Our neighbors to the south, A Hawk and a Hacksaw, concluded their fall tour in Denver before heading home to Albuquerque.  Despite some pressure from other shows, AHAAH played to a full house, no doubt partially driven by folks who also turned out for openers Damon and Naomi.

A Hawk and a Hacksaw
10.16.2009
Hi-Dive, Denver, CO

Source:  Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3 > digi-coax > Oade Mod Edirol R-44 @ 24/48 > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave > LAME > mp3
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. Romanian Hora
2. Fernando’s Giampari
3. I Am Not a Gambling Man > Raggle Taggle
4. The Man Who Sold His Beard
5. Serbian Cocek
6. Kolo
7. unknown
8. unknown
9. Macedon
10. Turkiye
11. Lassu
(Encore)
12. Eskudar
13. Zibiciu
14. Foni tu Argile

Notes:
Encore was performed off-stage, moving throughout the bar.

A zipfile of mp3s is available here.
FLAC files are available on dime.

Nuci’s Space was completely packed on the first night of AthFest, driven by highly anticipated appearances by Circulatory System, Liz Durrett, and Modern Skirts.   Here’s the Circulatory set–not the best quality recording, but still worthy of a listen.  Deviating from the experimental nature of previous shows I’ve witnessed, there is a greater focus on actual song structures in this set.  The shift results in material more accessible to the casual listener, which will help to attract audiences when the band hits the road this fall in support of the forthcoming Signal Morning.

Circulatory System
6.26.2009
Nuci’s Space, Athens, GA

Source:  Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3 > digi-coax > Oade Mod Edirol R44 @ 24/48 > WAV > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave > LAME > mp3
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro
2. Yesterday’s World
3. Signal Morning
4. The Frozen Lake >
5. Woodpecker Greeting Worker Ant >
6. A Peek
7. Overjoyed
8. Until Moon Medium Hears the Message
9. The Spinning Continuous

A zipfile of mp3s is available here.
FLAC files are available on dime.

Evening two of the Arizona run:  We’re hanging out in a Scottsdale strip mall and break the news to Brian that it’s Valentine’s Day.  It’s only 30 minutes before doors, but you can see the mental gears grinding away, searching for material worthy of bolstering the Greeting Card Association membership’s market value.  An hour later, the homage is nothing less than genius!

Brian Dewan
2.14.2009
Chyro Arts Venue, Scottsdale, AZ

Source:  DPA 4060/Microtech Gefell M300 Mix > Adobe Audition 3.0 > CDWave
Source #1: DPA 4060s (Core-Sound HEBs) clipped to vocal mic stand > battery box > M-Audio Microtrack 2 > CF
Source #2: Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3 (opti-mod) > Nomad JB3
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. (Valentine’s Day intro)
2. I Will Give My Love an Apple [trad.]
3. I Hold Your Hand in Mine [Tom Lehrer]
4. Girl [Beatles]
5. Girls [Iggy Pop]
6. The Human Heart
7. (Brian tells a joke)
8. Brain Surgery Without Anesthesia
9. Sovey the Female Highwayman [trad.]
10. The True Lover’s Farewell [trad.]

A zipfile of the mp3s is available here.
FLAC files can be downloaded as a zipfile here.

Joining The Music Tapes and Nana Grizol on their recent tour, Brian Dewan schooled punctual E6 fans on the physics of making dead-serious musical historiography and eccentricity converge.   Brian is very fervent about the traditional songs he unearths for listeners, yet never fails to inject a breath of humor into every performance.  Every geek musical fact withdrawn from the treasury comes with a joke stashed away in a separate account.  Every antique zither or film projector on-stage comes with a ridiculous suit jacket or tie.

This set from Solar Culture in Tucson was comprised primarily of material from The Operating Theater and Words of Wisdom.  Most tunes can’t be pegged to a single songwriter, any accreditation having been lost to the winds of time, but we can at least give Brian the credit of delivering them to our ears.

Brian Dewan
2.13.2009
Solar Culture, Tucson, AZ

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

Setlist:
1. Big Rock Candy Mountains
2. The Kettle Valley Line
3. The Mountaineer’s Wedding
4. Niagara Falls
5. Where They Belong
6. Home Movies
7. Fruitless Labors
8. Kids
9. Rumpelstiltskin
10. Flexible Flyer
11. Cadavers
12. unknown
13. The Mistletoe

A zipfile of the mp3s is available here.
FLAC files can be downloaded as a zipfile here.

(Photo by Mike White.)

I finally witnessed a proper pair of Nana Grizol shows last weekend, opening for The Music Tapes.  Catching NG live has been on my todo list since August, when I pretty much missed the entirety of their PopFest performance.  This particular show had a very small crowd due to a pair of circumstances:

1. The show was only booked 10 days in advance
2. Nobody takes their significant other out to a concert on Valentine’s Day

As such, the band took this opportunity to play a very un-pressured set, filled with banter, musical teases, and plenty of new material.  (In fact, only three of the tracks here are on the band’s debut album.)  The new songs are great, but don’t overlook their released material on 2008’s Love It, Love It (link below).

Nana Grizol
2.14.2009
Chyro Arts Venue, Scottsdale, AZ

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

Setlist:
1. In My Life (tease)
2. Circles ‘Round the Moon
3. Galaxies
4. Voices Echo Down Thee Halls (For Jared)
5. Motion in the Ocean
6. Ginsburg
7. (new song)
8. Black Box
9. Cynicism

FLAC files and other audio formats are available at the Live Music Archive.

Purchase the debut Nana Grizol album:
2008 – Love It, Love It (Orange Twin | Digital Download)

(Photo courtesy of Cable & Tweed.)

This is another one of those super-short sets from the Saturday night run:  a taste of Peter Erchick’s Pipes You See, Pipes You Don’t.

Pipes You See, Pipes You Don’t
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 > Flac16
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro
2. unknown
3. unknown
4. unknown

A zipfile of the mp3s is available via megaupload.
FLAC files can be downloaded as a zipfile here.

The Pipe’s discography can be purchased via PayPal.

Here are a few more from PopFest, starting out with the Big Fresh set on Saturday night.

Big Fresh
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 > Flac16
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. unknown
2. Entertainment
3. Large Crowds
4. Joybomb #1 > Joybomb #2
5. unknown
6. Losing Friends to War
7. unknown
8. unknown
9. WLUV

A zipfile of the mp3s is available via megaupload.
FLAC files can be downloaded as a zipfile 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.

Great Lakes
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. Precious and Reckless
2. Storming
3. Let Me Ride
4. unknown
5. No Trouble
6. unknown
7. banter/band intros
8. No More Conquistadors

(Here’s the link to a zipfile of the show.)
(Flacs are available on dime.)

(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.)