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Tuesday, December 09, 2008
So what else can I say about seeing the Wedding Present live? I've used plenty of words to express my undying love for 'em here on the 'Nac, been fortunate enough to catch them each time they've hit the Boston area since their emergence from hibernation in 2004, and as live performers they never disappoint me. The quartet gets on stage, rocks out on a setlist full of great recent songs and old faves, says farewell, and off they go. No encores, no requests considered, all business. In fact, the only fault I could find is that lack of spontaneity -- they're almost too pro -- but they make up for it with the songs themselves and the energy with which they deliver them. Gedge & co. are ever dependable. Here's their early-October set, once again downstairs at the Middle East in Cambridge (their venue of choice, it seems). Personal highlights were "Kennedy" kicking things off, "Palisades" (maybe my fave from their latest, "El Rey"), and the late-set one-two punch of "Dalliance" and "Dare", which were played more passionately than ever. As Gedge always makes himself very available for chatting before and after the show, I was able to ask him about something I'd heard -- that the band re-recorded the entirety of their debut album, "George Best", when they were in the studio with Steve Albini working on "El Rey" -- and David confirmed that was indeed the case. "Just for fun", he said, and that it was fairly easy to bang out, since the lineup had performed the album on a short UK tour last year to commemorate 20 years since its release. And while there are no solid plans to release those re-recordings, he said they'd likely pop up as b-sides or some such thing at some point. When I mentioned that I wished I could have seen that anniversary tour, he shared this likely possibility -- with 2009 marking 20 years since the release of 1989's "Bizarro", well, you can figure the rest out. Yes, it looks like we'll probably be treated to some U.S. shows that will celebrate the occasion, and that has me thrilled. In fact, I'm truly hoping that the stars align, and the crew from All Tomorrow's Parties invites the Weddoes to ATP NY 2009 next September. That'd get me out to the Catskills again for sure. To the live tracks we go...  The Wedding Present Live at the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge, MA on Monday, October 6th, 2008 01. Kennedy 02. It's For You 03. Gone 04. Don't Take Me Home Until I'm Drunk 05. You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends 06. Lovenest 07. Blue Eyes 08. Palisades 09. Snake Eyes 10. Sports Car 11. Spider-Man On Hollywood 12. Crawl 13. You Turn Me On 14. Interstate 5 15. My Favourite Dress 16. Model, Actress, Whatever 17. The Thing I Like Best About Him Is His Girlfriend 18. Dalliance 19. Dare 20. Boo Boo  Some Wedding Present links...
 the fine print... If anyone has an issue with these Mp3s being made available, just let me know (my contact info in the 'nac faq). Live sets recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps Mp3s. Files are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed. 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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