Manchester Orchestra - 7 March 2012, The HiFi

I'm slowly working my way through the backlog of shows that have built up over the (musically) hectic summer months (next up will be John Fogerty since there seems to be lots of people looking for that one).  Otherwise the shows will be going up in chronological order, and the oldest show I have at the moment is this Manchester Orchestra gig.

There was a weird vibe at this show - for some reason the HiFi seems to attract a bunch of punters who are, frankly, cocks. At this show they seemed to be mocking both the band and the crowd, which was weird (unless your aim is to ruin the show).  The band seemed to be in a weird mood to begin with, so this didn't help.  Despite all this, the show wasn't bad, it just seemed like a night where the band would rather have been doing other things, but turned in a solid professional performance nonetheless.

Set wise, I think they're probably one good album short of a really killer set.  They played a bunch of great songs, but the set didn't seem to flow together very well, feeling a bit flat at times.  It might be that their set choices are to blame, but they did a good job of ensuring a pretty killer encore.

Fortunately, the annoying punters aren't audible in the recording, which is, if I do say so myself, another very good one.  This was a good show, thats worth a listen, but I get the feeling that these guys could be a really great band, but they aren't quite there yet.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ycjs4c0id0oz7

Death Cab for Cutie - 22 February 2012, The Palace

Sorry for not putting anything up for a while, I was on holiday in Tasmania over Easter (it was very nice, thanks for asking).  My planned intro to the discussion of this show was obsessive fans - Death Cab for Cutie seem to have their fair share; and their varying levels of annoyingness - DCC fans = low-medium.  But I still haven't figured out exactly what I think about obsessive fans (and note that I count myself as one with regard to a half dozen bands).  So I'll just jump straight to the conclusion - this was a very good show, played very well, but lacking the spark to make it a really great show.  I'm really pleased with the recording quality of this one too, so overall I rate this pretty highly.

A Lack of Colour
Doors Unlocked and Open
Crooked Teeth
We Laugh Indoors
Long Division
Grapevine Fires
Codes & Keys
Different Names for the Same Thing
I Will Follow You into the Dark
I Will Possess Your Heart
Title Track
You Are a Tourist
The New Year
Company Calls
Company Calls Epilogue
Brothers on a Hotel Bed
A Movie Script Ending
Soul Meets Body
Cath...
The Sound of Settling

Underneath the Sycamore
Blacking Out the Friction/St. Peter's Cathedral
Tiny Vessels
Transatlanticism

http://www.mediafire.com/?p2jwkl2rhvd8v

Radiohead Tour Celebratory Mashup

Mashups have an incredibly bad reputation that those who produce them have spent a lot of time working very hard (and successfully) to justify.  However, sometimes, very very rarely, someone ignores the formula and creates something that is actually interesting and even adds something to the original (big call I know, and you may not agree).  Anyway, I've had this for a few years and had thought that if/when Radiohead announced an Australian tour I'd put it up. But I forgot.  Nevermind, here it is, Radiohead vs Dave Brubeck - 5 Step (Overdub Bootleg).

http://overdubsound.free.fr/fivestep/

and the youtube video: http://youtu.be/TYa7furgQsA

Dirty Three - 16 March 2012, The Palace

One of the advantages of taping shows is that you get a chance to revisit your original opinion of a show, for better or worse.  In this case listening to the show again made me realise it was actually much better than I'd thought at the time.  This was partly to do with the two girls in front of me who talked constantly (you can hear them a little bit on the recording), partly to do with the incredible heat in the venue (I thought someone had poked me in the back for a second until I realised it was sweat running down my back - ewwww), and partly it was not knowing their music well enough.  Regardless, this is actually a very good show, and the band and audience are clearly very into it.

The Rain Song
Sometimes I Forget You've Gone
The Pier
Rising Below
Moon on the Land
Some Summers They Drop Like Flies
The Restless Waves
The Zither Player
Everything's Fucked
Authentic Celestial Music
Ashen Snows

Sue's Last Ride
??? [If anyone knows the name of this track can you post a comment] Just an extended ending - thanks crankingamps

http://www.mediafire.com/?19z2ub5an44ag