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Monday, February 20, 2006
When I first read about the talented men who'd be touring together as The Undertow Orchestra, my first thought was 'I sure as hell hope they come to Boston.', while my second was 'How cool would it be if they played at the Museum of Fine Arts?' Well, both hopes were fulfilled, and on Valentine's Day, no less. From the get-go I figured it could be a perfect night, and it was. 'All-Star Lineup' sounds a bit silly, but these guys deserve the description if anyone does: songwriters David Bazan (Pedro the Lion / Headphones), Vic Chesnutt, Mark Eitzel (American Music Club), and Will Johnson (Centro-matic), joined by Centro-matic's Scott Danbom on keys and violin. There wasn't an empty seat in the Remis Auditorium as the band was introduced, and they came out holding a long string of valentine hearts, wishing us all a happy v-day as they manned their instruments. For most of the set, it was Eitzel and Johnson on guitar, Bazan on drums, Chesnutt on bass, and Danbom on the keyboard, but whenever Bazan came out from behind the kit to sing and strum his own songs, Johnson always swapped with him. Being the seventh night of the tour, they had the switches down, and the whole evening went smoothly. Three songs fronted by Johnson, followed by three from Bazan, Chesnutt, and finally Eitzel. When the rotation was done, they started from the top and we got three more from each, with Chesnutt batting cleanup, unfortunately skipping one of his songs due to time. While they sang lead on six each, it was the backing vocals that made the night that much more special. Hearing Mark Eitzel sing harmonies on Pedro the Lion song, or having Will Johnson backup a Vic Chesnutt tune, or even better, when all five of guys sang together... just magic. The between-song banter (which I've included below) was pretty amusing as well; the atmosphere was relaxed enough for Bazan to make a fairly unusual request from the crowd on Chesnutt's behalf (which was eventually fulfilled, I believe). Here, for your genuine listening pleasure,  The Undertow Orchestra download as a single 162MB .zip file Live at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, MA Tuesday, February 14th, 2006 1. intro 2. Tent Of Total Mystery * 3. Vultures Await * 4. interlude 1 5. Just To Know What You've Been Dreaming * 6. interlude 2 7. Bands With Managers # 8. interlude 3 9. Priests And Paramedics # 10. Slow Car Crash # 11. interlude 4 12. Stupid Preoccupations ^ 13. I'm Through ^ 14. interlude 5 15. Iraq ^ 16. Sleeping Beauty + 17. St. Michael My Pet Rat + 18. Home + 19. interlude 6 20. Just Some Silence * 21. Closing Down My House * 22. I See Through You * 23. interlude 7 24. Criticism As Inspiration # 25. interlude 8 26. The Devil Is Beating His Wife # 27. I Do # 28. Ladies And Gentlemen + 29. interlude 9 30. Patriot's Heart + 31. interlude 10 32. Johnny Mathis' Feet + 33. The Pool ^ 34. interlude 11 35. In My Way, Yes ^ * - Will Johnson # - David Bazan ^ - Vic Chesnutt + - Mark Eitzel While I've been a Pedro the Lion, American Music Club, and Vic Chesnutt fan for many years, Will Johnson was a revelation for me. I'd completely missed out on Centro-matic's during their 10 year career, so I picked up their 'Triggers and Trash Heaps' EP after the show. Their next full length, Fort Recovery, arrives on March 7th, but you can stream the whole thing right now over at Misra Records. Coincidentally, rbally made a Centro-matic-centric post on Valentines Day. Aquarium Drunkard treats us to a Vic Chesnutt post just yesterday. On Monday, April 3rd, Will Johnson and Scott Danbom return to Boston with Centro-matic for a night at Great Scott with the Great Lake Swimmers and Mr. Drew O'Doherty. Mark that show 'not-to-be-missed'. The Undertow Orchestra tour continues tonight with a stop in Ames, Iowa, after which they head to Kansas, Texas, Tennessee, and they wind up in Georgia on March 1st. Don't miss it, if it's anywhere near you. Labels: livemp3s  |
 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
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