Mp3s: Radio Dept. at NYC Popfest
Posted on June 5, 2009 at 6:04 pm | No Comments
I was gearing up to write this intro for my recording of The Radio Dept. live at the NYC Popfest last month, then I re-read Chromewaves’ recap of the night and realized I (and you) would be much better served by sticking with his summary. So go read that and come back. Ok. Done? Alright then.
Like Frank, I traveled to Brooklyn specifically for the Swedish trio, fulfilling a longtime wish to watch them play, and like him, I’d agree that seeing them was simply about the songs, not about any on-stage energy (or any lack thereof). My compulsion to see them perform their heartfelt (and heartstring-tugging) music directly in front of me wasn’t going to be defeated by any possible deficiency of stage presence, or the absence of a drummer. In fact, the only stage presence I required was that they were standing on one. And they were, so I was happy.
New songs, old songs, b-sides, they played ’em. The 12-song set felt painfully short, but I’d be saying that even if it had lasted all night (although the army of post-show indie-pop dancers might have been slightly let down). I did spend 8 hours alone in my car for it, after all. The band played a couple songs that will no doubt be found on the eventual next album (“Clinging To A Scheme”), although the absence of new single “David” (out June 24th, downloadable below) was notable (they did perform a b-side, “Messy Enough“).
Here’s their set, and here’s hoping they return to our shores sometime in the next, oh, decade or so. More please.
Live at the Bell House
in Brooklyn, NY
as part of the NYC Popfest
on Saturday, May 16th, 2009
01. New Improved (new)
02. Freddie and the Trojan Horse
03. Pulling Our Weight
04. I Wanted You To Feel The Same
05. The Worst Taste In Music
06. 1995
07. Sprint Time (new)
08. Sleeping In
09. Where Damage Isn’t Already Done
10. Why Won’t You Talk About It?
11. Keen On Boys (new)
12. Messy Enough (new-ish)
Some Radio Dept. linkage…
The RadioDept.com website is invaluable, and in fact, you could have downloaded someone else’s recording of this set earlier if you’d been paying attention over there. Also hit their MySpace page, Wikipedia entry, and Labrador label page. Additional Audio: As I mentioned their next single is “David“, and Labrador has made the track available for free.
Order the single from Labrador to get 3 extra tracks. Frank Chromewaves also has lots of RD Mp3s linked in his post, and the RadioDept.com downloads section has tons of studio and live material. Seriously, it’s the mother lode.
Video: Official videos and more over at the RadioDept.com video section, and a mess of live clips with a YouTube search. Photos: My few Flickr-hosted shots are here, but as with the words, you’re better off at Chromewaves for his excellent shots. And of course there’s many more on Flickr. Stream this entire set, and all ‘Nac-hosted Mp3s, over at the Hype Machine.
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.
Comments
Leave a Reply