• Deb Talan’s Sincerely, a live album that’s only available these days as a digital download.
  
• City and Colour’s Bring Me Your Love, which I was introduced to by Adam.
  
• 4 Sep 1967 [West Hollywood, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Cream. 1967-09-04: Whiskey A Go-Go, West Hollywood, CA, USA (disc 1) and 1967-09-04: Whiskey A Go-Go, West Hollywood, CA, USA (disc 2).
  
• 27 Aug 2005 [Cincinnati, OH, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. 2005-08-27: Moonlite Gardens, Coney Island, Cincinnati, OH, USA (disc 1) and 2005-08-27: Moonlite Gardens, Coney Island, Cincinnati, OH, USA (disc 2).
• 4 Feb 2006 [Malmö, Sweden] concert bootleg of Death Cab for Cutie. 2006-02-04: Kulturbolaget, Malmö, SWE.
• 26 Mar 2008 [Melbourne, Australia] concert bootleg of Wilco. 2008-03-26: Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Australia (disc 1) and 2008-03-26: Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Australia (disc 2).
• 9 Apr 2008 [Louisville, KY, USA] concert bootleg of Son Volt. 2008-04-09: Headliners Music Hall, Louisville, KY, USA (disc 1) and 2008-04-09: Headliners Music Hall, Louisville, KY, USA (disc 2).

Last week:

• The Weepies’ Hideaway. This one did not grab me the way that Say I Am You did, but I’ve also not given it car/road trip time. I will be correcting that this weekend. Three-and-a-half stars, and I expect that’ll rise.
  
• Carole King’s Tapestry (Legacy Edition). This was a bit of an impulse buy, although it was well-regarded in last month’s Paste. Very much worth my money. Four stars.
  
• 18 Feb 1997 [Ottawa, ON, Canada] concert bootleg of Wilco. It’s hard to believe that this was recorded onto tape, at least for me. It sounds quite good! Three-and-a-half stars.
• 26 Aug 2005 [Lexington, KY, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. Oh my holy heck. This is a fine, fine, fine recording. If you like Ohio and Drunkard’s Prayer, GRAB IT. Four-and-a-half stars.
• 15 Mar 2008 [Austin, TX, USA] concert bootleg of M. Ward and Jim James. Sadly, during Matt’s solo stuff, the recording is very distant sounding, which is surprising for Church Audio cardioids; must’ve been a hard room to record. I give it three stars.
  
• 4 Apr 2008 [Dyersburg, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Derek Webb. I’m happy with how this one came out; I’m giving it four stars only because the songs off of The Ringing Bell really deserve to have a band behind them. I understand why that didn’t happen on this tour, but man … if Derek had been able to have Todd, Garett, Jeff, Josh, and Andrew backing him on these songs … that would have been awesome. Anyhow, some folks would probably like more of the SBD in this mix, but I’m a fan of how a recording actually sounds in a room. For those people, I’ve seeded the SBD and AUD recordings in their uncut forms on IndieRiver; they can do with it what they like.
  
• 4 Apr 2008 [Dyersburg, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Caedmon’s Call. The longer I think about this, the more I think about re-mastering it. It just could be better. That said, it’s decent. Three-and-a-half stars, mainly because of Andy O’s two killer guitar solos. That kid really can shred.
  

Surprisingly, I was able to hold out on listening to The Weepies’ new record until this week, despite having it Tuesday. Discipline, or something.

• The Weepies’ Hideaway.
  
• Carole King’s Tapestry (Legacy Edition). You can blame this one on me watching lots of Gilmore Girls episodes.
  
• 18 Feb 1997 [Ottawa, ON, Canada] concert bootleg of Wilco. 1997-02-18: The Cave, Ottawa, ON, Canada (disc 1) and 1997-02-18: The Cave, Ottawa, ON, Canada (disc 2).
• 26 Aug 2005 [Lexington, KY, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. 2005-08-26: The Dame, Lexington, KY, USA (disc 1) and 2005-08-26: The Dame, Lexington, KY, USA (disc 2).
• 15 Mar 2008 [Austin, TX, USA] concert bootleg of M. Ward and Jim James. 2008-03-15: St. David's Church, Austin, TX, USA and 2008-03-15: St. David's Church, Austin, TX, USA.
  
• 4 Apr 2008 [Dyersburg, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Derek Webb. Really happy with the ability to do SBD-AUD matrixes now. 2008-04-04: Dyersburg State Community College, Dyersburg, TN, USA.
  
• 4 Apr 2008 [Dyersburg, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Caedmon’s Call. This one took a lot of work, because my feeds got slightly out of sync from time to time during the set, so I continually had to monitor for sync issues. Worth doing, though. I’ve got some ideas of how I’ll do that better next time. Could’ve spent more time mastering it, too. Ah well. 2008-04-04: Dyersburg State Community College, Dyersburg, TN, USA (disc 1) and 2008-04-04: Dyersburg State Community College, Dyersburg, TN, USA (disc 2).
  

Last week was good in the studio spots, meh otherwise:

• Deb Talan’s Something Burning. Unlike with her husband, I liked her sophomore release much better. This is good, but the melody is better on the next record. Two-and-a-half stars.
  
• Deb Talan’s A Bird Flies Out. Lots and lots of fun here. Three-and-a-half stars.
  
• 11 Jan 1997 [Chicago, IL, USA] concert bootleg of Jeff Tweedy. Pretty standard Tweedy solo fare of that era; nothing special. Two-and-a-half stars. The fun bit for me is the cover of “Thirteen”, which I’m used to hearing Elliott Smith do.
  
• 7 Jul 1999 [Stuttgart, Germany] concert bootleg of Wilco. Very meh. Two stars.
  
• 12 Aug 2002 [New York, NY, USA] concert bootleg of Coldplay. Sounds thin and reedy. Two-and-a-half stars.
  
• 25 Jun 2005 [Chicago, IL, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. Good mics, well-implemented. Feels sluggish, but that’s because the performance is slow and muted. Sometimes when OtR goes this way, it’s really cool, like listening to jazz with a good glass of $alcohol [I'd say wine, but I don't drink wine], and sometimes, it’s like this, just a tad too mellow. Three-and-a-half stars.
• 17 Apr 2006 [Toronto, ON, Canada] concert bootleg of Death Cab for Cutie. Sadly, an audience rig not up to the task. Two stars.

IMG_0113.JPG

Originally uploaded by Geof F. Morris

My photos from the 4 Apr 2008 Caedmon’s Call show in Dyersburg, TN are online. I’ll work on the recording some tomorrow. This will be my first attempt at a matrix of a soundboard patch and an audience recording.

When you perform
It’s so intense
When the critics pan
I write in your defense

I understand I am just a fan
I’m just a fan

Wilco, “The Lonely 1“, Being There

Andrew wrote about going to see Sixpence None the Richer play on Sunday night in Nashville, and a good chunk of what he wrote resonated with me.

I’ve lived here for eleven years and I’ve had the real honor of working with just about everybody I listened to in high school who’s not dead or in U2, Pink Floyd or the Beatles. It’s shocking and amazing at first, but it wears off and you realize they’re just dudes like you, and the magic fades away a little bit.

Except for this band Sixpence. I don’t care. I just freaking love them. They’re one of my favorites. They always have been and they always will be. I’ve played a few things with Matt, mostly at Andy P’s Christmas shows, and Leigh sang on the first Normals record. But somehow, they never faded to me. I’m a fan. And I love it.

Despite it all, Caedmon’s Call is still that way for me. [Derek or Andy solo? Not so much. Both of those are very much old hat, to the point that if either asked me to sing BGVs or something during a show, I wouldn't be intimidated.] Every show is still pretty special for me, because the music takes me back to a far more formative period of my life. I connect to it in ways that really only I know about, because I’ve never talked about with anyone in the band. [Unlike, say, some of Andrew's stuff.]

Another thing I want to note here: I try to maintain a certain distance with Over the Rhine. I freaking love them, and while I guess there are chances for me to get to know them—and they’re certainly inviting of those opportunities—I really just want to remain a fan. Unlike most of the shows of bands I attend whenever they’re in my area, I go to those shows, make my recording, take my photos, and go the hell home. No waiting for two hours after the show to talk to the band [because we want to talk to each other, but I'm willing to wait out the other fans] or anything. I just watch the show, capture it, go home, and revel in the remembrance later. I like that.

I think I set the trend with OtR when, at the first show I attended, Rick and I sat right along the walkway from the green room to the stage. Didn’t talk to them then … probably won’t in the future.

No real intro this week. I’m spending time and energy this week getting a new hard drive on my new mini and getting all the music off of my old mini. Such are the joys of having a 200GB+ music collection…

• Alli Rogers’s You and the Evening Sky.
  
• 30 Mar 1996 [New York, NY, USA] concert bootleg of Elliott Smith. Now that I’ve got a new HDD for my newer mini, I can go back to the bootlegs that were on my old machine as I slowly merge the iTunes libraries of the two machines. 1996-03-30: Westbeth Theatre, New York, NY, USA
• 18 Sep 2004 [North Olmsted, OH, USA] concert bootleg of The Weepies. 2004-09-18: Butternut Ridge, North Olmsted, OH, USA.
  
• 4 May 2007 [Portland, OR, USA] concert bootleg of Andrew Bird. 2007-05-04: Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR, USA (disc 1) and 2007-05-04: Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR, USA (disc 2).
  
• 8 Jun 2007 [Nashville, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. Made by my own hand. 2007-06-08: 3rd and Lindsley, Nashville, TN, USA.
  
• 5 Oct 2007 [London, England] concert bootleg of Son Volt. 2007-10-05: Luminaire, London, England (disc 1) and 2007-10-05: Luminaire, London, England (disc 2).
• 19 Feb 2008 [Chicago, IL, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. Fourth night of the residency at the Riv. 2008-02-19: Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL, USA (disc 1) and 2008-02-19: Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL, USA (disc 2).
  

Last week was very, very good to me:

• Five O’Clock People’s Temper Temper. Simply fantastic. I hadn’t been listening to the stuff on their MySpace, so I wasn’t prepared for the shift to a bit more of a modern rock sound [in spots], but … very nice. Four stars.
  
• Led Zeppelin’s Coda. Okay, so we all know what this album is: an album put together by the remnants of Zep after David Bonham’s sad death. I … just kinda wish this hadn’t been made. :shrug: Two-and-a-half stars. I need to get Houses of the Holy so I can finish my tour through the LZ catalog on an up note.
  
• 2 Mar 1992 [New Haven, CT, USA] concert bootleg of Uncle Tupelo. Two-and-a-half stars. I’m beginning to wonder if I’m burned out on Uncle Tupelo or if I’ve just been babied by superior bootlegging technology.
• 11 Feb 2005 [Richmond, VA, USA] concert bootleg of Caedmon’s Call. It’s a soundboard, Danielle’s not there, and it sounds flat to me. It’s good, but this is one of those recordings that reminds me why I generally prefer AUDs to SBDs. [No, really, I do.] Three stars.
• 14 Dec 2006 [Nashville, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. It’s pretty meh. That was definitely not the best recording environment, nor the best recording setup. Two-and-a-half stars.
• 16 Mar 2007 [Nashville, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Sandra McCracken. As I listened to this one, I thought about two things: one, thanks to Stephen Lamb for babysitting my recorder that night so I could walk around and take photos all night, and two, man, do I wish that I’d had a bass roll-off for this show. If I had, it would be as good as I could get out of single-point stereo omnidirectional microphone. Three stars.
  
• 18 Feb 2008 [Chicago, IL, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. Fan-fucking-tastic. That’s it. The second disc … my oh my. Four-and-a-half stars. This is why I prefer AUDs.
  

Tank of gas to drive to and from Nashville: $45
Round trip ticket to PHL from BNA: $203
Nine hours of a rental car [a Saturn VUE, which drove like a wounded manatee compared to my WRX ... DO NOT WANT]: $93, including refueling
Philly cheesesteak: FREE, but only because Gary bought my dinner. [Great to meet everyone on that trip, but I won't lie, I really wanted to finally meet Gary and his wife.]
Number of hours slept from Saturday morning forward until Monday evening: 6.5
Number of hours slept on airplanes: 2.5
Number of hours slept in the breezeway outside Terminal D at PHL: 0.5
Number of hours slept on Monday night before waking up, unable to return to sleep, leading me to come out here and blog this: 5
Number of times I have cursed the inability to sleep until my 0545 alarm: 9 (so far)
Number of week taken off of my life as a result of this trip: Unknown, but probably six
Hearing Derek and Danielle power through “Climb On (A Back That’s Strong)”: PRICELESS

That was fun, but I really don’t want to do it again anytime soon. But like Bryan said in a forum post yesterday: if that’s the last Caedmon’s Call show I ever see, I can die a happy man.

[Yes, I recorded it. Yes, I'm releasing it. This is just a busy week.]

I’ve had a lot of fun conversations this week [and it's just Tuesday]. My favorite was today with my boss.

“Oh, hey, I’m gonna be late on the 25th.”

“What is that?”

“Monday, the week we ship [the hardware job we're shipping on Friday that week].”

“Oh, I don’t think that’ll be a big deal. Where ya gonna be?”

“Well … I’ll start the morning in Philadelphia, and I’ll be in Nashville by 0815 and here by 1030 or so.”

And the fun thing is that my boss didn’t even bat an eyelash. He … well, he knows I’m insane.

Indeed, I am: after two hockey games that weekend, I’ll drive to Nashville Sunday morning, hop a plane to PHL, land, get a rental, drive almost to Trenton, New Jersey, watch Caedmon’s Call in concert [and hang out with Bryan and Mark, which is reason enough to go in and of itself], chill with the band after the show, then mosey back down to PHL and fly home first thing Monday morning.

Won’t be the first time I’ve grabbed a little shuteye at an airport before winging my way back home and then to the office.

Yeah, I’m insane. But this is how I roll. [And I have new camera equipment to roll with! My Canon EF 28mm f/2.8 showed up yesterday, and my EF 85mm f/1.8 USM arrived today. My mics show up, well, whenever Sound Professionals gets off their duffs and ships it to me.] And yes, I’ll have more equipment than other baggage.

My Caedmon’s Call friends have the song that will close tonight’s season-ending episode of Grey’s Anatomy. I personally think that this is a plot by Allan Heinberg to get Derek to co-opt me [and other CC/Derek fans] to watch the show. I’m onto you, Heinberg!

A discussion of this ended up leading to Derek and I talking about Gilmore Girls after the show I attended last night. There we are on a sidewalk outside The Rutledge, talking about Lorelai borrowing Luke’s truck to help Rory move to Yale. I got to tell them that Season Four? IS MY FAVORITE. That was a fun time, because hey … I love talking about GG with people.

Oh, and … Writers’ Night at The Rutledge is hosted by Nathan Lee. Oh my gosh, y’all … that blew my damn doors off. I’ve already bought Down at The Rutledge off of CDBaby this morning, and now it’s my goal to bring him to Huntsville for a show. Wow. That kicked my ass. I just hate that I had recording problems last night [largely to do with it being an SRO crowd and me getting so hot that I almost passed out, but hey]. FUN TIMES.

[Who has two thumbs and got home at 2:00 a.m. this morning? Geof Morris.]

My Caedmon’s Call friends have the song that will close tonight’s season-ending episode of Grey’s Anatomy. I personally think that this is a plot by Allan Heinberg to get Derek to co-opt me [and other CC/Derek fans] to watch the show. I’m onto you, Heinberg!

A discussion of this ended up leading to Derek and I talking about Gilmore Girls after the show I attended last night. There we are on a sidewalk outside The Rutledge, talking about Lorelai borrowing Luke’s truck to help Rory move to Yale. I got to tell them that Season Four? IS MY FAVORITE. That was a fun time, because hey … I love talking about GG with people.

Oh, and … Writers’ Night at The Rutledge is hosted by Nathan Lee. Oh my gosh, y’all … that blew my damn doors off. I’ve already bought Down at The Rutledge off of CDBaby this morning, and now it’s my goal to bring him to Huntsville for a show. Wow. That kicked my ass. I just hate that I had recording problems last night [largely to do with it being an SRO crowd and me getting so hot that I almost passed out, but hey]. FUN TIMES.

[Who has two thumbs and got home at 2:00 a.m. this morning? Geof Morris.]

Well, there are some things that I just can’t say when I’m posting on caedmonscall.net, despite the fact that we emblazon “the officially unofficial fan site of Caedmon’s Call” all across the top of every page. You’d be surprised what kinds of hot water we’ve gotten the band into for things we’ve said. Remember how Bill Simmons jokes about dodging the electric shocks coming from Bristol in his chats? Well, let’s just say that if I said something about a C&D, well, I’d probably get 10,000 volts applied to me the next time I saw someone from Bragg Management.

That said, putting out a greatest hits compilation—the second such release in three years, and this one containing no new cuts whatsoever—less than two months before the release of their next album? That’s a low blow, even for a record company that pushed for two make-lots-of-money worship records from the band.

Maybe I’ll write an open letter to Essential, telling them how much they suck. Or maybe I’ll let Derek do it for me, a decade ago:

It’s not as though this truck’s been up on blocks for years in my front yard
Waiting for the fuel of you to make it go

Essential Records sucks.

For what it’s worth, I’ve been promised a copy of a recording of last night’s Caedmon’s Call show, the first real show with Derek Webb back in the band. However, there has been some confusion as to whether or not I’ll get to share it. That said, I say to you, fair friends: if I cannot share the music with you, I will put a video of me opening, confirming the bootleg by playing, and subsequently destroying the copy on YouTube.

Either we all get to listen to it, or none of us get to listen to it.

IMG_2240.JPG

Originally uploaded by Geof F. Morris.

It wasn’t the best-kept secret ever, but … Derek Webb recorded with Caedmon’s Call for their upcoming album.

Yep.

I took a bunch of photos when I was in the studio, and they’re available in a photoset on Flickr. But Derek and Andy, together? This is a beautiful sight to my eyes. It’s great to see this, for me. You may not feel the same way, and you know … that’s okay with me.

Q: What do Caedmon’s Call and Jars of Clay have in common?

A: They’re both still trying to live up to their first two major label releases in a lot of folks’ eyes.

In groups of people about my age cohort [say, three or so years either side of my age], we associate both bands with all the great music the bands were putting out when we were [finishing high school|going through college|starting post-college life]. Because we associate those songs with those days, anything that comes out since gets shortchanged because it’s not coming at what we see as the prime of our lives.

[Thought prompted by the awesomeness that is "Crazy Times" from Jars's Much Afraid.]

[[Followed by: am I going to associate the absolute awesomeness that is M. Ward's oeuvre to date with the sheer shittiness that has been 1Q2007? Man, I hope not.]]

But think about it: what good music do you associate with a great time in your life, and subsequently consider anything by that band to be sub-par as a result, whether or not it’s really sub-par? [Because I'm still with Derek on the "Share the Well is the best album Caedmon's ever put out" bandwagon.]

Last night was the first in a series of three straight Square Peg Alliance shows at the Radio Cafe in Nashville. Saturday, Caedmon’s plays MSMSMUW, and Rick and I (and maybe Jon!) are going.

I think this trumps last year’s Eight Days of Awesome.

Caedmon’s Call is playing Rent Auditorium at MUW. On a Saturday in August. The August ten years after I met Rick. It’s like we were destined to go to this show. [Me? I'm no Calvinist, but us Open Theist types ... we believe that God foreordains some things, to be sure. ;)]

I’m hyperventilating just a little.