Splashing around in the Live Music Archive

Ahhh, it is so much fun (and so time-consuming!) to just browse around and see what kind of good stuff there is for the listening in the Live Music Archive. It really is a phenomenal resource for music lovers. Late one night recently I spent some time immersed in the archives and I wanted to share with you what I sauntered away with, happily. Oh, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s like the Smithsonian, which I once got lost in during the class trip to Washington D.C. in junior high. It’s easy to wander off.

COLLECTIONS:
All kinds of great KFOG in-studio sessions (Matt Nathanson, Jack Johnson, Cracker, Cowboy Junkies, etc)

Lots of KCRW stuff (Ben Lee, David Gray, My Morning Jacket)

A bunch of Amoeba Records in-stores (Rogue Wave, Michael Franti & Spearhead, etc.)

NEIL HALSTEAD of MOJAVE 3
10/10/04, Moonshine Festival in Laguna Beach
See You On Rooftops
(and note that the cringe-inducing hissing at the beginning stops shortly after the song starts)
**He was also featured on the surf-movie soundtrack Sprout that I posted about a while back

MIKE DOUGHTY
(formerly of Soul Coughing)
June 22, 2002 at the Aladdin Theatre, Portland OR
Grey Ghost (partly because it is a good song, and also because it is written about Jeff Buckley)

ELLIOTT SMITH
Recently added: February 26, 2000, The Empty Bottle in Chicago
Angeles


MATT NATHANSON
Bent > Anna Begins
(one of his great original songs segueing into -!!!- a Counting Crows cover. Really lovely.)
(From his 10/29/04 show at the 9:30 Club, Washington DC).

MY MORNING JACKET
FM Broadcast (= great quality) of the show at The Palace Theater in Louisville on November 23, 2005.
Off The Record

ROGER CLYNE AND THE PEACEMAKERS
My favorite show of theirs to listen to from the Live Music Archive is still the August 19 show at the Gothic Theatre last year: It was my birthday, and my first inauguration to the sweaty, rockin’ goodness that is a Roger Clyne show. Plus, Clyne kissed my hand after the show for a birthday present. The whole show is top notch, and I love how it captures all the audience participation as well.
Banditos

ANIMAL LIBERATION ORCHESTRA (ALO)
Loving Cup (Rolling Stones cover)
From their New Year’s Eve 2005 show, Mountain House, Santa Barbara

SPOON
A great show from last month: 2/2/06, La Zona Rosa, Austin, TX
I Turn My Camera On

RYAN ADAMS
Recent show: February 15, 2006 at the Carling Academy in Glasgow
(excellent setlist & show quality!):
Dear Chicago, an absolutely heartwrenching version of Please Do Not Let Me Go, and Ryan’s banter about receiving text messages from his mom.

G. LOVE AND SPECIAL SAUCE
Some goodness from his January 18, 2006 show at the Belly-Up Tavern in Solana Beach, CA:
Cold Beverage > Gold Digger (Cold Beverage is a guilty pleasure of mine. Hidden talent: I can rap ALL the lyrics, stemming from the same SPIN Magazine cassette sampler in 1994 that introduced me to Jeff Buckley, oddly enough)
The Times They Are A Changin’ (yes, a Bob Dylan cover, since Garrett knows how to play the harmonica)
– And, why not: a little Booty Call action

JACK JOHNSON
Sitting, Waiting, Wishing (with a little Just What I Needed thrown in) From August 5, 2005, Dodge Theatre, Phoenix

Soon Forget (Pearl Jam ukulele song)
From June 11, 2005 at the Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, TN

Free (with Donovan Frankenreiter)
From May 10, 2005, Palladium, Cologne, Germany

Three Is A Magic Number/3 Rs (a little Schoolhouse Rock love)
From the August 10, 2005 show at the Santa Barbara County Bowl
(Tip: don’t make drunken concertgoers chant counting answers!
Jack: “And the eighteenth letter of the alphabet is . . . “
(no response – crickets from the crowd) -
“Well, that’s kind of a hard one, it’s actually hard…”)

Plus, they have the whole Jack Johnson show at Santa Clara University (my alma mater) from Feb 10, 2002. I thought that was pretty cool, an excellent sound-quality recording.

It’s in the .shn format (like a lot of the stuff on the Live Music Archive), but there are some free converters that you can use to change it into .wav, then mp3 (I use FreeRip).

That should keep you well-stocked for the weekend, muchachos, wherever it takes you! Be good.