The Beautiful South - 2006-12-15 - MEN Arena, Manchester, UK

Little were we to know that this was to be The Beautiful South's penultimate gig. The band went their separate ways a couple of months later, so this is one of the last live recordings of this great band. They were on top form and performed a great set to a very enthusiastic crowd.

I managed to get in front of the soundboard and luckily I had a bit of space around me for the majority of the show. The biggest problem were the beer sellers walking the floor. Whenever they came around where I was stood there were the inevitable voices picked up by the mics. Fortunately, this only happened a couple of times and it doesn't detract from the recording.

There were a couple of mic problems on stage during the first couple of tracks, but these were soon sorted out by the crew.

This was my first recording with new equipment. Nevertheless, I think it turned out pretty good. As my post-recording skills have improved over the years, I've revisited this recording once or twice and have finally managed to produce a version that I'm happy with (Sept 2012). So, if you've got an earlier version of this recording, you may well enjoy this upgrade.

Enjoy!

The Beautiful South - 2006-12-15 - MEN Arena, Manchester, UK - FLAC
584MB RAR archive, FLAC format

The Beautiful South - 2006-12-15 - MEN Arena, Manchester, UK - MP3
170MB RAR archive, variable bit rate MP3s (min. 245 kbps)

Setlist:

01. Introduction
02. Tonight I Fancy Myself
03. Rose of My Cologne
04. Old Red Eyes is Back
05. A Little Time
06. One Last Love Song
07. We Are Each Other
08. Prettiest Eyes
09. From Under The Covers
10. Song for Whoever
11. Pretenders to the Throne
12. Manchester
13. Worthless Lie
14. Rotterdam
15. 36D
16. Perfect 10
17. Don't Marry Her
18. You Keep It All In

(Encore 1)
19. I'll Sail This Ship Alone
20. Good As Gold

(Encore 2)
21. Let Love Speak Up Itself
22. Your Father and I

(Download links updated on 27th January, 2013)

Wolf Parade - 2008-11-28 - Ruby Lounge, Manchester, UK

The Ruby Lounge is little more than a cellar. The concert area is stuck away in a corner, maybe 40 feet long and 20 feet wide, with little or no stage for the band, a pillar in the middle of the floor obstructing the view of many and, overall, a very claustrophobic atmosphere for the 300+ crowd. And I loved it!

Both the band and the audience were up for a good time, and neither disappointed. A great set was delivered at an unerring pace and the crowd went wild straight from the first note. As you would imagine for a venue of this nature, the sound was a little overpowering and "muddy" at times, but this recording came out far better than I ever imagined it would, given the circumstances.

Wolf Parade - 2008-11-28 - Ruby Lounge, Manchester, UK - MP3
142MB RAR archive, variable bit rate MP3s (min. 245 kbps)

Wolf Parade - 2008-11-28 - Ruby Lounge, Manchester, UK - FLAC
433MB RAR archive, FLAC format

Setlist:

01. You Are a Runner And I Am My Father's Son
02. Soldier's Grin
03. Call It a Ritual
04. It's a Curse
05. Dear Sons And Daughters Of Hungry Ghosts
06. Language City
07. An Animal In Your Care
08. Shine a Light
09. Grounds For Divorce
10. Fine Young Cannibals
11. California Dreamer
12. This Heart's On Fire
13. Kissing The Beehive
14. encore break
15. The Grey Estates
16. I'll Believe in Anything
17. Fancy Claps

(Download links updated on 27th January, 2013)

The National - 2007-07-15 - Latitude Festival

The set started off pretty quiet until the sound engineer finally decided to turn the band's mics on! The National had problems getting their equipment to the stage on time, so thanks were made to both Andrew Bird and The Cold War Kids for the loan of their gear. All things considered, this is a pretty decent set from a great band and, thankfully, this is mirrored by the recording.

The National - 2007-07-15 - Latitude Festival, UK - FLAC
180MB RAR archive, FLAC format

Setlist:

01. Start a War
02. Mistaken For Strangers
03. Secret Meeting
04. Abel
05. Squalor Victoria
06. Apartment Story
07. Fake Empire
08. Mr. November

(Photo courtesy of prusakolep's Latitude 2007 Flickr set.)

(Download link updated on 27th January, 2013)

Arcade Fire - 2007-11-18 - Alexandra Palace

This was the 2nd night of three at London's Alexandra Palace and the band were on fire. A fantastic setlist was accompanied by a fantastic performance and I'd therefore chosen the correct night to get the best recording I could at this venue. I got in early and could have been on the 2nd or 3rd row dead centre, but I went and stood to the left of the stage in front of the speaker stack (on my own for the first act!). I recorded both support bands to get my levels right and just knew that if the crowd around me were better than the previous night's I would nail it. And, in my opinion, I did!

The set itself wasn't without problems though. The sound was pretty poor for the opening song Black Mirror and later on My Body is a Cage saw soundboard issues that led to no vocals from Win Butler and a 2 minute delay at the end of the song whilst things were sorted out. You could therefore say this is the karaoke version! Win also sang the opening lines of Pulp's "Common People" at the end of Tunnels, but soon forgot the words!

I also make a rare, but thankfully brief, appearance on the recording when Win announced that the next song would be Headlights Look Like Diamonds. I let out a wondrous "YYYEEESSS!" as I punched the air with delight. This was my 8th time seeing The Arcade Fire during 2007 but the 1st time they had played this great song for me. Sorry!

Arcade Fire - 2007-11-18 - Alexandra Palace - FLAC
442 MB RAR archive, FLAC format

Arcade Fire - 2007-11-18 - Alexandra Palace - MP3
153MB RAR archive, variable bit rate MP3s (min. 226 kbps)

Setlist:

01. Black Mirror
02. Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
03. No Cars Go
04. Haiti
05. Black Wave/Bad Vibrations
06. My Body is a Cage
07. soundboard problems
08. Neon Bible
09. State Trooper
10. Intervention
11. Headlights Look Like Diamonds
12. The Well & The Lighthouse
13. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
14. (Antichrist Television Blues)
15. video interlude
16. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
17. Rebellion (Lies)
18. encore break
19. Keep The Car Running
20. Wake Up

(Download links updated on 27th January, 2013)

Ocean Colour Scene - 2007-04-26 - King George's Hall, Blackburn

One of my favourite recordings, the boys were on top form here and produced an excellent show for an enthusiastic crowd. The new tracks were well received and the usual favourites got the crowd dancing.

Ocean Colour Scene - 2007-04-26 - King Georges Hall, Blackburn, UK - MP3
158MB RAR archive, variable bit rate MP3s (min. 226 kbps)

Setlist:

01. The Riverboat Song
02. You've Got It Bad
03. The Circle
04. Get Blown Away
05. So Low
06. Man In The Middle
07. I Just Got Over You
08. Drive Away
09. Profit In Peace
10. I Told You So
11. On The Leyline, Waiting
12. This Day Should Last Forever
13. July
14. Go To Sea
15. Travellers Tune
16. Better Day
17. One For The Road
18. Get Away
19. (Encore Break)
20. Robin Hood
21. Hundred Mile High City
22. The Day We Caught The Train

(Download link updated on 27th January, 2013)

About time too .....

Inspired by gobshyte over at the excellent Mondo de Muebles, I thought it was about time I joined in with this blogging malarkey.

What will I be using as a theme? Good question, but for a start it is likely to be centred around live recordings of bands that I myself have made over the last few years. From time-to-time, I may also include recordings from others that I feel should be heard by the world.

My recordings will be provided as high quality MP3s, but I may also include the odd lossless download if space allows.

So, let's get on with it then .....