Bradley’s Almanac

Mp3s: Touch & Go’s 25th – Day One

Posted on December 7, 2006 at 1:05 pm | No Comments

So I’m not much of a music festival-goer. Lack of spare travel-time, discretionary funds, and mild enochlophobia usually keep me away from any major multi-day events. Sure, I’ve been to some over the years, but the ones that have drawn me are few and very far between: down the coast to D.C. for the Teenbeat Records 20th anniversary fest last year; 3000 miles to London for 4AD’s 13 Year Itch in ’94; a couple block walk in my old hometown of Burlington, VT for Sub Pop’s Vermonstress back in ’92 (fests were such a rarity up there, we were inspired to just do them ourselves).

There’ve been more than enough bloggers (and not enough bands I deeply love) at the Coachellas, the Bonnaroos, the later-day Lollapaloozas. I could semi-experience them all vicariously through the wealth of photos, audio, and video coverage that appeared online shortly after each. But there was one fest, from the moment it was announced last summer, that I knew I had to be at: The Touch & Go Records 25th Anniversary Celebration. Didn’t matter if cash was tight, if vaca-days were scarce, if hotels were either full up or too expensive… free will simply didn’t factor in. Too many beloved bands were playing, some reuniting after years apart, musicians I thought I’d never get to see on a stage together again. I’ve got more Touch & Go discs on my shelves than nearly any other label, and I wanted to be part of the crowd that celebrated their existence. So air travel was booked, couch space was found, and off to Chicago I flew on Friday morning, September 8th, 2006.

32 acts performed over three days, and I was there for every one of ’em, from the warm Friday evening start to chilly Sunday night finish, from the first notes of Shipping News straight through to Calexico‘s overtime encore. It was both exhausting and exhilarating, I ate far too little for the beers I downed, and by the end my feet hurt like holy hell. And how to describe what it was like to see some of my favorite bands in one place, playing so many songs that have made up the soundtrack to my fanboy existence? The hyperbole (or ‘hyper-bowl’ said Mr. Crow) could come easy, but so much of what I’d write was said over and over again from the festival’s two stages, by the musicians themselves.

By the time I flew home, I’d spent almost 30 hours standing in the Chicago municipal parking lot adjacent to the Hideout, the bar that was also celebrating its own anniversary of 10 years by hosting this huge block party. Thanks to the two-stage setup, there was very little between-band downtime, with some acts starting up as others faded out. Even grabbing food or a bathroom break meant you might miss something… the whole event ran that smooth. As an audio archivist, I had to make a few decisions: Check out a band I kinda like, or score a good spot on the other end of the lot for one I really love? Get stuck in the back for Shellac, or miss Man or Astro-man?

In the end, I managed to capture sounds from all but two of the appearing acts, and I’ll be offering up some songs over three posts during this last month of 2006, one for each day of the fest. I’ve given a lot of thought on how exactly to share this stuff, how best to honor the label without stepping on their toes. Asking around at the anniversary, I was told that official audio recordings weren’t being made, but that videographers were recording as much as they could for later (eventually to be posted on T&G’s website?). Since some artists only played for a few minutes, others performed songs I couldn’t identify, and some random technical glitches, I’ve decided to share a couple tracks from each act I saw.

And so here’s the first night of the Touch & Go 25th Anniversary Celebration, recorded on September 8th, 2006 in Chicago, Illinois. The sound quality of this particular day’s mp3s isn’t as good as the other two, thanks to a faulty mini-disc setting and the general difficulty in capturing outdoor aural action, but it’s still more than worth a listen. Things get much better on day two and three. I’m going to keep my commentary on each band to a minimum, or I’ll never get this post finish. Oh, and head to the bottom for a fest-related giveaway…

Tim Tuten from the Hideout, our endearingly talkative
host for the entire weekend, kicks things off by introducing…


Shipping News

Mp3: “(Morays or) Demon” (live)
Mp3: “Axons and Dendrites” (live)

A perfect start to the whole event, Shipping News had a new limited edition single (“Claws“) specially made for the festival, and gave them out free to attendees. Nice touch.

(T&G band page / Southern site / MySpace fan site)


Supersystem (R.I.P.)

Mp3: “Born Into The World” (live)
Mp3: “The Pinnacle of Experience” (live)

I hadn’t heard much Supersystem before they took the stage, even in their previous incarnation as Dischord band El Guapo. Unfortunately for fans of either band, they’ve just called it quits according to this message on their website…

“Friends,

After 10 years, the members of Supersystem/El Guapo have decided to disband. From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to thank everyone at Touch and Go, Dischord, Flower, Locusta, and others too numerous to name here for all your help over the years.

Most of all we would like to thank everyone who supported us, saw us play, listened to our music, set up a show, played a show with us, or otherwise participated in making our time as a band really awesome. We appreciate it and will miss you!

Love,
Supersystem

(Official site / T&G band page / Album stream / MySpace)


Girls Against Boys

Mp3: “Rockets Are Red” (live)
Mp3: “Super-Fire” (live)

The first jaw-dropping performance of the fest, GvsB played their entire 1993 T&G album “Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby” from start to finish as the sun went down, then threw a few faves on the end of the set for good measure. Loaned out and lost long ago, I re-bought the album immediately after they left the stage at the Reckless Records tent.

(Official site / T&G band page / MySpace fan page)


Ted Leo & the Pharmacists

Mp3: “Sons of Cain” (live)
Mp3: “Suspect Device” (live Stiff Little Fingers cover)

Sons of Cain“, which has made the rounds in both demo & live form over the past year, is likely to be one of the highlights of TL/Rx’s upcoming album, “Living With The Living“, the band’s first for Touch & Go. I can’t get enough of the song… not just the killer guitar line, but the way the bass holds off for the first minute or so, the drum accents that last just a little longer than expected, the rising walk into the bass/drum breakdown, and Ted’s unrestrained “Heeeeey!”s near the end. So good. Pray for his voice, kids: We never want to see the “Great Vocal Chord Inflammation of ’03” happen again. Guy’s got a lot more songs to sing for us next year…

(Official site / T&G band page / MySpace / Lookout page)


!!!

Mp3: “Must Be The Moon” (live)
Mp3: “All My Heroes Are Weirdos” (live)

The first night ended with a set of self-described “live dance music” from !!! (Chk Chk Chk). Not exactly my thing, but they do what they do very well, and treated a fairly enthusiastic crowd to songs from their upcoming disc “Myth Takes“, which will be out in March on Warp. Studio versions of both songs above will be found the album, along with eight other new tracks.

(Official site / T&G band page / MySpace)

A whole lot of fest-related links…

  • Touch & Go founder Corey Rusk, who himself was the target of so much gratitude all weekend, shares his own heartfelt thank you note.
  • Touch & Go’s official festival photo archive.
  • Although I traveled out to the fest solo, I spent lots of time hangin’ with new friend and all around good guy from D.C., Sean K., who wrote up his experience in this Razorcake review. Nice to re-live the whole thing through his words, although I’ll say one thing about the article: he needs to find a better photographer…
  • … take John in Houston’s shots, for example. Great photos to be found in his Flickr set. John was another guy I was glad to run into while I was out there. The fest became not just about the bands, but the tangibly warm vibe, and I met a whole bunch of people who helped make that so.
  • For more visual evidence, check out my own T&G fest Flickr set, the Flickr T&G fest pool, or some shots from newzeroeurope, kirstiecat, and Ryan Gear.
  • Chicago resident Mike, aka mrhonorama, reflected on the fest in words and photos on his MySpace blog here, here, and here.
  • A couple YouTube users shared up some videos: peasinspace has clips, as does leeharvey43.
  • T&G fest coverage (mostly via photos) from two of the usual suspects: BrooklynVegan (day 1/2/3) and Stereogum (1/2/3).
  • On the wall behind me here at work hangs a framed T&G festival poster, one of the two gorgeous prints that sold out over the weekend. I actually waited too long to grab one there (didn’t want to drag it around), but was fortunate enough to order one up at artist Kathleen Judge’s website. Not sure she has any left, but it’s worth dropping her an email through there. I admittedly had a tough time deciding between her print, or the one by Jay Ryan, which you can take a look at here, although it’s unfortunately no longer available.
  • And lastly, a holiday gift for making it to the end of this post: a copy of the instantly-out-of-print Shipping News single “Claws” that the band had pressed and available for free at the festival’s Reckless Records tent. If you live in North America and want one of your own, send an email (subject: Claws!) with your mailing address to giveaways[-at-]bradleysalmanac[-dot-]com before midnight on Wednesday, December 13th. I’ll pick one random entrant and send it along soon after.

    Mp3s from the second day of the Touch & Go 25th Anniversary Celebration should be posted next week. Key word: should. Lots to be done between now and then…

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  • BOSTON-AREA LIVE SHOW ACTION
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    Half Waif
    See You At The Maypole
    @ the Somerville Armory

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    Jamie XX
    @ Roadrunner

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    @ the Sinclair

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    Frank Black & his band
    play "Teenager of the Year"
    @ the House of Blues

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    Crown Victoria reunited
    (featuring Bill Janovitz
    from Buffalo Tom)
    a benefit for the Trevor Project
    @ the Burren back room

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    Drop Nineteens
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    @ the Sinclair

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    Stuart Murdoch
    (Belle & Sebastian)
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    @ the Rockwell

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    present "Something In The Way"
    with
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    & more TBA
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    Filter
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    Friday, February 7th
    Thalia Zedek Band
    Field Day
    Arto Vaun
    @ the Lizard Lounge

    Friday, February 7th
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    @ Big Night Live

    Monday, February 10th
    Tim Heidecker
    DJ Douggpound
    @ the Royale

    Tuesday, February 11th
    Lauren Mayberry (Chvrches)
    @ the Royale

    Wednesday, February 12th
    Tobin Sprout & Bevel Web
    with the Moles/Richard Davies
    @ the Somerville Armory

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    @ the Cabot, Beverly

    Thursday, February 13th
    Lunar Vacation
    Tasha
    @ Brighton Music Hall

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    @ the Sinclair

    Friday, February 14th
    Jilted Lovers:
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    with
    10,000 Spoons as Alanis Morissette,
    Super Graphic Ultra Modern TIFFY
    & Friends as Chappell Roan, and
    69 Fireflies as The Magnetic Fields
    @ Deep Cuts

    Saturday, February 15th
    Travis
    @ the Royale

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    Jack White
    @ Roadrunner

    Saturday, February 22nd
    Father John Misty
    Destroyer
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Sunday, February 23rd
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    @ Club Passim

    Tuesday, February 25th
    Howard Jones
    ABC
    @ the Shubert Theatre

    Thursday, February 27th
    Pom Pom Squad
    Caroline Kingsbury
    @ the Sinclair

    Friday, February 28th
    The Bevis Frond
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Saturday, March 1st
    Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve
    @ the Cabot, Beverly

    Friday, March 7th
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    & friends mark the 40th anniversary of
    R.E.M.'s "Fables of the Reconstruction"
    (and more) with opener Dave Hill
    @ the Royale

    Sunday, March 9th
    an acoustic evening with
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    @ the Wang

    Monday, March 10th
    Kim Deal
    @ the Wilbur

    Tuesday, March 11th
    Kraftwerk
    @ the Wang

    Tuesday, March 11th
    Peter Wolf (J Geils Band)
    presents his new memoir
    "Waiting on the Moon"
    @ Cambridge Public Library

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    and Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes)
    @ the Cut, Gloucester

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    @ Crystal Ballroom

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    cumgirl8
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    @ the Sinclair

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    Circuit des Yeux
    @ the Sinclair

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    @ MGM Music Hall

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    @ the Orpheum

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    The War & Treaty
    @ the Sinclair

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    @ TD Garden

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    @ Deep Cuts

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    @ the Paradise

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    @ City Winery

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    (of Television)
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    @ the Sinclair

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    Cursive
    @ House of Blues

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    "The Long Goodbye" farewell tour
    playing "Entertainment!" & more
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Wednesday, April 23rd
    Dweezil Zappa
    @ the Cabot, Beverly, MA

    Wednesday, April 23rd
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    Pinkshift
    @ the Paradise

    Friday & Saturday
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    @ various venues in Lowell

    Saturday, April 26th
    Poison the Well
    Glassjaw
    Better Lovers
    Teenage Wrist
    @ Roadrunner

    Sunday, April 27th
    Indigo Girls
    Melissa Etheridge
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Thursday, May 1st
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    & the Attachment Theory
    Love Spells
    @ Roadrunner

    Saturday, May 3th
    Cheekface
    @ The Sinclair

    Sunday, May 4th
    AC/DC
    @ Gillette Stadium

    Thursday, May 8th
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    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Monday, May 12th
    Kendrick Lamar
    SZA
    @ Gillette Stadium

    Saturday, May 17th
    Amyl & the Sniffers
    Sheer Mag
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    Saturday, May 24th
    The Wedding Present
    "Bizarro" 35th Anniversary Tour
    with The Tubs
    @ the Sinclair

    Friday, May 30th
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    @ Suffolk Downs

    Friday, June 6th
    The Ocean Blue
    playing their self-titled LP
    and their "Cerulean" LP
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Tuesday & Wednesday
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    Queens of the Stone Age
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Monday, July 7th
    OMD
    @ House of Blues

    Tuesday, July 15th
    Weird Al Yankovic
    @ the Wang

    Wednesday, July 16th
    Mekons
    Johnny Dowd
    @ City Winery

    Friday, July 18th
    Samantha Crain
    @ Warehouse XI

    Friday & Saturday
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    PIXIES
    performing "Bossanova"
    & "Trompe Le Monde" (18th)
    and a set of classics (19th)
    with Kurt Vile & the Violators
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Monday, July 21st
    Ghost
    @ TD Garden

    Saturday, July 26th
    Toto
    Christopher Cross
    Men At Work
    @ Leader Bank Pavilion

    Saturday, July 26th
    Rod Stewart
    Cheap Trick
    @ the Xfinity Center

    Tuesday, July 29th
    Goo Goo Dolls
    Dashboard Confessional
    @ the Pavilion

    Wednesday, July 30th
    The "Happy Together" Tour
    featuring The Turtles,
    Jay & the Americans,
    Little Anthony, Mark Lindsay
    (of Paul Revere & the Raiders),
    The Vogues, & the Cowsills
    @ Lynn Auditorium

    Friday, August 1st
    LOST 80's LIVE
    with A Flock of Seagulls,
    Big Country, General Public,
    The Vapors, Belouis Some,
    The Icicle Works, China Crisis,
    Josie Cotton, Polecats,
    and more
    @ the Wang

    Sunday, September 7th
    My Chemical Romance
    Idles
    @ Fenway Park

    Wednesday, September 17th
    Alison Krauss & Union Station
    Willie Watson
    @ the Pavilion

    Tuesday, September 23rd
    Viagra Boys
    @ Roadrunner