Ooh! Thanks for the link, Hec. I only took the quickest of peeks, but I bookmarked the site so I can go back and explore at my leisure.

Rocket From the Tombs with Richard Lloyd sitting in has been released on CD:

I was very wary of it -- it's hard to capture the energy of 30 year old songs -- but it's actually quite good.

Hec was asking about Shalini Chatterjee last week. I never did find the MP3s I claimed I had. There's some samples of the Krautrock tribute she was involved in (Econoghost: Anneu'ed!) at the 125 records site, and the CD is on sale for $8 through tomorrow.

[link]

I love it when bands play lots of songs I don't know! I get bored hearing the same old songs. As long as the songs are good, I love hearing new material.

Me, this is. I love live shows and the more new stuff I hear the better. The thing I love most about Lawrence is that every weekend and a ton of weekdays, I can go to one of three or four bars in town and I can see a new-to-me and pretty decent band. I fell in love with concerts when I was in jr. high because living in a small town it was the only chance I had to see "kids like me" and hear about new bands (usually off of people's t-shirts, oddly). I am no longer a fan of big venues, but I'll make some exceptions. And the smoking doesn't bother me at small shows because I am a big ol gross smoker.

Best live shows I've ever seen ever (seems like a good reason to make a list):

Uncle Tupelo, Bottleneck, Lawrence (93)
Paul Simon and Lady Smith Black Mambazo, Sandstone Ampitheater, KC (91)
Neil Young, some ampitheater, Milwaukee (03)
White Stripes, First Ave., Minneapolis (02)
Pixies, KU Union Ballroom, Lawrence (90)
David Byrne, The Metro, Chicago(98)
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Bottleneck, Lawrence (00)
Split Lip Rayfield, Bottleneck, Lawrence (03)

There's a bunch of others, I'm sure - those are just off the top of my head.

Best Live Shows:

R.E.M. - 930 Club in DC, 1983
Cramps - 930 Club in DC, 1984
X - Cleveland Agora, 1982
Pylon, Kennel Club in SF, reunion tour, late 80s early 90s?
Hoodoo Gurus - The Channel, Boston, mid 80s
Buck Naked and the Bare Bottom Boys, Rajis LA, mid 80s
PJ Harvey, Slims in SF (small venue), her first tour
Big Star, Fillmore, reunion show with Posies
Little Jack Melody and the Young Turks, Cafe Du Nord, 90s
Stephin Merrit, solo acoustic at Amoeba after 69 Love Songs
Guided By Voices at Bimbos, last fall

First concert? Black Sabbath (original lineup) with Van Halen opening, 1978. Dig my metal cred.

I love it when bands play lots of songs I don't know! I get bored hearing the same old songs. As long as the songs are good, I love hearing new material

Unless a song is really good or really bad, it's hard for me to register it as anything but a song I don't know the first time I hear it. Which is fine for a while, but few bands are so good that I want to hear 15 songs I don't know by them in a row while tired and standing in a smoky club. Which is why I've pretty much given up on the "let's just go to the Black Cat and see who's playing" method of concert-going.

(Nitpick for Hec: 9:30. Sorry. )

Nitpick for Hec: 9:30. Sorry.

That's what I get for not living there.

R.E.M. - 930 Club in DC, 1983

Cramps - 930 Club in DC, 1984

Have I mentioned that the Great Big Drag King show this year (that I'm stage managing) is going to be at the 9:30 Club? That I"m going to get to be on headset there, and go backstage, and so on? I'm SO excited by this....

I'm not generally a big fan of live concerts, just because most artists, I'm not a fan of ALLLLL their work--I like a song here or there, but not a whole evening of them. And especially for big stadium type shows, it seems to not be that different a song/sound from the CD at ALL. A lot of them are so pre-scripted, it bores me. But some bands are fun, and smaller venues. But it's still not something I'm apt to look for and spend my money on, definitely less than a lot of my friends.

I like live shows if they give me something that the CD doesn't. Different variations on songs is my favorite. Covers, I love. Crowd interaction is awesome.

Big shows that have no spontenaity (Madonna, I'm looking at you) leave me really cold.

I have been to two live shows. Shun me at will.

The last one, however, was Richard Thompson, just last year.