Tag: live friday

Buy “Broken Bells” from Amazon

Live Friday: 7-30-10

On 07/30/2010

In live music, lollapalooza 2010, mp3, music, music festivals

In the continued tradition of featuring Lollapalooza artists in the weeks leading up to the actual festival, this week’s Live Friday is a session with The Morning Benders. The band plays a handful of songs off their latest album “Big Echo” and do an interview in which they discuss working with Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear and how their sound has evolved since their last record. It’s actually pretty good all around. Of course just the songs are available for download, and if you’re interested in the interview, stream it via the link below. The songs are well done and summery, as you might expect if you’ve heard the album. The band is surprisingly adept at recreating those sounds live. Go for the downloads if you like the band, or are just interested in learning more about them. And if you’re going to Lollapalooza next weekend, be sure to catch their set!

The Morning Benders, Live on WXPN 6-15-10:
The Morning Benders – Promises (Live on WXPN)
The Morning Benders – Wet Cement (Live on WXPN)
The Morning Benders – Mason Jar (Live on WXPN) [YouSendIt] [ZShare]
The Morning Benders – All Day Daylight (Live on WXPN)

Buy “Big Echo” from Amazon

Live Friday: 7-23-10

On 07/23/2010

In live music, lollapalooza 2010, mp3, music, music festivals

If you’ve not yet heard it or purchased it or whatever, The National’s latest album “High Violet” should be on your “to do” list in the coming months. It’s an excellent record, one of the best this year has had to offer so far, which is only part of the reason why I’m featuring the band this week on Live Friday. Additionally, The National will be playing Lollapalooza in a couple weeks, and I’m using these live sessions leading up to the festival to help give you some insight into how various bands might perform. The National are, of course, great. This session was recorded a week ago and the band plays 4 songs off of “High Violet”. There’s also an interview available for you to stream below. In it, Bryce Dessner talks a little about the creation of the indie all-star charity album “Dark Was the Night” and his various side projects. Singer Matt Berninger also gets on topic about his writing process and how that relates to the recording of a National album. It’s worth a listen if you really like the band and are interested in hearing about that sort of stuff.

Note: Due to some small hosting issues, you’ll need to download the song “Runaway” via YouSendIt or ZShare. Sorry about that, I’m trying to get the problem fixed.

The National, Live on WXPN 7-16-10:
The National – Bloodbuzz Ohio (Live on WXPN)
The National – Afraid of Everyone (Live on WXPN)
The National – Runaway [YouSendIt] [ZShare]
The National – Terrible Love (Live on WXPN)

Buy “High Violet” from Amazon

Live Saturday: 7-10-10

On 07/10/2010

In live music, lollapalooza 2010, mp3, music

I don’t know about you, but despite the holiday, my week has been exceptionally busy. So busy in fact, that even getting a reduced number of blog entries in has been a challenge. So this week I’m taking a special exception and after some delays am now proud to present a delayed version of Live Friday, which for this week we’ll call Live Saturday. The session is with Minus the Bear, who are out on tour promoting their latest album “OMNI”. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the album when it came out a couple months ago, but it has grown on me a little bit. One thing that’s not lacking though is Minus the Bear’s live show, which is more fun and engaging than a fair amount of their recorded stuff. Apparently the intent behind “OMNI” was to make an album that had a closer feel to how the band performs, and considering how this set of songs played live from that album sound, they hit the mark pretty well. There’s a brief interview with the band you can stream below as well, though it’s not long and pretty much details what they did differently on this album compared to their previous ones. But have a listen, and by all means enjoy.

P.S. – Sorry, but “Into the Mirror” is having some hosting issues, so please follow the links to YouSendIt or ZShare if you’d like to download it. Thanks!

Minus the Bear, Live on WXPN 6-2-10:
Minus the Bear – Into the Mirror (Live on WXPN) [YSI] [ZShare]
Minus the Bear – Hold Me Down (Live on WXPN)
Minus the Bear – My Time (Live on WXPN)
Minus the Bear – Summer Angel (Live on WXPN)

Buy “OMNI” from Amazon

Live Friday: 6-25-10

On 06/25/2010

While their latest album isn’t exactly my favorite, I still like the Shout Out Louds quite a bit. To drive home that point, I’m happily featuring them and their new songs as part of this week’s Live Friday. Even when their songs aren’t the greatest, there’s never been a problem with the band’s live show, which is nothing short of dynamite. They bring a new life to the recorded versions of their songs, and that’s what a great band is supposed to do. This session, recorded last month when the band was touring the U.S., pretty much proves that adage true, though they did choose to play the three best tracks from their current record “Work”. As usual, there’s also an interview to go along with these songs, and the band talks about how they first got together and whether or not their home country of Sweden is on the forefront of all things indie pop. It’s not the most impressive or exciting thing in the world, but it is relatively interesting, especially if you happen to care a lot about this band and where they come from. Otherwise just download the songs, they’re delightful.

Shout Out Louds, Live on MPR 5-17-10:
Shout Out Louds – 1999 (Live on MPR)
Shout Out Louds – Play the Game (Live on MPR)
Shout Out Louds – Walls (Live on MPR)

Buy “Work” from Amazon
For a very limited time, buy “Work” from Amazon MP3 for only $3.99

Live Friday: 6-18-10

On 06/18/2010

So at this point the jig is up, right? When talking about Gorillaz, we’re more than fully aware that despite being represented by animated characters, there’s a full band of actual people behind them, right? I think that Daman Albarn, animator Jamie Hewlett and Co. are essentially done with presenting this project as an animated band in the sense that they used to do interviews in character rather than as themselves. Yes, the main entities of Murdoc, Noodle, 2D and Russel still exist when watching Gorillaz music videos or even in concert, but as far as promotional duties are concerned, I’ve seen more interviews with the actual people behind the cartoons than the actual cartoons themselves when it comes to the group’s latest (and best) album “Plastic Beach”. This is a stark change from the last two records, and it makes me happier to hear words coming out of Albarn’s mouth rather than a fictional character who may or may not be messing with us. That said, I’m very pleased with this week’s Live Friday, which features Gorillaz and also has a totally legitimate interview with Albarn and Hewlett about the project. What follows is an informative look into the band with the veil lifted, and many burning-ish questions are answered. But really, you may be more in this for the music. The band does 3 songs off “Plastic Beach”, all of which come off sounding much like their album versions. That tends to happen when you’ve got a lot of programmed beats, and all the work done by your guest stars has to be pre-recorded because they’re not out on tour with you. But Albarn does do his vocal stuff live, among other things, and there’s a live drummer, so if you’ve got no idea what Gorillaz sound like live (there’s an equally, if not more compelling visual component to their shows), this is a good indicator for you. And I can’t really remember the last time I heard Gorillaz do a radio session. All that said, this is a pretty great session of you like Gorillaz, and at the very least I suggest you download these songs.

Gorillaz, Live on WXPN 6-11-10:
Gorillaz – Stylo (Live on WXPN)
Gorillaz – On Melancholy Hill (Live on WXPN)
Gorillaz – Rhinestone Eyes (Live on WXPN)
Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood (Live on WXPN)

Buy “Plastic Beach” from Amazon

Live Friday: 6-11-10

Buy “The Winter of Mixed Drinks” from Amazon

On 06/11/2010

In live music, lollapalooza 2010, mp3, music

It’s been well over a year since Frightened Rabbit have been featured on Live Friday. Back then, they were hard at work on tour supporting their album “Midnight Organ Fight”. That record is still held in extremely high esteem by yours truly, but the band did release a new album a couple months back. That one is “The Winter of Mixed Drinks”, and while it is filled with some great new songs, many of which some might call anthems, I still find myself preferring the grey tones of their last album. Either way, given that the band tours endlessly and in the last 2 years alone has probably played every major U.S. city a handful of times, it should come as little surprise that they’re on tour again right now. They stopped by Minnesota Public Radio about a month ago to play some new stuff and talk a little bit about life on the road. They played two songs from the new album, and the great “Good Arms Vs. Bad Arms” from the last one. As I’ve also mentioned and as it typically is most weeks, there’s also an interview with the band which is available for streaming below. There’s talk of Icelandic volcanoes, finding ways to stave off boredom during long times away from home, and what to do when you discover a lonely, actual frightened rabbit hiding in your backyard (hint: get him laid). These guys are funny and jovial and awesomely Scottish, so if you like that sort of stuff, have a listen to the interview. Otherwise, the actual songs will suffice. Great performance, though I probably would have liked it a little more if it were acoustic. Ah well, you take what you can get. Enjoy!

Frightened Rabbit, Live on MPR 5-14-10:
Frightened Rabbit – Good Arms Vs. Bad Arms (Live on MPR)
Frightened Rabbit – Living In Colour (Live on MPR)
Frightened Rabbit – Foot Shooter (Live on MPR)

Live Friday: 6-4-10

On 06/04/2010

Buy “Crazy Rhythms” from Amazon

This week’s Live Friday is a simple one, but also pretty classic. Depending on how deep into music history you go, there’s a chance you may have heard of The Feelies. They’re a band from New Jersey that was making music from about 1976 to 1992 when they broke up. With their lengthy musical career, they influenced a countless number of bands, though perhaps most notably R.E.M.. There’s a distinctive punk sound to many of their songs, along with Afrobeat as well. You might say that Vampire Weekend wouldn’t exist today were it not for The Feelies. Anyways, the band has gotten back together for a small number of shows in the past couple years, still as vital and exciting as ever even though they’re all aged and have families now. Last summer, they played Chicago for the first time in 15 years, and at the crowned jewel Millennium Park too…for free. I was there and it was nothing short of impressive. If you’ve not heard The Feelies’ debut album “Crazy Rhythms”, put it on your list of things to check out as it is a classic.

That said, The Feelies have played a few 2010 dates, and most notably played a few songs in studio for WXPN last week. If you’ve never heard The Feelies perform live before, or even haven’t seen them since they’ve gotten back together, this session is a good indicator of where the band is at currently. Unlike many of the sessions featured on Live Friday, this one doesn’t have an interview attached to it, either because the band was hesitant to do one, or they simply didn’t have the time. Either way, these songs satisfy, and I hope you’ll give them a try if even if you’ve never heard of The Feelies before. They were essential listening back in the 90s, and they remain essential listening today.

The Feelies, Live on WXPN 5-27-10:
The Feelies – Crazy Rhythm (Live on WXPN)
The Feelies – Higher Ground (Live on WXPN)
The Feelies – Let’s Go (Live on WXPN)

Live Friday: 5-28-10

On 05/28/2010

This week’s Live Friday, as many of them tend to be, is nothing short of excellent. What excites me the most is that it features a band responsible for one of my favorite releases of 2010 so far. That would be Local Natives, and if you’ve yet to hear their debut album “Gorilla Manor”, you are most definitely missing out on something great. Between the insanely catchy hooks and the gripping vocal harmonies, their sound is like having Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear and The Dodos all rolled into one. What makes this live session for Minnesota Public Radio exceptional as well is that all the songs are performed acoustically. If you’ve wanted to hear reinterpretations of the album tracks, or are just wondering if they can pull off those harmonies in a live setting (hint: YES), then this session is gold. The interview with the band, available for streaming below, talks a little about their origins and the benefits of living together with your bandmates while recording. They also talk about meeting David Byrne and his impression of their cover of the Talking Heads song “Warning Sign”. Good stuff all around, and most definitely worth a listen. Enjoy your extended Memorial Day weekend!

Local Natives, Live on MPR 5-18-10:
Local Natives – Wide Eyes (Acoustic Live on MPR)
Local Natives – Sticky Thread (Acoustic Live on MPR)
Local Natives – Airplane (Acoustic Live on MPR)

Buy “Gorilla Manor” from Amazon

Live Friday: 5-21-10

On 05/21/2010

Stream video of the performance on The Interface

Tegan and Sara might not have earned any love from me for their latest album “Sainthood”, but I still think they’re wonderful. Shortly after “Sainthood” was released, the twin sisters put on a performance for Spinner’s The Interface which was coincidentally filmed and is available for streaming via the link below. Tegan and Sara apparently liked that set enough that they made the decision to press a 7 inch EP of the songs for this past Record Store Day. Titled “Live: Saints”, they play four tracks from their latest record sans an audience. It’s good, and about the only thing missing is the effortlessly hilarious banter between the sisters Quin. Check it out, it makes me smile.

Tegan and Sara, Live on The Interface:
Tegan and Sara – Alligator (Live on the Interface)
Tegan and Sara – Hell (Live on the Interface)
Tegan and Sara – The Cure (Live on the Interface)
Tegan and Sara – On Directing (Live on the Interface)

Buy “Sainthood” from Amazon

Live Friday: 5-14-10

On 05/14/2010

This week’s Live Friday session is from none other than the absolutely wonderful She & Him. The band, in case you didn’t know, is comprised of singer-songwriter M. Ward and actress Zooey Deschanel. Their origins stem largely from Deschanel becoming friends with Ward and later revealing to him that she had written a whole bunch of songs. The sound is classic AM pop music from the good ‘ol days of the 1950’s and 60’s. Their last album, “Volume One” came out a couple years back, and they’re now headed out on the road to tour surrounding its also-great sequel “Volume Two”, which was released a couple months ago. This session was recorded for WXPN in Philadelphia, but the band was actually at Capitol Studios in California warming up for their tour. No matter how it was recorded, the session is very fun and sunny, much like the weather these days in anticipation of summer’s full arrival.

Should you want to hear the interview with the band as well, which you can stream via the link below, Ward and Deschanel talk a little about how the band came to be, what their influences are, and how they decided on the couple cover songs they’ve included on “Volume Two” (one of which they played during the session, available to download below). Pretty good stuff, and if you can or are so inclined, you should see She & Him out on tour for much of the next few months. Have a great weekend!

She & Him – Live from Capitol Studios – 5-7-10:
She & Him – In the Sun (Live from Capitol Studios)
She & Him – Thieves (Live from Capitol Studios)
She & Him – Me and You (Live from Capitol Studios)
She & Him – Ridin’ in My Car (Live from Capitol Studios)

Buy “Volume Two” from Amazon

Live Friday: 5-7-10

On 05/07/2010

Your liking of Sigur Ros and singer Jonsi’s side project don’t have to be exclusive to one or the other, and in fact it probably behooves you to like both. I was a slight bit timid in my review of Jonsi’s first solo effort “Go” a few weeks back, but my beef is that compared to his main band Sigur Ros, it wasn’t as good. In reality though, how could you expect it to be? Still, with a group of collaborators that included his boyfriend Alex Somers and avant-garde composer Nico Muhly, “Go” is one solid effort, even if it doesn’t eclipse his other stuff. Now in terms of a live show, Jonsi has pulled out all the stops for his current American tour. There’s a heavy theatrical element and a stage design that’s second to none. The photos and online video I’ve seen of both are nothing short of impressive. I would have and should have gone to see Jonsi when he stopped by Chicago for a pair of shows last month, but unfortunately I fell ill for a few days and decided against going. Hopefully there will be a next time. For those, like me, who are/were unable to see the Jonsi concert experience, this Live Friday should give you an idea of how good it is. In fact, for you collectors out there, this session from Minnesota Public Radio actually includes a performance of an unreleased song. Yes, Jonsi prefaces the song “Stars in Stillwater” by saying that he wrote it 10-15 years ago, and went so far as to record it for “Go”, but felt that it wasn’t good enough to include on the album. It is, in fact, pretty good. You also get the song “Go Do” performed with just a baritone ukelele, and “Around Us” on solo piano. To sum up, it’s a great session and most definitely worth downloading if that’s your sort of thing.

There’s also the streaming interview portion (link below) which, if you paid any attention to the “masters of awkward silence” interview Sigur Ros did with NPR a couple years back, had the potential to be equally as strange. Thankfully, Jonsi is very talkative and open about all sorts of topics. He discusses why he chose to release a solo album now, the Icelandic volcano situation, and his love of strawberry pies. Pretty good actually.

Jonsi, Live on MPR 3-24-10:
Jonsi – Stars in Stillwater (Live on MPR) (Unreleased song!)
Jonsi – Go Do (Live on MPR)
Jonsi – Around Us (Live on MPR)

Buy “Go” from Amazon

Live Friday: 4-30-10

On 04/30/2010

Yesterday, Yeasayer and Sleigh Bells played a show in Chicago. Unfortunately my schedule prevented me from attending, as much as I would have liked to. Ah well, they’ll both be back in town this summer, playing Lollapalooza and the Pitchfork Music Festival, respectively, and I’ll see them at those events when I cover them. Recognizing that the band was in town, I planned accordingly to feature Yeasayer on this week’s Live Friday. They do a handful of tracks off their new album “Odd Blood,” which coincidentally is also one of my favorite records so far this year.

If you’ve never seen Yeasayer perform live, it’s an interesting experience to say the least. I wasn’t very impressed when I saw them for the first time 2 years ago, but upon seeing them again last year they had noticeably improved. They weren’t even playing the new stuff then, which is far more energetic and danceable and I imagine only enhances their shows. You should know that the live versions of the songs available for download below aren’t exactly a testament to Yeasayer’s live prowess. Simply put, whoever mixed these songs didn’t do a very good job. The instruments are far too high in the mix and Chris Keating’s vocals are far too low. This is especially apparent on “Ambling Alp,” where the final verse of the song, my favorite verse mind you, has the vocals almost completely drowned out by everything else. Still, sound problems like that aren’t enough to keep me away from recommending this session, and I hope you give it a shot if you like the band.

There’s also an interview, which you can stream via the link below, where the band talks a little about firing their drummer and experimenting with any and all types of percussion in the studio they had rented. There’s also a bunch of technical talk about synths, if you’re into that sort of thing. I wouldn’t call it incredibly fascinating, but it’s not dull either. Okay, that’s all from me this week. Enjoy the next couple days and we’ll pick this fun up again on Monday.

(Note: The first two mp3s are direct links, but “O.N.E.” is only available via Yousendit or Zshare. Sorry, I’m having hosting issues.)

Yeasayer Live on WXPN 3-19-10:
Yeasayer – Madder Red (Live on WXPN)
Yeasayer – Ambling Alp (LIve on WXPN)
Yeasayer – O.N.E. (YSI or zshare)

Buy “Odd Blood” from Amazon

Live Friday: 4-16-10

On 04/16/2010

Lots of things going on this weekend. For all of us music fans, if you’re not going to Coachella and having a blast there, you can always get out to your local music store on Saturday for Record Store Day 2010. TONS of exclusive stuff is being released on that date, and much of it is in extremely limited quantities, so if there’s something you might want (check the full list of exclusives at Recordstoreday.com), you’re advised to try and pick it up earlier rather than later. Unfortunately I will be unable to get out to a record store on Saturday (though I will try to if I can), but I got a bunch of cool stuff last year…even if I did have to wait in line for over an hour.

So if you’re not spending the weekend in the warm weather of Indio, CA, you may want to experience some live music anyways. Sure, you can find a number of sites where Coachella sets are streaming online, but should you want something more substantial, that is to say in mp3 form at the very least, well, that’s one of the reasons I do Live Friday every week. That being said, this week’s featured artist is Titus Andronicus. Their new album “The Monitor” is one of my favorites so far this year, and it’s chock full of punk rock experimentalism. If you’ve not heard enough from these guys, this live session would be a good one to check out. They play 3 songs from the new album, and they all sound pretty great relative to the album versions. There’s also an interview with the band, as usual, which you can click the link below to stream should you so desire. This is a great way to end the week, and hopefully Titus Andronicus will help you get your stress and frustration out from work, school, or the simple pain of knowing you aren’t on the grassy lawn at a music festival right now.

Titus Andronicus, Live on MPR 4-5-10:
Titus Andronicus- A More Perfect Union (Live on MPR) [alt]
Titus Andronicus- No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future (Live on MPR) [alt]
Titus Andronicus- Four Score and Seven (Live on MPR) [alt]

Buy “The Monitor” from Amazon

Live Friday: 4-9-10

On 04/09/2010

For any of you newbies to the site, or basically those of you who haven’t transplanted from my old site, here is a brief introduction to Live Friday. At the end of every work week, I take a few moments to feature some cool or unique live performances from various artists. These are typically radio sessions, though sometimes they’re full “in concert” mp3s with crowds and the occasional echo. I tend to favor radio sessions though, due to the quiet of the studio and smart management of sound levels. Low quality bootleg recordings aren’t typically my thing, so if you’re in the mood to hear a brand new song from some band that they played live and some guy with a mic hidden in his hat recorded, you may want to go somewhere else. And again, this is a once a week thing and it’s intended to be loose and fun.

For the inaugural Live Friday on this brand new site, I’ve chosen to look back to 2009 and hand over a pretty great session from the band Fanfarlo. If you haven’t heard the band’s album “Reservoir” yet, I have to say it’s an excellent record that I wish I could have highlighted more last year. Which, coincidentally, is one of the main reasons why I feel that featuring a live session from them now is an a-ok idea. The sound of Fanfarlo both defies description yet lends itself to easy comparison. Singer Simon Balthazar tends to sound an awful like Beirut’s Zach Condon, and with the orchestral swells and folk base, things can get a bit bombastic and epic. The band may never quite soar to the heights that The Arcade Fire so often scale, but they do an admirable job creating large, dramatic songs with choruses you want to shout to the rooftops. This live session from WXPN was recorded last November when the band was touring around the U.S. In it, the band’s extensive instrumentation is stripped down to an acoustic guitar, some drums, and the occasional glockenspiel or xylophone. In other words, it’s an acoustic session, but it never loses touch with the band’s core sound. If you’re at all curious about the interview (which you can stream via the link below), the band talks about how they got together, how their sound was established, and whether or not there’s a theremin used in their songs. It’s alright, but the session is the real prize gem here and I hope you enjoy it.

Fanfarlo, Live on WXPN 11-19-09:
Fanfarlo- Drowning Men (Live on WXPN)
Fanfarlo- Fire Escape (Live on WXPN)
Fanfarlo- Harold T. Wilkins (Live on WXPN)