a live boot fit for a King. This one was recorded by MGM cameras for the MIA-on-DVD 1972 doc Elvis on Tour, so the performance, setlist and audio quality all rule.

Elvis, ya left the building for the last time a helluva long time ago, but damn if we don't still miss the hell outta ya...

Happy 75th to The King!

ELVIS PRESLEY
"Red-Hot in Richmond"
Richmond Coliseum - Richmond, VA - April 10, 1972 (SBD)
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VAMPIRE WEEKEND - Santa Monica, CA 2008

2010-01-06T14:49:00.000-08:00

First post of 2010!

This band also happens to be playing my first concert of this year, next week at Hollywood's Henry Fonda Theatre, tickets to which were bought by darling Rochelle, my then-girlfriend and now fiancée. Bless ya, luv!

I must confess that Vampire Weekend is usually just the sort of Pitchfork-approved, cooler-than-thou band of indie-hipster twits that drives me up the wall...hey, I'm over 40 now, what can I say?

But these particular kids are unique. A posse of L.A.-obsessed Columbia grads -- the love children of Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads, Fela Kuti, King Sunny Adé and a whole big-ass bunch of philosophy professors -- they make music that is just so smart, so clever and sophisticated and fresh and witty and elegant and strange and inventive and sublimely melodic, it's impossible not to dig 'em. So clean-cut and well dressed, too! (Man, I must be over 40.)

If you're a VW fan like me, and psyched for the release of their delightful sophomore effort, Contra (out next Tuesday the 12th, streaming until the 18th on KCRW.com; I've already spun it five or six times), then snag this show. It's a 320 kbps FM broadcast -- complete with interview segment -- from Valentine's Day two years ago, just after the release of their magnificent debut album.

Happy New Year, and Up the Vamps!

VAMPIRE WEEKEND
"Morning Becomes Eclectic"
KCRW Studios, Santa Monica College
Santa Monica, CA - February 14, 2008 (FMB @320 kbps)
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WARREN ZEVON - Sausalito, CA 1978

2009-12-30T15:19:00.000-08:00

What say we end the '00s with a big Z? Nestled between Zappa and ZZ Top in the pantheon of rock and roll zeds -- though of course yet to be inducted into the RnR HoF as they have been -- ol' Warren Z. is always good for a party.

So, to finish out the decade, here's an FM broadcast at 320 kbps, cut when the man was at his popular peak off Excitable Boy and "Werewolves of London".

Enjoy it, thanks for visiting, and Happy New Year!

WARREN ZEVON
The Record Plant - Sausalito, CA - July 27, 1978 (FMB @320 kbps)
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QUEEN - London, England 1975

2009-12-18T15:23:00.000-08:00

Two words, my dearest darlings:

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

QUEEN
Hammersmith Odeon - London, England - December 24, 1975
(BBC FMB @320 kbps)
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ELTON JOHN - London, England 1974

2009-12-15T18:43:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the long delay, had to go away
No time to talk, might as well just rock
The first of two Merry Xmas boots --
So don't forget your rock 'n' roll roots!

With thanks to the (resurrected, hallelujah) T.U.B.E.!

ELTON JOHN
"The Elton John Christmas Party"
Hammersmith Odeon - London, England - December 24, 1974
(BBC FMB @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

VAN HALEN - San Diego and San Jose, CA 2007

2009-11-19T17:57:00.000-08:00

People, this will be my last post...

until the next one in two weeks. I'm headed outta town, while noting the second anniversary of this blog. With that in mind, I hereby post TWO big big Van Halen Reunion Tour concerts!

Van Halen booties will always make a good birthday present for the Chick, since it was the feverish hunt for VH's legendary, Gene Simmons-produced "Zero" demos that first sent me down the rabbit hole into this whole wide world of online bootlegs. Although, where bootlegs are concerned, the words "rabbit hole" scarcely imply "underground," since nothing is easier than acquiring bootleg music if you know where to look. (Speaking of which, my very first post link is still good...)

The 2007-'08 VH 30th anniversary tour kickoff roughly coincided with the birth of this blog; I saw them twice in three weeks at L.A.'s Staples Center. These boots are both from right around that time, one in SoCal and one in NoCal.

Since neither the setlist nor Diamond Dave's stage banter varied one iota, it's all about sound quality where VH reunion boots are concerned. Some performances might be looser and gnarlier (like these two), others might be slicker and smoother (like the second Staples Center show I saw), but the songs remain the same. With nice ambience, good balance and 320 bitrates, these both sound pretty great, especially where it matters most: EVH playin' that ol' gee-TAR!

I must say I'm still amazed that no official CD/DVD was released from this hugely attended tour; Roth and the boys of classic VH actually have quite a talent for leaving money on the table. But then, I guess that very lack of official live, demo or B-side material from them is what prompted me to give life to the Chick in the first place...so it's all good now, innit?

VAN HALEN
Cox Arena - San Diego, CA - November 25, 2007 (AUD @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2 / DOWNLOAD 3

HP Pavilion - San Jose, CA - December 16, 2007 (AUD @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2 / DOWNLOAD 3

PS -- Spock and the gals wish you a Happy Green Alien Turkey Day!

GREEN DAY - Manchester, UK 2009

2009-11-13T20:08:00.000-08:00

Here at Green Alien Chick, Friday the 13th is Green Day!

My wish of almost three months ago has been fulfilled, with a decent full-length boot of their exhilarating -- and still-going-strong -- 21st Century Breakdown Tour. In fact, this one was taped exactly two weeks ago tonight.

Green Day remains the Show of the Year, for my money, and finally we have a recording of something resembling the three-hour extravaganza Billie Joe & Co. laid down at the L.A. Forum gig, closing out the U.S. leg of the tour.

It's an audience recording, true -- but a clear and well-balanced one (at 320 no less), capturing not just 30 great tunes but every last f-bomb and "Get yer hands in the air!" scream.

So cheers to the taper -- the esteemed PABBY -- and to you!

Oh, and Nazi punks? FUCK OFF.

GREEN DAY
MEN Arena - Manchester, UK - October 30, 2009 (AUD @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2 / DOWNLOAD 3

KISS - Los Angeles, CA 1998 (Halloween Night)

2009-11-06T18:30:00.000-08:00

As promised a week ago, the best Halloween concert I've ever been to. I mean, come on, KISS on Halloween night? And a Saturday Halloween at that, like the one just past?

This is a superb live boot, 22 stupendous-sounding tracks from a complete FM broadcast. Even the three then-new Psycho Circus songs don't suck. (Incidentally, the complete video of this show can be found on Vol. 3 of the exhaustive Kissology DVD series.)

My enduring memory of this massive Dodger Stadium gig -- which I attended with my old buddy Jon "Smackley" Alpo, both of us stoned 'n' stupid in our KISS 3-D glasses -- is that prior to "God of Thunder", Gene Simmons was doing his customary stalk around the stage...in inky darkness. Then he stopped, stood still, and his voice rumbled out: "Gimme a fuckin' spotlight."

Directly behind Jon and me, a spotlight beam popped on, quickly finding its way to the Demon onstage...

We both looked behind us, toward the hapless spotlight operator. I clearly remember thinking, "That poor bastard is lucky if he only gets fired, and doesn't end his Halloween floating facedown in the L.A. River, courtesy of the God of Thunder himself."

Scary, right?

KISS
Dodger Stadium - Los Angeles, CA - October 31, 1998 (FMB)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

PS -- You will need to number the tracks yourself. But hey, as Mr. Simmons and I always say, "Can't beat the price!"

KISS - Auckland, New Zealand 1980 (HAPPY HALLOWEEN!)

2009-10-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

One good Halloween KISS deserves another. So here's another scary-good show from the boys, including then-new drummer Eric Carr, from the final night of the Unmasked Tour.

This live monster is commonly referred to as "Ace's Last Stand," since lead guitarist Ace Frehley would soon depart for the somewhat greener pastures of slightly above-average solo success in the '80s, later followed by his triumphant (if temporary) reunion with original drummer Peter Criss and those other two machers in the mid-'90s.

If possible, I will cap off this little KISStival next week with one of the three Reunion Years concerts I caught -- at Dodger Stadium in L.A., almost exactly eleven years ago -- on the cool crisp night of October 31st...

Which reminds me:

HAPPY HALLOWEEEEN!!!!

KISS "Ace's Last Stand"
Western Springs Stadium - Auckland, N.Z. - December 3, 1980
(SBD @320 kbps)
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KISS - Tokyo, Japan 1977

2009-10-23T20:56:00.000-07:00

In solemn acknowledgment of the fact that next weekend brings my favorite day of the year -- and of the fact that THE HOTTEST BAND IN THE LAND has finally been nominated for the Shlock and Roll Hall of Shame -- I give you klassic '77 KISS!

This, my first KISS post ever, is easily among their top bootz of all time, a rough, raw and "real" alternate version of the band's second live album, which would be released a year later in spit-n-polished, studio-tweaked fashion. (Don't get me wrong: I treasure Alive II. It's one of the first three rock LPs I ever owned, along with Elton John's Greatest Hits and Queen's News of the World, sort of a glam-pop Holy Trinity.)

On this version of the album, the tracklist is about half the same as Alive II, and half different or earlier tunes. Rounding out "Side 4" are demo recordings of the five studio cuts that ended Alive II.

Looks like we gon' have ourselves a rawk an' roll pawty tonight!

KISS
"The Lost Alive II Album"
Budokan Hall - Tokyo, Japan - April 4, 1977 (SBD @ 320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

PS -- Haven't checked out the new one yet, but I hear it ain't half-bad!

BOB DYLAN & THE ROLLING THUNDER REVUE - Fort Worth, TX 1976

2009-10-16T19:01:00.000-07:00

One great Rolling Thunder Revue show deserves another, right? This one is from the tail end of the tour's second leg in spring of 1976, and it's another Top 75-rated concert according to the superfans at Expecting Rain. In fact, it's actually in the Top 10!

This also happens to be one of the rare boots I've heard that sounds almost perfect despite having a bitrate of just 128 kbps. I merely reveal this information because these days I'm trying to only post material at 256 and above. However, I'm tellin' y'all -- this thing sounds absolutely stellar. I don't know that a higher bitrate would really improve it that much...

'Course if anyone out there has it in 320, do me a kindness and lemme know!

BOB DYLAN & THE ROLLING THUNDER REVUE
"Hold the Fort for What It's Worth!"
Tarrant County Convention Center Arena
Fort Worth, TX - May 16, 1976 (SBD)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

BOB DYLAN & THE ROLLING THUNDER REVUE - Plymouth, MA 1975

2009-10-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

My busy 2009 concert season starts winding down tonight with good old Uncle Bobby at the Hollywood Palladium, his first of three nights at the historic, recently renovated venue (featuring Mr. "Secret Agent Man" Johnny Rivers opening).

Tonight's show should qualify as some sort of footnote in Dylan lore because he rarely ends up playing on the day of an album's release, and because today's release happens to be his wonderfully odd, oddly wonderful Christmas album. Yes, Virginia, a "Yuletide platter" is certainly a first for the Bard -- and after 48 years of recording, why-in-the-name-of-St.-Nick not?

It's also worth noting that, including 2008's Bootleg Series Vol. 8 edition, Christmas in the Heart marks Dylan's third official CD release in the past year. Not bad for a dude pushing 70.

To commemorate this special day in Dylan history, here's a classic live boot from Halloween 1975, the second night of the legendary, ramshackle Rolling Thunder Revue Tour starring Roger McGuinn, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Joan Baez (who I caught at the Santa Monica Pier this summer), et al. Rated one of the Top 75 shows ever by the invaluable Dylanology resource Expecting Rain, the complete soundboard version was only discovered a few years ago.

Big thanks to the mighty Big O for this one. Go Bobby go!

BOB DYLAN & THE ROLLING THUNDER REVUE
War Memorial Auditorium - Plymouth, MA - October 31, 1975 (SBD)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

RADIOHEAD - London, England 2008

2009-10-09T17:53:00.000-07:00

One good Yorke/Radiohead boot deserves another, and this is a tough one to find, too. It's a webcast of a special small-venue gig the band did a few weeks after the release of In Rainbows in compact disc format (quaint concept, that). They play the entire album and more, and it sounds rowdy, noisy, sweaty and typically brilliant.

I threw my back out earlier this week -- Radiohead should record a song about what it feels like to do that -- so I'm done for the day. Wish me luck hauling my ass outta this chair...

RADIOHEAD
93 Feet East - London, England - January 16, 2008 (SBD @ 320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

THOM YORKE - Bridge School Benefit Concerts, 2002

2009-10-02T18:18:00.000-07:00

Rockin' so heavy on the Muse lately has reminded me that the great Matthew Bellamy does in fact have a few other vocal models besides Freddie Mercury, the main one of course being Radiohead's Thom Yorke. That thought led me to track down one of my all-time fave live boots, by anyone, not least because I beheld both of these unforgettable solo performances with my own eyes and ears.

What makes these shows so interesting -- aside from the sheer deep feeling of Yorke's singing and piano/guitar playing -- is that seven years ago, Yorke had no identity as a solo artist; the release of his debut album The Eraser was almost four years in the future. So it was just...odd to see this little guy walk out onstage, alone, right at sunset (a magic moment during any outdoor festival, when the stage lights turn on, everyone is nicely buzzed, and you can finally focus on the music instead of the scene).

But, as you will hear, it took about ten seconds for anyone there paying attention (which, sadly, didn't include everyone in the vicinity of our heroic taper) to realize that something very special was happening. This was especially surprising and thrilling given that what Yorke performed on both nights was not "Creep" or "Fake Plastic Trees," but the weird shit, the heavy shit, the bleepy-whooshy-squiggly electronic shit from OK Computer and Kid A and Amnesiac. On his own old guitar and Neil Young's old piano. Miraculous, really.

In short, two of my favorite live performances ever. Thanks to whoever out there did such a brilliant job of taping this clear, crisp, rich and full recording.

THOM YORKE "Acoustic Solo"
Bridge School Benefit Concert
Shoreline Amphitheatre - Mountain View, CA
October 26 and 27, 2002 (AUD @ 320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

MUSE - Teignmouth, Devon, UK 2009 (NEW LINK!)

2009-09-23T19:13:00.000-07:00

In celebration of Muse's epochal new album The Resistance finally being released last week -- and making the U.S. Top 3 this week! -- I'm squeezing out one more show by the boys, probably the best one so far. It's a BBC FM broadcast taped just over two weeks ago at the band's hometown album launch concert, called (in a cute Queen reference) "A Seaside Rendezvous."

And yes, it's 61:15 of absolute perfection, a highlights mix of brand-new and classic tracks. My most favoritest part? The live Once Upon a Time in the West harmonica introduction to the climactic "Knights of Cydonia". If 21st century rock and roll gets any better, please let me know.

This was a damned difficult boot to track down, so thanks to the lovely Erato1 for hooking a brother up.

MUSE "A Seaside Rendezvous"
The Den - Teignmouth, Devon, UK - September 5, 2009 (FMB)
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PS -- This is a NEW LINK, with more songs and a higher bitrate! So thanks to "Tufty," whoever and wherever you are...

THE BEATLES - The Complete Rooftop Concert, 1969

2009-09-09T18:48:00.000-07:00

It being Beatles Day and all, who am I to resist the holy spirit... yet, fatalist that I am, it seems only fitting to post their last (live) hurrah, no?

Me, I'm so broke at the moment that I haven't a pot in which to piss nor a window out of which to dump it. However, I am at the same time listening -- at no expense whatsoever, thanks to the good graces of a good friend -- to the very same remastered box set that's causing so many others to happily put themselves in the poor-house today...funny how that works.

Somehow I don't think Paul or Ringo will miss my $200.

THE BEATLES
"The Complete 2CD Rooftop Concert"
Apple Headquarters - London, England - January 30, 1969 (SBD)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

BLUR - Hyde Park, London 2009

2009-09-04T13:13:00.000-07:00

These are great days we're living, bros. Within the same month, brilliant Britpop legends Blur finally reunited, and boorish Britpop louts Oasis finally disbanded.

Thank goodness for the former, and good riddance to the latter. I hope both are for keeps.

Herewith, the full BBC FM broadcast of the thrilling culmination of Blur's June-July U.K. reunion shows. And have a hap-hap-happy holiday weekend.

BLUR
Hyde Park - London, England - July 3, 2009 (FMB)
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THE MARS VOLTA - "Summer Demo Sessions," 2002

2009-09-01T18:06:00.000-07:00

To finish off the massive 2009 summer concert season, I caught these mad scientists at the newly remastered Hollywood Palladium. It was no threat to Green Day's aforementioned Forum show in the Concert of the Year competition, but a very freaky scene nonetheless. They throw a ton of Zep/Sabbs/Rush/Santana-type ingredients into their space salsa, yet somehow they don't sound quite like anyone else. (I still think Cedric sounds like Björk, however.)

Their debut, 2003's powerhouse De-Loused in the Comatorium, remains their best. Here are the demos for that album.

THE MARS VOLTA
"Summer Demo Sessions" - 2002 (STU @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

GREEN DAY - BBC Maida Vale Studio, London 2004

2009-08-28T17:29:00.000-07:00

Who knew? Green Day was so bloody phenomenal at my beloved Forum on Tuesday night that I can't resist posting another boot from the boys.

No kidding, folks: simply put, this was the show of the year. It kills me that they didn't tape it for the ages; so far there's not even a single decent boot from the entire U.S. leg of the 21st Century Breakdown Tour, of which Tuesday night's three-hour blowout was the final night.

Here's hoping the band, or anyone else, decides to remedy this situation starting in one month's time, when the three-month European leg kicks off. You can do it, fellas!

To compensate, we have a short, sharp FM broadcast from the launch of American Idiot almost (good gawd) five years ago...

just in time for the launch of the musical!

GREEN DAY
BBC Maida Vale Studio - London, England - October 10, 2004 (FMB)
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GREEN DAY - Bridge School Benefit Concert, 1999

2009-08-25T17:12:00.000-07:00

Tonight's show is Green Day at The Forum, first time I've seen them since the epic 1999 Halloween weekend up in Mountain View when my bros D.D. and G.G. and I attended both Bridge School Benefit concerts.

The '99 edition was only my second time at this wonderful annual event; I've been many times since, but Bridge XIII still stands as my favorite ever. Look at that year's lineup -- along with Green Day, we got Neil Young of course, plus Brian Wilson, The Who, Tom Waits, Lucinda Williams, Pearl Jam, Emmylou Harris, Sheryl Crow, and Billy Corgan and James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins... inconceivable!

I remember the shows as if they were ten days ago, not almost ten years. I was excited, cold, high on weed and shrooms, fretting about dating some new chick and starting a new job...yeah, all told, closer to the best of times than the worst. Can't be too bad when you're at a show like this one.

So here's all 29 minutes of Green Day's terrific first set of the weekend; Green Day before they started reaching for Greatness, and were happy just to be good goofy fun.

GREEN DAY "Unplugged"
Bridge School Benefit Concert XIII
Shoreline Amphitheatre - Mountain View, CA - October 30, 1999 (SBD)
DOWNLOAD

PS -- Stay tuned; more on the way from Bridge School 1999...

STEELY DAN - "Katy Lied" Outtakes & Rough Mixes, 1974-'75

2009-08-21T17:46:00.000-07:00

The Steely Dan Show stops tonight in Los Angeles, and I'm so very there. Have a groo-hoo-hoovy weekend, one and all!

STEELY DAN
Katy Lied Outtakes & Rough Mixes - 1974-'75 (STU @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD

HEAVEN & HELL - Sweden Rock Festival, 2007

2009-08-11T16:20:00.000-07:00

I'll be seeing The Creator of The Metal (all 8 fingers of him) and The Evil Elf Himself (all 67 years of him!) tonight at L.A.'s Greek Theatre. Heaven & Hell have been chugging along strong for a couple of years now, with no sign of slowing down. I saw them a year ago in San Berdoo on the limited-edition Metal Masters Tour, and they were magnificent, a most pleasant surprise...

For a taste of their salubrious, sibilant and supernal Satan sauce, check out this sample from Sölvesborg, Sweden. It's an hour-long FM broadcast of seven songs and salutations to Swedish sausages. Seriously: Dio sings "You’ll be dreaming of sausages!" The silly Swedish DJ chatter adds a li’l sumpm-sumpm to the stew as well.

Why all this speaking of sauce and sausages? What can I say... between Maestro Iommi, Dio and drummer Vinny Appice, Heaven & Hell is probably the most Italian group since The Four Seasons. So Ave Satani and Buon Appetito!

HEAVEN & HELL
Sweden Rock Festival - Norje, Sölvesborg, Sweden - June 7, 2007 (FMB)
DOWNLOAD

MUSE - Reading Festival, UK 2006

2009-08-05T13:52:00.000-07:00

More monstrous epicness from Muse, this time an FM broadcast from their head-lining slot at the UK's gigantic summer Reading Festival (the next edition of which comes in three weeks, for our friends in Old Blighty). The band was riding high on the worldwide success of Black Holes & Revelations, an album so supermassive it even managed to somewhat break the band here in benighted America, land of Coors-slurping idiots whose idea of a rock band is ratshit like Nickel Park and Linkinback.

About a month prior to this festival show, held at the charmingly named Little John's Farm (capacity 80,000-plus), I had seen Muse at L.A.'s Greek Theatre (capacity 5,700). Seeing them in a venue of such modest size, knowing they could easily draw 15 times that number almost anywhere else on Earth, was an experience that could truly be described as revelatory.

MUSE
Reading Festival, Little John's Farm - Reading, UK - August 26, 2006 (FMB, m4a format)
DOWNLOAD

RAR unzip password: sgeltoob
(Thanks to T.U.B.E.)

MUSE - Earls Court, London 2004

2009-07-31T18:34:00.000-07:00

As promised, another Muse post, this one a ferocious show from the end of their Absolution Tour. It's absolutely and completely epic in every way possible, not least in terms of sound quality: FM broadcast at 320, people! I can do no better than that. Now dig:

MUSE
Earls Court Exhibition Centre - London, England - December 20, 2004 (FMB @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2 / DOWNLOAD 3

MUSE - "United States Of Eurasia" (NEW SONG - RE-POST!)

2009-07-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

The Greatest Band on Earth (there can be only one...) has just released a new single from their upcoming album entitled The Resistance, out September 14th. This is not the official first single; that has been confirmed as the more danceable "Uprising".

This one is called "United States Of Eurasia", and its audacious Queenly Zeppelinness must be heard to be believed. Here it is...

Vive le résistance! Viva Muse!

MUSE
"United States Of Eurasia" (@320 kbps)
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MICHAEL JACKSON - Brunei 1996

2009-07-17T18:24:00.000-07:00

Heading outta town for a week, so I'll leave you with one final MJ concert. This is the best-quality boot from his last tour in 1996-'97, recorded 13 years ago yesterday as a matter of fact.

As the man himself might say..."Shamone."

MICHAEL JACKSON
Jerudong Park Garden - Brunei-Muara, Brunei - July 16, 1996 (SBD)
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MICHAEL JACKSON - Unreleased Motown, 1970-'75

2009-07-10T19:21:00.000-07:00

Here's a little something different for the weekend, now that MichaelMania has slightly died down (sorry). The MJ live bootleg world seems to be limited mainly to shows from his final HIStory Tour, the best one of which I'll post next week. But HIStory is no one's favorite MJ album; pity there seems to be an online blackout of every Bad Tour boot except for the one I posted last week... luckily, that one is damn good.

MJ's early 1970s solo output is no one's favorite either, which isn't entirely fair. The music from his first four albums, released while doing double-duty as leader of the J5 (damn, these kids were prolific!), is short on funkiness, long on lush loveliness. It's mostly in the ever-so-'70s easy-listening mode, all bathed in swooning strings, but there are moments of piercing beauty throughout.

This extremely rare outtakes LP is as good a sampler of these songs as any. A word of warning, however: it can be heavy going and ultimately makes for a very, very sad listen. If you're any kind of Jackson fan, you might be in tears by the end of it.

MICHAEL JACKSON
Unreleased Motown: Looking Back to Yesterday
1970-'75 (STU) {LP rip @320 kbps}
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MICHAEL JACKSON - Yokohama, Japan 1987

2009-07-02T18:11:00.000-07:00

The word from MJNBC (as I've dubbed my go-to news network) is that we're soon to be inundated with a tsunami of previously unreleased Michael material, both new and old. Given that Jackson's best studio work is at least 25 years gone, and that he released precious little live stuff during his lifetime -- surprising for such a fantastic stage performer -- I'd be much more excited by the prospect of some classic concerts finally seeing the light of day...

In the meantime, this energetic pro-recorded gig from a Japanese TV broadcast, early on the globe-trotting 1987-'89 Bad Tour, is an ideal place to start. Unlike later shows, it boasts 100% live vocals, with no lip-syncing or overdubs. My fave bit is in the middle of "Shake Your Body", when Jackson heartily yells (I swear) "Gobama Yokohama!"

If the Jackson family and Sony Music play their cards right, this one shan’t remain a bootleg for long.

MICHAEL JACKSON
Yokohama Stadium - Yokohama, Japan - September 26, 1987 (SBD)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

THE JACKSONS - Amsterdam 1979 (R.I.P. Michael Jackson) {NEW LINK}

2009-07-01T14:20:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed in the last week that live Jacksons bootlegs aren't exactly easy to come by. This one, from the Destiny Tour, is easily the best...and that's all you need to know.

Grab it while you can, then hit Heavy Sugar Radio for a little more.

THE JACKSONS
Carre Theatre - Amsterdam, Netherlands - February 26, 1979 (SBD)
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MICHAEL JACKSON & FREDDIE MERCURY '83 DEMOS PLUS M.J./QUEEN MASHUP! (R.I.P. Michael Jackson)

2009-06-26T11:48:00.000-07:00

Michael Jackson joining Freddie Mercury in Pop Star Heaven seems an opportune moment to post the two demo tracks co-written and recorded by the legendary singers in 1983, first leaked online 7 years ago. The collaboration was mentioned in Queen guitarist Brian May's statement on Jackson's death yesterday.

Needless to say, neither track was ever released, probably with good reason...

"There Must Be More to Life Than This" is a rather soppy, power-ish ballad, somewhat reminiscent of Queen's earlier "Save Me" and later "Is This the World We Created?," only not half as good as either. Mercury's own version would appear on his first solo album.

"State of Shock" is the dumb dance number which Jackson later reworked with Mick Jagger for the Jacksons' penultimate album, 1984's lousy Victory. (The Victory Tour, on the other hand...well, suffice it to say I was about a mile from the stage at RFK Stadium that night in September 1984, but still. I.Was.There.)

So check the tracks out and judge for yourself; direct links are below. Listening to them 25 years on, I note the irony that, in death, Freddie Mercury was pushed off the coveted cover of Rolling Stone by...Michael Jackson:

(Although Freddie probably never would have made the cover anyway, given the total lack of attention, much less respect, Queen got from RS when he was, y'know, alive.)

Finally, last but not hardly least comes "Jacko Under Pressure", a magnificent mashup of Jackson's "Rock with You" and Queen's "Under Pressure" created by Mark Vidler of Go Home Productions. It's very likely my favorite mashup of all time.

R.I.P. Michael, R.I.P. Freddie...now r-i-p these while you can.

MICHAEL JACKSON AND FREDDIE MERCURY
Studio demo recordings, 1983
"State of Shock"
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"There Must Be More to Life Than This"
DOWNLOAD

GO HOME PRODUCTIONS
Michael Jackson/Queen mashup, 2003
"Jacko Under Pressure"
DOWNLOAD

ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE ATTRACTIONS - Essen, Germany 1983

2009-06-23T18:34:00.000-07:00

From one King to another: Monday night's fantastic in-store at Amoeba Hollywood reminded me of how much I love that other Elvis...

My man did a full, rocking 70-minute set -- including spirited covers of "Friend of the Devil" and "Not Fade Away" -- yet only berated the sound guy once! (To be precise, Elvis called the poor kid onstage and then, just out of mic range, yelled "This sounds fucking horrible!") Don't let the new mandolin-and-fiddle sounds or jaunty hipster wardrobe fool you; our old Elvis can still be as pissy as ever.

By the way: from where I stood, it sounded fucking brilliant!

So grab another superduper show right here, an expansive FM broadcast from the German TV show Rockpalast. Loaded with sassy tunes from 1983's brassy Punch the Clock album, more from my personal faves Trust and Imperial Bedroom, plus a few hits, oldies and covers, this is certainly one of the essential Costello boots in any collection.

Long live the (Other) King!

ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE ATTRACTIONS "Rockpalast '83"
Grugahalle - Essen, Germany - October 15, 1983 (FMB @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2 / DOWNLOAD 3

ELVIS PRESLEY - Greensboro, NC 1972

2009-06-19T18:22:00.000-07:00

I'm just rolling with my current '69-through-early-'70s live Elvis obsession, so I figure why not take y'all along for the ride?

This concert boot may be of even higher quality than the first one, since was it was originally recorded for the 1972 documentary Elvis on Tour, The King's last-ever film, a Golden Globe-winner no less, though it still remains unreleased on DVD. Here's hoping that long-lost doc undergoes the same loving restoration lavished upon its predecessor, 1970's riveting That's the Way It Is.

At any rate, this is a magnificent performance and a tremendously crisp, dynamic, CD-quality soundboard recording. Read all about it here and here, then download it...you know where!

ELVIS PRESLEY "A Greensboro Revolution!"
Greensboro Coliseum - Greensboro, NC - April 14, 1972 (SBD)
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P.S. For top-notch '69 Vegas Elvis, head for Heavy Sugar Radio!

ELVIS PRESLEY - Las Vegas, 1973

2009-06-16T18:03:00.000-07:00

Any man who tries to tell me I ain't allowed to post up The King on my own damn blog once in awhile...

(and don't you get offended, Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm talkin' to somebody else)

...if I find or hear the individual that has said that about me, I'm gonna break your goddamn neck, you sonofabitch! I will pull your goddamn tongue out by the ROOTS!

Thankyaverymuch. Anyway.

ELVIS PRESLEY "Vegas Rhythm" {Dinner Show}
Hilton Hotel - Las Vegas, NV - February 3, 1973 (SBD)
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METALLICA - Fresno, CA 2008

2009-06-12T17:46:00.000-07:00

Why?

Because it's been four months since I done posted any Metallica, when I put up the 12/17/08 and 12/18/08 shows from L.A.'s Fabulous Forum.

Because this is another damn jolly good concert from the still-going strong World Magnetic Tour.

Because I just love saying the phrase "Save Mart Center in Fresno."

So let me repeat:

METALLICA
Save Mart Center - Fresno, CA - December 13, 2008 (SBD)
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PINK FLOYD - "BBC Archives 1970-1971"

2009-06-03T16:04:00.000-07:00

This one was just too fine to resist. An expanded 2-disc version of the Floyd BBC boot I posted here last month, "BBC Archives 1970-1971" has to be one of the best boots I've ever posted. It's almost overwhelming, hearing these two complete performances together with intros and announcements and the rest...so what was great is now perfect!

Both shows were recorded at the BBC Paris Cinema theatre in London about one year apart, the first a few months before the release of 1970's too-far-out Atom Heart Mother, and the second just before the magnificently mad monolith that is Meddle (1971).

As in the earlier post, audio here is pure FM-broadcast, 320 kbps, CD-quality loveliness. It's amazing to me that, alone among major British bands of the 1960s and '70s, Floyd has never officially released any of their BBC session material...but hey, who cares? Dig, we got the freaky stuff right here, maaan -- from "Embryo" to "Echoes".

And, for the equally great 1967-'69 edition of Floyd at the Beeb, check out my other, '60s-centric blog, Heavy Sugar Radio.

PINK FLOYD "BBC Archives 1970-1971"
BBC Paris Cinema - London, England
July 16, 1970 and September 30, 1971 (FMB @ 320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2 / DOWNLOAD 3 / DOWNLOAD 4

IAN DURY & THE BLOCKHEADS - London 1979

2009-05-29T17:32:00.000-07:00

Feeling sneezy 'n' sniffly today...but a bit of Sir Ian always cheers and chuffs and puffs me up. A unique individual in rock history was old Ian, who died in 2000. He's sorely missed.

Despite being leaders of Stiff Records' legendary 1977 roster, Dury and his crack band The Blockheads were as much about reggae, funk, English music hall and even disco as they were punk. Dury was a hell of a comic too, a witty and raunchy lyricist -- like Ray Davies' loony, horny, drop-dead funny drunk cousin from up north (North London, that is). For a tasty nibble, click here.

If you love British rock music -- truly, madly, deeply, essentially, eccentrically, ecstatically British music -- then, as you must love The Kinks, Pink Floyd, Queen, The Jam and/or The Smiths, you simply must love Ian Dury.

IAN DURY & THE BLOCKHEADS
Hammersmith Odeon - London, England - August 11, 1979 (FMB)
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THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND - San Francisco, CA 1973

2009-05-20T13:07:00.000-07:00

I'll be seeing the A-Bros. tonight at the gorgeous, glorious Greek Theatre for my first and most likely last time. Well, what's left of the Brothers, anyway -- I guess three outta six ain't bad, not after 40 years of road wear.

For those who can't be there, and those who will, here's an EPIC!!! face-melter of a New Year's show from way way way back in the day. Four solid discs of blooze-rawk power jammin', with guest shots by no less than the Dead's Jerry Garcia and Bill Kreutzmann, as well as that ol' smoothie Boz Scaggs.

You read that right: we're talkin' Brother Jerry on "Whipping Post"! (A very mellow, Coltrane-does- "My Favorite Things"-style "Whipping Post" jam, at that).

I tells ya, it's a monsta, this thing! Get some!

THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND
The Cow Palace - San Francisco, CA
December 31, 1973 - January 1, 1974 (SBD)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2 / DOWNLOAD 3 / DOWNLOAD 4

GREEN DAY - Dublin, Ireland 2005

2009-05-15T21:15:00.000-07:00

Got a ton to say and not a minute to say it, so the music will have to speak for itself. Green Day's nifty new one comes out today (on a Friday, just like a movie)!

With that in mind, here's some classic FM broadcast bootage from the Emerald Isle. Rip it up!

GREEN DAY
The Point Theatre - Dublin, Ireland - January 31, 2005 (FMB)
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PINK FLOYD - "Rhapsody in Pink," BBC In Concert 1970

2009-05-08T19:24:00.000-07:00

I'm warp-speeding out in a sec to see what manner of Green Alien Chickage might be featured in that big new Star Trek joint...I hear it's a pip. At any rate, given the hurry, here's a quick scan on today's space rock extravaganza:

"This is the collection of material to hunt for if you're looking for unreleased Floyd from the post-Barrett, pre-Dark Side era. Bootleg fidelity doesn't come any better than this; it's one of the very few occasions where you could argue that the sound may actually be better than most official releases. These BBC airshots from the late '60s and early '70s focus on rather obscure material: 'Julia Dream,' 'If,' 'Green Is the Colour,' 'Embryo,' and the never-released 'Murderistic Women' (a blueprint for 'Careful with That Axe, Eugene'). There are also full-bore workouts of 'Echoes' and 'Atom Heart Mother Suite' that, depending on one's taste, could be argued to exceed the officially issued versions. "

Can't beat that with a Mek'leth, now can ya? Also, be sure to keep an ear out for one line in "Point Me at the Sky": "And if you survive 'til 2005..." Think about it: the Floyd's last-ever performance, at Live 8, was when...?

Infinite gratitude to Blogstoned for this cosmic trip-ship. As Mr. Nimoy said on Late Show last night, "Live long, prosper, and keep on hangin' and bangin'."

PINK FLOYD "Rhapsody in Pink"
BBC In Concert - London, UK - 1970 (SBD @ 320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD

PS -- One more thing, please: help a brother out by looking to the upper-right, clicking on the new link there, and buying a T-shirt or some such. Your Green Alien Chick will thank you!

BLUE OYSTER CULT - Cleveland, OH 1991

2009-05-04T20:06:00.000-07:00

If you can beat an FM broadcast (at 320 kbps, no less) that begins with the DJ shouting "Good evening, Cleveland!" -- totes fo' real! -- then please let me know.

Until then, content thyself with a fierce live boot from the Steely Dan of heavy metal (I'll let you figure that one out). It has everything you need right now, including "Astronomy"...that epic space-rock classic known as "Astronomy". The celestial shreddage of Captain Buck Dharma reaches a particular apex on this number.

Space is the place, truly...speaking of which, why not do us a solid and check out the hot new Green Alien Chick Store!

BLUE OYSTER CULT
Empire Concert Club - Cleveland, OH - August 24, 1991 (FMB @ 320)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2 / DOWNLOAD 3

RAR unzip password: Career of Evil

BOB DYLAN - New York City, 1993

2009-04-30T18:26:00.001-07:00

Continuing our celebration of the fact that Bob Dylan is alive and healthy, walking tall and looking good and making terrific new music, I hereby post my first Bob Dylan show ever. That's right, the first of the four legendary NYC Supper Club gigs was the first time I ever saw the man live.

It's actually sort of a bittersweet memory, in my case, being a classic example of glass half-full vs. half-empty...

The beauty part was that since the shows were to be taped and videoed -- a project financed by Dylan himself, no less -- the tickets were free. Dylan would do two hour-long shows per night over two nights.

So, one frigid November dawn, I lined up by my lonesome outside the Tower Records at 4th & Broadway to get a pair of tickets for me and my bud, D. Micah Quince. No problem: got the tix, went to the venue. It was there, however -- as I observed the two dudes in front of me each swapping one ticket for another -- that I realized: if my bud had come along with me to Tower, we could have each gotten a pair of tickets, one pair for the first show and one pair for the second. Thus, we could have swapped ours as well, and gone to both shows instead of only the first one. I just...was not...clever enough to have thought of that at the time. Or maybe I was just too hiiigh...

Oh well. God knows I've been to an assload of Dylan shows since that night, and this beautiful boot more than makes up for my long-ago brain fart. As I said, all four shows were recorded, but none was released, for reasons yet unknown. The upside is that the show I attended seems to have been the best of all, and is certainly the most widely circulated. So here it is.

BOB DYLAN
Supper Club - New York, NY - November 16, 1993 {Late Show} (SBD)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

PS -- The album of traditional folk covers which Dylan released just prior to these shows, World Gone Wrong, is a gorgeous, glorious masterpiece and easily Dylan's most underrated album ever, if you ask me. So there.

BOB DYLAN - Eugene, OR 1999

2009-04-28T18:08:00.000-07:00

New Dylan album out today. My quick verdict, based on a scant two spins, is it's stronger lyrically than melodically -- more so than usual for Dylan, that is -- and a bit of a lateral move, fair enough after three studio masterpieces in a row, plus the vast wealth of Bootleg Series and remastered CDs, the No Direction Home doc and Chronicles Vol. 1 bio released over the past decade or so since the bard's late-'90s renaissance.

Hell, at this late date (not dark yet, but gettin' there), I just love being able to write the sentence "New Dylan album out today." I mean, if you lived in England 450 years ago, wouldn't you have been psyched to say "Hey, seen the new Shakespeare?"

BOB DYLAN
Erb Memorial Union Ballroom, University of Oregon
Eugene, OR - June 14, 1999 (SBD)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

GRATEFUL DEAD - Ithaca, NY 1977

2009-04-24T21:01:00.000-07:00

The Dead are touring again, and I'll be seeing them here at the Fabulous Forum in a couple weeks, thanks to the kind veggie burrito-ness of a good friend and supporter of the Chick...

So why not post another fine candidate for Best Show Ever, the monumental concert at Cornell U. (my dad's alma mater) from the legendary Spring '77 tour?

Of course, this is a bootleg that even casual Deadheads already have. If you ain't hip, then the recent New York Times article on Dead boot history will tell you more; also check out the 'Head reaction to the piece here and here.

Meantime, enjoy '77 Dead at its finest, and see you on the road, braaah...

GRATEFUL DEAD
Barton Hall, Cornell University - Ithaca, NY - May 8, 1977 (SBD)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

LEONARD COHEN - Gothenburg, Sweden 1993

2009-04-10T18:21:00.000-07:00

I'll be seeing Leonard Cohen, the gravel-voiced bard of Quebec, tomorrow night here in L.A. I still can't quite believe it. The great man, all 74 years of him -- a lyricist second only to Bob Dylan, most likely -- hasn't done a U.S. tour in over 15 years, so it's a rare show indeed.

To acknowledge this rather momentous occasion, here's a quality FM broadcast from Cohen's European tour promoting 1992's The Future, his most accessible and popular LP, featuring tunes from that wonderful album plus a few oldies and, of course, an encore of "Hallelujah".

Want more Lenny? Head over to my '60s music blog, Heavy Sugar Radio, and grab "Live at the BBC", a collection from the year of my birth. (And what a year it was...)

A very Happy Easter, whatever that means to you.

LEONARD COHEN
Lisebergshallen - Gothenburg, Sweden - May 2, 1993 (FMB)
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RITZ POWER JAM (Warren Haynes, Jaimoe, Chuck Leavell, John Popper, Noel Redding, Bernie Worrell Etc.) - New York City, 1993

2009-04-01T17:52:00.000-07:00

Let's hear it for POWER JAM! Let's hear it for da blues! Da bloooz! Da motherlovin' blüüüüüüüz!

I actually went to this show, long about 16 years ago, through the courtesy of my old buddy Sheldon "Flak" Berdoo (his real name). He had won tix through a radio contest or some such, as I recall, so on a frosty Feb'ry eve we headed over to rock out at The Ritz (not the original Ritz, which is now Webster Hall, but the short-lived second Ritz, which was the original Studio 54; after that Ritz closed it became Studio 54 again, until becoming the Roundabout Theatre Company, which it remains today. If you care, read the entire Ritz saga here.)

Another buddy of mine, D. Micah Quince of New York City (also his real name), recently alerted me as to the existence of this most precious -- and, luckily, extremely well-recorded -- three-disc bootleg of the concert, which was apparently supposed to be the first of many all-star POWER JAMs but ended up just being a one-off, truly "One Night Only." At $12.50 a ticket, no less...

But what a one-off it is, with its demolition derby of power-player star turns by Allman Brothers guitarist Warren Haynes and drummer Jaimoe, Stones pianist Chuck Leavell, Blues Traveler singer/harp-shredder John Popper, Hendrix Experience bassist Noel Redding, and Parliament- Funkadelic organist Bernie Worrell, among others. Plus encore guest spots by Dave Matthews and Phish's Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon, all performing a slew of Beatles, Elvis, Dylan, Hendrix, blues and oldies covers. Whoa. I mean, WHOOAAH!

As hoarily over-familiar as some of the tunes are, and were even back then, the performances are powerful indeed. It's rather wonderful to experience this show again, since it was such a rare bird. Takes me right back to my purply-hazy college days of Wetlands and Dead shows and the whole groovy early-'90s NYC jam band scene, braaah. Good times! No, really...good times.

Thanks to OldRockr1 for this baby.

RITZ POWER JAM
The Ritz - New York, NY - February 5, 1993 (SBD; MP4 format)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

MASTODON - Lowlands Festival, Netherlands 2006

2009-03-27T18:52:00.000-07:00

For the weekend, it's a hard-right turn away from Marley irieness into Mastodon gnarliness.

I just snagged the new zombie Rasputin-vs.-cosmic Satan epic Crack the Skye, released this week, and find it easier on the ears than their 2006 major-label debut Blood Mountain, which was almost too far-out for me (kinda like the Mars Volta's Amputechture, which happened to be released on the same day...apparently there was something gnarly as fuck in the water on September 12, 2006).

Not sure where I stand on the burgeoning notion that Mastodon is the greatest pure-metal band since Metallica. (I say "pure metal" to distinguish from jazz metal or heritage metal or death metal or glam metal or pop metal or stoner metal or funk metal or thrash metal or prog metal or ethno-metal...all of which I also dig. However, I won't dignify nu metal, rap metal or hair metal with links.)

I like and respect Mastodon for their brains and craft and chops, not to mention their wicked-nifty album covers, but so far -- as undeniably powerful as they are -- they're a tad sludgy and short on melodic hookage to be any real threat to Metallica's position in the pantheon.

Still, for pure math-rock heavitude, they may very well be the best band in the known Universe.

This killer-ass boot, a Dutch FM broadcast, features much of Blood Mountain -- then a month away from release -- backed up by three or four tunes from the band's undisputed metallic masterpiece, 2004's monumental, Melville-and-Moby-Dick-inspired Leviathan, culminating in the massive magnificence of "Blood and Thunder".

MASTODON
Lowlands Festival - Biddinghuizen, Netherlands - August 19, 2006 (FMB)
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