Middle Class - 2010-11-07 - Part Time Punks: Frontier Records 30th Anniversary

 

credit:  Jeffrey Terranova

UPDATE (Monday, April 21st 2014):  

It is with heavy heart that I learned that guitarist Mike Atta passed away from kidney cancer on Sunday.

This post is dedicated to his memory and those who knew him or were touched by his music.

----------------------------------------------------------------

bcingyou put together the following as an introduction...

"We could split the night wide open, see all the secrets there"

- A Skeleton At The Feast by Middle Class from Homeland LP

My passion for music can be traced through the strain of logic that permeates the entire canon of Middle Class.  The searing insights from the monotone, unwavering delivery of Jeff Atta's vocals to the 'take notice' intensity of Mike Patton's bass lines and Mike Atta's guitar have picked at the scab of this music lover's soul for 30 years.  Never mind the distraction that they were most likely the first hardcore punk band (thanks in part to the wide-eyed consequence of copious amounts of Dr. Pepper), Middle Class spoke from the core of existence and demanded closer scrutiny.  

A breakthrough song in the history of American punk is A Blueprint For Joy which decisively cuts through the raw inarticulate aggression of punk's first wave and opens the rusty gate of emotion revealing a darker side of life expressed in the notion that we are all ultimately trapped victims not just of a confusing society but of ourselves.

there's a pattern to sin

there's a blueprint for joy

there are guides to reaction

we seek to employ

see I clipped its wings

to see what it brings

lying to myself

swept under the scene

there's life in these buildings

hidden away from the sun

the whimper in bedrooms

the things we call fun

I kept my distance

offered resistance

I've heard all the reasons

I've counted every one

there's tactical buildup

there's rumours of war

nightspots in L.A.

no effort to ignore

(apologies if incorrectly deciphered as there's no online lyrics to be found for A Blueprint For Joy)

Middle Class possessed that rare quality of being able to tap the frustration that festers beneath the surface and the talent to execute.  The few times I saw them in '81-'82 left an indelible mark as from a group of young men who seriously considered their place in the world and reached beyond an audience for satisfaction. Always ahead of the pack. 

The recent Frontier 30th Anniversary Party may have been to showcase the more well known factions of punk in The Adolescents, T.S.O.L. and Avengers but for the this heart of darkness I'll always identify with Middle Class as being the real deal.

Out of Vogue, indeed. 

-markie

Live recordings after the jump...

 

DIME seed (FLAC format, need DIME user/pass)

MP3 transcode (for the rest of us)   
 

MIDDLE CLASS  

07 November 2010 

Part Time Punks ‚Frontier Records 30th Anniversary‚
Echoplex, Los Angeles, CA

M-Audio MicrotrackII+Sony ECM990F>WAV(44.1 sample rate/16bit) >
Audio Audition 1.5 eq to lessen bass, boost mids, highs > 

CD Wave Editor tracksplit > FLAC level 8.

credit: Jeffrey Terranova

Setlist

01 intro
02 Home Is Where
03 You Belong
04 Archetype
05 Restless Young Men
06 Situations
07 Above Suspicion
08 Love Is Just A Tool
09 Introductory Rites
10 Ritual And Deceit
11 Insurgence
12 A Blueprint For Joy
13 Mosque
14 Out Of My Hands
15 Last Touch
16 Out Of Vogue

Encore:
17 Nightlife Music (cover)
18 She Cracked (Modern Lovers cover)

Audience master recording by bcingyou‚ recorded four feet from left side of stage in front of bassist Mike Patton.

Jeff Atta - Vocals
Mike Atta - Guitar
Mike Patton - Bass
Matt Simon - Drums

Eddie And The Subtitles encore after Middle Class.
Mike Patton - Vocals
Mike Atta - Guitar
Ward Dotson (Pontiac Brothers) - Guitar
Matt Simon (Pontiac Brothers vocalist) - Drums

19 American Society

On YouTube:

The Middle Class - Home Is Where  (edited by the lovely Moko117)

Eddie And The Subtitles - American Society (Moko117)

The Middle Class - HD videos from ograwker:

Situations

Insurgence

Out of Vogue

You Belong

And more videos:

You Belong alternate capture (joeyfumes)

Situations and Above Suspicion (davemarkey)

Mosque / Out Of My Hands / Last Touch / Out Of Vogue (cut)  (dennisbinfishin)

Part Time Punks Festival 2009 - Viv Albertine (pt. 4)

 

Viv Albertine
'Part Time Punks' Festival
2009-10-11
The Echo
Los Angeles CA

taper:     lammah
kit:        Sonic Studios DSM-6/L mics > Edirol R-09HR
location:  Right in front of Viv

Tracklist

01 - Viv Albertine intro    1:19

02 - Don't Believe          4:35

03 - Never Come             3:18

04 - Boy                    3:02

05 - The False Heart        4:48

06 - Hookup Girl            3:22

07 - 'Punk Times'(Viv chat) 3:39

08 - Void                   4:26

09 - Confessions of a MILF  5:39

Total 34:12

This was pretty special, it shouldn't surprise anyone in the least that both Ana and Gina from the Raincoats were in the audience.  In fact before this, I let Gina past me so she could film the set.  You can hear Gina right at the start tell Viv how beautiful she looks...she does indeed look amazing considering she's 54 now(!).  There's a couple of dim photos of them included.

Hearing her talk about Sid Vicious offering to give her an orgasm (which she claims she took a raincheck on) and how Vivienne Westwood used to be a schoolteacher was way more entertaining than reading about in some Jon Savage tome[1]...and "Confessions of a MILF"...funniest song title ever.

About as good as you can hope for in a recording too, except for the clown who you can hear between songs laughing and yelling right into the mic.  Wait, that's me!  Sorry.

Remember, kids.

* Please don't sell or or otherwise leverage for material gain.

* I'm OK with MP3 transcodes (not on DIME itself of course) as long as this info file and/or reference to the original seed is retained

* Above all, enjoy this, and support the artists by seeing them perform, and purchasing their merchandise.  Viv's EP is really good, definitely check it out if you liked this.

[1] 2023 addition - "Certainly, no offense meant to Jon with that".  This was the contents of info file shared when I originally made this recording available.  Don't know if I can add too much to this besides that this is as brilliant then as it was then, even if her playing was a bit rudimentary given her relatively long break from music.

VIV ALBERTINE - AUDIO (pCloud)

In addition, I upped a full video of her performance, in what must have been in glorious 15fps 480p.  

No idea of how this only has an aggregate of less than 200 views.  And I upped this relatively recently (Feb 2019).

Great conversation with Gina Birch prior to the start of this show...also have a bit of a chat with Ana DaSilva...coming up in the next segment..

...split in two parts.

Part One ... Don't Believe through Hookup Girl

Part Two ... Viv monologue / Void / Confessions Of A MILF

VIV DVD

Alternate video of "Void"

Part Time Punks Festival 2009 - The Raincoats (pt. 5)

Gang Of Four's Hugo Burnham looks on...

The Raincoats
2009-10-11
'Part Time Punks'
The Echoplex
Los Angeles, CA

taper:     lammah

lineage:   Sonic Studios DSM-6/L > Edirol R-09HR >
           Adobe Audition [compression/normalizing/
       downsampling/tracksplits] > FLAC(6)

Tracklist:

01  No Side To Fall In        3:10

02  No Looking                3:13

03  You're A Million          4:10

04  Shouting Out Loud         5:51

05  Don't Be Mean             5:34

06                            4:09

07  Babydog                   5:28

08  City Girl (band intros)   1:58

09  City Girl                 7:07

10  Only Loved At Night       4:25

11  No One's Little Girl      4:38

12  The Void                  5:12

13  Viv Albertine intro /

    Adventures Close To...

    (breakdowns)              3:28

14  Adventures Close To Home  4:32

15  Lola  [The Kinks]         7:00

16  In Love                   3:19

17  Fairy Tale In The

    Supermarket               3:51

total 77:14

Pics by Ned Raggett

Their first LA performance ever!

This recording is probably on par with the other recordings I did on the downstairs stage, but instead of being taped 'down in front', I was in front of the stage left speaker stack, with relatively few obstructions, so technically it's  probably the best recording I've ever done.

The Raincoats were somewhat more shambolic here than in SF, but c'mon, this is not Yes we're talking about.  Took them a couple of times to get Adventures Close To Home going, Gina kept flubbing the bass intro.  "Sack the bassist" she cries after the second attempt went south.  'Only Loved At Night' is just one of those songs...

Right before Viv Albertine came on for her set, I had a chance to briefly chat with Gina Birch...who had videoed her entire performance.

Any help ID'ing track 6 appreciated!

A few photos, including one of Hugo from Gang Of four, thrown  in.

REMEMBER

Do not sell or leverage for material gain.  MP3 transcodes are OK, as long as this info file in included.  Above all, enjoy the music!  -lammah

RAINCOATS (pCloud)

In addition here's a link to some pre-gig chatter, labelled as before Viv Albertine's set, but most likely actually before The Raincoats proper, featuring the Raincoats principals.

PRE-GIG (pCloud)

Our effort (songs 11+13-17)

You can grab a DVD version of this, too.

LaBellie Vie vids

You're A Million

Only Loved At Night

In Love

Lola [The Kinks]

Part Time Punks Festival 2009 - Medium Medium + Savage Republic (pt. 2)

Medium Medium
'Part Time Punks' festival
2009-10-11
The Echoplex LA

taper: lammah
equip: Sonic Studios DSM-6/L > Edirol R-09HR
locat: Right in front
mstrg: 48/32 WAV > Adobe Audition 1.5 [compression/limiting on claps/normalization/re-EQ/tracking] > FLAC

Tracks
01 (You Got Me) Dangling On A String 5:35
02 Nadsat Dream 4:03
03 M Train [Pylon, in memory of Randy Bewley] 5:55
04 Serbian Village 6:48
05 Let It Breathe 4:50
06 Mice Or Monsters 6:24
07 Further Than Funk Dream 7:25
08 Hungry, So Angry 6:25
TOTAL        47:27

I taped this group at the very same location last year. If anything, I found them even more enjoyable the second time around! One of the finest UK indie-funk groups to ever grace our shores. They covered Pylon's "M Train", in memory of Randy Bewley their guitarist who passed away last year. I was lucky to have saw them (briefly) at PTP last year and at their penultimate gig at the Independent in SF a couple of days after.

And I was lucky to see the Medium Medium guys play here...unlike the previous year Andy Ryder was all in black instead of his typical all-white garb. Amazingly, since their reformation, they have *only* played Stateside...and not often, only a half-dozen or so times at most.

If I must say so, this is a superb recording, one of the best I've ever done. Spent quite a bit on time in "post", it's worth it.

Included some good pictures from my friend Mark and some not-so-good iPhone blurrage from myself.  As well as a pic by Ned Raggett.

Remember
* Please don't sell or leverage for material gain.  
* MP3 transcodes (not on DIME of course) are permitted, but please include this info file
* Above all, enjoy the music!  Visit http://www.mediummedium.com to see a video of "M-Train"
  as well as to check out the copious samples of live/rare material.  Buy their album!

MEDIUM MEDIUM (pCloud) 

And a very brief video clip not seen previously.  It's only one second long. :-)

Part Time Punks Festival 2008 - ACR + Savage Republic (pt. 4)

 

 

A Certain Ratio

2008-11-15

Part Time Punks Festival

The Echoplex

Los Angeles CA

 

Recorded by thehappyone, using an Edirol R-09HR with built-in mics.

 

Setlist

 

00 intro  [2:55]

01 Choir ~ Waterline ~ Do The Du (medley)  [6:05]

02 I Feel Light  [4:37]

03 And Then Agan  [3:08]

04 Flight  [6:15]

05 Rialto  [3:59]

06 Mind Made Up  [5:45]

07 Way To Escape  [4:18]

08 Everything Is Good  [4:45]

09 Wild Party   [4:07]

10 Wonder Y  [6:28]

11 Shack Up  [5:01]

12 Heart And Soul [Joy Division]  [6:22]

13 Si Firmir O Grido  [5:51]

 

Total 69:36 

Outstanding set from arguably Factory Records' most influential band, barring a certain Godlike Genius that knows how to strum a chord or three, or a half-Salford/half-Macclesfield beat band of some renown...whom they pay homage to by covering one of their songs.  

 

A real coup for Part Time Punks to bring them to the last gig they played in the States.  Was of course front and center for this one, and this recording has made the rounds before but is to this day one of my favorites and I still listen to it from time to time.

The photo montage is made up of my original super-blurry photos, some more of which are below.

For professionally-taken pictures, I direct you to the Los Anjealous archive for this show.

 

SHACK UP 

(download & listen to on pCloud)

 

Videos...

 

 Shack Up, LyndseyParker vid synched with my audio

 Do The Du (HotPantsDiva)

 

Flight (bossharmony)