Essential Live Albums

[VinylGuy]

yeah i should check them out. I love Don Was´s work with them on that album.

[liebzz]

I Go Wild universally sounded great everywhere it appeared. A late era live gem.

[liebzz]

VOLA - Live From the Pool

And now for something completely different. This band falls on the heavier side of prog - metal with a touch of electronic music, and I was pretty impressed with them. I will admittedly never love the Danny Carey style drums. It makes me a bit queasy almost. However, when they’re playing straight they were excellent. The opener, 24 Light Years was my favorite here. A great opener. Ghosts felt like good straight ahead rock and Stray the Skies a solid ending. I appreciate the moments where they even stray from what would naturally feel like their comfort zone, like on These Black Claws. Certainly a nice surprise.

The Essential Performance: 24 Light Years

Up Next: Spafford - Hindsight

[VinylGuy]

I Go Wild universally sounded great everywhere it appeared. A late era live gem.

yeah, thats a great song.

[liebzz]

Spafford - Hindsight

Despite the fact that this is a curated compilation, somehow this thing doesn’t really get kicking until the second half. The first half is fine but maybe a bit too mellow given the length of the songs. Starting with Lonely, it’s off to the races however, and the band sounds amazing blowing through huge jams and hard to believe guitar solos. The kind of thing that generally makes me happy. Comfortable and Ain’t That Wrong are the two other huge highlights of a band that can really cook when it wants to.

The Essential Performance: Ain’t That Wrong, Comfortable

Up Next: Midnight North - Selections From Levon Helm Studios

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Midnight North - Selections From Levon Helm Studio

There’s a certain natural DNA happening with this Bay Area band. You can’t grow up a Lesh and not have some level of Dead-style Americana happening, and the passing around of vocal duties keeps things mostly fresh on this. Granted, it’s only in spots that this band really takes it up a notch, and those moments are really where it’s worth the ride - Under the Lights and their cover of The Band’s Don’t Do It are really quite fantastic.

The Essential Performances: Under the Lights, Don’t Do It

Up Next: Eggy - Live From the Charleston Pour House, SC 10/31/22

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Eggy - Live From the Charleston Pour House, SC 10/31/22

Another jam band on Halloween, so another excuse to play musical dress up. In this show, Eggy devote a spread out half of their show to Elton John interspersed with their songs. The first set is phenomenally done, with Bennie and the Jets, Tiny Dancer and Honky Cat playing alongside Eggy songs High Noon and Wayless in particular. The second set of this show is only troubled by the songs seemingly getting a bit more difficult to decipher between, but a solid run at the end of Rocket Man, Burn Down the Mission, and Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting bring it all home nicely.

The Essential Performances: Bennie and the Jets, Wayless

Up Next: Grateful Shred - Aladdin Theatre, Portland, 10/21/22

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Grateful Shred - Aladdin Theatre, Portland 10/21/22

This one actually sounds really great. On the prior live release I covered from them the keys were way too prominent, but here they find the perfect balance. And the band just sounds great, with a nice translation of the Dead’s catalogue into their own strengths as a group. Scarlet/Fire, Help on the Way/Slipknot! > Feel Like a Stranger > Franklyn’s Tower was great, Viola Lee Blues, Ship of Fools, St. Stephen > Not Fade Away, and Man Smart, Woman Smarter all big highlights. This was far better than what I was expecting.

The Essential Performances: St. Stephen>Not Fade Away, Ship of Fools

Up Next: Goose week!

[liebzz]

Goose - 2022.03.12 Philadelphia, PA

It remains to be seen if 2022 is Goose’s Europe ‘72, Spring ‘77, or Fall ‘97, but there’s a lot of high quality shows that came out of this, particularly in the second half of 2022. This one is in the first half but features a band intent on really digging in and pushing the boundaries of the songs they played. The typical highlights are actually the big ones here in All I Need and Arcadia, with a killer cover of Fish in the Sea in there as well. Factory Fiction is also really great here, extended to 25 minutes of greatness. The shows are busting decently past 3 hours so it might take a little more than a week in this planned run.

The Essential Performances: All I Need, Arcadia, Fish in the Sea

Up Next: Goose - Live at Radio City Music Hall

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Goose - Live at Radio City Music Hall

This release comprises the entirety of both shows Goose played in the summer 2022 at Radio City with no repeated songs. Expanding up to 3 sets for these nights, this is quite simply a couple of landmark shows for this band, complete with a fever dream of having Trey Anastasio sit in for the 3rd set of the second night. Both nights similarly started with about an hour long acoustic set, which comprised of both their songs and really exceptional covers. Jack-A-Roe, Turned Clouds, Wake Up (Arcade Fire), Atlantic City, and Elmeg the Wise are highlights across the two nights from those acoustic sets.

Of course, once they plug in they are typically pushing past their own sense of these songs and finding new spaces for these grooves. On night 1, from the last song of the second set, Pancakes, and then into set 3 with Madhuvan, Hot Tea, and Arrow, they were a band on absolute fire. They closed night one with a phenomenal Animal (their song). Night 2 takes on a different beast altogether as they worked in the two high profile guests, Father John Misty on I’m Writing a Novel, and then an extended stay from Trey Anastasio in set 3, extending out long versions of Hungersite, Arcadia, Dripfield, and Empress of Organos before bringing everyone back on stage for a killer version of the Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Knows. A absolute classic show from a band finding more spaces to peak as a group.

The Essential Performances: Pancakes, Hot Tea, Arrow, Animal, Arcadia, Tomorrow Never Knows, Atlantic City, Elmeg the Wise

Up Next: Goose - 2022.12.16 Broomfield, CO (Goosemas show)

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Goose - 2022.12.16 Broomfield, CO

Every December, Goose play a series of shows they refer to as Goosemas, which seem to act as a sense of celebration between the band and fans. The ‘22 edition featured an entire second set of fan written requests once again pulled from the bingo machine. Helping make Goosemas dreams come true, the band does everything from yodeling, hugging, kissing, twerking and playing fan favorites. Pancakes leads off set 2 and is pretty great, and Rockdale is the sandwiched highlight at the end of that set. Even given all that, the first set is even better, with great versions of Butter Rum, The Old Man’s Boat, Drive, and closing the set with SOS.

The Essential Performances: Butter Rum, The Old Man’s Boat, Drive, SOS

Up Next: Goose - 2022.12.31 Cincinnati, OH

[liebzz]

Goose - 2022.12.31 Cincinnati, OH

From Radio City to Goosemas to New Year’s, Goose put on some pretty special shows in this landmark year for them. In the first set here, there’s quite a nice run of Borne, Hungersite, and Mr. Action that brings this show along. This really takes off as the clock approaches midnight in the second set though, with Madhuvan interweaving with Auld Lang Syne, followed by the Empress of Organos and a really phenomenal Thatch. Dripfield is solid, as is closing Animal. Another excellent show from these guys.

The Essential Performances: Mr. Action, Madhuvan/Auld Lang Syne, Thatch

Up Next: Goose - Live at the Salt Shed

[liebzz]

Goose - Live at the Salt Shed

Bustin’ in to ‘23 with Goose, from New Year’s to these two shows in Chicago, this band seems on a mission here. The first show is quite good. Earthling or Alien?, Thatch, Into the Myst, Madhuvan, and an even better version of Tomorrow Never Knows are highlights. But as often happens in a two night stand, the second night takes things up several notches. Echo of a Rose a bit charged up, a cover of Spoon’s Inside Out, Silver Rising, new song Lead Up, and Drive lead a more than solid first set, leading into a second set for the ages.

80’s funk bomb Animal leads us off and eventually into a massive Pancakes. In fact, I could probably say this performance on Pancakes reaches the pantheon of great moments in this whole journey. It’s long but its build and keys jam into a shredding guitar finish is maybe one of the best “jams” I have ever heard. Simply showstopping. As if that wasn’t enough, the trance-like bounce in the Slow Ready jam that takes up the second half of the song seamless gives way to an excellent Dripfield. The encore features an excellent White Lights that transitions into a reprise of Madhuvan from the night before, creating a loop and tying these shows together in a nice bow. There are some real magical moments in this one.

The Essential Performances: Tomorrow Never Knows, Animal, Pancakes, Slow Ready > Dripfield, White Lights > Madhuvan reprise

Up Next: Dogs in a Pile - Live 6.23.23 (Hammonton, NJ)

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Dogs in a Pile - Live 6.23.23 (Hammonton, NJ)

If Goose presents something of the current crop of jam bands, Dogs in a Pile may present the format’s future. Jumping from genre to genre without seeming too out of place, they power through everything from almost punk rock to samba to almost circus music. This makes for a pretty joyful experience from the audience that laps all this up. The last portion of this show really brings something more, with Appleseed and Go Set flexing in the way jam bands do, a perfectly on point No Quarter, and finishing with an oldies like rave out in Mr. Tooker. Solid release.

The Essential Performances: Go Set, No Quarter

Up Next: Bruce Springsteen - The Live Series: Songs of Character

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Bruce Springsteen - The Live Series: Songs of Character

The next in this live series has a lot of stripped down songs and covers. It has basically songs with names of people in it, so Carol, Kitty, Sherry, Rosie, Gloria, Maria, Bobby Jean, Cynthia are among the folks that come forward in this release. A stripped down Rosie, when that song thrives on bonkers energy, is pretty welcome here and a real highlight. Same with Bobby Jean. Kitty’s Back is always among the greats, Gloria’s Eyes provided a nice spark, and Long Tall Sally is a fantastic oldies way to end this. Fun release.

The Essential Performances: Rosalita (Come Out Tonight), Long Tall Sally

Up Next: Bruce Springsteen - The Live Series: Songs of Introspection

[liebzz]

Bruce Springsteen - The Live Series: Songs of Introspection

Not sure how much this theme really tracks, but this playlist is solid nonetheless. It’s My Life is a nice start, a deeper 70s cut that at least announces that this won’t be a greatest hits live playlist. Jackson Cage, Used Cars and Downbound Train are all pretty solid here. It’s Hard to Be a Saint in the City is stripped down but is followed by a bigger sounding Loose Ends that might be the best thing on here. Elsewhere, The Wrestler keeps all the gritty charm of its studio cut and Blinded By the Light seems almost joyful in its delivery and nearly feels like a cover of another Springsteen. Nice collection.

The Essential Performances: Loose Ends, Blinded By the Light

Up Next: Fleetwood Mac - Rumours Live

[liebzz]

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours Live

This an archival release from their 1977 tour. The show is from the Forum in LA. They sound pretty good here, though perhaps I expected a bit more given they have some really great live material hanging around. Oh Well Pt. 1, Rhiannon, Oh Daddy, Never Going Back Again, Gold Dust Woman, and Go Your Own Way (this one often is a little rough live but they got it near perfect on this one) all stuck out as highlights to me. They may have been thick in the drama, but their chemistry is pretty undeniable.

The Essential Performances: Oh Well Pt. 1, Gold Dust Woman, Go Your Own Way

Up Next: Mudcrutch - Extended Play Live!

[liebzz]

Mudcrutch - Extended Play Live!

Reformed after many years away (I mean so long as you don’t count the 30 years Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, and Tom Petty played together in the Heartbreakers), this quick 4 song release is a testament to Tom Petty and his band’s live prowess, no matter really who they are playing with. Steeped even more in southern sounds than the Heartbreakers, this one rocks front to back. Crystal River is admittedly a bit long in the tooth, but still engaging. Bootleg Flyer and the Jerry Lee Lewis cover of High School Confidential are insanely good.

The Essential Performances: Bootleg Flyer, High School Confidential

Up Next: Phish - The Gorge ‘98

[liebzz]

Phish - The Gorge ‘98

This is a 2 night stand at the Gorge. Set 1 night 1 is frankly the toughest part of this thing. Perhaps they meant to start with a chill set, but much of it felt like waiting for the band to wake up, which they did in epic fashion closing that set with Run Like An Antelope. Julius starts the next set and is just as essential as it works into the Moma Dance. Axilla and David Bowie continue the serious highlights here and the Sample in a Jar closer is a nice almost pop like finish to night 1. Night 2 gets the chill first set right opening with Makisupa Policeman and working into a great Ya Mar. Gumbo, Divided Sky and Waste follow and set 1 here is working itself into the best set of this run. My Soul then brings set 1 to a phenomenal finish. Set 2 has its moments but never gets quite as high, though Mike’s Song, Character Zero, and Punch You In the Eye are all excellent. A nice couple of shows that are sort of warts and all from Phish but appreciated.

The Essential Performances: Run Like an Antelope, Julius, Waste, Character Zero, Mike’s Song

Up Next: Dave Matthews Band - Live in Chicago 12.19.98

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Dave Matthews Band - Live in Chicago 12.19.98

Chalk this one up to one of the ones I just missed covering back when. Usually, special guests are a fun addition to shows but rarely end up being the definitive moments, though I guess those things more or less stick out for good or ill. Here, this is a good show really boosted by Maceo Parker’s sit in on What Would You Say, and Victor Wooten’s various jump ins. It’s a good show elsewhere, with a solid Lie in Our Graves, Rapunzel, and the Last Stop, but it really is the special guests that made this one,

The Essentjal Performance: What Would You Say

Up Next: The Kitchen Dwellers - Live at Pine Creek Vol. 2