bradley's almanac - a boston-based music blog
navigate the 'nac
almanac mp3 archives almanac shared mp3 archive
live show photo archive boston-area live shots on flickr
'my life or some dream'
original mp3 compilation

free mp3 compilation on club fub
bands i've been in bands i've played drums in
the 'nac faq & contact info
contact info and more
the 'nac on the 'net
the almanac rss feed
subscribe to my rss feed
follow me on twitter the almanac twitter account
become a fan on facebook the 'nac on facebook
the almanac tumblr page bradley's tumblanac
hype machine 'nac page the almanac hype machine page
the almanac soundcloud page the almanac shuffler page
the 'nac songkick gig page the almanac songkick gig page
almanac events on sponty the almanac sponty events page
the almanac last.fm page the almanac last.fm page
listen to 'nac mp3s on shuffler the almanac shuffler page


the almanac archives


search the 'nac

recommended boston area events

tuesday, december 4th

kelly hogan

@ johnny d's


thursday, december 6th

conor oberst

@ converse hall, tremont st.


thursday, december 6th

jason isbell &

the 400 unit

@ the sinclair


friday, december 7th

the weisstronauts 14th

annual holiday jubilee

with guests tsunami of sound

preacher jack, & the derangers

@ the midway cafe, jp


friday, december 7th

caspian

moving mountains

o'brother

@ the sinclair


saturday, december 8th

patrick watson

@ the sinclair


saturday, december 8th

the faint perform

"danse macabre"

trust

icky blossoms

@ the paradise


sunday, december 9th

band of horses

@ house of blues


sunday, december 9th

japandroids

diiv

@ the paradise


wednesday, december 12th

concrete blonde

jim bianco

@ the sinclair


thursday, december 13th

annual boston christmas cavalcade

benefit for the homeless

featuring tons of artists

(see fb event for details)

@ johnny d's


thursday, december 13th

nada surf

eternal summers

@ the paradise


thursday, december 13th

mates of state

in the valley below

@ brighton music hall


friday, december 14th

forgetters (blake from

jawbreaker's band)

& more tba

@ democracy center, harvard square


sunday, december 30th

sufjan stevens

sheila saputo

@ the royale


monday, december 31st

my morning jacket

@ agganis arena


monday, december 31st

deer tick

two gallants

@ the sinclair


monday, january 7th

quicksand

@ the paradise


tuesday, january 8th

hospitality

@ great scott


saturday, january 19th

mission of burma

@ the sinclair


sunday, january 20th

camper van beethoven

cracker

@ the middle east down


sunday, january 20th

soundgarden

@ the orpheum


sunday, january 20th

ra ra riot

@ the paradise


sunday, january 27th

widowspeak

@ great scott


tuesday, january 29th

kathleen edwards

sera cahoone

@ brighton music hall


wednesday, february 13th

yo la tengo

@ the paradise


saturday, march 2nd

unknown mortal orchestra

@ brighton music hall


tuesday, march 12th

tame impala

@ house of blues


thursday, march 14th

jukebox the ghost

matt pond pa

lighthouse and the whaler

@ brighton music hall


tuesday, march 26th

yo la tengo

@ the paradise


wednesday & thursday

april 3rd & 4th

they might be giants

@ the paradise


visit tourfilter for more shows






Monday, August 15, 2005

Mp3s: Smog live in Cambridge, MA



I'll admit this up front: I'm a lapsed Smog fan. Sometime after 1995's 'Wild Love', I sort of lost track of Bill Callahan. It certainly wasn't the album's fault, I did love that record... but I suppose there were just too many other bands occupying my ears at the time.

Even though I reconnected with 2003's 'Supper', and quite like the more recent 'A River Ain't Too Much To Love', it's the debut, 1994's 'Julius Caesar', and the solo shows he used to play back then, that define him for me. I'm sort of stuck there, so it's an slightly unfair way to come at a 2005 full-band live performance. It also didn't help that I was fairly exhausted from the weird work week and our own live set that opened up the night... along with the fact that I had to endure a performance from Feathers, but more on that later.

So while I dug a few songs from the Smog set (especially the beautiful 'Our Anniversary'), on the whole it sort of blended together, and was a far cry from the haunting solo performances I so vividly recall. And though I can't fault Mr. Callahan for ignoring his first three albums (the oldest songs were a couple from 1997's 'Red Apple Falls'), those are the ones I'm closest to. It says a lot about my mood that night that I actually enjoy this recording more than I thought I did ...

SMOG
live at the Middle East Downstairs
Cambridge, MA
Thursday, August 11th, 2005

01. Say Valley Maker
02. Rock Bottom Riser
03. Drinking at the Dam
04. Let Me See the Colts
05. In the Pines
06. I Feel Like the Mother of the World
07. I Was a Stranger
08. Bloodflow
09. Blood Red Bird
10. Let's Move to the Country
11. Our Anniversary
12. Justice Aversion
13. Cold Blooded Old Times
For some stellar photos from the night, you must check out Sid's Too Much Rock site. Not just great shots of all three bands, but also a video clip of Smog's 'Our Anniversary'. Very, very nice.

Now, regular readers know that I shy away from saying outright negative things about bands here on the 'Nac. Having played in a bunch myself, and knowing that everyone eventually reads everything on the web, I'll either be overly-diplomatic or completely ignore artists that don't float my musical boat. If someone has sent me a promo, but hasn't read anything here, there's a very good reason. It's not laziness, I do listen to everything I get, but rather it's the whole "if you don't have anything nice to say..." thing. Because there are people, and for all I know very nice people, behind every dreadful album I get sent or live show I'm subjected to.

So it's with much restraint that I won't cut loose on Feathers. I'll just say that sometimes the harmonies were ace, and watching them onstage with Smog during the set-closer of 'Cold Blooded Old Times' was kinda fun. Otherwise, my tongue's starting to hurt from all the biting.

Live mp3s will be up for a few weeks. Again, if the artist or label has an issue with the sharing of 'em, just say the word. Email in the left hand column.

Labels:





featured mp3 download
neil halstead
live in cambridge, ma
on november 14th, 2008
previously: joy formidable - boston 2011




recent posts on the 'nac...


on the nightstand


boston-area music bloggers


boston music media


I Buy Music




This page is powered by Blogger Pro.