Here’s the Elf Power show from Halloween weekend.  Catch most (if not all) of the band’s members at the Larimer this Saturday, as they come through with the Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour.

Elf Power
10.30.2010
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. Like a Cannonball
2. The Well
3. Vainly Clutching at Phantom Limbs
4. The Taking Under
5. Owl Cut (White Flowers in the Sky)
6. Spiral Stairs
7. Goldmine in the Sun
8. Grand Intrusion Call
9. When the Red King Comes
10. Will My Feet Still Carry Me Home
11. I Walked with a Zombie
12. An Old Familiar Scene
13. Tiny Insects
14. Drug Store
15. Everlasting Scream

FLAC files can be found via BitTorrent at Dime.

Nana Grizol
8.13.2010
Caledonia Lounge, Athens PopFest, Athens, GA

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. Blackbox
2. Galaxies
3. Circles ‘Round the Moon
4. For Things That Haven’t Come Yet
5. Voices Echo Down Thee Halls (For Jared)
6. Tamborine-N-Thyme
7. Gave On
8. Tiny Rainbows
9. Motion In The Ocean
10. Everything You Ever Hoped Or Worked For

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

(Photo from PopFest soundcheck.)

The members of Apples in Stereo converged on Athens last Friday for a headlining slot at PopFest, treating fans to material from their entire catalog.  The band will return to the road this fall supporting Travellers in Space and Time, and are slated to conclude the tour with stops in Colorado Springs and Denver.

10-22 Denver, CO – The Bluebird Theater
10-23 Colorado Springs, CO – Armstrong Hall
10-24 Salt Lake City, UT – The State Room
10-25 Boise, ID – Neurolux
10-26 Seattle, WA – Crocodile Cafe
10-27 Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
10-28 Arcata, CA – The Depot
10-30 San Francisco, CA – The Independent
10-31 San Jose, CA – The Blank Club
11-01 Los Angeles, CA – Echoplex
11-02 San Diego, CA – Casbah
11-03 Tucson, AZ – Plush
11-06 Austin, TX – TBA
11-07 Houston, TX – Walter’s on Washington
11-08 Dallas, TX – Granada Theater

The Apples in Stereo
8.13.2010
40 Watt Club, Athens PopFest, Athens, GA

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. Hey Elevator
3. Dignified Dignitary
4. Go
5. Submarine Dream (tease)
6. Energy
7. Dance Floor
8. Sun is Out
9. Told You Once
10. The Rainbow
11. No One in the World
12. Next Year About the Same Time
13. Can You Feel It?
14. Please
15. Same Old Drag
16. Tidal Wave
(Encore)
17. Strawberryfire
18. Ruby

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

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.

(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)

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

Now available on archive.org

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.

I was lucky enough to catch Vic Chesnutt with Elf Power down in Santa Fe on Wednesday, as they make their way west.  This tour is in support of their joint collaboration, Dark Developments, just released last week.

Elf Power opened the show with a set of their own music.  After a short break, Vic joined the band on stage to perform most of the Developments material, followed by a pair of moving tunes from earlier albums.  To close out the show, Vic returned to the stage and wowed the crowd with a solo rendition of “See You Around”, from 1996’s About to Choke.

Vic and Elf Power will be in Denver on 11/19 at the Hi-Dive, and I hope to see some of you there.  Until then, here are the Santa Fe performances to hold you over.

Vic Chesnutt (with Elf Power)
11.05.2008
Santa Fe Brewing Company, Santa Fe, NM

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

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

Elf Power
11.05.2008
Santa Fe Brewing Company, Santa Fe, NM

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

Setlist:
1. Owl Cut (White Flowers in the Sky)
2. Spiral Stairs
3. Fried Out
4. unknown
5. The Arrow Flies Close
6. Dream in Sound
7. Hole In My Shoe
8. The New Mythology
9. Paralyzed
10. Quiver and Quake
11. An Old Familiar Scene
12. Nothing’s Going To Happen

Notes:
Various flaws and level changes in first Elf Power song, as I was still setting up gear.
The Vic set is ridden with wind noise (especially in the quiet parts), but is still quite listenable.

Here are zipfiles of both acts:
Elf Power
Vic Chesnutt with Elf Power

Here’s another show from Ruby Isle, this time back on my home turf.  The Denver setlist was very similar to the one from Athens, but is highlighted by the addition of two songs from their elbo.ws cover project: “Shadow Falls” (Hello Blue Roses) and “Aly, Walk With Me” (The Raveonettes).

Ruby Isle
10.02.2008
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. intro/Hey Hey Hey (aborted)
2. So Damn High
3. Blow Up
4. Shadow Falls *
5. How It Hurts
6. Night Shot
7. Aly, Walk With Me
8. Into The Black

Notes:
* = first time played

Dressy Bessy
10.18.2008
The Bluebird Theater, Denver, CO

Now available on archive.org

The Visitations
9.05.2008
Lion’s Lair, Denver, CO

Now available on archive.org