Quick jaunt back to the beginning of the year.

Sara Bareilles came to Dallas to (ONLY) play an in-store at Good Records, to promote her record, and support independent records stores. Both excellent reasons to play the best record store in town.

It was a fairly entertaining show - completely packed (hadn't seen the likes of that since Kevin Barnes!) with tonnes of kids jammed into the front row swooning over Sara. I'm fairly certain that the week she played this show was the week that she was the number one download on iTunes and all over VH1 and the radio for Love Song. Since I never listen to the radio I didn't actually know that til I got to the show. The good news is that I check out the Good Records website every week for upcoming shows and check out all the artists MySpace pages, so I know when to show up for something great.

Sara played a great little show - just her and an electric piano playing highlights from her record, Little Voice. Fairly soulful stuff intermixed with stories about what inspired each song. I was surprised at the origin of Love Song - who knew that demands from her record label could lead to semi-angry confessions that turn into number one singles?

She's on tour with Counting Crows and Maroon 5 for a chunk of their summer tour, then moving onto a headlining tour of Europe.

Live MP3 MP3s:
Intro
Bottle It Up
Intro to...
Love Song
Intro to...
Gravity
Fairytale
Outro

Tour Dates:
Thu 07/31/08 Wantagh, NY Nikon At Jones Beach Theater
Fri 08/01/08 Wantagh, NY Nikon At Jones Beach Theater
Sat 08/02/08 Mansfield, MA Comcast Center
Tue 08/05/08 Hershey, PA The Star Pavilion
Thu 08/07/08 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
Fri 08/08/08 Atlantic City, NJ Borgata Hotel
Sat 08/09/08 Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center
Tue 08/12/08 Saratoga Springs, NY Performing Arts Center
Wed 08/13/08 Bethel, NY Bethel Woods Center For The Arts
Fri 08/15/08 Hartford, CT New England Dodge Music Center
Sat 08/16/08 Bristow, VA Nissan Pavilion At Stone Ridge
Mon 08/18/08 Darien Center, NY Performing Arts Center
Tue 08/19/08 Toronto, ON The Molson Amphitheatre
Thu 08/21/08 Burgettstown, PA Post-Gazette Pavilion
Fri 08/22/08 Tinley Park, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
Sat 08/23/08 Milwaukee, WI Marcus Amphitheater
Sat 09/20/08 Cologne, GER Luxor
Mon 09/22/08 Hamburg, GER Mandarin Kasino
Tue 09/23/08 Berlin, GER Frannz
Fri 09/26/08 Paris, FRA La Maroquinerie
Sun 09/28/08 London, UK Scala
Sat 10/11/08 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern
Mon 11/10/08 Milan, ITA Magazzini Generali
Tue 11/11/08 Munich, GER 59 to 1
Wed 11/12/08 Vienna, AS Birdland
Fri 11/14/08 Zurich, SWI Kaufleuten
Sun 11/16/08 Amsterdam, NET Melkweg
Fri 11/21/08 Manchester, UK Academy 3
Mon 11/24/08 Dublin, IRE Academy

Labels: dallas, good records, live mp3s, major, soundboard mp3s, tour dates

Hands down , Great Northern is the best band I've discovered this year.

Their track, Low Is A Height, from the album 'Trading Twilight to Daylight' is supremely beautiful - lush instrumentation, primarily made up of a simple crackling beat, piano, synthetic strings, gentle strumming acoustics and occasional glockenspiel back Rachel Stolte's lush multi-tracked vocals. Most beautiful song I've heard in a long time. The rest of the album is also excellent - featuring more rocking girl/boy tracks. Fairly radio-friendly tracks. I think its just a matter of time before we hear Great Northern all over the place.

Check out 'Low Is A Height' at their site.

I got to see a striped down version of Great Northern play a show at Good Records. Rachel Stolte and Solon Bixler played a short 3 song acoustic set in advance of their set that night at the Cavern with Robbers On High Street.

Live MP3 MP3s:
Intro
Our Bleeding Hearts
Babies
Home
Outro

Tour Dates:
2007-11-12
Crocodile Cafe
Seattle, Washington

2007-11-15
Larimer Lounge
Denver, Colorado

The Jackpot Saloon
Lawrence, KS

2007-11-17
7th Street Entry
Minneapolis, MN

2007-11-18
Schubas Tavern
Chicago, IL

Labels: concerts, dallas, good records, indie, live mp3s, soundboard mp3s, tour dates

Well its been a great week for music in Dallas - I've gotten to see Final Fantasy, Cadence Weapon, Great Northern, Robbers on High Street, Northern State and Tegan & Sara. I missed Regina Spektor, Spoon and the Polyphonic Spree. I'm a bit sad about Spree and Spektor - but both were mid week and I couldn't get to the shows.

Still stellar week and lots of recordings. Also got lots of new CDs - so should be some good posts coming up.

First - Robbers On High Street. I'd just picked up a copy of their latest record - Grand Animals, then had a chance to see the band play at Good Records with Great Northern.

The record is great - you can stream the bulk of it over at their MySpace page. Check out Crown Victoria, its my favorite track and fairly representative of the band. They really remind me of a band I used to listen to from Tulsa - the Mellowdramatic Wallflowers, fun, jaunty tracks featuring organs and jangly guitars that accompany hummable vocal lines.

Great little show - the bands atypically a 3 piece, but they expanded their lineup live to include 2 additional players. Good choice as it allowed them to better represent their recorded materials. The guys played 3 quick tracks from their new record and the recording came out well, though the vocals were a little low in the mix for the first couple of songs.

Catch them out on their tour with Great Northern - a really great pairing of bands.

Live MP3 MP3s:
Intro
Guard At Your Heel
Crown Victoria
Your Phantom Walks The Hall
Outro

Labels: dallas, good records, indie, live mp3s, soundboard mp3s

Quick post tonight!

Got to see Christian Hjelm, lead singer for the Denmark-based band Figurines, play a solo acoustic set at Good Records last Saturday afternoon.

Quick little four song set from Hjelm primarily drawing from their new album, When the Deer Wore Blue.

Live MP3 MP3s:
Intro
Good Old Friends
Angels Of The Bayou
Drove You Miles
Rivalry

Labels: dallas, good records, indie, soundboard mp3s

Eisley's sparkling new record, Combinations, came out today in all fine record stores near you. In support - Eisley are playing a series of acoustic shows around the US.

Dallas Texas got to play host to Eisley on their release date - for not one, but two shows!

Before heading over to House of Blues for their late show, the Eisley sisters stopped by Good Records for an early evening, truly acoustic (ie no drums or bass) mini-show. Playing to a near packed house the girls played some older favorites along with highlights from the new record.

It ended up being a beautiful recording with Stacy and Sherri DuPree's lovely voices harmonizing perfectly over the acoustic guitars and piano sections. If you need a starting point, go to the end and listen to Invasion.

Buy Eisley's new record, Combinations here.

Tour Dates:
8/16 Houston, TX - Meridian
8/18 Orlando, FL - The Social
8/20 New York, NY - Joe's Pub

Live MP3 MP3s:
I Could Be There For You
Come Clean
Golly Sandra
Go Away
Many Funerals
Marvelous Things
Invasion

Labels: concerts, dallas, good records, indie, live mp3s, soundboard mp3s, tour dates

Good Records got a visit from Bishop Allen on Sunday - a kind gesture to all the good people of Dallas who didn't want to drive up to Denton to see them on Saturday night.

Another great set from Bishop Allen - and in many ways the quieter, in-store set up at Good Records was even more enjoyable then seeing them in rock mode, in Denton.

This ended up as a matrix recording - combining two different recordings, one that captured the vocals, keyboards and acoustic instruments through the mixing console, and a second using audience mics to get the "room" sound. Since the drums, electric guitars, and the bass weren't mic'ed this was the best way to ensure the recording actually sounded like the bands performance.

I think it came out pretty well - let me know what you think. And on a side note, this may quite possibly be one of the loveliest versions of Butterfly Nets I've heard yet.

Enjoy.

Live MP3s MP3:

Intro
Click Click Click Click
Like Castanets
The Monitor
The Same Fire
Rain
Butterfly Nets

Labels: audience mp3s, concerts, dallas, good records, indie, live mp3s, soundboard mp3s

I was thinking about not posting anything for this show - just this lovely pic of Meg & Dia and the links to the tracks. My thought process was, if I ran across a band with this pic, I would listen to their tracks!

Kidding aside - here's a really quick in-store show that the two sisters played at Good Records a few months ago. Enjoy!

Live MP3 MP3s:
Intro
Setting Up Sunday
Masterpiece (Wrong Key)
Masterpiece
Monster

Tour Dates:
07/24/07 Virginia Beach, VA Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach
07/25/07 Columbia, MD Merriweather Post Pavilion
07/26/07 Moosic, PA Toyota Pavilion At Montage Mountain
07/27/07 Detroit, MI Comerica Park
07/28/07 Tinley Park, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
07/29/07 Minneapolis, MN HHH Metrodome
07/31/07 Milwaukee, WI Marcus Amphitheater
08/01/07 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
08/02/07 Cleveland, OH Time Warner Cable Amph.@Tower City
08/03/07 Camden, NJ Tweeter Center At The Waterfront
08/04/07 Uniondale, NY Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
08/05/07 Englishtown, NJ Raceway Park
08/07/07 Noblesville, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center
08/08/07 Burgettstown, PA Post-Gazette Pavilion
08/09/07 Mansfield, MA Tweeter Center
08/10/07 Darien Center, NY Darien Lake Theme Park Resort
08/11/07 Barrie, ON Park Place
08/12/07 Montreal, QC Parc Jean-Drapeau
08/14/07 Maryland Heights, MO Verizon Wireless Amph. St. Louis
08/15/07 Bonner Springs, KS Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
08/17/07 Nampa, ID Idaho Center Amphitheater
08/18/07 Quincy, WA Gorge Amphitheatre
08/19/07 Saint Helens, OR Columbia Meadows
08/22/07 Fresno, CA Selland Arena
08/23/07 Marysville, CA Sleep Train Amphitheatre
08/24/07 Chula Vista, CA Coors Amphitheatre
08/25/07 Carson, CA The Home Depot Center

Labels: dallas, good records, indie, live mp3s, soundboard mp3s, tour dates

Have I mentioned how much I love Good Records? Not only do they have the best and most varied selection of records in Dallas, but they host killer shows in an intimate, casual and SMOKE FREE atmostphere. Oh and everyone who works there is just nice nice nice. I keep talking about how I'm going to quit taping at all other venues... I don't really mean it, but it's a nice thought whenever I leave a club at 1am smelling like an ashtray.

Anyway - Good Records and our friends over at Gorilla vs Bear hosted an all acoustic Grizzly Bear last week. It was a dazzling, stripped down and near etheral set. In fact my girl gave it the highest praise possible - "This is the best show you've ever taken me to." And believe me, she gets dragged to all sorts of wonderment.

So here's the full set! I know you all will enjoy it as much as we did.

Live MP3s:
Soundcheck
Intro
Easier
Plans
Shift
Service Bell
Knife
On a Neck, On a Spit

Labels: concerts, dallas, good records, indie, live mp3s, soundboard mp3s

Something extra special for everyone today. For the first time ever, we're posting a show on the day of the taping!

Here's Kevin Barnes, lead singer from Of Montreal, playing a solo, acoustic gig at Dallas' Good Records, from earlier this afternoon.

Playing to a packed house, Kevin played a full 10 song set that included Of Montreal favorites, a brand-new song "Something To Be Laughed At" and various covers. Be sure to check out his interpration of The Beatles "I Will" and the beautiful, heart-breaking rendition of Neil Youngs "Harvest Moon"

And check out Of Montreal on their current tour!!

Tour Dates:
2-19 - Norman, OK - Meacham Auditorium @ Univ.of OK
2-20 - Lawrence, KS - Granada
2-21 - Columbia, MO - Blue Note
2-22 - Springfield, MO - Remington's Downtown
2-23 - Birmingham, AL - Bottletree
2-24 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
3-5 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
3-6 - Fall's Church, VA - State Theatre 18+
3-7 - Clinton, NY - The Annex @ Hamilton College
3-8 - Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
3-9 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza 16+
3-10 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza 16+
3-11 - Boston, MA - Avalon
3-12 - Montreal, QC - La Tulipe
3-13 - Toronto, ON - Opera House
3-14 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
3-15 - Chicago, IL - Cabaret Metro
3-16 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
3-17 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theatre
3-19 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
3-20 - Newport, KY - Southgate House 18+
3-21 - Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge 18+
3-22 - Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle
3-23 - Columbia, SC - Headliners 16+
3-29 - Gainesville, FL - Abbey Road 18+
3-30 - Miami, FL - Studio A
3-31 - Orlando, FL - The Club At Firestone
4-1 - Jacksonville, FL - Freebird Live
4-2 - Tallahassee, FL - The Moo

Now I've got to run go see the full band play at Gypsy Team Room!!

Live MP3s:
Intro
I Will (The Beatles)
Climb the Ladder
Chrissie Kiss The Corpse
Requiem for O.M.M.2
Du Og Meg
Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse
Suffer For Fashion
Something To Be Laughed At
Green Typewriter Suite (Olivia Tremor Control)
Harvest Moon (Neil Young)

Labels: concerts, dallas, good records, indie, live mp3s, soundboard mp3s, tour dates