Couple Of Great Auteurs Live Concerts

Here's a quickie whilst I'm on a sickie....

Couple of great Auteurs live shows - 'Black Sessions' is a French radio show from 1996 that had a limited unofficial release (2500  CDr's I think I saw somewhere), and the 'No Dialogue With Cunts' is a live freebie from 1999 given away a while ago two tracks at a time on Luke Haines website.

Luke Haines - Outsider Music 51

Apologies, been a while since my last post, busy at work, and the taking down of Megaupload means most of my content has been flushed down the pan, and I kinda lost heart re: re-posting stuff.

Anyhow, I'm off work with a stinking cold, and actually have some 'free' time, so, what he heck....

Been a big fan of all things 'Luke Haines' since I first discovered the band Auteurs in the early 90's. His insiteful and acerbic/acidic take on British life has been a stalwart of his lyrical output for most of his recording career, all laced with a dark humour and whit not always accorded to him.
This continued through his next incarnation with 'Black Box Recorder' and Baader Meinhoff and onto his more recent solo stuff.

Came across this clip whilst perusing You Tube and it's a corker.

Apparently 'Outsider Music' 51 is the final installment in the series of 50 bespoke CDr's, a live performance of the best songs contained on the limited edition recordings. Each copy of 'Outsider Music'  was a true one off, with Haines re-recording each album to give each buyer a unique recorded artifact (apparently one of the discs has him answering the door to the postman)

A brief review of one of these impossible to find (and expensive...£75 each...phew, bit outside my pocket) releases is Here.


Here's a few clips of Mr Haines past  (and present) glories...

   

 

Hopefully back to posting more regularly in the not too distant future, for now, I'm off for a nap.

Two Bristol Greats...Glaxo Babies and The Pop Group

Glaxo Babies - Put Me On The Guest List.

This was originally released in August 1980 as a mid priced (£2.95) LP containing B-sides, Alternate versions and hard to find tracks from a prior incarnation of the band. Of all the Glaxo Babies releases I think this is my favourite. It holds together better than the follow up,  'Nine Months To The Disco'  and is head and shoulders above the later art rock leaning of the release. Falling squarely within the political post punk/agit pop leanings of better known bands like Gang of Four, The Au Pairs and The Mekons. On first listen 'Put Me on The Guest List' doesn't stray far from the formula. Edgy, spartan shards of guitar work of funk/dub bass-lines and regular/ metronomic drum with howled/screamed/ shouted vocals. For me though, they had that mystery X-Factor  that took them beyond their better known bretheran. And, in a cyclical twist that occurs regularly in music, the themes touched upon in the songs are oddly prescient of our life and times.

If you fancy a listen, Here it is.


The Pop Group - Assorted Live 1980

This falls squarely within the bootleg quotant, but is no the less enjoyable for it, and has a fair to good sound quality considering the tapes age.

The Pop Group were one of the oddest bands to form in the post punk era, eschewing the stripped down D.I.Y. leanings of many artists in favour of avant jazz leanings, hard funk rhythms and hard left political leanings they were not the easiest band to connect with on initial spins of their records.
Releasing two official albums 'Y', and 'For How Much Longer Will We Tolerate Mass Murder  and a hand full of bootlegs and semi official LP's which covered much of the same ground as the official releases.
Upon finally fragmenting due to internal tensions in 1981, their musical legacy continued on in bands such as Rip, Rig & Panic, Pigbag, Maximum Joy, Head Mark Stewart & The Mafia and the afor mentioned Glaxo Babies.

If you fancy a listen to this erratic and exhilarating band live, you can Here.

Shellac with David Yow as the Sex Pistols - 10.31.98 - Lounge Axe Chicago il........Plus B-sides and Rarities Compilation

 

This is a great little bootleg I turned up  a few years ago courtesy of a mutual Shellac freak.

I'd heard of it's existence but never expected to hear the show till the CDr dropped through me letterbox.
The basic premise was, punters turn up to Shellac Halloween gig, but instead of the usual 'Shellac' set, David Yow (Scratch Acid, Jesus Lizard) joins Albini et al on stage for a run through of edited highlights of the Sex Pistols debut album.
This is deffo one of those 'wish I'd been there' gigs, there's a fabulous atmosphere, and the band enhance the experience buy adopting almost comedic Dick Van Dyke cockney-isms for the intro's even going so far as dressing for the part.

Have a listen Here

Shellac - A Brief History

Shellac formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1992 as an informal collaboration between guitarist Steve Albini and drummer Todd Trainer. Former Naked Raygun bassist Camilo Gonzalez sat in on early rehearsals and played on one song on Shellac's first single before permanent bassist Bob Weston, formerly of Boston's Volcano Suns, joined.

Shellac has a distinctive, minimalist sound based on unusual and urgent time signatures, repetitive heavy rhythms, an angular guitar sound, and Albini's surreal, bitingly sarcastic lyrics. Songs typically do not have traditional verse/chorus/verse structure and the arrangements are sparse, to the point where some describe them as "amelodic". Shellac's signature sound is often associated with their enthusiasm for vintage Travis Bean guitars, a rare brand of aluminium-based instruments, and the Interfax "Harmonic Percolator" distortion pedal. Albini is also known to use copper plectrums and unique guitar straps that fit around the waist rather than over the shoulder. The band prefers the intimacy of smaller clubs and live appearances are sporadic.

Both Weston and Albini are recording engineers. They prefer a sparse, analog recording sound with little or no overdubbing, and are meticulous about microphone placement and choice of equipment.
Shellac posing at Shibuya, Japan

Mid-set in many live performances Shellac take the time for one or more "question and answer" sessions, where members of the band respond in an off-the-cuff and at times jocular manner to questions shouted out by fans and hecklers alike. Notably, in 1997 they recorded an instrumental album known as The Futurist for modern dance troupe: LaLaLa Human Steps. Unwilling to grant what the band considered a sub-par recording a wider audience, they pressed approximately 700 vinyl LP copies of the music and gave them away as gifts to friends. The front cover was a list of the recipients, with the relevant name encircled in order to personalize the copy, as well as to aid the band in making sure all the listed recipients received a copy (the band is still looking for people on the list to get their copy to them). Shellac also played a Halloween show as The Sex Pistols, featuring former Jesus Lizard and Scratch Acid singer David Yow as Johnny Rotten.

In 2002, the band curated the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Camber Sands, England. Knowing that most of the audience had come specifically to see Shellac, the band went on first every morning as an incentive for the festival-goers to be up in time to see the other acts. Other acts included The Fall, Will Oldham, Nina Nastasia, Rachel's, Mission of Burma, Silkworm, Threnody Ensemble, Shipping News, High Dependency Unit, Arcwelder, The Breeders, David Lovering, Blonde Redhead, Wire, Zeni Geva, Oxes, Flour, Smog, Cheap Trick, Danielson Famile, The Ex, and Dianogah. A CD of tracks from the bands performing at the festival was released on ATP Records.

 Part Two - B-Sides and Compilation Rarities

The Rude Gesture: A Pictorial History 7"ep (Touch and Go)
1. The Guy Who Invented Fire
2. Rambler Song
3. Billiard Player Song
Uranus 7" (Touch & go)
4. Doris
5. Wingwalker
The Bird Is The Most Popular Finger 7" (Drag City)
6. The admiral
7. Pul the cup
Jailbreak 7" (Skin Graft/Gasoline Boost)
8. Jailbreak
Rambler Song 7" (Touch and Go)
9. Rambler song (mellow version)
Shellac records 7" #9
10. The futurist
Ground rule double divot compilation - actionboy 300
11. Copper Song
Lounge ax defense and relocation compilation CD
12. Killeras
Steve Albini with Zeni Geva - all right you little bastards CD
13. A piece of angel
14. Kettle Lake
15. Painwise (cover of rambler song)
16. The model
Have a listen Here. (Compiled tracks courtesy of this great site rarities-bootlegs-promos.blogspot.com saved me a few hours of Audacity rippage, many thanks!)

Concert Climax - Saint Julian Cope Live in Hearing of The Motherfucker

Don't know much about this alleged 'rare Italian' 2006 release from Julian Cope. Part of it is live, part studio recordings. Contains an OK cover of 13th Floor Elevators - 'Easter Everywhere' and a few hard to find tracks. to me it seems a bit of a  cobbled together affair, but it has it's moments. Not his most outstanding release that's for sure, but for those Cope completists, I guess it's one to track down.

Cope fan site Trampoline has this to say about the release...

"Described by Head Heritage as: "This limited edition Italian-only release purports to be recorded live at 2005's Urbino Festival, though in truth it also includes unreleased studio sessions and four brand new songs including the 11-minute epic 'How the West Was Lost' and the Skynyrd-inspired heavy ballad 'Lost Generation'."

 

If this is your bag, have a listen Here.

Julian Cope Live - Camden Cumming 16th February 2006

In the interest of actually posting at least one thing this month, I've trawled the archive for another live Julian Cope set. This is from the heart of his 'metal' phase several years ago, but don't let that put you off, as it's a pretty entertaining show, with a great career spanning tracklist. Not a bad recording, sound wise either.

This was another of those Head Heritage forum swaps that the generous folk in those parts are won't to do, and the artwork for this one is by Black Sheep's very own Common Era if I'm not mistaken.

If you think this may be your kind of thang, you can listen to Disc 1 Here and Disc 2 Here

Triclops Live Levenshume Manchester

Great bit of live video of Manchester experimental noisters Triclops (not to be confused with US guitar wranglers Triclops!).
If your looking for comparisons in sound, think Coil, TG, Cyclobe etc.. great stuff.
From about 16 mins in there's a cover version of T.G.'s 'Persuasion'.


Triclops Live Burst Couch#30 - Part One from Gareth Bibby on Vimeo.

Coil - A Couple Of Outstanding Gigs.

I still greatly miss the esoteric outpourings of Balance, Christopherson, Thighpaulsandra and associates.
Since 1985 they have been my 'occult' eye, guiding me into hitherto unknown territories of music and magick or wild obsidian nightmares and obtuse teachings. I've met some great people along the way, and swapped and traded many a 'rare' disc or live show with wonderful and generous people from all walks of life, all sharing my obsession, living scattered lives across the globe.
There really has been nobody to step up and fill their boots, nobody gives me quite the thrill Coil gave me, whether it was a new recording, or the chance to catch them 'live'. There was always something very special about their approach. The efforts were often never less than astounding, they could like as not often be baffling and obtuse, often for it's own sake. Always keeping one step ahead of the pack, they seemed to take a perverse joy in wrong footing fans and critics alike, releasing almost unlistenable 'Power Electronics' after softly lulling us with beautific ambient Drones. Albums were wrapped up in their own occluded meanings forcing the listener to return time and again to unpick the coded ciphers and coda's of  the music or lyrics. They always kept you guessing, you could never be sure what they were up to. They saw no shame in being elitist, with some releases being either incredibly limited and therefore hard to come by, hence the 'swapsies', or unfeasibly expensive, often with artifacts or artworks done by band members themselves. As I said, I still miss them, and if you do to, here's a couple of great shows. The'Barbian - Play Festival is one I recorded myself, the other ended up as part of the 'Live' series, I think it was ''Live Four - Prague and Vienna' , but don't quote me on that.

Coil - Live  Palace Acropolis - Czech Republic Prague 27/10/2002

Coil - Live 'Only Connect - Play Festival/Game On/Only Connect Barbican 27/04/2002

Mission Of Burma - Live Academy 2, Birmingham, August 2004

This is a corker of a gig. Great sound, and a wonderful atmosphere. This was from Mission of Burma's 'come back' tour supporting the great 'On Off On' album.
Not much else to say. Premier post punk band reform and do killer set, with ALL ya favourite songs too. Wunderbar!

Hear it Here.

Oneida - Live Jug of Ale, Moseley, Birmingham 2005

Oneida are one of my favourite bands. I'm not sure how to categorize them, as they tend to fall between stools, musically speaking. Are they psychedelic, post rock, noise or garage punk, who knows? In turns they can be noisy, gentle, repetitive, poppy, whimsical or full on crazy. The songs can be finely crafted, or full on psychedelic jams and as a unit,  they are TIGHT, I mean you couldn't slip a pin between the interlocking jams. A simple nod or word takes them off in totally new directions, it's a wonderful thing to experience, plus, the stage banter is funny as F*** too.
I've only been lucky enough to catch them live once, in a sticky hole, a few miles up the road. The audience numbered about 30, at least half of which had turned up to as friends to the middling support act, whom made such an impression, I couldn't even tell you the name.
I gotta say, I felt bad for Oneida, a shitty audience in the arse end of nowhere. Me and my pal Manchester Charlie whooped it up big time trying to make em realise that there was some love and appreciation in the room, but we still couldn't fill the empty space of dead chin stroking buttflaps. But, y'know what! Oneida rocked that joint till the ceiling shook. It is, by far and away,  THE  second loudest gig I have attended. So much so, that I still have slight tinnitus from the gig in my right ear. (Actually, the loudest gig was the SWANS in 1985, at another local shithole, now sadly closed, called The Mermaid. If you know the SWANS from those early records, you'll appreciated the electricity of the latent violence, the claustrophobia and oppresive atmosphere that came to exemplify those early gigs.)

This isn't the best recording of Oneida live, the sheer volume saw to that, but it's worth a listen nonetheless as it's tight, and they play most of my favourite songs up to that point.

Oneida live, though not in Birmingham.

Hear itHere.

Julian Cope - Live Edinburgh Festival 25/08/2002

This is a great double disc solo concert by the Arch Drude himself sent to me by a23 from HH many years ago.
It has a great selection of songs spanning Cope's career, with a good chunk from the 20 Mothers, Jehovahkill and the first Braindonor album. This show was the second night of his two appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe and has some hilarious stage banter from the man himself. I'm sure I have the gig of the 24th as well, but that may take some digging about to find. Anyhow, hope you enjoy.

Julian Cope - Live Liverpool Uni 27th October 2003

Here's a great gig from 2003 from the Copester, pretty good sound quality for an audience recording.
Nice mix of Braindonor material and earlier stuff. The tracks from 'St. Julian' get a full metal overhaul which works surprisingly well considering it was his great short haired pop comeback. There's also one track, 'Shrine Of The Black Youth' from the 'Rome Wasn't Burned In A Day' Tour CD. All in all, one of the better Cope gigs I've been to.I've split the concert into 2 discs and edited it for audience noise, have a listen  Here.

Two Coil Gigs, St Johns Church, Gdansk & Megalithithomania, Conway Hall.

Ploughing through my CD archive, I turned up these two interesting shows I hadn't played in some time.
When Coil started touring again back in 2000, there was a real buzz and expectation about their shows, as many of us thought we'd never see them live in then current lineup. From then till the death of John Balance in 2004, they played around 45 shows all around the globe and a network of us grew sharing and recording various live events, as then, they were unavailable officially. The quality for most of the shows was surprisingly good for audience recordings, and a dozen or more shows came to light in that time, from places as far apart as Russia and the U.S.A. with a large swathe of  Europe taken in too. One 'official' CD/Video was produced at the time of a show in NYC dated 18 Aug 2001. The tracks for this show were the same 'Persistence Is All' set they played at the Royal Festival Hall on 19 Sept 2000. A full list of live show are listed Here.
You can pick up an official  DVD  box set release of most of these shows, but it is very limited, and tre expensive and may already be sold out. Full details at Threshold House.

 COIL - GDANSK

The first post is a great audience recording from Gdansk, Poland dated 25/10/2002. A friend from Belgium Hernando J kindly sent me this. The tracklist is the same for several other appearances from this period.
You can hear it Here.

MEGALITHOMANIA

This was a show I attended at Conway Hall dated 12 October 2002 as part of the 'Megalithomania' event.
Basically a day of talks about folklore, mythology and prehistory, it was a great day with the added buzz that Coil had recorded a special track for the event. You can hear it Here.
Drew Mullholland under the guise of 'Mount Vernon' Astral Temple' also played a wonderful show, with some amazing 'urban explorer' visuals of abandoned military sites and bunkers.
I picked up a great MVAL 'sigil' T-shirt at the time, with one of those great Cold War slogans on the back.
I particularly loved the sigil, as it looks like a simple graphical representation of 'Torquemada' from the comic 2000AD strip 'Nemesis'.

Fujiya & Miyagi - Live Hare and Hounds, Birmingham 020311

This is a great gig by Brighton's Fujiya & Miyagi my pal recorded in Birmingham the other night. Great sound too. Unfortunately, I had to edit the last track cos' someone nearby was yapping away, but otherwise it's all .Here . Not sure what track 11 was, had a very Wooden Shjips sound to it (hence my insertion).
Tracklisting was 1. Minestrone. 2. 16 Shades Of Black and Blue. 3. Uh. 4. Cat Got Your Tongue.5. Knickerbocker. 6. Collarbone. 7. In One Ear...8. Pills. 9. Yoyo. 10. Tinsel & Glitter. 11. Wooden Shjips Stylee. 12. Fujiya & Miyagi (edit).