After waiting out interstate closings and making a laborious drive through the Rockies, Apex Manor arrived in Denver tired, but in high spirits.  The new band teams former The Broken West frontman Ross Flournoy with Brian Whelan (also of TBW), frequent co-writer Adam Vine, Andy Creighton (The World Record), and Derek Brown (of numerous west-coast bands).  One week after the release of The Year of Magical Drinking, Apex Manor played their very first show to a Santa Cruz audience.  This week sees them road-testing the live act with a short tour.

After returning home for a few weeks, the band will once again hit the road, playing SXSW and various East Coast dates:

Feb 12 Los Angeles, CA Satellite
Feb 24 San Francisco, CA Cafe Du Nord (Noise Pop Festival)
Mar 16-19 Austin, TX SXSW Festival
Mar 21 Washington, DC Red Palace
Mar 22 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
Mar 23 Cambridge, MA TT the Bear’s
Mar 26 New York, NY The Mercury Lounge
Mar 28 Chicago, IL Schubas Tavern
Mar 29 Minneapolis, MN 400 Bar

No shows booked in your vicinity? The new album can be purchased directly from Merge Records or at your favorite record shop.  The following live tracks, from the band’s fifth show ever, are a perfect supplement to the studio material.  In addition to songs from Magical Drinking, the setlist includes several Broken West songs and a great cover of Nilsson’s “Jump Into the Fire” (complete with Derek playing a Jim Gordon-style solo).

Apex Manor
2.08.2011
Hi-Dive, Denver, CO

Source:  [Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3] + [SBD > 1/4″] > Oade Mod Edirol R44 @ 24/48 > SDHC > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Mixdown > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. Under the Gun
2. I Know These Waters Well
3. The Party Line
4. Southern Decline
5. Perfect Games
6. Gwen, Now and Then
7. My My Mind
8. Down in the Valley
9. Jump Into the Fire
10. Teenage Blood

A zipfile of the mp3s is available here.
FLAC files can be found via BitTorrent at Dime.

Glen Phillips played to a sold-out audience at the Soiled Dove Underground last night, touching on material spanning his solo output, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and Works Progress Administration.  Glen appeared slightly nervous at first.  Several songs in, a shout-out from the crowd broke down any tension that may have existed.  The rest of the night was full of audience engagement, humor, and a perfect performance.

The audience gave Glen their undivided attention, but this is the norm at The Soiled Dove Underground.  I’m surprised at how many people have never been to the Lowry venue–it would easily rank in my top five places to see a concert in Denver.  Rhett and Casey do a great job at booking acoustic, Americana, and jazz acts for this intimate room.

Glen Phillips
1.21.2011
Soiled Dove Underground, Denver, CO

Source:  Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3 > Oade Mod Edirol R44 @ 24/48 > SDHC > Adobe Audition 3.0 > CDWave
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. Always Have My Love
2. Walk on the Ocean
3. Courage
4. Train Wreck
5. Crowing
6. (Betelgeuse and teenager stories)
7. End This Now
8. True
9. Released
10. Better Off Here
11. Dam Would Break
12. Easier
13. Brothers on a Hotel Bed *
14. Thankful
15. Solar Flare
16. Rise Up
17. “Someday” (new song)
18. All I Want
19. Everything But You
(Encore)
20. Darkest Hour
21. Drive By
22. American Tune

Notes:
* = with Vienna Teng and Alex Wong
Mics were placed at head height, along the front drink rail.

A zipfile of the MP3s is available here.
FLAC files and other formats are available at the LMA.

Going through archiving some old MiniDiscs, here’s the Counting Crows 2000 summer tour opener in support of This Desert Life.   The tour was a co-headline bill with +Live+, and on this particular date included Galactic as an opening act.

Counting Crows
7.28.2000
Sandstone Amphitheatre, Bonner Springs, KS

Source:  Core Sound Cardiods > Aiwa AM-F70 MD > MD Master > Sony MDS-JE510 > TOSLINK > Hosa ODL-276 > coax > Edirol R-44 > SDHC > Adobe Audition 3.0 > CDWave
Taped by: Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro (Magical Mystery Tour)
2. Recovering the Satellites
3. Mr. Jones
4. I Wish I Was a Girl
5. Angels of the Silences
6. All My Friends
7. Round Here *
8. Speedway
9. A Murder of One
10. Rain King
11. Hangin’ Around **
(Encore)
12. Live Forever
13. Long December

Notes:
* = w/ “She Doesn’t Exist Anymore” lyrics
** = w/ Live and Galactic, includes “No Scrubs” outro

A zipfile of the mp3s is available here.
FLAC files can be found via BitTorrent at Dime.

Active Child
9.24.2010
Larimer Lounge, Denver, CO

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

Setlist:
1. She Was a Vision
2. I’m In Your Church At Night
3. unknown
4. Wilderness
5. Ceremony
6. Weight of the World
7. Take Shelter
8. When Your Love is Safe

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

Apologies on this one: It was a great show and the last of their tour, but you better like tambourine…the microphones were only a couple of feet away from Brett’s percussion!

Golden Shoulders
9.16.2010
Yellow Feather Coffee, Denver, CO

Source:  DPA 4060’s > DAD6001’s > Lunatec V3 > Oade Mod Edirol R44 @ 24/48 > SDHC > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. The Honey, the Power, the Light
2. Do You Know Who You Are?
3. Patience Darling, Patience *
4. banter
5. Golden States *
6. This Is a Test
7. What You’re Proposing
8. Let My Burden Be
9. I Will Light You on Fire

Notes:
* = w/ Erin Roberts on trumpet

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

On tour with Adam Kline and Jonathan Hansard as Golden Shoulders, Brett Shady opened the show at Yellow Feather Coffee with a set of his own material.  The songs were great, and I regret not picking up his new album when I had the chance.  Don’t make the same mistake–The Devil To Pay was released on 8/10/2010 is now available on CD Baby.  (My favorite song from the set?  “Angels, Ghosts & Demons”.)

Brett Shady
9.16.2010
Yellow Feather Coffee, Denver, CO

Source:  [DPA 4060’s > DAD6001’s > Lunatec V3] + [SBD > 1/4″] > Oade Mod Edirol R44 @ 24/48 > SDHC > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Mixdown > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. Somebody Else
2. Jerome, AZ
3. Red House Plea
4. Waltz For a Girl In South Carolina
5. Angels, Ghosts & Demons

Notes:
Lineup included Rachael Pollard, Golden Shoulders, and Porlolo.

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

Following yesterday’s post of the 9/1/2010 Birds and Batteries show, here’s another they played two years ago in Denver.  Listening to both 2008 and 2010 yields some insight into this band’s evolution over the past two years.

Birds and Batteries
7.17.2008
The Lion’s Lair, Denver, CO

Source: DPA 4060s (Core-Sound HEBs) > battery box > Lunatec V3 > M-Audio Microtrack 2 > CF > WAV > Adobe Audition 3.0 > CDWave
Taped by: Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro
2. We’re An Industry
3. I’ll Never Sleep Again
4. Soft Surveillance
5. After A Flood
6. Turnstyles
7. Ocarina
8. Mythology: The Great Director
9. Star Clusters

A zipfile of the mp3s is available here.
FLAC files are available upon request.

After coming through Denver many times to play the Lion’s Lair, Birds and Batteries scored a headlining slot at the Hi-Dive this month.  The band’s upcoming album Panorama is available for pre-sale in LP or CD format via Spune, and hits stores on October 12th.

Birds and Batteries
9.01.2010
Hi-Dive, Denver, CO

Source:  [Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3] + [SBD > 1/4″] > Oade Mod Edirol R44 @ 24/48 > SDHC > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Mixdown > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. Lightning
2. The Villain
3. Sneaky Times
4. Strange Kind of Mirror
5. We’re an Industry
6. Squeeze Box
7. Star Clusters
8. Lonely Guns >
9. Out in the Woods
10. A Million People

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

San Francisco’s Eux Autres concluded their three-week tour across the country last week at the Larimer Lounge.  Hot Congress conducted a great interview with the band prior to their arrival in Denver.

Eux Autres
8.26.2010
Larimer Lounge, Denver, CO

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

Setlist:
1. Ecoutez Bien
2. Queen Turner
3. Molly
4. Go Dancing
5. When I’m Up
6. You’re Alight
7. Under Rays
8. Other Girls
9. The Things They Carried
10. Cover Rights

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

I highly recommend this one–an awesome late-night DIY show featuring California’s Peaking Lights!

Peaking Lights
8.06.2010
Further Shoppe, Denver, CO

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

Setlist:
1. Track #1
2. Track #2
3. Track #3
4. Track #4

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

Concrete Shiva
7.09.2010
Titwrench Fest, Glob, Denver, CO

Source:  [DPA 4060’s > Lunatec V3] + [SBD > 1/4″] > Oade Mod Edirol R44 @ 24/48 > SDHC > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Mixdown > Resample to 16/44.1
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. Track #01

A FLAC file of this performance can be downloaded here.

It was down to 1.0 °Fahrenheit standing in line waiting for the doors to open, but the record low temperatures didn’t keep the crowd from lining up for Brett Dennen at the Ogden last December.

Brett Dennen
12.03.2009
The Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO

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

Setlist:
1. intro
2. Darling, Do Not Fear
3. When I Go
4. Wrong About Me
5. San Francisco
6. When You Feel It
7. Who Do You Think You Are?
8. There Is So Much More
9. Ain’t No Reason
10. Heaven
11. She’s Mine
12. Make You Crazy
13. Blessed
(Encore)
14. Ain’t Gonna Lose You
15. Little Cosmic Girl
16. Weed Money Man

FLAC files and other formats are available at the LMA.

This show was completely unplugged in the middle of the room, making it a bit hard to capture on tape (wind and other background noise), but the singalongs were unforgettable!

Watercolor Paintings
8.21.2009
The Trunk Space, Phoenix, AZ

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
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. So Many
2. Telephone Wires
3. Dress Pockets
4. A Possibility
5. With the Light On
6. Snail
7. Sneezes
8. unknown
9. All of Our Lives
10. Indiana
11. A Simple Hello
12. Open Your Mouth

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

A sparse Sunday night crowd at the Hi-Dive didn’t prevent The Donkeys from giving it their all and bringing down the house!

The Donkeys
6.27.2010
Hi-Dive, Denver, CO

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

Setlist:
1. unknown instrumental
2. Nice Train
3. Come on Virginia
4. Dolphin Center
5. unknown
6. Bloodhound
7. Excelsior Lady
8. Gloria
(Encore)
9. Foggy Notion

A zipfile of the mp3s is available here.
FLAC files can be found via BitTorrent at Dime.

Here’s another old-school performance, Mary Beth Abella opening for Rainville at Swallow Hill.  This show pairs Abella with violinist Jennifer Kavanaugh, resulting in a laid-back approach to songs usually given the “full band” treatment.

Mary Beth Abella
5.16.2003
Tuft Theatre at Swallow Hill, Denver, CO

Source:  SBD > EMI 6|2m > iBook 800 > Spark ME > WAV > CDWave
Taped by: Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. unknown
2. Flying on a Breeze
3. Hey Sexy
4. Two Months to Know
5. Leave You Behind
6. This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)
7. And We Glow
8. Still Breathing
9. As Long As You Lie
10. Mother Nature’s Son

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