Supacomp 2009 is now available. My favorite tunes from the year stressfully edited down to 125 tracks for your listening pleasure. The Bouncing Souls hosted a few holiday-week shows in Asbury Park inviting some of their friends to open up. I enjoyed Detournement’s set but didn’t get into Blacklisted live tunes. I was there to see Black Train Jack, coming out of retirement to play a very rare show. There were many BTJ fans representing tonight and they quickly gobbled up all their T-shirts for sale. The band played a great set of songs from both of their albums which the crowd sang along to every word. Rob still shines with his killer voice on top of Brian and Ernie’s energetic guitar work. The show was a blast despite having to go through a crazy rainstorm to get to the venue. A great christmas present. Leapfrog/No Reward live video The most anticipated shows for me (and the rest of the world) was The Wrens playing 3 shows to celebrate their 20th year anniversary. They consisted of the an all-request show, the album The Meadowlands in full, and a final set composing only new songs. The early set the second night consisted of the album Meadowlands from front to back to a perfect sold out crowd. Between songs they would tell stories of the band and their long history together. I hoped for a “do-over” when they accidentally switched the order of 2 songs, Ex-Girl Collection before Boys, You Won’t. I think it was the second time in history they played Ex-Girl Collection probably due to its difficulty playing a 12 string guitar live. The set was flawless and incredible hearing it all in a live setting with great fans. For the end they let the crowd join them onstage to share the energy of that night. I was very eager to hear new songs from the late set but they only played 3 new ones. They played all the hits from their albums and played an equally dynamic set. Although sloppy at points you could tell they were having a blast onstage and the crowd reacted positively. They seemed more relaxed and funny this time around and even played “Freebird” when someone inevitable and idiotically requested it. Tonight was one of the best nights in 09 and a clear reminder that Wrens can still put on one of the most exciting live shows you’ll ever go to. Hopefully we won’t have to wait for another decade for a show. Final Fantasy opened up and felt Owen was off the mark all night. He didn’t pick up his violin opting to play the piano the whole night which. I didn’t find out until later that he had hurt his finger the night before. The songs were filled with mistakes and sloppy output that prompted Owen to apologize for the set sounding like an Andrew Bird show. Nice one. The Mountain Goats decided to end their tour with an intimate show in Brooklyn. Tonight they played a larger arrangement of songs from all their albums including his second 7″. They were very energetic on stage and John was as usual chatty on stage. They came out for 3 encores and concluded with “The Sign” without a microphone. One of the best John Darnielle performances I’ve seen. When not co-fronting her band Stars, Amy Millan goes solo with a more country side of herself. Her songs have a simple beauty on her 2nd release Masters Of The Burial. Although not bringing a larger crowd as I would have expected, she still played a solid set. More upbeat live than on record and she gave us some extra tunes cuz we were in Brooklyn. I distinctly remember listening to Alice Donut for the first time. I was in my bedroom in Queens blasting their 1st album on my crappy walk-man. I was staring at their strange band photos as the most bizarre mix of punk and hard rock rock I had ever heard played. The music was an eclectic mix of everything that was happening musically at the time but with lyrics that were extremely odd and disturbing. Tomas started the night stating that after 20 years and 10 albums they have finally “made it”. His disturbed smile soon followed and continued to stare down the crowd til the very end. The set was great mix of mostly old songs but some new ones thrown in. The band was still energetic onstage but the crowd’s energy hasn’t aged one bit. When the classics ended the night, a healthy mosh pit overtook the crowd. They’re back on Alternative Tentacles to release their 10th album and put up a really great band site worth checking out. Pictures from the show. (coming soon)
Black Train Jack @ Asbury Park
The Wrens 20th Anniversary shows @ Maxwell’s
Final Fantasy | Mountain Goats @ Bell House
Amy Milan @ Bell House
Alice Donut @ Southpaw
