Showing posts with label Chris Stamey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chris Stamey. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

The dB's - 1986-12-31 - The Brewery, Raleigh, NC

The dB's
1986-12-31
The Brewery, Raleigh, NC

Audience recording, very good quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and Mp3 (320 kbps) versions

To close out the year, and the entire decade for that matter, here is a New Year's Eve show from 1986 featuring that rockin' 80's power pop band, The dB's. Hard to believe that I have not posted any dB's until now. The dB's were a band from Winston-Salem, NC, formed in 1978 with original members Chris Stamey (guitar, vocals, songwriting), Peter Holsapple (guitar, vocals, songwriting), Gene Holder (bass), and Will Rigby (drums), featuring a sound and style somewhat reminiscent of 60's-70's pop and psychedelia, but with a harder edge. Their first album, Stands for Decibels, was released in 1981, followed by Repercussion in 1982, and both were highly praised, but little bought at the time. Stamey left the group after that for a solo career, but the band continued, releasing Like This (1984), and adding Rick Wagner on bass and Holder moving over to guitar. Their major label breakthrough came with an I.R.S. record deal and the album The Sound of Music in 1987, as well as the arrival of Jeff Beninato on bass (and departure of Wagner). And although the album was again highly praised, major success did not follow (although the album did finally crack the Billboard 200, at #171)), and the band broke up not long after. But as so often happens with bands like this, their music became more popular after they were gone, with earlier albums being re-released, as well as live and compilation albums of miscellaneous tracks over the years. Holsapple went on to work with R.E.M., Hootie and the Blowfish, and the Continental Drifters, Holder joined The Individuals, and Rigby joined with Steve Earle. In 2005 and 2007, the band's original lineup got back together for limited reunion shows in Chicago, New Jersey, New York, and North Carolina, and then in 2012, the re-formed band released it's first new studio album in decades, with Falling Off The Sky.
This raucous NYE show highlights the band in 1986, prior to their 1987 IRS album, primarily featuring songs from Like This and Sound of Music, as well as some surprises. Thanks to Rob-in-Brevard at dbs-repercussion blog for making this show available (and particularly the recent addition of lossless), and FYI, if interested in further musical adventures of The dB's and their cohorts, be sure to check out Rob's blog, as it is chock full of all things dB's and related offerings.

Tracklist:
01. Any Old Thing
02. She Got Soul
03. Auld Lang Syne  Never Say When
04. Rains Around Here
05. Lonely Is as Lonely Does
06. Not Cool
07. Never Before and Never Again
08. A Better Place
09. Today Could Be the Day
10. White Train
11. I Lie (end cut, faded)
12. New Gun In Town
13. Change With the Changing Times
14. Amplifier
15. Love Is for Lovers
16. Witchi-Tai-To (Jim Pepper cover)
17. A Spy In the House of Love
18. Why Don't We Do It In the Road?
TT: 78:25

The dB's:
Peter Holsapple: guitar, vocals
Gene Holder: lead guitar
Will Rigby: drums, backing vocals
Jeff Beninato: bass, backing vocals

FLAC - The dB's_1986-12-31_RaleighNC_NYE_FLAC.rar

mp3 - The dB's_1986-12-31_RaleighNC_NYE_mp3.rar
Links updated 09/21/21

Sunday, June 25, 2017

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