Holiday plans can throw a wrench into band bookings, but Night Driving in Small Towns found a way to use the absence to two band members to their advantage on the weekend before Christmas.  Instead of canceling the shows, remaining members decided to approach these shows as the “NDIST Acoustic Trio”.  Composed of Andrea Rogers (vocals), Colby Wright (mandolin), and Daniel Gonzalez (acoustic guitar), this incarnation of the band treated Atlanta fans to stripped down versions of NDIST favorites.

Here are recordings of the two performances.  Apologies for the buzz in the Kavarna set–it was coming through both the PA and the board feed, and couldn’t easily be eliminated without damaging the audio quality.

Night Driving in Small Towns
12.19.2008
Kavarna, Decatur, GA

Source:  Mix [Microtch Gefell M300's > Lunatec V3 (opti-mod) > Nomad JB3] + [SBD > Apogee Mini-Me > M-Audio Microtrack II] > WAV > Mixing in Adobe Audition 3.0 > CDWave > Flac16
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. Red Rover
2. Young
3. Cast Your Love Around
4. Close Encounters
5. unknown
6. Four Years Ago Today
7. Reasons To Love You
8. Waking Up
9. Take Me As I Am

A zipfile of the mp3s can be obtained here.
FLAC files are availabe via bittorrent here.

Night Driving in Small Towns
12.18.2008
East Atlanta Icehouse, Atlanta, GA

Source:  Microtch Gefell M300′s > Lunatec V3 (opti-mod) > Nomad JB3 > Firewire > Adobe Audition 3.0 > CDWave > Flac16
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. Young
2. Close Encounters
3. unknown
4. Reasons To Love You
5. Take Me As I Am
6. Red Rover
7. Cast Your Love Around

A zipfile of the mp3s can be obtained here.
FLAC files are availabe via bittorrent here.

(Photo by Leana Combs.)

Here’s the second of the three Kavarna sets, with The Good Graces opening the show.  There was a substantial turn-out even for the first act…nice to see people getting out and supporting the local artists!

The Good Graces
12.19.2008
Kavarna, Decatur, GA

Source:  Mix [Microtch Gefell M300's > Lunatec V3 (opti-mod) > Nomad JB3] + [SBD > Apogee Mini-Me > M-Audio Microtrack II] > WAV > Mixing in Adobe Audition 3.0 > CDWave
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro
2. You and Me and Our Ghost
3. Over It
4. What’s Wrong
5. Who We Are
6. Unhappy Ending
7. Stuck Inside
8. Already Broken
9. Bad Driver
10. Real to Me

A zipfile of mp3s is available here.
FLAC files can be obtained via bittorrent here.

Being on the road for three weeks has left no time for posts…  Now that I’m back (and don’t have to work until Monday), I finally had a chance to check out the handful of recordings I made in Georgia before Christmas.  The only ones that turned out well were Hope For Agoldensummer, Night Driving in Small Towns, and The Good Graces at Kavarna.  I hadn’t seen HFAGS in several years, so it was nice to catch this intimate set at a cool coffee/wine bar in Oakhurst.

Hope For Agoldensummer
12.19.2008
Kavarna, Decatur, GA

Source:  Mix [Microtch Gefell M300's > Lunatec V3 (opti-mod) > Nomad JB3] +
[SBD > Apogee Mini-Me > M-Audio Microtrack II] > WAV > Mixing in Adobe Audition 3.0 > CDWave
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro
2. Candy Dots
3. Love Like a Sailor
4. Man of Faith
5. Fourth Night
6. Tuscon
7. Birthday (tease)
8. Katelina, Dear
9. Laying Down the Gun
10. Midwest
11. Threads
12. Malt Liquor > What’s Your Fantasy (tease)
(Encore)
13. Are You That Somebody?

FLAC files can be found here.
A zipfile of mp3s is available here.

This has to be one of the shortest PopFest sets ever.  With the actual music clocking it at 11 minutes, Andy From Denver barely had time to warm up before getting shuffled off the stage.  Still, it was a nice tease.

Andy From Denver
8.16.2008
Athens Popfest
40 Watt Club, Athens, GA

Source: Microtech Gefell M300′s > Lunatec V3 (opti-mod) > M-Audio MicroTrack II > CF > Adobe Audition > CDWave
Taped by: Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro
2. Nasty Dream
3. “Millionare”
4. Hanging On A Cloud

A zipfile of mp3s can be found here.
A zipfile of the FLACs can be found here.

(Photo courtesy of The Yellow Stereo.)

I’m getting ready to hit the road for a month or so, and decided to post a few more PopFest sets before I head out…  Dark Meat took the stage on Thursday evening, working the crowd into anticipation of the night’s final act, Roky Erickson.  Paying homage with their psyhedelic hero, the band concluded the set with a cover of Roky’s “Be and Bring Me Home”.

Dark Meat
8.14.2008
Athens Popfest
The 40 Watt Club, Athens, GA

Source:  Microtech Gefell M300′s > Lunatec V3 (opti-mod) > Nomad JB3 > Firewire > CoolEdit Pro > CDWave
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. soundcheck
2. No One Was There
3. Last of the Frontiersmen
4. New Eyes
5. Back in the Light
6. Three Eyes Open
7. Future Galaxies
8. banter/tuning
9. Be and Bring Me Home

(FLAC files are available via the LMA.)

Here’s the Vic Chesnutt set from last week with Elf Power.  This is truly one of the most enjoyable shows I’ve seen this year!

Vic Chesnutt and Elf Power
11.19.2008
Hi-Dive, Denver, CO

Source:  Mix [Microtch Gefell M300's > Lunatec V3 (opti-mod) > Nomad JB3] +
[SBD > Apogee Mini-Me > M-Audio Microtrack II] > WAV >
Mixing in Adobe Audition 3.0 > CDWave > Flac16
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro > Mystery
2. Little Fucker
3. And How
4. Teddy Bear
5. We Are Mean
6. Stop the Horse
7. Bilocating Dog
8. Phil the Fiddler
9. Old Hotel
10. Independence Day
(Encore)
11. See You Around *
12. banter *
13. Sleeping Man *

Notes:
* = Vic solo

FLAC files are available on dime.
A zipfile of MP3s is available via megaupload.

Another Elf Power set for y’all…this time at Denver’s Hi-Dive on their way back east.

Elf Power
11.19.2008
Hi-Dive, Denver, CO

Source:  Mix [Microtch Gefell M300's > Lunatec V3 (opti-mod) > Nomad JB3] +
[SBD > Apogee Mini-Me > M-Audio Microtrack II] > WAV >
Mixing in Adobe Audition 3.0 > CDWave > Flac16
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. Owl Cut (White Flowers in the Sky)
2. Spiral Stairs
3. Quiver and Quake
4. Dream In Sound
5. Hole In My Shoe
6. The Demon’s Daughter
7. The New Mythology
8. Paralyzed
9. Fried Out >
10. The Everlasting Scream
11. Back To The Web
12. An Old Familiar Scene

A zipfile of the mp3s can be found here.
FLAC files are available here.

Back to the PopFest material…

This is a nice set from Kim Ware’s The Good Graces.  Based out of Altanta, TGG released their debut album Sunset Over Saxapahaw a few weeks ago.  You can order directly via the Eskimo Kiss website.

TGG are slotted to play 12/19 at Kavarna, along with Hope For Agoldensummer and Night Driving In Small Towns.  And if my holiday travel plans fall into place, I might actually be there!

The Good Graces
8.14.2008
Athens Popfest
Flicker Theatre, Athens, GA

Source: DPA 4060′s > battery-box > Microtrack II > CF > WAV > Adobe Audition > CDWave
Taped by: Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. You and Me and Our Ghost
2. What’s Wrong
3. Stuck Inside
4. Disassembled
5. Bad Driver
6. Unhappy Ending
7. Over It
8. Real To Me

(And here’s the obligatory link the the full show.)