Big Star's Third Live - Various Artists - 2012-05-28 - London, UK

Big Star Third Live
Various Artists
May 28, 2012
Barbican Hall, Barbican Centre
London, UK
Audience recording, very good quality (Pike1957 recording)
Mp3 @ 320 kbps

Wrapping up this celebration of Big Star and their music, as mentioned in the previous post, despite the death of Alex Chilton in 2010, and the earlier deaths of original members Chris Bell and Andy Hummel, Big Star has lived on in various forms, with surviving member drummer Jody Stephens, and through all the friends and supporters gathered over the years. Starting with the Alex Chilton Tribute shows in 2010, and then with the creation of various all-star assemblages of Big Star's Third Live shows, Big Star's music is still being heard live, still vibrantly vital, and more popular than ever. Organized and coordinated primarily by Chris Stamey (The dB's), who worked and played with Chilton for a number of years, Big Star's Third Live came together as a series of shows featuring the full horn, wind, and string arrangements of the original Third album sessions, and performed by many friends and colleagues of Chilton and Big Star. At that time, these full arrangements  had never been performed live before (as Third was an entirely studio creation, never performed live). So, Stamey and friends, featuring a core ensemble of musicians such as Stephens, Mitch Easter (Let's Active), Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow (The Posies, Big Star), and a host of revolving special guests and friends, put on these shows featuring the music of Big Star (many other Big Star songs in addition to Third). Several of these shows were performed in 2012, 2014, and 2016. And just recently, a deluxe 2CD/1DVD album, Thank You Friends: Big Star's Third Live...and More, from one of the most recent shows (2016-04-27, Glendale, CA) has been released (and is excellent, highly recommended), featuring Stamey et al, as well as Jeff Tweedy and Pat Sansone (from Wilco) and a host of other guests on a great recording of a great show. Here, however, I have a show from 2012, in London, which features Stamey, Stephens, Easter, Auer, and Stringfellow and gang (with full orchestra), plus guest stars such as Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub), John Bramwell (I Am Kloot), Sharon Van Etten, Skylar Gudasz, Brett Harris, Django Haskins (the Old Ceremony), Robyn Hitchcock, Ira Kaplan (Yo La Tengo), Sondre Lerche, Mike Mills (R.E.M.), Alexis Taylor (Hot Chip), as well as a special appearance by Ray Davies (The Kinks). It is a special show, a fine tribute to the band, and a fitting finish to this Big Star featurette in The Chronicles. Once again, thanks to dbs-repercussion blog for making this (and many other Big Star-related shows) available.

Tracklist: (lead vocalists for each song noted in parentheses):
Part I
01 - [intro]
02 - Nature Boy (John Bramwell)
03 - [announcement]
04 - Kizza Me (Mitch Easter)
05 - O Dana (Ira Kaplan)
06 - For You (Jody Stephens)
07 - Nightime (Alexis Taylor)
08 - Jesus Christ (Mike Mills)
09 - Big Black Car (Jon Auer)
10 - Take Care (Ira Kaplan)
11 - Stroke It Noel (Norman Blake)
12 - Femme Fatale (Sondre Lerche)
13 - Downs (Robyn Hitchcock) [Mike Mills bouncing a basketball as percussion!]
14 - Dream Lover (Sharon Van Etten)
15 - [announcement]
16 - Blue Moon (Jody Stephens)
17 - Holocaust (Django Haskins)
18 - You Can't Have Me (Sharon Van Etten)
19 - Kanga Roo (Brett Harris)
21 - Thank You Friends

Part II
22 - [intro]
23 - I'm In Love With A Girl (Sondre Lerche)
24 - Thirteen (Skylar Gudasz, Brett Harris & more)
25 - Give Me Another Chance (Norman Blake)
26 - I Am The Cosmos [Chris Bell cover] (Jon Auer)
27 - There Was A Light (Ken Stringfellow)
28 - You And Your Sister (Brett Harris)
29 - Daisy Glaze (Ken Stringfellow)
30 - The EMI Song (Smile With Me) (Ira Kaplan)
31 - The Ballad Of El Goodo (Sondre Lerche)
32 - September Gurls (Mike Mills)
33 - [Ray Davies intro]
34 - Til The End Of The Day [Kinks cover] (Ray Davies)
35 - [Ray Davies chat]
36 - The Letter (Ray Davies)
37 - [audience]
Encore:
38 - Back Of A Car (Jon Auer)

Big Star's Third Live_2012-05-28_London.part1.rar
Big Star's Third Live_2012-05-28_London.part2.rar
Links updated 09/21/21