Flashback: Mixtape circa 1997

I was at my parents’ house the other day digging through the closet and I came across this mixtape that I got back in high school. It was actually a pretty solid mix. Looking back, I heard a lot of my favorite bands for the first time on this mixtape. Anyways, here’s what was on it:

Side A

Jeremy Enigk – “Abegail Anne”

Tuesday – “Let The Stars Play”

The Get Up Kids – “Don’t Hate Me”

Texas Is The Reason – “Antique”

Failure – “Stuck On You”

Love Spit Love – “Fall On Tears”

Jimmy Eat World – “Claire”

Karate – “Cherry Coke”

Hoarse – “Issue”

Jawbox – “Iodine”

Sebadoh – “Willing To Trade”

Jawbreaker – “Unlisted Track

”

Side B

The Great Detroit Riverboat Race – “The Death Song”

Boy’s Life – “Golf Hill Drive”

Smoking Popes – “Need You Around”

Duncan Sheik – “Wishful Thinking”

Gameface – “Gibberish”

Face To Face – “Walk The Walk”

King For A Day – “When I Was A Boy”

Roosevelt’s Inaugural Parade – “Darkened Sky”

Shudder To Think – “Red House”

Split Lip – “Drums + Shotguns”

Samuel – “The Leaving Kind”

Flashback: The Hold Steady @ Taste of Randolph on June 21, 2009

The Hold Steady finally announced a Chicago date for 2010. The problem is that it’s not until October 1st. I can’t believe they haven’t played here in over a year already. I don’t know how I am going to handle another two and a half months. Well that got me thinking about their last show in Chicago. That’s when they played the Taste of Randolph 2009.

This was the fifth time I saw the Hold Steady. In fact, it was the fifth time I had seen them in less than a year. Over that period of time, the intensity of their live shows had transformed me from a casual listener to a die-hard fan. I went to the fest with a few other people but I don’t really remember anything but the music.

I tend to go into a trance when I see the Hold Steady perform. All I want to do is hear the music, jump around, and sing along. I know it’s cliche to compare their shows to a religious experience but being at a Hold Steady performance fills me with that sense of belonging and community that I felt when I went to mass as a kid. This crowd of strangers turns into a group of friends. To compare it to a ritual is not to say that it’s a boring experience. For me, it’s simply reassuring to know that after watching the Hold Steady play, I will leave feeling better than when I got there. I don’t remember too many of the specifics of that show. I know the song that “Constructive Summer” stuck out in my mind, most likely because that was the only time I actually saw the Hold Steady play during the summer. Knowing how much fun I had at that show, I only hope that I can feel something like that the next time they play. Here’s hoping that the next few months fly by.

Here are some videos of the show that I found on YouTube:

Here are some assorted links regarding the show:

• Time Out Chicago’s recap
• Photo of the crowd on Flickr
• Tons of photos of the band on Flickr

Flashback: Death Cab For Cutie @ Emo’s on March 14, 2003

I was feeling nostalgic the other day so I was looking at some old CDRs I had filled with photos. I came across a bunch of photos I took at SXSW back in 2003. The highlight of that year was definitely the Barsuk Records day show at Emo’s, which included Britt Daniel, John Vanderslice, Quasi, Pinkback, and Death Cab For Cutie.  Death Cab were the headliners that day. I don’t remember too much about the show since it was so long ago. I do know that it was the last time I saw Death Cab. They were getting pretty big back then but I never imagined they would get as big as they are now. Of course, this was back before the OC even existed, ha. While doing some searching on the internet I found an audio recording of Death Cab’s set that you can download here.

Here is the setlist:

1. We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes
2. I Was A Kaleidoscope
3. We Laugh Indoors
4. New Year
5. For What Reason
6. Pictures in an Exhibition
7. Styrofoam Plates
8. Expo ’86
9. Blacking Out the Friction
10. Scientist Studies

Anyways, here are a couple of photos that I took that day: