In addition to the other acts I’ve posted from Friday night’s Lion’s Lair show, Fissure Mystic deafened the crowd with a few new tunes and raucous, extended takes on older material.

Fissure Mystic
1.16.2009
The Lion’s Lair, Denver, CO

Source:  DPA 4060s (Core-Sound HEBs) > battery box > Lunatec V3 (opti-mode) > Nomad JB3 > Firewire > WAV > Adobe Audition 3.0 > CDWave > Flac16
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. banter/soundcheck
2. unknown #1
3. unknown #2
4. unknown #3
5. Lucy Dee
6. unknown #4

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

Safe Boating is No Accident, having only been around since mid-2008, are relative newcomers to the Denver scene.  Their songs often blend classic country with E6 pop sensibilities, resulting in material that feels very familiar to the listener without coming across as antiquated.

Safe Boating is No Accident
1.16.2009
The Lion’s Lair, Denver, CO

Source:  DPA 4060s (Core-Sound HEBs) > battery box > Lunatec V3 (opti-mode) > Nomad JB3 > Firewire > WAV > Adobe Audition 3.0 > CDWave > Flac16
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro
2. Sixteen Tons
3. Danger
4. Little Universe
5. A Scientific Man
6. Ladyfriend Waltz
7. Lies
8. Libertines
9. I Was Born a Suffering Man
10. Greenback Dollar
11. banter
12. Will the Circle Be Unbroken

FLAC files can be downloaded via BitTorrent here.
A zipfile of the mp3s is available here.

Here’s another set from the Meadowlark’s Living Room Series: Laura Goldhamer, one of Denver’s busiest musical organizers and collaborators.

Laura Goldhamer
8.23.2008
Living Room Series
The Meadowlark, Denver, CO

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

Setlist:
1. unknown
2. Lion
3. No Ability
4. Ye Old Leave Behind
5. unknown
6. Ollie Oxen Free

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

Colorado’s female supergroup Harpoontang took to the Lion’s Lair stage last night with a truly entertaining performance.  Instead of attempting any review, I think it best that you listen for yourselves…

Harpoontang
1.16.2009
The Lion’s Lair, Denver, CO

Source:  DPA 4060s (Core-Sound HEBs) > battery box > Lunatec V3 (opti-mod) > Nomad JB3 > Firewire > WAV > Adobe Audition 3.0 > CDWave > Flac16
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro
2. Ruby Red Hacksaw’s Lament
3. Dang, J
4. Always Be My Baby
5. Smoothie
6. Key to the City
7. “Let Me Smoke a Bowl (And I’ll Call You Back)”
8. Cock Rock
9. Waterfalls > Can I Get A… > Waterfalls > Can I Get A… > Pony > Shoop > Waterfalls

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

Here’s another excellent set from Achille Lauro.  Sorry for the complete lack of song titles, but I’m pretty sure a lot of this material is newer and not on their EP or full-length.

Achille Lauro
1.09.2009
The Meadowlark, Denver, CO

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

Setlist:
1. Cold Poetry
2. Summertime
3. Norman Rockwell
4. Super Natural Beings
5. Buried Under Ice
6. Cardboard Divas

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

Grab the band’s discography:
2008 – Achille Lauro (CD Baby | iTunes)
2006 – You’re Going to Live (And Other Nice Things to Hear) (CD Baby | iTunes)

Ellison Park and Tim Pourbaix have been sharing the stage together for several months under the “Park Pourbaix” moniker, but Friday night was my first exposure to the collaborative effort.  There’s some great material here!  I’m hoping we see a proper release of these songs later in the year, but for now you can hear demos via the artists’ myspace pages.

Park Pourbaix
1.09.2009
The Meadowlark, Denver, CO

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

Setlist:
1. unknown *
2. unknown *
3. “Duck Sloth Turtle”
4. I Spy
5. Holding Out
6. Were You Really Brought Up Like This ^
7. Eighty Six ^
8. Chloe ^
9. unknown > unknown @

Notes:
* = Tim solo
@ = Ellison solo
^ = w/ Mark Clifford on vibraphone

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

As Mike stated at the opening of his set, “Thank you very much for being here, we’re shocked and appalled by the turnout.”  Never have I seen the Meadowlark as crowded as it was last night for Mike Marchant‘s EP Release.  Those brave enough to traverse the endless flow of bodies and get up front were treated to early performances by Ellison Park and Tim Pourbaix, Sunset Curse, and Achille Lauro.

By the time Mike took the stage (accompanied by Cole Rudy, Maria Kohler, and his Widowers bandmates), the crowd had thinned down to a manageable level.  The set contained songs from the new EP, “Outer Space and the Sea”, several Widowers classics, and (in Meadowlark tradition) closed with Mike’s solo covers of Funeral Home (Daniel Johnston) and In Heaven (David Lynch).  If you skipped out early, here’s a living document of what was missed.

Mike Marchant and Friends
1.09.2009
The Meadowlark, Denver, CO

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

Setlist:
1. Lord, I Hope
2. Outer Space And The Sea
3. Lower Downtown Curses
4. Space Never Strays
5. Surround Me
6. Moonshining
7. All Of Our Old Haunts
8. Funeral Home > In Heaven

FLAC files can be downloaded via BitTorrent here.
A zipfile of the mp3s is available here.

Notes:
EP Release show!

Lineup:
Mike Marchant – vocals, guitar
Cole Rudy – backing vocals, guitar
Maria Kohler – backing vocals
Mark Shusterman – synths, programming
Mark Weaver – bass
Cory Brown – percussion
Brian Marcus – guitar and beers
Crawford Philleo – vibraphone
(did I forget anyone?)

Fissure Mystic
9.05.2008
Lion’s Lair, Denver, CO

Now available on archive.org

(Photo courtesy of Tim Weilert.)

Here’s Ian Cooke serving up some cello-looping madness at the Hi-Dive.

Ian Cooke
11.08.2008
Hi-Dive, Denver, CO

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

Setlist:
1. Flood
2. unknown
3. unknown
4. All of Us
5. Trouble Process Report
6. The Rot -> Gimme Gimme Gimmie -> Monkey and Bear
7. Va-Soon

FLAC files are available as a zipfile here.
MP3 files are available as a zipfile here.

Here’s a nice intimate Meadowlark set from Andrea Ball, backed by Carl Sorenson on drums.  Andrea treated the crowd to several new tunes (title guesses in quotes), demonstrating her ever-growing songwriting abilities.

Andrea Ball
10.04.2008
The Meadowlark, Denver, CO

Source:  DPA 4060s (Core-Sound HEBs) > battery box > Lunatec V3 > M-Audio Microtrack 2 > CF > WAV > Adobe Audition 3.0 > CDWave > Flac16
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro
2. “Lining Up In Rows”
3. “Lonely Sailor”
4. Beat Beat Pound
5. “Cheer Up Darling”
6. “Holding Back”
7. Gem
8. Funeral

Here’s one of several sets I captured at this year’s Westword Music Showcase–John Common over at Dazzle.  All the venues were pretty crowded (a good thing), and Dazzle was no exception.  Instead of hassling with a lot of gear, I clipped a pair of mics to a drink glass on the table and let ’em roll.  The results weren’t bad, all things considered.

John Common and Friends
6.14.2008
Westword Music Showcase
Dazzle, Denver, CO

Source:  DPA 4060s (clipped to a drink glass) > battery box > M-Audio Microtrack 2 > CF > WAV > Adobe Audition 3.0 > CDWave > Flac16
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro
2. Turn Around
3. Don’t Need You
4. Go To Hell With Me
5. The Dreamers
6. Good Heart

Lineup:
John Common
Matt Gilliam
Jed Marrs
Jess Mefford

(And here’s a zipfile of the full show.)

The Pseudo Dates
10.25.2008
Hi-Dive, Denver, CO

Source:  Microtch Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3 (opti-mod) > Nomad JB3 > Firewire > WAV > Adobe Audition 3.0 > CDWave > Flac16
Taped by:  Lance Stack (inthistube [at] gmail.com)

Setlist:
1. unknown
2. Wine & Coffee
3. Last Night I Dreamed That I Cut My Hair
4. Sinister Kisses
5. unknown
6. Ah! Sunflower
7. unknown
8. I Don’t Know, But I Think I Might

(Per usual, a zipfile of mp3s is available here.)

The Pseudo Dates
10.18.2008
The Bluebird Theater, Denver, CO

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

Setlist:
1. unknown
2. I Don’t Know, But I Think I Might
3. Wine & Coffee
4. Sinister Kisses
5. Last Night I Dreamed That I Cut My Hair
6. Ah! Sunflower
7. unknown
8. unknown

(Here’s a link to a zipfile of the mp3s.)

Angie Stevens and the Beautiful Wreck
7.09.2008
The Aggie Theatre, Ft. Collins, CO

Now available on archive.org

The Pseudo Dates
9.05.2008
Lion’s Lair, Denver, CO

Now available on archive.org