When I tell people I collect concert recordings, I often get blank stares. Sometimes I get questions like, “Why?” or “How many versions of the same songs do you need?” Sometimes I wonder the same thing. Do I really need hundreds of shows from a single artist?
And then I hear things like this. This is why I collect shows. This is why this insane hobby is so gratifying. Every once in a while, you find a version of a song that is transcendent. And that makes it all worthwhile.
What a killer show opener.
Gillian and Dave are curretnly doing a small tour where they are playing Grateful Dead and Dead adjacent tunes. None of the shows were anywhere near me (though they are playing a free gig in Tulsa later this month, but it isn’t listed as part of this tour, and presumably will play their own songs). Man I wish I’d spent the money and caught one of these shows. This snippet is amazing.
I very intentionally stay away from writing about politics in these pages. Partially because I don’t think I would sway anyone one way or another, but also because I just don’t have the energy to argue anymore.
But what ICE is doing all over our country, and especially in Minneapolis, is unconscionable. It is wrong. There has to be a better way.
Bruce Springsteen just dropped a song about it, and it is angry and powerful. He does not hold back. Neither should you. Neither should I.
I love, love, loved Dinosaur Jr. when I was a teenager. A bad breakup with a girl in college kept me away from them for a long time, but I’ve since come back to enjoy their brand of music.
Wilco is one of my very favorite bands. Wilco invited Dinosaur Jr to play on their Sky Blue Sky festival in Mexico this week. During Wilco’s set J joined them for a fiery version of Neil Young’s “Cortez the Killer.”
Three lead guitar players is always a challenge but I love the way they pulled it off here. Jeff, J, and Nels all get a chance to solo, but when they aren’t doing that they still add plenty of texture. I love how Jeff seems to almost forget about the final verse and just kind of throw it out there at the end.
The Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York” is one of my favorite songs. It is the perfect Christmas song. I love that it is slightly irreverent, and funny. And sad. It makes me cry every time I listen to it (and I listen to it a lot this time of year.) I love that it is a song for everyone, not just the churchgoing folk. I love its structure and its lyrics. Like I said, it is one of my favorite Christmas songs.
I just discovered this a cappella version of it from an Irish group called The Ramparts. It is quite lovely, and now I’m sharing it with you.
I meant to write a full review of the Jeff Tweedy concert me and my daughter attended last week, but instead I just wrote about it for Five Cool Things.
It was a great show, even if I didn’t know all the songs (he played most of his new album and a few songs from previous solo albums, but nothing from Wilco).
On this tour for the encore he’s been playing one or two cover songs from artists who came to fame somewhere near the town he’s playing at. For the Tulsa show he covered “Wish I Had Not Said That” by JJ Cale and then (of course) “Do Re Mi” by Woody Guthrie. Both versions were excellent.