Tweedy - Powerstation, 25 March 2016

Photo credit: 13th Floor

I'm a huge Wilco fan and had given up on the Tweedy band making it to this part of the world once Wilco released their new record. But Bluesfest this year had a great lineup including what might be the last shows for this band. Unfortunately Sunday on an Easter long weekend is usually pretty quiet in Auckland and the Powerstation was only about half full. Those that were there got a typically great Tweedy show. Previous shows on the tour had featured some special guests for a closing Bowie number, but (despite there being a few Finns in attendance) that didn't happen. Instead we got Jeff's youngest son Sammy making his live debut on a cover of Big Star's Thirteen. The kid looks a lot like his Dad and has one hell of a voice. Other highlights were Diamond Light, World Away and One Wing.

Like I said, a great show and hopefully the promoter isn't put off by the small attendance, I'm sure a day or two either side would have been very different. The quality of the recording is really good, helped by the fact that the crowd, while being very engaged, weren't too talkative even during the very quiet acoustic set.

Hazel
Fake Fur Coat
Diamond Light
Flowering
Summer Noon
World Away
New Moon
High As Hello
Wait For Love
Love Like a Wire
Low Key
Nobody Dies Anymore
Via Chicago
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
One Wing
New Madrid
Remember the Mountain Bed
Hummingbird
Please Tell My Brother
Born Alone
Jesus etc
I'm the Man Who Loves You
A Shot in the Arm
Thirteen (Sammy Tweedy on vocals)
Please Don't Let Me Be So Understood
Only the Lord Knows
The Losing End
California Stars
Queen Bitch

WAV

MP3

The Chills - Galatos, 15 December 2015

Just a quick post. This is the Chills from the end of last year. Pretty good show, but it was a hot room and Martin was clearly feeling the heat. The recording is decent but not great (never been there before, but it didn't seem like a great room).

Warm Waveform
Pink Frost
America Says Hello
House with a Hundred Rooms
I Can't Help You
The Male Monster from the Id
Silver Bullets
Aurora Corona
Molten Gold
Wet Blanket
Easy Peazy
Underwater Wasteland
When the Poor Can Reach the Moon
Dan Destiny and the Silver Dawn
I Love My Leather Jacket

Heavenly Pop Hit
Rolling Moon

WAV

MP3

Aldous Harding - Whammy Bar, Auckland, 6 & 7 March 2016

Aldous Harding is about to head to England to record her second album, so we might not see her for a while. But before that she did a short NZ tour, finishing with a headline set, followed by an opening slot for US Girls.

The first night was recorded by Radio NZ. I wasn't there but there was a power cut through the CBD that ended the show early. Strangely, there's no sign of that in the recording, which makes me think the recording might be a mix of dates.

I recorded the second night, which ended up being longer than the first given the lack of an interruption. Both nights had pretty similar sets, with a few songs from her first album and a handful of songs that'll feature on her upcoming record. The absolute highlight is Horizon, which she closed with both nights. There's also an amateur, but extremely good video that's been coupled with RNZ's audio. Check it out:

6 March 2016

Swell Does the Skull
Beast
I'm So Sorry
Elation
Hunter
Party
What If Birds Aren't Singing They're Screaming
Horizon

7 March 2016

Swell Does the Skull
Beast
I'm So Sorry
Elation

Party
What If Birds Aren't Singing They're Screaming
Stop Your Tears
Horizon

The Chills - Recent RNZ Recordings

I put up a link to an old Chills recording a while back. Here's some more recent stuff. There's the portion of a 2009 show that was broadcast on Radio New Zealand, plus a discussion on Hone Tuwhare with Martin Phillips and David Kilgour (including a song from each), and finally an interview and solo performance from earlier this year.

https://mega.co.nz/#F!5INTmCrT!BpObvSxXGy1Mcx1qSAX2Xw

The Phoenix Foundation - Big Day Out (Auckland), 17 January 2014

These guys don't have a big following in Australia, so there might not be too much interest in this recording. If that's the case it'd be a pity because they're a really really good band, and this is a pretty decent recording.

Despite not being a band with a bunch of radio hits or a huge following, they put on a really good show that engaged the moderately sized crowd in attendance. The set mixes songs from across their entire career, and they even throw in a new track (a bit ballsy at a festival, but it's a really good song [Bob Lennon & John Dylan] and didn't lose the crowd). It'd be nice if these guys came across at some stage, hopefully a few people will check this out and go along if they do.

40 Years
Bitte Bitte
Orange & Mango
Bob Lennon & John Dylan
Supernatural
Bright Grey
Sideways Glance
Buffalo

https://mega.co.nz/#F!0NUinB5C!JQUiUGj46TAJ19g_S7tmpg

Arcade Fire - Big Day Out (Auckland), 17 January 2014

Soooo many shows to process and put up (plus lots more that I'll be recording in the next month or so). This is the first show Arcade Fire have performed (outside promotional shows) for their new album, so it might be interesting for fans. I was interested to hear the way they managed to incorporate the new elements from Reflektor into older songs. Unfortunately, there was a bit of wind in the early part of their set and I was moving around a bit to find a good spot, so there's a bit of occassional russling that dies away after a few songs. This was a really great set, but the recording isn't super, I'm hoping to get something better at one of their upcoming shows.

Ready to Start
Flashbulb Eyes
Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out)
Joan of Arc
The Suburbs/The Suburbs (Continued)
Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)
Haïti
Afterlife
Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
Reflektor
My Body is a Cage
Keep the Car Running
Normal Person
Rebellion (Lies)
Here Comes the Night Time
Wake Up

https://mega.co.nz/#F!tcNWBDwZ!CojmOW5uiwJ7dgopeIk16A

Jeff Mangum - Auckland, 4 February 2001

It's nearly time for the lineup for my personal favourite Australian festival (probably worth noting that I've only been to three Australian festivals). So far the only act that will definitely be playing is the reformed Neutral Milk Hotel. Given they weren't around for long and weren't that popular while they were around there aren't that many good recordings of them. This is actually Jeff Mangum playing solo in Auckland (until his recent solo tour this was his last full performance). He plays a nice mix of songs, including a couple of covers and some rarer NMH material. Mangum played the set at the request of Chrix Knox, who makes an appearance on their barely listenable cover of Mother. Soundwise, this sounds like a soundboard recording, although I can't be certain. Regardless, the quality is great.

I'll be trying to find a good quality NMH set to put up (maybe something from the shows they're playing before coming to Australia), but in the meantime this is a good start, and probably something lots of people will be keen to listen to regardless of the NMH reformation.

https://mega.co.nz/#F!dIkwGCaS!KEwkUTzGN5IXdEMDRK7k1A

The Drones - 21 March 2013, Vector Arena, Auckland

 Originally these guys were only scheduled to open for Neil Young at his winery shows, but he was so impressed with them he asked them to open for the rest of the tour. Good choice, these guys put on a great show and did a good job of warming up the small number of people that were there for them. Its a tough job to put on a great show to a handful of punters in a cavernous venue, but they gave it one hell of a go, and won over a lot of new fans.

The sound for this is really good. It sounds a bit like what it was - an enormous, but mostly empty, arena, but its clear and the crowd is pretty attentative. Only a short set, but worth it for Drones fans.

Sittin' on the Edge of the Bed Cryin'
The Minotaur
How to See Through the Fog
River of Tears
Shark Fin Blues
I Do Not Ever Want to Change

http://www.mediafire.com/?ivhhezseszo4m

Neil Young - 21 March 2013, Vector Arena, Auckland

For a year and a half I've been labeling every recording I make with Melbourne, with the intention that I would, at some stage, do some recording in other locations. That's finally happened, and I was lucky that its a show a few people will want to hear. The reason for that is the appearance of Surfer Joe and Moe the Sleaze, last played in 1990. Not exactly an overlooked gem, but exciting for hardcore fans nonetheless.

The last time I saw Neil Young was in Sydney in 2009. It was bad. International acts don't seem to realise that Australians and New Zealanders assume that if you give them seats its because you want them to sit. We're odd like that. But Neil was fairly incensed that people remained seated. This time round he made the sensible decision of having a standing floor and for whatever reason the performance (and his apparent enjoyment) was great. Of course there are always lots of people that claim to be hardcore fans, but are shocked that a show featuring Crazy Horse is loud and doesn't feature much off his more acoustic albums. For people who aren't idiots this was a great show. I was particularly excited to hear Dangerbird (and pleased that Neil is mixing up his setlists a bit, rather than playing the same thing every night).

The sound here is pretty good. At times the vocals are a bit distant, but that was the fault of the venue sound, rather than the recording (those who only want to hear Surfer Joe will be pleased to know it doesn't have this problem). I turned the input down really low, given how loud this was, but that added a bit of static during the acoustic portion. It isn't too bad though, and I suspect lots of people won't even notice.

Lastly, I know that some people have a strong preference for getting these things in WAV format. That requires a bit of extra effort on my part, and dramatically increases the total size of the files (I'll be using FLAC to reduce the size, but they're still big). In the past I've only ever put things up in MP3, but from now on I'm planning on putting up some shows in both formats. This will be the first of those shows.

Love and Only Love

Powderfinger
Born in Ontario

Walk Like a Giant

Hole in the Sky

Heart of Gold

Twisted Road

Singer Without a Song

Ramada Inn

Fuckin’ Up

Cinnamon Girl

Surfer Joe

Mr Soul

Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)

Dangerbird

Sedan Delivery

Roll Another Number (For the Road)

MP3 Download

WAV Download