Download Problems

As everyone is no doubt aware, Megaupload is no more. Unfortunately, all download links on this blog were hosted there so, until I find a site that can replace the speed and convenience of Megaupload, no download links will work on this site.

Please be assured that I fully intend to fix all of the broken links, along with providing many more recordings for you to enjoy.


PABBY

Arcade Fire - 2011-09-01 - Edinburgh Castle, UK

As soon as this show was announced at the start of the year, it was obvious it ticked all the boxes for turning into something special. It was due to be their final show in the UK for some time and it was a new venue for the band. Given these circumstances, a fair number of Arcade Fire friends acquired tickets and everyone started making their own arrangements for a late-summer pilgrimage to what is undoubtedly the jewel in the Scottish crown.

Come the day of the show and everyone made their way up to the castle in order to get a first sight of the venue. What was unexpected was that the venue was completely open down one side, as a walkway had been created to allow tourists to come and go from the castle itself. And being the band that they are, the Arcade Fire obligingly posed for photos with fans as they went about their sound check. They even performed the rare track "Cars and Telephones" at the request of a fan. Unfortunately, I missed most of this, but I will get to record a sound check one day!

Come show time, our small group ended up to the right of centre of the stage, close to the right-hand speaker stack - not the ideal spot for recording, but it was a great spot to watch this amazing band from. I knew I'd still have a half-decent chance of capturing something decent due to the proximity of the speakers and hoped the crowd around me were there to watch rather than sing. And so it was, thankfully.

From a personal point of view, the show itself was excellent, yet it seemed to be missing something to take it to the next level - a rare song or a guest appearance or a cover version. Just something different. What we got were the same songs as the previous night in Manchester, albeit with a different running order. Wake Up was still mid-set though and I hope the band soon realise the error of their ways with this one.

After the show, some people commented about the lack of enthusiasm from the Edinburgh crowd, especially in comparison to previous shows by the band in Scotland. From my point of view though, it was perfect - little audience noise and no jostling for position during the bouncier songs. The Arcade Fire are a very visual band and there is always something happening on stage to grab your attention. I'm sure that is why many in the audience just stand and stare as they perform - people are in awe of what they are witnessing. I know that's how I feel anyway.

As for the recording, it's actually pretty good! I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

I've already described where I was stood, so the right-hand channel has therefore got a very slight gain with regards to the music, with the left-hand channel picking up slightly more crowd noise. It's hardly noticeable though and actually adds a good stereo mix to the sound; hence I decided to leave the balance as it is.

Enjoy! :-)

Arcade Fire - 2011-09-01 - Edinburgh Castle - FLAC
633MB RAR archive, FLAC format

Arcade Fire - 2011-09-01 - Edinburgh Castle - MP3
175MB RAR archive, variable bit rate MP3s (min. 245 kbps)

Setlist:

01. Ready To Start
02. Keep The Car Running
03. No Cars Go
04. Haiti
05. Rococo
06. Speaking In Tongues
07. Intervention
08. Suburban War
09. Wake Up
10. Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
11. The Suburbs
12. Month of May
13. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
14. We Used To Wait
15. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
16. _encore break_
17. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
18. Rebellion (Lies)

(Photo courtesy of musicscramble.co.uk)

Arcade Fire - 2011-08-31 - MEN Arena, Manchester, UK

This was the band's penultimate UK date before they disappeared from these shores, probably until the release of their next album, whenever that may be. I hadn't had the chance to see them since the end of 2010 and, given certain events that happened around that time, I'd hardly listened to them over the previous few months. I just couldn't raise my usual excitement for seeing the band, even though I was still looking forward to the show.

How wrong was I??!!

The turnover between the support band (Noah & The Whale, whom I also recorded) leaving the stage and Arcade Fire's intro starting up was only 30 minutes, but in that time I realised I was well and truly back in the grips of what I honestly consider to be the best band in the world today.

I decided, just minutes before they came on stage, that I would try and get the best recording I could of the show, so I moved back from my 4th row, right of stage spot and positioned myself in what I consider to be the "sweet spot" for recording at the MEN Arena - dead centre of the stage, 10 yards/metres back from the front row of fans.

I'd not watched the Arcade Fire from a similar location since my first time seeing them back in 2007 at Manchester Apollo (first night), at what was, and still is, the worst show of theirs that I've ever attended (dire sound and an awful audience). However, I was not to be disappointed this time. Ok, I had a few occasional talkers around me (who doesn't in the middle of a crowd at a rock show?), but the quality of the sound shines through on the recording. In fact, this was the 13th time I've recorded the band and I reckon it's my best attempt yet.

Now onto the show itself. As far as the Arcade fire are concerned, I find it a tad difficult to rate their shows in comparison to previous ones, pure and simply because of their amazing consistency. Some shows may have had better setlists than others (which is a very personal thing anyway and always causes opinionated discussion!), but invariably they have all had something that made them special. This show did not have anything special in its setlist, but the ordering of the songs was surprisingly good and the band themselves were as stellar as any other time that I've seen them.

That first show of mine which I mentioned earlier, it had no Wake Up in its setlist. Unbelievable, I know! Every other time I've seen them, this inspirational song has always been the show closer, yet here we had it 10th song on the bill, mid-show. This was a real surprise, and I'm not totally convinced that it worked, but it was still good to experience it all the same. We also had the relatively new song Speaking in Tongues - it's always good to hear a song live for the first time. And any show that has a run of songs that goes Wake Up/Laika/Tunnels/We Used to Wait/Power Out is bound to rate highly on the Richter scale.

And then there was the encore. Somebody on the sound desk turned the volume up a couple of notches and the band launched in to an ear-bleeding, monumental version of Month of May. I can honestly say that I have never heard them so loud. In fact, the young kid stood to my left had his hands over his ears! When Rebellion (Lies) got under way, I could hardly hear anything other than the drums and bass - they either left the volume turned up or my hearing was temporarily fucked! Fortunately, the recording wasn't affected as I'd set my little box of tricks to auto-adjust to volume changes.

I'm going to thoroughly enjoy listening to this recording on repeat. I hope you do too.

Enjoy!  :-)

Arcade Fire - 2011-08-31 - MEN Arena - FLAC
605MB RAR archive, FLAC format

Arcade Fire - 2011-08-31 - MEN Arena - MP3
171MB RAR archive, variable bit rate MP3s (min. 245 kbps)

Setlist:

01. Ready To Start
02. Keep The Car Running
03. Haiti
04. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
05. No Cars Go
06. Rococo
07. Speaking In Tongues
08. Intervention
09. Suburban War
10. Wake Up
11. Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
12. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
13. We Used to Wait
14. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
15. _encore break_
16. Month of May
17. Rebellion (Lies)
18. The Suburbs

(Photo courtesy of the ever-wonderful Shirlaine Forrest Photography)

The Antlers - 2011-05-13 - Club Academy, Manchester, UK

The Antlers are one of those bands that you just have to see live. Each band member truly gives their all to bring their recorded material to life for the audience. Add this energy to the tiny, claustrophobic surroundings of Manchester's Club Academy and you have the perfect recipe for a great gig, and that's exactly what we got here.

This show was pretty early in the band's somewhat lengthy itinerary for the release of their latest album Burst Apart. That said, you could be forgiven for thinking the new songs were long-time mainstays of their setlists, fitting in well with a few tracks from the band's previous offering, the haunting and much heralded Hospice. Even though many people would have been hearing the new tracks for the first time, the audience were very respectful towards them and the recording is quite clean with regards to audience noise during songs.

The Antlers are back in Manchester in November when they play Sound Control on the 14th. If you haven't caught their live act yet, this would be an ideal opportunity to give yourself a musical treat.

Enjoy!  :-)

The Antlers - 2011-05-13 - Club Academy, Manchester - FLAC
359MB RAR archive, FLAC format

The Antlers - 2011-05-13 - Club Academy, Manchester - MP3
112MB RAR archive, variable bit rate MP3s (min. 245 kbps)

Setlist:

01. French Exit
02. Parentheses
03. No Widows
04. Kettering
05. Bear
06. Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out
07. Rolled Together
08. Hounds
09. Putting the Dog to Sleep
10. _encore break_
11. Two

(Photo of Pete Silberman courtesy of John Gleeson)

Madness - 2010-11-30 - Manchester Apollo, UK

This is quite a poignant recording for me and I've thought long and hard about what to do with it over the last few months. A day or so after the concert, David, a good friend who was with me on the night, was to enter hospital for a stem cell transplant in his final attempt to beat the cancer that had blighted his life for several years. To cut a long story short, and despite the actual success of his fight against cancer, David's body could take no more and he tragically lost his battle for life on Sunday 22nd May, 2011 at the far-too-young age of just 28.

My memories of this show will forever be watching him dancing and singing the night away with his girlfriend and just thoroughly enjoying himself as much as anyone else in the building. You would never have guessed that he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

So, this recording is dedicated to the wonderful memory of David Horan. A braver man you could never wish to meet.

There is some crowd noise present (cheers Keith!), but hey, this was a Madness concert after all! At the start of the song "Madness", the crowd started singing the tune of "Tom Hark" which Suggs went along with for a minute or so. I've tracked this separately within the recording, but it is in no way the complete song.

Enjoy!  :-)

Madness - 2010-11-30 - Manchester Apollo - MP3
161MB RAR archive, variable bit rate MP3s (min. 245 kbps)

Setlist:

01. One Step Beyond
02. Embarrassment
03. Shut Up
04. Driving in my Car
05. NW5
06. Hey Girl
07. My Girl
08. Lovestruck
09. Forever Young
10. The Sun And The Rain
11. The Young and The Old
12. Tomorrow's Just Another Day
13. Bed And Breakfast Man
14. Clerkenwell Polka
15. The Prince
16. La Luna
17. Chrissy Boy's Showtime
18. House Of Fun
19. Tom Hark
20. Madness
21. Baggy Trousers
22. Our House
23. It Must Be Love
24. _encore break_
25. Tarzan's Nuts
26. Wings Of A Dove
27. Night Boat To Cairo

(Photo courtesy of the wonderful Shirlaine Forrest Photography)

Arcade Fire - 2010-12-11 - Manchester Central, UK

A small group of us managed to get a place up front, stage left, and fortunately the recording turned out pretty good. This is particularly true given I was stood on the 2nd row with the left-hand speaker stack high above my head. There is the occasional moment of “crowd participation”, but what else would you expect when such singable and join-inable songs are on offer! Anyway, I’ve already berated one or two of the offenders (you know who you are!) on behalf of any potential listeners.

Many people expressed reservations about seeing The Arcade Fire in such a large venue, but all the reports I read gave both a big thumbs up, and I heartily endorse those sentiments. The venue was great and these days the band are equally at home in arena-style venues as they are in their occasional foray back into the realm of intimate shows.

Despite a somewhat unsavoury incident caused by the band's management (before the support act came on stage - an incident well-documented elsewhere), the show itself was typically excellent. And although their set lists remained pretty static during this tour (probably to help the band members plan for their next instrument and location from the myriad used during their shows), it was still a pleasure to watch these soon-to-be Grammy winners at work. You could tell they were enjoying it right from the moment they took the stage and this was often backed up by Win's frequent banter both between and during songs.

Enjoy!  :-)

Arcade Fire - 2010-12-11 - Manchester Central, UK - FLAC
615MB ZIP archive, FLAC format

Arcade Fire - 2010-12-11 - Manchester Central, UK - FLAC
615MB. Links to Dimeadozen bittorrent tracker. Registration required.

Arcade Fire - 2010-12-11 - Manchester Central, UK - MP3
180MB RAR archive, variable bit rate MP3s (min. 245 kbps)

Setlist:

01. Ready To Start
02. Month of May
03. Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
04. No Cars Go
05. Haiti
06. Empty Room
07. Rococo
08. Deep Blue
09. The Suburbs
10. Crown of Love
11. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
12. We Used To Wait
13. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
14. Rebellion (Lies)
15. Intervention
16. -encore break-
17. Keep The Car Running
18. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
19. Wake Up

(Photo courtesy of John Gleeson - see more by clicking on his name)

Arcade Fire - 2010-07-07 - Hackney Empire, London, UK

Deemed as a "secret show", this was The Arcade Fire's first UK appearance since the back end of 2007 and boy were the audience ready for it! The tickets were primarily sold via a pre-sale on the Universal website that was done in conjunction with Ticketmaster. This pre-sale would have been better organised by school kids, I kid you not. Eventually a small number of tickets went on open sale and typically disappeared within seconds. So, other than a handful of seats reserved for the press and the odd guest-lister, the show was generally attended by fans who would have sold their soul to be there (and several of them virtually did, looking at the eBay listings).

The Hackney Empire is your typical old-style, grandiose theatre, more used to pantomimes and variety shows than out-and-out rock concerts. Thankfully the ground floor seats were removed to allow a large proportion of the audience to stand, with the multi-tiered seating providing a great view for everyone else. I was situated in the 1st tier of seats, 5 rows back, slightly to the right of stage-centre. This not only provided a great view, but the sound was better than I was expecting too.

The volume of noise that greeted the band arriving on stage was deafening. In fact, it caused the auto gain control on my iRiver to adjust the levels down by 4 settings before the music had even started! This didn't affect the recording though and everything progressed smoothly from then on.

As to the show itself, what can I say other than it was everything I expected of it and more! The setlist contained 8 songs from the band's forthcoming new album, The Suburbs, along with 7 from Funeral and 3 from Neon Bible. Watching from above, it was obvious (and to be expected) that a fair number of the audience were not familiar with the new songs and it was the Funeral tracks which typically brought the house down. In particular, I would describe the encore as the best I've ever seen from this great band, which isn't bad considering this was my 10th time seeing them live!

The recording turned out very well indeed, given my distance from the speaker stacks, and audience chatter during the songs is minimal. It could maybe do with a touch of boost in the bass department, but that is down to personal preference and I would never perform equalisation on a source recording. What you get here is as it was recorded, with just a volume boost being performed by myself.

This recording is dedicated to all the people from arcadefire.net (Us Kids Know) who were at this show. You guys make following this great band all the more special. Thank you for a fantastic day.

Anyway, after too long away, The Arcade Fire are back and I strongly suggest you try and catch at least one of their shows. You will not be disappointed!

Enjoy!  :-)

Arcade Fire - 2010-07-07 - Hackney Empire, London, UK - FLAC
563MB. Links to Dimeadozen bittorrent tracker. Registration required.

Arcade Fire - 2010-07-07 - Hackney Empire, London, UK - FLAC
563MB RAR archive, FLAC format

Arcade Fire - 2010-07-07 - Hackney Empire, London, UK - MP3
175MB RAR archive, variable bit rate MP3s (min. 245 kbps) 

Setlist:

01. Ready To Start
02. Modern Man
03. Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
04. No Cars Go
05. Haiti
06. Empty Room
07. Rococo
08. The Suburbs
09. Suburban War
10. Intervention
11. We Used To Wait
12. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
13. Rebellion
14. Month of May
15. -encore break-
16. Crown of Love
17. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
18. Keep The Car Running
19. Wake Up

(Photos courtesy of John Gleeson - see many more by clicking on his name)

Green Day - 2010-06-16 - Lancashire County Cricket Club, Manchester, UK

What a superb way to spend a beautiful summer's evening! The band were on stage for a whopping 2 hours & 45 minutes, and that was 2 hours & 45 minutes of spectacular quality.

An excellent setlist was supplemented by Billy Joe's usual crowd interaction and he once again had the near 30,000-strong crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. The songs that were played covered all but the earliest part of their career and all were delivered as if the band's lives depended on it. A truly awesome experience!

As you can imagine, with me only being 20m from the stage, the crowd were quite boisterous and vociferous throughout the show. This obviously comes across on the recording, but gets noticeably better as the show goes on, particularly after I managed to move away from one tone deaf youth! Once Green Day got into the "old school" section, the extra vocals were then provided by my mate Sam, but thankfully he disappeared into a mosh pit after a few of the songs!  :-)

Now for the bad news: I started recording when the drunken rabbit came on stage, but somehow it paused before the band came on. I can only think that I didn't lock the remote and the pause button was pressed at some stage. All this meant that I didn't actually start recording until I checked the levels just before the 4th song of the set, East Jesus Nowhere. Sorry!

Anyway - enjoy! :-)

Green Day - 2010-06-16 - Lancashire County Cricket Club, Manchester, UK - FLAC
779MB RAR archive, FLAC format

Green Day - 2010-06-16 - Lancashire County Cricket Club, Manchester, UK - MP3
254MB RAR archive, variable bit rate MP3s (min. 245 kbps)

Setlist:

Unfortunately, the first 3 songs of the set are missing from the recording-:

- Song of the Century
- 21st Century Breakdown
- Know Your Enemy

01. East Jesus Nowhere
02. Holiday
03. The Static Age
04. Give Me Novacaine
05. Are We The Waiting
06. St. Jimmy
07. Boulevard of Broken Dreams
08. 2000 Light Years Away
09. Nice Guys Finish Last
10. Burnout
11. Coming Clean
12. Geek Stink Breath
13. Hitchin a Ride
14. Welcome to Paradise
15. When I Come Around

Rock Medley:-
16. Iron Man
17. Sweet Child of Mine
18. Highway to Hell

19. Brainstew
20. Jaded
21. Longview
22. Basketcase
23. She
24. King For a Day
25. Shout Medley:-
- Shout
- Teenage Kicks
- (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
- Champagne Supernova
- Hey Jude
- Shout (reprise)
26. 21 Guns
27. Minority
28. --encore break #1--
29. American Idiot
30. Jesus of Suburbia
31. --encore break #2--
32. When It's Time
33. Wake Me Up When September Ends
34. Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)

(Photo courtesy of the wonderful Shirlaine Forrest Photography)

Wolf Parade - 2010-05-21 - Club Academy, Manchester, UK

Gearing up for the June 29th release of their latest album, Expo 86, Montreal's Wolf Parade hit Manchester's Club Academy on the warmest night of the year so far.

And just like the Ruby Lounge gig in 2008, this was a great show from a very talented, yet somewhat understated band. The new songs (which didn't actually seem that new to many!) blended in well with the older stuff, and the usual crowd favourites got the place well and truly bouncing, leaving everyone ready for a change of clothes once the night was over. Aircon would certainly not go amiss in the Club Academy!

Enjoy!

Wolf Parade - 2010-05-21 - Club Academy, Manchester, UK - FLAC
526MB RAR archive, FLAC format

Wolf Parade - 2010-05-21 - Club Academy, Manchester, UK - MP3
149MB RAR archive, variable bit rate MP3s (min. 245 kbps)

Setlist:

01. Intro
02. You Are a Runner And I Am My Father's Son
03. Language City
04. What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had To Go This Way)
05. Ghost Pressure
06. This Heart's On Fire
07. I'll Believe in Anything
08. Oh You, Old Thing
09. Fine Young Cannibals
10. Cave-O-Sapien
11. Dear Sons And Daughters Of Hungry Ghosts
12. Palm Road
13. California Dreamer
14. --encore break--
15. Two Men in New Tuxedos
16. Shine a Light
17. Kissing The Beehive

A review of this show can be found on God Is In The TV and also on the excellent A Heart Can Stop A Bullet (along with the London Borderline show).

(Photo: John Gleeson)

Madness - 2009-12-15 - Manchester Apollo, UK (Revisited)

Madness - don't ya just love 'em! I've had a rethink about posting my recording of this show, so here it is! Anyone who wanted to purchase the official recording would probably have done so by now, but the link's included below, just in case.

This was the best performance I've seen from Madness since the early 90s. The Apollo was a far more suitable venue than the larger arenas they've played around Manchester over the years. They were on top form and delivered a great setlist with genuine enthusiasm that was thoroughly appreciated by the crowd, both young and old alike.

Please be aware that this show was also officially recorded by Concert Online and is available to buy here (in superior quality too!).

Madness - 2009-12-15 - Manchester Apollo, UK
156MB RAR archive, variable bit rate MP3s (min. 245 kbps)

Setlist:

01. One Step Beyond
02. Embarrassment
03. The Prince
04. NW5
05. My Girl
06. Dust Devil
07. The Sun And The Rain
08. Johnny The Horse
09. Shut Up
10. In The Rain
11. Clerkenwell Polka
12. Chase The devil aka Iron Shirt
13. MK II
14. Bed And Breakfast Man
15. That Close
16. E.R.N.I.E.
17. Forever Young
18. House Of Fun
19. Wings Of A Dove
20. Baggy Trousers
21. Our House
22. It Must Be Love
23. encore break
24. Tarzan's Nuts
25. Madness
26. Night Boat To Cairo

The Specials - 2009-11-04 - Empress Ballroom, Blackpool, UK

This was my first visit to the rather ornate surroundings of the Empress Ballroom and my 3rd time seeing The Specials during 2009. The venue was excellent, as were the band, and I can still feel the sprung dance floor bouncing beneath my feet as it teetered under the weight of 3,000 pairs of dancing, skanking feet! The only disappoint for me was the sound within this great hall which, to my ears, was poorly mixed with high bass and low vocals giving a "muddy" effect. Fortunately, my microphones hear considerably better than me and the recording turned out far better than I ever hoped it would. In fact, I can hardly believe it's the same show that I witnessed!

The setlist was very similar to when the band toured in the spring, with the welcome additions of Stupid Marriage and Guns of Navarone, though unfortunately at the expense of Too Hot, Liquidator and Skinhead Moonstomp. Why couldn't they have just played them all?

Will we get to see this great band again after this autumn tour? I don't know, but I'm just glad I've had the privilege to witness them first-hand. Maybe not in their prime, but definitely in all their glory. Cheers lads.

Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think. :-)

The Specials - 2009-11-04 - Empress Ballroom, Blackpool
143MB RAR archive, variable bit rate MP3s (min. 245 kbps)

Setlist:

01. Intro
02. Do The Dog
03. (Dawning Of A) New Era
04. Gangsters
05. It's Up To You
06. Rat Race
07. Monkey Man
08. Blank Expression
09. Doesn't Make It Alright
10. Hey Little Rich Girl
11. Stupid Marriage
12. Concrete Jungle
13. Friday Night, Saturday Morning
14. Stereotype
15. Man At C&A
16. A Message To You Rudy
17. Do Nothing
18. Little Bitch
19. Nite Klub
20. Too Much Too Young
21. Long Shot Kick The Bucket
22. Guns of Navarone
23. Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)
24. -encore break-
25. Ghost Town
26. You're Wondering Now

Green Day - 2009-10-30 - MEN Arena, Manchester, UK

This was simply an amazing show performed by an equally amazing band. It had everything - crowd participation, pyrotechnics and regular explosions.

Billie-Joe Armstrong had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand from the moment he walked on stage and he never let them rest until he was finished almost two and a half hours later. He disappeared up into the seated area; he danced with fans onstage; he got fans onstage to sing songs (well done if you're that woman, but Dale from Preston, don't give up the day job!); he got a 10-year old (-ish) kid on stage to be "saved" during East Jesus Nowhere; he fired t-shirts into the upper reaches of the arena from a gun; he soaked the crowd with a hose and giant water pistols. A tad pantomime at times, but a true showman and great entertainment nevertheless!

And then there was the music. The 16,000 strong crowd lapped it up and sang along all the way through. We even had a couple of treats with "2,000 Light Years Away" and "Coming Clean" making rare setlist appearances "for the old school"! The highlights for me were East Jesus Nowhere and Jesus of Suburbia, both outstanding songs that this great band do proud. Cheers lads!

Enjoy! :-)


Green Day - 2009-10-30 - MEN Arena - MP3
245MB RAR archive, variable bit rate MP3s (min. 245 kbps)

Green Day - 2009-10-30 - MEN Arena - FLAC
799MB. Links to Dimeadozen bittorrent tracker. Registration required.

Green Day - 2009-10-30 - MEN Arena - FLAC
799MB RAR archive, FLAC format


Setlist:

01. Song of the Century
02. 21st Century Breakdown
03. Know Your Enemy
04. East Jesus Nowhere
05. Holiday
06. The Static Age
07. Give Me Novacaine
08. Are We the Waiting
09. St. Jimmy
10. Boulevard of Broken Dreams
11. 2000 Light Years Away
12. Hitchin' A Ride
13. Coming Clean
14. When I Come Around
15. Iron Man (Black Sabbath cover)
16. Brain Stew
17. Jaded
18. Longview
19. Basket Case
20. She
21. King For A Day
22. Shout Medley:-
- Shout
- Orgasm Addict
- Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life
- Champagne Supernova
- Teenage Kicks
- Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life (Reprise)
- (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
- Shout (Reprise)
23. 21 Guns
24. Minority
25. -encore break #1-
26. American Idiot
27. Jesus Of Suburbia
28. -encore break #2-
29. Last Night on Earth
30. Wake Me Up When September Ends
31. Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)


I've noticed I put "Friday 30th November, 2009" in the info file included in the download. It was, obviously, October, so please edit it accordingly if you pass this show on.

Many thanks to Last.fm user Bonzon for the use of the great photo in this post. More photos from this show can be found here.

Arcade Fire - 2007 - Neon Bible Live

And now for something completely different .....

Here's The Arcade Fire's 2nd album, Neon Bible, made up of tracks taken from recordings I made of the band at various UK venues throughout 2007.

All extraneous chat, tuning, etc. has been removed to just leave the actual music and I've normalised each track to the same levels to improve the listening pleasure.

The news trickling out of Canada is good and it looks like we'll see the band's 3rd album some time next year. And that, of course, means another tour for me to follow (and record!) around the UK. I can't wait!

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible Live 2007 - FLAC
249MB RAR archive, FLAC format

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible Live 2007 - MP3
78MB RAR archive, variable bit rate MP3s (min. 224 kbps)

Track List:

01. Black Mirror - Manchester Evening News Arena, 2007-10-27
02. Keep The Car Running - Alexandra Palace, 2007-11-18
03. Neon Bible - Alexandra Palace, 2007-11-18
04. Intervention - Manchester Apollo, 2007-03-09
05. Black Wave / Bad Vibrations - Manchester Apollo, 2007-03-09
06. Ocean of Noise - Latitude Festival, 2007-07-15
07. The Well and The Lighthouse - Nottingham Arena, 2007-10-31
08. (Antichrist Television Blues) - Manchester Apollo, 2007-03-09
09. Windowsill - Brixton Academy, 2007-03-16
10. No Cars Go - Nottingham Arena, 2007-10-31
11. My Body is a Cage - Manchester Apollo, 2007-03-08

Sincerely, John Hughes

A little out of the norm for this blog, but EVERYONE should read this fantastic piece on the late, great John Hughes.

Final Fantasy - 2009-08-03 - RNCM, Manchester, UK

This was my first time in the company of Final Fantasy and it most certainly will not be my last. The concert hall at the Royal Northern College of Music was the perfect setting for this show, the well designed auditorium giving great acoustics for the wonderful talent that is Owen Pallett - his candle lighting and bottle of wine simply adding to the occasion. The show lasted a little over an hour and every song was very much appreciated by a thoroughly spellbound and respectful audience.

This excellent recording is dedicated to Jules the Fanboy, whose dedication to this wonderful artist is exemplary.

Final Fantasy - 2009-08-03 - RNCM, Manchester - FLAC
272MB RAR archive, FLAC format

Final Fantasy - 2009-08-03 - RNCM, Manchester - MP3
105MB RAR archive, variable bit rate MP3s (min. 245 kbps)

Setlist:

01. Song Song Song
02. Adventure.exe
03. Midnight Directives
04. Keep The Dog Quiet
05. Lewis Takes Action
06. Dance Dance Dance
07. Flare Gun
08. The Butcher
09. This Is The Dream Of Win And Regine
10. E Is For Estranged
11. CN Tower Belongs To The Dead
12. Lewis Takes His Shirt Off
13. -encore break-
14. The Great Elsewhere
15. This Lamb Sells Condos

Kaiser Chiefs - 2007-02-21 - Manchester Apollo, UK

This was the first time I'd seen the Kaiser Chiefs and I think the recording turned out pretty good considering it was not exactly the best-sounding gig I've ever heard at the Apollo. There was way too much bass present throughout the show and they experienced several on-stage mic problems. Fortunately, my mics hear better than me!

(Actually, come to think of it, the sound quality at each of the Kaiser Chiefs shows I've attended has been less than spectacular.)

This was the first night of their Spring 2007 tour - and it showed. The new songs were (not surprisingly) nowhere near as polished as the old stuff, though they had improved considerably by the time I saw them later the same year at the MEN Arena (which I didn't record).

Kaiser Chiefs - 2007-02-21 - Manchester Apollo
111MB RAR archive, variable bit rate MP3s (min. 245 kbps)

Setlist:

01. Ruby
02. Saturday Night
03. Every Day I Love You Less And Less
04. Heat Dies Down
05. Thank You Very Much
06. Born To Be A Dancer
07. Modern Way
08. High Royds
09. My Kind Of Guy
10. Everything Is Average Nowadays
11. I Predict A Riot
12. The Angry Mob
13. Retirement
14. -encore break-
15. Na Na Na Na Naa
16. Oh My God

(Picture courtesy of Shirlaine Forrest)

The Specials - 2009-05-04 - Manchester Apollo, UK

This was yet another fantastic show by the boys. They were on top form again, maybe even surpassing the previous night's performance (they played exactly the same setlist). One thing that did improve was the sound mix of the instruments and vocals. Along with a pretty quiet audience in my immediate vicinity, this helped produce a much cleaner recording than my Sunday effort.

Once again I've got to state - how the hell I managed to keep my feet still for almost 90 minutes, I'll never know! This band just make me want to dance! However, helping to preserve their awesome musical legacy was my goal, so hopefully I've done it justice.

This recording is dedicated to all the moderators who do a great job over at The Specials forums (accessed via http://www.thespecials2.com/), especially Mike and Paul who have more than helped to keep the band alive during their rather lengthy sabbatical. Cheers guys.

I've not stopped playing this one since the show. It really is that awesome! Crank it up and dance!

The Specials - 2009-05-04 - Manchester Apollo
145MB RAR archive, variable bit rate MP3s (min. 245 kbps)

Setlist:

01. Intro
02. Do The Dog
03. (Dawning Of A) New Era
04. Gangsters
05. It's Up To You
06. Rat Race
07. Monkey Man
08. Blank Expression
09. Too Hot
10. Doesn't Make It Alright
11. Concrete Jungle
12. Friday Night, Saturday Morning
13. Stereotype
14. Man At C&A
15. A Message To You Rudy
16. Do Nothing
17. Hey Little Rich Girl
18. Little Bitch
19. Nite Klub
20. You're Wondering Now
21. Ghost Town
22. -encore break-
23. Too Much Too Young
24. Long Shot Kick The Bucket
25. Liquidator
26. Skinhead Moonstomp
27. Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)

The Specials - 2009-05-03 - Manchester Apollo, UK

Well, what can I say? What a truly magnificent show. The band were on top form, the audience were simply superb, and EVERYONE enjoyed themselves. This is the recording that I'd always dreamed of making and, thankfully, I think I've done it justice. How I managed to keep my feet still for almost 90 minutes, I'll never know!

I'd like to dedicate this recording to Pete Chambers for his unerring ability to keep the memory of this great band alive over the years. Cheers Pete.

Shortly after making this recording public for the first time I discovered that it had been bootlegged and offered for sale in several places. Although there's nothing I can do about it after the event, it still pisses me off. Please share what you download. Keep the music free or people like me may stop sharing these coveted recordings.

Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think. :-)

The Specials - 2009-05-03 - Manchester Apollo
146MB RAR archive, variable bit rate MP3s (min. 245 kbps)

Setlist:

01. Intro
02. Do The Dog
03. (Dawning Of A) New Era
04. Gangsters
05. It's Up To You
06. Rat Race
07. Monkey Man
08. Blank Expression
09. Too Hot
10. Doesn't Make It Alright
11. Concrete Jungle
12. Friday Night, Saturday Morning
13. Stereotype
14. Man At C&A
15. A Message To You Rudy
16. Do Nothing
17. Hey Little Rich Girl
18. Little Bitch
19. Nite Klub
20. You're Wondering Now
21. Ghost Town
22. -encore break-
23. Too Much Too Young
24. Long Shot Kick The Bucket
25. Liquidator
26. Skinhead Moonstomp
27. Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)

Madness - 2008-12-18 - Manchester Central, UK

Manchester Central (formerly G-MEX) is an ex-railway station of aircraft hangar proportions.

The crowd were in high, pre-Christmas spirits, so I opted for a position further back than I normally would have chosen, but still central to the stage.

The sound where I was stood was great and the surrounding crowd weren't too noisy (apart from my wife who had a sneezing fit at the start of The Sun & The Rain!).

Madness - 2008-12-18 - Manchester Central
167MB RAR archive, variable bit rate MP3s (min. 245 kbps)

Setlist:

01. One Step Beyond
02. Embarrassment
03. Dust Devil
04. NW5
05. Grey Day
06. The Sun and the Rain
07. The Prince
08. Clerkenwell Polka
09. My Girl
10. Return of the Los Palmas 7
11. Sugar and Spice
12. I Chase the Devil
13. Bed and Breakfast Man
14. Shut Up!
15. Forever Young
16. Lovestruck
17. The Liberty of Norton Folgate
18. House of Fun
19. Wings of a Dove
20. Baggy Trousers
21. Our House
22. It Must Be Love
23. <encore break>
24. Madness
25. Night Boat to Cairo

More Recordings of The Specials?

People have been asking if I will be recording any more Specials shows after my Manchester recordings turned out so well. The answer is a resounding YES! All being well, I will be recording the Blackpool show in November. Watch this space .....

Next up will be my 2 x Specials recordings from Manchester Apollo in May, followed by my Madness recording from Manchester Central last December.