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Tuesday, July 08, 2008  If I didn't have these soundboard recordings, ticket stubs, and an old disintegrating t-shirt as proof, I'd have a hard time believing that Sub Pop's 1992 Vermonstress Festival actually took place. As an indie-rock-lovin', college radio DJin', drum-learnin', band-startin', early-20-something kid living in the relatively isolated Burlington, Vermont, imagine how stunned I was to hear that one of my favorite record labels was planning a music fest pretty much on my doorstep. No travel necessary. Fifteen bands over two autumn days, some on the Sub Pop roster and others that the label just loved, and for no discernible reason. All I'd heard was they dug our little college town (pop: around 40,000), and who knows... maybe this was just a fun way to blow some cash from the post-"Nevermind" explosion.Whatever the reason, the SP team and all the invitees descended upon the Champlain Valley and blessedly rescued me and my friends from cheesy cover bands and Phish for a weekend (and inspiring a friend and I to start up our own yearly fest, but that's another post). With Pond crashing at our band house for a few days beforehand (they were on their way back to home from their first UK tour, opening for Throwing Muses), and with us hosting a big party in the middle of the madness, the whole thing felt like one long celebration, and as a local, it was easy to tell that most of the sell-out crowds had traveled down from Montreal or up from Boston and NYC.   the Vermonstress tee (click to enlarge) It was a surreal couple days, to say the least, with the Metronome stage hosting current faves and newfound revelations -- so many bands I'd have driven a great distance to see (Codeine, Velocity Girl, Come, Drop Nineteens, Beat Happening, Buffalo Tom), and others I'd consider myself lucky to hear so early on (Six Finger Satellite, Eric's Trip, Barbara Manning, Giant Sand, Sloan, Green Magnet School). Hell, brand new Sub Pop signees Pond hadn't even released their first album yet, and getting to see them then was a true gift. Their set was frenetic, intense, and totally inspiring... maybe the best of the weekend, and given the amazing lineup, that's saying a hell of a lot.   the Vermonstress press release (click to enlarge) A few years back, in the relatively early days of the Almanac's current incarnation, I finished converting, editing, and sharing up all of my Vermonstress soundboard cassette recordings. 130 songs by 15 bands, adding up to almost 9 hours of digital goodness. And so, in honor of this week's celebration of Sub Pop's 20th Anniversary, I was inspired to remaster all the songs (I've learned a bit about that in the years since) and share them as higher quality Mp3s (from original .wavs as 192kbps vs. the former 128kbps). A few things of note... Enjoy the wealth of greatness below, as if I had to tell you that...  Vermonstress - Day 1 Saturday, October 10th, 1992 Codeine 01. Realize 02. Jr. 03. Barely Real 04. Cave-In 05. Hard to Find 06. D 07. Broken-Hearted Wine Come 01. Dead Molly 02. William 03. Submerge 04. Last Mistake 05. Fast Piss Blues 06. Bell 07. Car 08. S.V.K. Drop Nineteens 01. Delaware 02. Mayfield 03. Winona 04. Astral 05. Happen 06. My Aquarium 07. Reberrymemberer 08. Angel (Madonna cover) Velocity Girl 01. Doesn't Matter 02. 57 Waltz 03. Copacetic 04. Pretty Sister 05. Stupid Thing 06. Warm/Crawl 07. My Forgotten Favorite 08. Creepy 09. Crazy Town Crow 01. Eyes are Bruised 02. Railhead 03. Light 04. Prisoner 05. The Charley Horses 06. God-Fearing Shareholders of the World 07. EJ Pond 01. Grinned 02. Young Splendor 03. Perfect Four 04. Wheel 05. Pretty Thing (Bo Diddley cover) 06. Spots 07. Agatha / Filler Beat Happening 01. Tiger Trap 02. Teenage Caveman 03. Sleepyhead 04. Dreamy 05. banter 06. Red Head Walkin' 07. Other Side 08. Revolution Come and Gone 09. Nancy Sin 10. Noise 11. Godsend 12. Cry For A Shadow 13. Me Untamed 14. You Turn Me On 15. Crashing Through  Vermonstress - Day 2 Sunday, October 11th, 1992 Six Finger Satellite 01. Sex Transistor 02. Niponese National Anthem 03. Laughing Larry 04. Polish the Shine (Satchmo) 05. Home for the Holy Day 06. Crippled Monster Bearing Malice Green Magnet School 01. Sonic Exterminator 02. Noxin 03. Barmecide Room 04. Don't Cry (Neil Young) 05. Singed 06. 12 Guage 07. Penance Sloan 01. Sleepover 02. Lucky For Me 03. Shame Shame 04. Ill-Placed Trust 05. Underwhelmed 06. Take It In 07. Marcus Said 08. Pretty Voice Giant Sand 01. Neon Filler 02. Song 02 03. Sage Advice 04. Wearing the Robes of Bible Black 05. Solomon's Ride / Stuck 06. Unwed and Well Sped Barbara Manning 01. Never Park 02. Breathe Lies 03. Someone Wants You Dead 04. Don't Rewind 05. Winter Song 06. On On and One 07. Smoking Her Wings (Bats cover) 08. Lock Yer Room (up tight) 09. Scissors Eric's Trip 01. Kiss Me Baby / Smother 02. Listen 03. Haze 04. Belong 05. Happens All The Time 06. Float 07. Belly 08. My Chest Is Empty (part 2) 09. Blinded 10. Bring Down the Rain 11. Easier Last Time 12. Open Your Heart (Madonna cover) Chris Harford and the First Rays of the New Rising Sun 01. Swinging Bridge 02. Raise the Roof 03. Looking For Light 04. Road With You 05. If You Forget Me 06. Pop Life (Prince cover) 07. You Brains 08. The Living End 09. Gather Round / Sing, Breathe, and Be Merry HP Zinker 01. Song 1 02. Song 2 03. Song 3 04. Trapped 05. Song 5 06. Song 6 07. Song 7 08. Song 8 09. Song 9 10. Warzone City 11. Song 11 There's been some cool coverage leading up to Sub Pop's 20th Anniversary shindig this coming weekend, including a lengthy interview with SP founders Jonathan Poneman and Bruce Pavitt over at Pitchfork, as well as an audio interview with Poneman courtesy of NPR's World Cafe. During that NPR chat, Poneman tackles the difficult task of naming his five fave SP-released songs. For the curious, they are: Pernice Bros.' "Monkey Suit", Fleet Foxes' "White Winter Hymnal", Iron & Wine's "Lion's Mane", Vaselines' "Dying For It", and Zumpano's "Here's the Plan". Don't think I could ever force myself to pick just five from their catalog... hell, I'd probably have trouble just naming five faves from the discographies of certain Sub Pop bands. The label has been helping to make my life better for so many years, and it's an understatement to say I'm grateful. If you're fortunate enough to be attending SP20, my jealousy is directed your way. Wish I could be there. (and if Pond had reunited to play, I probably would be!) Labels: livemp3s  |
 neil halstead live in cambridge, ma on november 14th, 2008 previously: joy formidable - boston 2011 recent posts on the 'nac...
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