Friday, October 17, 2008

Revival Tour Sendspace

Someone posted a torrent of this show out on the interweb, but it was FLAC. A friend of mine downloaded it and converted it for me. I haven't even listened yet, so I'm not sure on quality, but check it out.

Set list is from the torrent's info page. Seems pretty accurate, to the best of my recollection.

DOWNLOAD HERE


01. Intro>
02. Tim Barry-Shoulda Oughta
03. Chuck Ragan-Do You Pray
04. Jon Gaunt-Fiddle solo
05. Ben Nichols-Last Night In Town
06. Jesse Malin-Russian Roulette {Lords of the New Church cover}
07. Jesse Malin-Wendy
08. Jesse Malin-Leaving Babylon {Bad Brains cover}
09. Jesee Malin-Megan Don't Know
10. Jesse Malin-Black Haired Girl
11. Jesse Malin-Bastards of Young {Replacements cover}
12. Jesse Malin-Brooklyn
13. Jesse Malin-You Can Make Him Like You {Hold Steady cover}
14. Tim Barry-Exit Wounds
15. Tim Barry-On and On / Dog Bumped (part 1)
16. Tim Barry-Dog Bumped (part 2)
17. Tim Barry-Wait at Milano
18. Tim Barry-Avoiding Catatonic Surrender (part 1)
19. Tim Barry-Avoiding Catatonic Surrender (part 2)
20. Tim Barry-Church Of Level Track
21. Ben Nichols-Nights Like These
22. Ben Nichols-When You Decided to Leave
23. Ben Nichols-I Can Get Us Out Of Here
24. Ben Nichols-Toadvine
25. Ben Nichols-San Francisco
26. Ben Nichols-Hate and Jealousy
27. Ben Nichols-Nobody's Darlings
28. Ben Nichols-What are You Willing to Lose
29. Ben Nichols-The War / The Last Pale Light In The West
30. Chuck Ragan-California Burritos
31. Chuck Ragan-Between The Lines
32. Chuck Ragan-Don’t Cry
33. Chuck Ragan-It’s What You Will (part 1)
34. Chuck Ragan-It’s What You Will (part 2)
35. Chuck Ragan-Open Up And Wail
36. Chuck Ragan-Bleeder (Alkaline Trio)
37. Chuck Ragan-Geraldine
38. Chuck Ragan-The Boat
39. Chuck Ragan-God Deciding (Hot Water Music)
40. Chuck Ragan-Symmetry
41. Chuck Ragan-Bloody Shells
42. Chuck Ragan-For Broken Ears (w/Dave Hause [from the Loved Ones])
43. Ben Nichols-Hold Fast
44. Tim Barry-Idle Idylist
45. Chuck Ragan-Revival Road

Frank Turner - Love, Ire and Song

Frank Turner - Love, Ire, and Song
X-tra Mile (England)

A year ago, my friend Mike started telling me all about Frank Turner, but I sort of didn't pay attention. I'm not sure why, but holy hell did I miss out. Recently, someone showed me mp3s of this new album, which Mike hadn't told me about. I checked it out on a whim, and was absolutely floored. From the first time I listened, I was blown away. For the last few weeks it's been hard for me to turn this off, and the only reason I do is so that I don't burn myself out on it. I'll try to keep from gushing further, but I make no promises.

Frank Turner is a singer/songwriter from England, which immediately leads to Billy Bragg comparisons. While they've valid, they're not entirely accurate. Turner is a much more layered songwriter, and his guitar parts are interesting, whether solo or with a full band setting. There are more upbeat and energetic songs like "Imperfect Tense" and "Reasons Not to Be an Idiot," as well as slower, more relaxed songs such as "Substitute" and "A Love Worth Keeping." Some songs are mostly Turner, while others contain all sorts of various instrumentation.

What makes this record truly great, however, is the lyrical content. As a 25 year old, constantly struggling with the battle of getting older and "maturing," while still enjoying my youth, Turner seems to have written the soundtrack to my last year. Ideas of moving into adult, while still thinking "I won't sit down, I won't shut up, and most of all I will not grow up" speak to disillusioned mid-twenties everywhere. You know that feeling you get when you realize that you're just another person stuck in the 9-5, and "punk rock didn't live up to what (you'd) hope that it could be"? Yup, Turner knows that too. There's a sense of disillusionment on this record that runs deep, but is coupled with a feeling of youthful optimism that makes you feel like it will all work out.

This album seriously surprised me and came out of nowhere, but it's easily in my top three records of the year and I can't recommend it enough. It was originally released in England, but you can get import versions (CD) on Amazon for reasonable prices. I'm hoping to track down the vinyl in the near future. I have enough CDs that are now "coasters for beer and clean surfaces for drugs," sings Frank.*


*PS. Happy edge day! Mine is sharp as ever.

The Revival Tour - 10.10.08

The First Unitarian Church
8:30 PM

I've been to a lot of really great shows this past year, but lately I've found myself pretty strapped for cash and resigned to a lot of weekends on my couch watching reruns of bad tv shows and screwing around online. It takes a lot for me to make it out to a show lately, and unfortunately, I haven't been able to make it to a lot of killer shows. One show that I refused to miss was The Revival Tour, featuring Chuck Ragan, Tim Barry, and Ben Nichols. This wasn't billed as your standard three-act show. Each artist was going to be in and out throughout the night, playing songs together, as well as independently. They wanted to recreate the feel of old vaudeville shows, and the result was awe inspiring.

To start the night, Chuck, Tim, Ben, and a handful of supporting musicians all hit the stage. Digger Barnes manned the upright bass, John Gaunt played fiddle, and I'm not sure of the pedal steel player's name, but he killed it all night. Initially, this "supergroup" played a handful of songs together, including some of their "hits." After this disbanded, Jesse Malin hit the stage and played a semi-solo set. He was accompanied by some of the backing band, as well as a keyboard/accordian playing woman. I was ok with his set for a few songs, but after a while it just dragged on. He played a Bad Brains cover, as well as a Hold Steady song and "Bastards of Young" by the Replacements (which he slowed to a crawl and made painful). All in all, a lackluster performance. The lucky shows following this had Frank Turner in his place, and other strings of dates have Sundowner, Austin Lucas, and Tom Gabel. I guess Philly got the short end of the stick.

Next, Richmond's favorite son Tim Barry played a nice mix of his solo songs, and got the crowd pretty into it. The sing-a-longs for "Dogbumped" and "Avoiding Catatonic Surrender" had a punk rock intensity, and "Exit Wounds" secured its place as one of my favorite Tim songs. He didn't play any Avail songs, but it didn't matter. He sounded great, and despite the fact that his songs are simple and repetitive, his intensity and sincerity are blatantly obvious.

Lucero was never a band that I was super into, but I've always enjoyed the Ben Nichols solo songs I've seen on YouTube. Needless to say, I was really impressed live. He's a fun showman, despite hobbling around on crutches and sitting for a majority of the set. I didn't recognize any of the songs, but Jon Loudon informed me that they were all Lucero songs, so I'm going to have to check them out more thoroughly.

There's not much that can be said about Chuck Ragan. Hot Water Music is one of the biggest influences on my music collection, and Chuck's solo stuff has been plentiful and inspiring over the last year or two. Live, he delivered yet again. Any of the solo songs that I could've asked for were played, as well as "Bleeder," "God Deciding," and "California Burritos." He played mandolin, guitar, and harmonica with such excitement that it was hard to not just stare in unadulterated awe. I make it a point to see him whenever he comes around in any form (HWM or solo), and I can honestly say that he's one of my two favorite songwriters of all time.

After Chuck's "solo" sstuff they whole band came out for a few more songs, including closing with "Revival Road," which they recorded just two days later. Grab it! As a whole, this was by far one of the best shows that I was lucky enough to catch this year, and I'm hoping that I get to see any and each of the performers again in the near future. It's great to see a tour built on genuine friendship and respect, both personally and musically, and that's exactly what The Revival Tour is.