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Finding Comfort in Live Music When There Isn’t Any

Posted in Features on August 12th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

Bands and festivals have begun to announce 2021 dates and all that, but let’s be realistic: it’s going to be years before live music is what it once was. Especially in the United States, which is the country in the world hardest hit by the ol’ firelung in no small part because of the ineptitude of its federal leadership, an entire economic system of live music — not to mention the venues, promotions and other cultural institutions that support it on all levels — needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. It isn’t going to be just as simple as “social distancing is over and we can all crowd into the bar again.” Maybe not ever.

You’ve likely seen a band do a live stream at this point, even if after the fact, and I have too. Not the same as a real-life gig, duh, but if it helps raise some funds and keeps creative people working on something and gives an act a way to connect with its audience, you can’t call it bad. I’ve found, though, that with the dearth of live music happening and the nil potential that “going to a show” will happen anytime soon, I’ve been listening to more and more live albums.

This, in no small part, is because there are plenty to listen to. Some groups attempting to bring in cash either for themselves or relevant causes have put out live records in the last few months and made use of the downtime that would’ve otherwise been given to actually being on a stage or writing together in a room or whatever it might be. It’s been a way for a band to not just sit on its collective hands and wonder what the future will bring. When so much is out of your own control, you make the most of what you’ve got.

In that spirit, here’s a quick rundown of 10 recent live outings that I’ve been digging. If you’ve found you’re in the need of finding comfort in live music and whatever act you want to see isn’t doing a stream just this second, maybe you can put one of these on, close your eyes, and be affected a bit by the on-stage energy that comes through.

Thanks as always for reading, and thanks to Tim Burke, Vania Yosifova, and Chris Pojama Pearson for adding their suggestions when I asked on social media. Here we go, ordered by date of release:

Arcadian Child, From Far, for the Wild (Live in Linz)

arcadian child from far for the wild

Released Jan. 24.

Granted, this one came out before the real impact of COVID-19 was being felt worldwide, but with the recent announcement of Arcadian Child‘s next studio album coming out this Fall, including From Far, for the Wild (Live in Linz) (discussed here) on this list seems only fair. The Cyprus-based four-piece even went so far as to include a couple new songs in the set that’ll show up on Protopsycho as well this October, so it’s a chance to get a preview of that material as well. Bonus for a bonus. Take the win.

Kadavar, Studio Live Session Vol. 1

kadavar studio live session

Released March 25.

Germany began imposing curfews in six of its states on March 22. At that point, tours were already being canceled, including Kadavar‘s European run after two shows, and the band hit Blue Wall Studio in Berlin for a set that was streamed through Facebook and in no small part helped set the pattern of streams in motion. With shows canceled in Australia/New Zealand and North America as well, Kadavar were hoping to recover some of the momentum they’d lost, and their turning it into a live record is also a part of that, as is their upcoming studio release, The Isolation Tapes.

Øresund Space Collective, Sonic Rock Solstice 2019

Øresund Space Collective Sonic Rock Solstice 2019

Released April 3.

Of course, I’m perfectly willing to grant that Sonic Rock Solstice 2019 (review here) wasn’t something Øresund Space Collective specifically put out because of the pandemic, but hell, it still exists and that enough, as far as I’m concerned. As ever, they proliferate top notch psychedelic improv, and though I’ve never seen them and it seems increasingly likely I won’t at the fest I was supposed to this year, their vitality is always infectious.

Pelican, Live at the Grog Shop

pelican Live at The Grog Shop

Released April 15.

Let’s be frank — if you don’t love Pelican‘s music to a familial degree, it’s not that I think less of you as a person, but I definitely feel bad for you in a way that, if I told you face-to-face, you won’t find almost entirely condescending. The Chicago instrumentalists are high on my list of golly-I-wish-they’d-do-a-livestream, and if you need an argument to support that, this set from Ohio should do the trick nicely. It’s from September 2019, which was just nearly a year ago. If your mind isn’t blown by their chugging progressive riffs, certainly that thought should do the trick.

SEA, Live at ONCE

sea live at once

Released June 19.

Also captured on video, this set from Boston’s SEA finds them supporting 2020’s debut album, Impermanence (review here) and pushing beyond at ONCE Ballroom in their hometown. The band’s blend of post-metallic atmosphere and spacious melody-making comes through as they alternate between lumbering riffs and more subdued ambience, and it makes a fitting complement to the record in underscoring their progressive potential. The sound is raw but I’d want nothing less.

Sumac, St Vitus 09/07/2018

sumac st vitus

Released July 3.

Issued as a benefit to Black Lives Matter Seattle and a host of other causes, among them the Philadelphia Womanist Working Collective, this Sumac set is precisely what it promises in the title — a live show from 2018 at Brooklyn’s famed Saint Vitus Bar. I wasn’t at this show, but it does make me a little wistful to think of that particular venue in the current concert-less climate. Sumac aren’t big on healing when it comes to the raw sonics, but there’s certainly enough spaciousness here to get lost in should you wish to do so.

YOB, Pickathon 2019 – Live From the Galaxy Barn

YOB Pickathon 2019 Live from the Galaxy Barn

Released July 3.

They’ve since taken down the Bandcamp stream, but YOB’s Pickathon 2019 – Live From the Galaxy Barn (review here) was released as a benefit for Navajo Nation COVID-19 relief, and is an hour-long set that paired the restlessness of “The Lie that is Sin” next to the ever-resonant “Marrow.” Of all the live records on this list, this is probably the one that’s brought me the most joy, and it also inspired the most recent episode of The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal, which jumped headfirst into YOB‘s catalog. More YOB please. Also, if you haven’t seen the videos of Mike Scheidt playing his guitar around the house, you should probably hook into that too.

Dirty Streets, Rough and Tumble

dirty streets rough and tumble

Released July 31.

If you’re not all the way down with the realization that Justin Toland is the man when it comes to heavy soul and blues guitar, Dirty Streets‘ new live record, Rough and Tumble, will set you straight, and it won’t even take that long. With the all-killer bass and drums of Thomas Storz and Andrew Denham behind, Toland reminds of what a true virtuoso player can accomplish when put in a room with a crowd to watch. That’s an important message for any time, let alone right now. These cats always deliver.

Amenra, Mass VI Live

amenra mass vi live

Released Aug. 7

Look, I’m not gonna sit here and pretend I’m the biggest Amenra fan in the world. I’m not. Sometimes I feel like they follow too many of their own rules for their own good, but there’s no question that live they’re well served by the spectacle they create, and their atmospherics are genuinely affecting. And I know that I’m in the minority in my position, so for anyone who digs them hard, they put up this stream-turned-record wherein they play a goodly portion of 2017’s Mass VI, and even as the self-professed not-biggest-fan-in-the-world, I can appreciate their effort and the screamy-scream-crushy-crush/open-spaced ambience that ensues.

Electric Moon, Live at Freak Valley Festival 2019

Electric Moon Live at Freak Valley Festival 2019

Releasing Sept. 4.

Yeah, okay, this one’s not out yet, but sometimes I’m lucky enough to get things early for review and sometimes (on good days) those things happen to be new live records from Germany psychonauts Electric Moon. The Always-Out-There-Sula-Komets are in top form on Live at Freak Valley Festival 2019 as one would have to expect, and they’re streaming a 22-minute version of “777” now that rips so hard it sounds like it’s about to tear a hole into an alternate dimension where shows are still going on so yes please everyone go and listen to it and maybe we’ll get lucky and it’ll really happen. The magic was in you all along.

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Album Review: YOB, Pickathon 2019 – Live From the Galaxy Barn

Posted in Reviews on July 17th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

YOB Pickathon 2019 Live from the Galaxy Barn

One suspects a certain amount of restlessness is in part behind YOB‘s issuing Pickathon 2019 – Live From the Galaxy Barn. The four-song set, which arrives as a benefit sending all proceeds to the Navajo Nation COVID-19 Relief Fund, is a digital-only offering at least for now, and perhaps stems from a drive to do something, anything, to help both those who need cash, and those who might find solace within YOB‘s music. The recording took place, as the title hints, at the Pickathon festival last year, held at Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, Oregon, which they played twice, including this set on Aug. 2. That’s about an hour and 45 minutes north of the band’s native Eugene, so close enough to be familiar without being hometown exactly. For what it’s worth, the three-piece sound entirely comfortable in their surroundings, and the final mix, which was handled by drummer Travis Foster working from Ben Stoller and Josh Powell‘s audio, is full and vibrant especially when treated with the volume that — speaking as a fan of the band — it deserves.

YOB had numerous shows canceled owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, including three this week as they continue to support 2018’s Our Raw Heart (review here) on Relapse Records, though Pickathon 2019 doesn’t actually feature any material from that record (they’d play “Our Raw Heart” in their other set), and as such, smacks less of a band trying to keep momentum going and more of a band looking to donate to charity. Fair enough. YOB have also donated select merch sales to the NAACP Legal Fund and Black Lives Matter, so Pickathon 2019 working toward Navajo Nation COVID-19 relief is likewise speaking to the central issues of inequality that have emerged in 2020, as the Native American community has grappled especially hard with the coronavirus. The set is comprised of “Ball of Molten Lead” (12:28), “The Lie that is Sin” (13:09), “Marrow” (19:22) and “Burning the Altar” (14:56), and runs just under an hour long total. While it’s YOB‘s third official live record behind Live at Roadburn 2010 and the full-album performance The Unreal Never Lived: Live at Roadburn 2012 — they also had a live EP out in 2012 through Scion A/V — Pickathon 2019 is every bit a performance worth capturing for the vibe that comes through the four tracks and the sense of comfort the band have with their surroundings.

Strictly speaking, YOB have little to prove at this point, except perhaps to themselves. Two decades on from their first demo, their reputation precedes them as forebears of cosmic doom and one of the most important American heavy bands of their generation. They have toured across continents since their 2009 return from a 2006 disbanding and have had an influence on artists across styles operating in their wake, all the while maintaining a persona of sincerity that has extended to frontman Mike Scheidt spending time during the COVID-19 lockdown performing acoustically in his kitchen. As somebody who’s been fortunate enough to see YOB on multiple occasions, the simple opportunity to dig into a new live recording is appreciated — I felt like they were doing me a favor as I paid my $7.00 for the download on Bandcamp — and from the electricity of their playing, which one can hear not only in the swells of volume and tone and crash, but also in the crowd’s hooting during quiet parts, desperate to express some of the tension surrounding them in the room. The lyrics of “Marrow” that speak of restless souls needing to feel one true moment would seem to be manifest here.

yob (Photo by Bobby Cochran)

Having a live version of that song, which is shorter in its 19 minutes than it was on  2014’s Clearing the Path to Ascend (review here), is a boon. It is the most emotionally resonant piece YOB — ScheidtFoster and bassist Aaron Rieseberg (also of Norska) — have ever written, and I wouldn’t think it anything but welcome in any setlist. The chance, however, to hear “Ball of Molten Lead” from 2004’s The Illusion of Motion by 2019’s YOB is evidence of the continually progressive path they’ve taken as a group. Scheidt‘s vocals are stronger and more confident, and his lead guitar takes swirling flight when it goes. Rieseberg and Foster add strength to the final charge late in the track, and the crowd immediately erupts when it’s done, following soon enough with the aforementioned hooting during the sparse stretch early in “The Lie that is Sin,” which originally appeared on 2009’s The Great Cessation (review here). It’s a credit to Foster‘s mix and the recording itself that the midsection of that track doesn’t sound like an absolute mess, as the full-volume push is huge but still discernible, and feels true to the original that came out 10 years before while again benefiting from the band YOB have become since, Scheidt‘s growls echoing out over broad expanse as the song moves into its 11th minute, the spine-twisting riff cutting itself short with precision heavy enough to crush a roach.

Twice in between songs Scheidt asks for changes to the mix in the stage monitors, but if there was an issue, it doesn’t seem to have had an impact on the recording or the show itself. “Marrow” is, as one would expect, gorgeous. I don’t imagine Pickathon 2019 will be many listeners’ first experience with YOB — it’s basically a fan-piece, and there’s nothing wrong with that — and as “Marrow” builds to its multi-tiered apex with a distinctively lush melody and still-patient roll, the band’s strengths are laid bare for the listener to consume, right unto the quiet stretch of guitar that finishes the track, in conversation with a host of prior YOB epics, none of them quite so inward-looking. “Burning the Altar” would feel like an epilogue in following to close out were it not so pummeling and consuming. In thanking the crowd before the song starts, Scheidt says something about “traversing highs and lows,” and “Burning the Altar” is one final brutal immersion. For all that, it’s also fun, with an immediate hook of a headbang-ready riff, its triplet-gallop and its final unfurling. A fitting closer, in other words, and one last opportunity for YOB to level the assembled before they’re done, which I’ll just assume is exactly how it played out.

I’ll be honest with you. I consider reviewing Pickathon 2019 an act of self-care. A favor I’m doing myself just by making the excuse to listen, let alone make the donation to Navajo COVID relief. Established fans of YOB won’t need prodding; the email notification of the release from Bandcamp came through like a call to prayer. YOB are a one-of-a-kind band, and if Pickathon 2019 is another chance to hear them in the absence of actual live shows, I’ll take it.

YOB, Pickathon 2019 – Live From the Galaxy Barn (2020)

YOB website

YOB on Thee Facebooks

YOB on Instagram

Relapse Records website

Relapse Records on Thee Facebooks

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