Doom & Gloom Dispatch #10: The Ultimate Nightmare
Jake Acosta, Neil Young, Spiral Stairs, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Flying Burrito Brothers
Another great one from Ryley Walker’s Husky Pants label, which has quickly become a reliable source for sweet sounds both old and new. Jake Acosta’s Rehearsal Park is made up of two long pieces (27 and 17 minutes, respectively) that feel warm and accessible but somehow somewhat unclassifiable. RIYL Oren Ambarchi? (Ryley describes it as “If Glenn Branca went to Hampshire. If Phish was black dice.”) Oscillating grooves, interlocking melodies, unexpected string and horn sections, free-flowing rivers of sound — it’s the kind of stuff that reveals hidden layers and buried textures the more you get into it. Deep listening!
Crossfade - Neil Young’s Citizen Kane Jr Blues and Tonight’s the Night
Now that we’ve pushed 2022 over the end, let’s get back to business. By which I mean Neil Young. A few weeks back, I guested on Crossfade — the “dueling albums review show” — to chat with host Matt Helgeson about two Shakey classics: the live-at-the-Bottom-Line bootleg Citizen Kane Jr Blues and the deep ditch of Tonight’s the Night. I’ve known Matt on the internet for longer than I can remember (and we even met up in person last year!) and it was a pleasure to talk all things Neil with him. Listen in!
Fun fact — the Bottom Line show was the very first thing I posted on Doom & Gloom way the hell back in 2009. Can a bootleg change your life? I think this one might have. Hearing it when I was a kid was what sent me down the rabbit hole in search of more buried musical treasure … and here I am, close to 30 years later, still listening to shitty audience recordings. The time, who knows where it goes?
Of course, Neil added Citizen Kane Jr to his official canon last year — a welcome addition, even though he sacrilegiously snipped some of the honey slides recipe from his version (I think you can hear it in full on the Archives site). As I settled back into my day job after winter break this week, some honey slides started sound pretty good. “I’d rather start all over again …”
Photo by Peter Cunningham / via SugarMtn
Spiral Stairs :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
How often do I post pictures of myself on this thing? Virtually never. But this one feels appropriate — me and Scott “Spiral Stairs” Kannberg last September after Pavement’s triumphant show in Denver. A fun night, as the impossibly doofy expression on my face reveals. Scott passed along Medley Attack, the latest Spiral Stairs LP, to me and I’ve been jamming it ever since — I think it’s probably the best record he’s made!
So, with a quick west coast tour imminent, I thought it’d be a good time to talk to him for Aquarium Drunkard. You can read the results of our conversation now! We cover all kinds of topics, including Pavement’s past, present and future. And prehistory! At the Denver after-show, Scott mentioned he had unearthed some tapes of Bag O’ Bones, a pre-Pavement band featuring him and Stephen Malkmus, so I had to get some more details. “It’s cool, it’s like R.E.M. meets Echo and the Bunnymen meets Captain Beefheart,” Spiral says. Hell yeah, let’s get this stuff released!!
Pic: Chris Gregori
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - The Fillmore West, San Francisco, California, January 10, 1997
“I wish Tom Petty was still alive” is something my daughter inevitably says whenever we’re listening to a song of his. And hey, no argument here. It still feels slightly unreal that he’s gone. But the recent Live at the Fillmore - 1997 collection is sure to soothe your sorrows — four discs of prime Heartbreakers drawn from an epic 20-night stand at the venerable San Francisco venue. The official release is drawn from the last run of shows, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg, of course. So let’s check out an audience tape of the very first night at the Fillmore via the excellent Live Petty archive. It’s a very good time.
The hits (“You Don’t Know How It Feels,” “Free Fallin’,” “Runnin’ Down A Dream” etc) are balanced by a winning selection of deep cuts and re-arrangements — a spare, wounded “I Won’t Back Down” kicks things off, the acoustic “King’s Highway” sparkles and “Apartment Song” is a Buddy Holly-esque treat. The Fillmore run was packed with covers, too; some of it feels a little professorial — “OK, kids, here’s what rock ‘n’ roll was” — but for the most part, the Heartbreakers expertly locate the magic of these old tunes (or newer tunes, as the case may be with their version of Beck’s “Asshole”). They’re a precise band, more Steely Dan than the Dead when you get down to it, but they’re never chilly. They love playing, you can hear it in every note.
The Flying Burrito Brothers - Altamont Speedway, Tracy, California, December 6, 1969
Something very special to wrap up the first work week of 2023 — a rare soundboard recording of the Flying Burrito Brothers at Altamont! Thanks to the anonymous donor who passed this along to me. The Burritos were only allotted a half-hour onstage on this fateful day, sandwiched between the Jefferson Airplane and CSNY, but they make the most of it. The hottest Burritos? Maybe! After a quick intro from the familiar rasp of Sam Cutler, Gram Parsons, Chris Hillman Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Bernie Leadon and Michael Clarke take flight over the Speedway.
"It was the ultimate nightmare," Hillman fondly remembered many years later. "It was the other end of the scale of what happened at Woodstock and at Monterey Pop—the dark side of the experience. There wasn’t anything redeeming about it, and it should never have happened. I was scared to death the whole time I was there. It was a wet, gray morning, and I’ll never forget thinking, ‘This feels like a weird day.' We got into a car accident on the way over. Then we had to park a mile away from the stage and carry our instruments through the crowd, which was scary. When we finally got backstage it was total chaos. No order at all. You’d always hear hectic talk backstage at any big show or festival, but this was nonstop horror stories."
And yet ... what this recording suggests is that for about 30 minutes there ... Altamont was a gas gas gas! There's definitely a go-for-broke energy here that is a bit lacking in other Gram Parsons-era live recordings from the band. Maybe it was the sports bra (?) that Gram was sporting for the gig. (If you want a closer look, this footage showed up in the Library of Congress a little while back.) This upload is a limited time thing — get it while you can!
From The Doom & Gloom Archives
Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers - The Kitchen, New York City, March 1975
Last week, I went to a movie theater for the first time since January of 2020 to see Todd Haynes’s Velvet Underground documentary. And I loved it. Sure, like most people, I had some complaints about what was or wasn’t included, but overall, I thought Haynes did a superb job.
Jonathan Richman’s contributions to the doc were a highlight and as a result I’ve been on a Jonathan kick for the past few days. So, let’s all listen to this excellent rarity from way back when Richman was reinventing the Modern Lovers, saying goodbye to electricity and exploring the innocent acoustic sound that he’s followed (for the most part) over the past several decades. You’ve gotta admire the guy in 1975. With the dawn of punk, he was primed to claim his place as one of its godfathers … but instead, he followed his own weird muse. (This gig at the Kitchen was booked by another musician who always followed his own weird muse: Arthur Russell. For more details, check this out.)
The solid audience tape here features OG Modern Lover Ernie Brooks, Andy and Jonathan Paley, Jody Thaxter, and Miranda Remington backing Richman on a set of classic oldies and charming originals (some of which remain unreleased), all performed sans amplification. Although he turns down a request for “Pale Blue Eyes,” the Velvets still loomed large for Jonathan — towards the end of the remarkable 10-minute “Roadrunner” that closes the show, someone adds a sawing Cale-like viola drone. Jonathan had hypnotized the audience yet again.
Currently Reading: Saxophone Colossus by Aidan Levy
Thanks for the Hot Burrito this morning!
Still need to spin that new Petty set; thanks for the nudge, Tyler. And I agree: "I wish Tom Petty was still alive" too.