Staff Pix 10/11: Live Recordings

There’s nothing quite like a liveliness of a concert…but these pix come close. Tune in today from 3-4pm to hear these Staff Pix on WECB!

“Ivy - Live At The Capital Theater, Olympia, WA” by Car Seat Headrest

—Bennett Himmel

“Turbines/Pigs- Live at Bush Hall” by Black Country, New Road

“Turbines/Pigs” makes me feel a kind of catharsis that few other songs can evoke. It’s funny because I feel so passionately about this song, but don’t really understand what’s narratively taking place in it. There’s a witch flying on her broom? Don’t waste your pearls on her, as she’s only a pig? She “chewed through the mess” that she and somebody made? Frankly, whatever singer and instrumentalist May Kershaw is saying, I believe her. It literally does not matter to me. The buildup of this song is unmatched. A slow crawl to a full-band sprint, the song gets me in a roll-the-credits kind of mood: it’s the grand finale, here’s what you’ve done, and here’s the big red curtain coming down, goodbye, goodbye. Overall, I listen to this song for two incredibly intellectual reasons: an instrumental buildup like no other, and because I’m a little in love with May Kershaw…especially when she plays accordion. —Monika Krueger

Legendary Girlfriend (‘Party Clowns’ - Live in London 1991) by Pulp

Jarvis Cocker’s stage presence bleeds through even the smallest of speakers and for good reason. The recording is more of a one sided conversation with the crowd: “Some of you might have heard it…not like this though because this is only gonna happen this one time. Some people might say thank god….I don’t. We are never going to be in the same place again are we?” The stress in these words, spoken through teeth convey a feeling that feels more…physical, so to say. He speaks to thousands, but you can tell theres only one person in mind. Stand in front of someone you love and the words still apply. “Legendary Girlfriend”  is a song in which the lyrics can be confused for those conversations cut short with nausea creeping up your throat, what would have been said if they made it out of your lips. —Salem Ross

“Genesis - Live Version” by Justice

Seeing Justice live this summer changed my life. I don’t mean to intentionally sound hyperbolic, but it’s true. And trust me when I say that this live recording is the closest you can get without actually seeing the damn thing. Hearing the cheers from the crowd interweave through every nuance and noise is basically biblical. “Genesis” from their Earth-shattering (too much?) self-titled LP sums up  everything I adore about this electronic duo. The track is nasty, gritty, and always danceable. Everything music should be. As I say–French is best. —Sofia Giarrusso

“Midnight Rendezvous- Live at Chuo Kaikan Hall, Tokyo Feb. 1982” by CASIOPEA

Whether it’s JID’s Tiny Desk concert, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” from 2004 with that Prince solo, Jefferson Airplane at Woodstock, that unreleased Chappell Roan song (you know the one), a 40 minute Phish song, or your choice of Jeff Buckley live albums -- this Staff Pix has no wrong answers. So lets keep it simple (and short) with 90’s Japanese jazz fusion group CASIOPEA’s MINT JAMS live album. It encapsulates a great handful of the band’s discography which may be confusing to navigate on streaming services. As an added bonus, you get to catch the live spunkiness of a band you probably won’t experience unless you hit Japan. But what’s best about this track is that it makes the studio recording seem dull. In MINT JAMS, “Midnight Rendezvous” has a spacey keyboard solo before the entire band claps in unison. What follows a split second later is Issei Noro’s raging guitar solo…it may sound like elevator music to some, whatever floats your boat. But regardless of how your hear it, no doubt it makes for the perfect live upgrade from the original. —Sam Shipman

 “Life During Wartime - Live” by Talking Heads

You can feel the raw energy from a mile away in Talking Heads’s legendary performance of “Life During Wartime.” Highlighted in their 1984 concert film, Stop Making Sense, this performance is an audio-visual experience that encourages much more than a mere listening ear. In fact, the group demands immediate attention as they begin their performance with a rhythmic jog–one that accompanies the entirety of the song, might I add–that captivates both listeners and viewers through energy alone. The lyrics “No time for dancing or lovey-dovey/ I ain’t got time for that now” are juxtaposed against David Byrne and backup vocalist’s, Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt, loose dance moves. In fact, the spirit of the track is vitalized by striking electric guitar and a sparkling synth solo. Throughout, we can hear Byrne embrace the groove of Tina Weymouth’s driving bass as he chants “I don’t know what I look like” and “The burning keeps me alive.” The performance is more than just a track–it's an exchange of energy between not only members of the band but with the audience as well. The group’s commitment to their literal and metaphorical movement here is impressive. Talking Heads does not include a single moment of silence in their live performance of “Life During Wartime” and this undying energy is infectious to say the least. —Sophie Parrish

“Sagu’s Palm Song - live at Milton Court, London, 2022” by Ichiko Aoba

Since the release of her debut record in 2010, this angel-voiced Japanese singer-songwriter has quickly cemented herself as one of this generation’s great folk heroines. Her near-prolific output of stark, unabashedly beautiful folk hymns are peerless in both quality and consistency. The 2022 live album which my selected song stems from was recorded entirely at the Milton Court Concert Hall in London, and primarily features renditions of songs from Aoba’s 2020 tour-de-force Windswept Adan, with a few other songs thrown in the mix. It’s all an absolute treat to listen to, but my favorite song on the whole thing is no doubt this album’s variation of “Sagu’s Palm Song” off of Windswept Adan, which I may even prefer to the original. As if Aoba’s ethereal voice and winding guitar playing aren’t sweet enough on the ears, the addition of a free-flowing string section (who were given permission to improvise their parts as long as they based their improv on “the sounds of nature”) only adds another layer of audial goodness on top of an already immaculate-sounding song. Aoba and the strings avoid matching up rhythmically and melodically, playing two totally different tunes like they’re in some sort of otherworldly interpretive dance-off, though it sounds great anyways. —Lucca Swain

“I Am The Walrus (Live at Knebworth, 11 August  ‘96)” by Oasis

Oasis recently returned to the music world for a few reunion shows, so I found it fitting to highlight a live recording from their legendary show at Knebworth in 1996. “I Am The Walrus” is originally by The Beatles (from their 1967 album Magical Mystery Tour), and Oasis closes every show with their electric rendition. This performance is one of my favorites. The squealing horn section roaring over the screaming crowd creates an epic atmosphere. Liam Gallagher sings each lyric with gusto, leaning heavily into his signature rasp. They celebrate this iconic song with so much passion. The outro of this tune has always developed into a beautiful cacophony, but Oasis managed to multiply the chaos tenfold. The horns go berserk, electric guitars are shredded to oblivion, the drums ring above the noise with a grounding strength, and finally the song comes to end with a intense crash of sound. “See you later!” Liam yells to the crowd, as fireworks are heard in the distance. An unforgettable end to an Oasis show and one that can be felt in your bones. —Izzie Claudio

“Just in Time (Live - Montreux Jazz Festival 1968)” by Nina Simone

Featured in Before Sunset (2004), the second film of The Before Trilogy, “Just in Time” is one of Nina Simone’s more optimistic love songs. It opens with a circling piano motif, a rattling tambourine beat, and applause, which always makes me feel like I am sitting at an intimate small-table jazz club, glancing at the tables of other lucky couples excited to see the legend Nina Simone herself. Simone sings about the clarity and fearlessness she feels because her lover has “found” her “just in time.” She throws some humor into her performance, following “I’ve found my way,” with onomatopoeia: “click click click click click click kiss.” Then Simone launches into a jingling piano riff, layering increasingly emotional lyrics overtop: “So let’s live today anyway/ Change me change me/ Change me once again.” Whether you have seen Celine and Jesse reunite and want to re-experience the magic of the movie, or you have your own fall romance to ruminate on, this song is the perfect portrayal of early-romance joie de vivre.’ —Christian Jones

“How Blue Can You Get? (Live at Cook County Jail)”  by B.B. King

B.B. King is easily one of my favorite artists to listen to live. With an innumerable amount of live recordings out, I do dare say that he sounds even better live than in the studio. One of his most famous performances was at Cook County Jail – which, although short at 38 minutes, is a concert that King brought a surreal amount of energy and devotion to. My favorite song on this album is undoubtedly “How Blue Can You Get?” which begins with an almost 3 minute long guitar solo before King begins to weep about a lover who is jealous and wicked. It is in classic B.B. King fashion to write songs about awful past lovers but this song is particularly outstanding in the pure passion behind King’s vocals and the stirring wails of his guitar found in few of his live recordings. King ponders on all that he gave this lover, saying that he “gave you seven children / and now you want to give them back” and that he’s “been downhearted, baby / ever since the day we met.” The question he keeps asking, keeps pondering, is how blue can his lover get? Will his cries of sorrow finally get through to her? —Ari Mei-Dan

“Nutshell - Live at the Majestic Theatre, Brooklyn, NY - April 1996” - Alice in Chains

I love Alice in Chains for two reasons: their ability to make me feel like a strong blue collar man, and their MTV Unplugged set. I don’t know what kind of magic potion MTV was giving these men before sending them out on stage, but from Nirvana to Alice in Chains to Pearl Jam, these performances reconnected audiences to the intimacy, and sadness behind the raunchy chaos of grunge. As this recording begins, you are immersed in the audience’s loving applause for the band. Dying down momentarily as the initial guitar plucks of “Nutshell” begin, the drum enters, and suddenly Layne Staley’s tight-mouthed twanging voice expands across the audience. This stripped-back version of one of the group’s saddest songs proved that their music was capable of more than their rock-heavy sound, and memorialized Layne as one of the greatest vocalists of the past few decades. Somehow, his voice seems to sound better live than in a lot of the band’s studio recordings, which is saying a lot given how taxing it must have been to sing a lot of stuff in their discography! —Adelaide Russell