Fresh and Onlys / Tamaryn / Wax Idols - 2011-10-07 - Great American Music Hall SF

The Fresh & Onlys
2011-10-07
Great America Music Hall
San Francisco CA

All recordings are dual-sourced audience blends.

TZ0: Sonic Studios DSM-6s/L > Edirol R-09HR
TH1: Church Audio CA-11 > CA-9100 > Olympus LS-5

songs
 
Summer Of Love
Grey-Eyed Girl
Fascinated
What's His Shadow Still Doing Here?
Secret Walls
Waterfall
Strange Disposition
August In My Mind
You're Known To Wander
Dreaming Is Easy
Wash Over Us
Love & Kindness
Peacock & Wing
Diamond In The Dark

Dream Girls
Feelings In My Heart


Fresh...download (FLAC)



Tim Cohen and company put on a good show for a hometown crowd, even if I'm more than willing to admit I was primarily drawn to seeing Wax Idols and Tamaryn.  What struck me on playback is how tuneful F&Os are, along with Kelley Stoltz and Sonny and the Sunsets and the more laid-back Thee Oh Sees material, this is a signature San Francisco vibe (note: doesn't necessarily mean low-fi...)  

Speaking of which, spot anyone familiar?

JPD and Heidi Sandwitch

Opening acts after the jump...

The Fresh And Onlys - 2011-01-15 - Slim's SF

 

The Fresh and Onlys

2011-01-15

Slim's SF

taper:  thehappyone

equip:  Sonic Studios DSM-6/L mics > Sony PCM-M10

locat:  behind a pillar stage right-ish 

tracks:  intro / Invisible Forces / Grey-Eyed Girl / ? / Until The End Of Time / Waterfall / Fascinated / (new song #1) / I'm A Thief / ? / Tropical Island Suite / ? / ? / Diamond In The Dark

Pitchfork gave their album an 8.0, and mentioned 'By My Hooker' as one of the standout tracks, to quote from the article: 'My favorite line comes on "Be My Hooker": "I can hear the open sea calling me, but I don't know, I don't know"-- wanderlust and indecision rendered in one quick, direct stroke.' 

However, the presence of this song title would cause another blogger some degree of consternation, with the fallout detailed here.  My opinion is that while this brings up interesting issues involving what certain sites will allow from their hired writing help before they conclude that biting the hand that feeds them free releases isn't conducive to the new realm of pageviews and impressions, and allows those who feel constrained to score sympathy with the blogosphere though that disclosure, it should come as very little surprise to know how any of this stuff actually plays out, and more importantly, has naught to do with The Fresh And Onlys actual material or motivations.  Heck, I almost want the worst about "Be My Hooker" to be true, since that would help them get some more notice, under the guidelines of any press being good press, though I suspect anybody truly in their camp would want them to earn praise through less sensational means, entirely on the basis of their art. 

Which is why I am presenting this to you here, so that you can form your own opinion, as it's through sharing which allows Tim Cohen and company to be appreciated for their "lazy-arsed garage-psych", rather than slammed for it by some random reviewer either looking for an angle or who was genuinely disturbed by the song title.  It's a disturbing world, after all; given all that is truly obscene (just look at US foreign policy for starters), trying to hang one's hat on a song title seems a bit trite.  

Anyway, enough of my spiel, please download (FLAC zipfile) and enjoy!

(you can also check out my previous recording of them playing at Serra Bowl back in July 2010)

 

Serra Bowl garage rock! - 2010-07-03 - Thee Oh Sees, ESCR, Sic Alps, and Fresh and Onlys

For your listening pleasure, here's Eddy Current Suppression Ring  live at Serra Bowl, at an free all ages show back at the start of July.  

taper:  thehappyone, using Sonic Studios DSM-6/Ls > Edirol R-09HR

setlist:  Get Up Morning / Memory Lane / Isn't It Nice / Sunday's Coming / Tuning Out / You Let Me Be Honest With You / Wrapped Up / Precious Rose / Walked Into A Corner / I Admit My Faults / Which Way To Go  [total 42:38]

My stream-of consciousness notes made shortly afterwards...

Outstanding quality, only marred by someone (who was also at the Eagles show) talking through 'I Admit My Faults', as well as some of yours truly whooping and a bit of stereo field shifting for when Brendan walked out into the audience.  Some more video, including 'Get Up Morning', 'Memory Lane', and 'Sunday Coming', can be viewed here.

NOTE: I'm aware that some of the linked photos are broken, I'll be working on getting these back online...somehow... (update: DONE)

Petey of TOS (credit: ESCR)

First of all, you have to understand that we're in a bowling alley.  With people bowling.  I have memories of the place when I was 11 or 12 accompanying my mom back when she was in a bowling league, and sitting working out chess games while pins fell.  That this show could even be booked in such a venue by John Dwyer (Thee Oh Sees) just staggers my imagination.  Just fucking amazing.  Somebody else in blog-land had commented about the rhythm section of this group, with 'I Admit My Faults' bring shivers up their spine.  No kidding...And if 'Wrapped Up' and 'Which Way To Go' aren't up there in the best things to come out in the last 10 years, I'll eat my shorts.  Being able to see them up close must

Sic Alps performing

have been the same feeling Aussies had when seeing The Saints around the corner at one of their hotels or Brits being able to see an early Joy Division at the local youth club.  Just intense. 

I'm in this pic (credit: ESCR)

And as amazing is this was, what was to come once Thee Oh Sees took the stage was on a level beyond...oh my God, I'm still in awe at what I witnessed.  It was probably the most enjoyable performance I've ever seen in my life, for the sheer positive energy this band seems to engender.  If you're wondering, my recording fell apart after the first song (the pit dislodged my batteries), but I'll share what I got, as I hopefully have a contact with somebody else taping, but not sure if he managed to get the whole thing (Ed. note, he didn't, sadly). 

Brigid close up

Warm Slime (Summertime Jam) was featured as the lead article on the Bay Bridged site that did a great job in dissecting the song...it also mentioned that they were recorded by John Baccigaluppi who of course recorded the Vomit Launch albums....

So, this gives us the following fragmentary documentary sources...we have this setlist because I had the foresight to call bcingyou and let him listen to it.

1. Enemy Destruct [thehappyone aud]
2. I Was Denied [thehappyone aud, 10s + rewplayff 420p video (mistitled), audio ok, incomplete]
3. Meat Step Lively [rewplayff 420p video, audio ok, inc.]
4. Tidal Wave
5. Block Of Ice  [DannyBSnacks 720p video...audio is good on this!]
6. Crack In The Eye
7. Ghost In The Trees
8. AA Warm Breeze
9. Contraption
10. Warm Slime (Summertime Jam) [rainivision 420p video, inc.] 

I also managed to record Fresh & Onlys earlier, with both older kids in tow, since I had the bright idea that they might want to catch an all-ages event like this, which ended up being somewhat of a failed experiment, sadly.  Unfortunately, the vocals were almost inaudible during the mix, but the recording's otherwise decent.  The sound greatly improved for the other sets.

The Fresh & Onlys (credit: ECSR)

Setlist:

soundcheck / D.Y. / Fog Machine / I'm Gonna Be Your Elevator / ? / Endless Love / Fascinated / Waterfall / ? / I'm A Thief / Outro

Apologies for the start of Waterfall where you can hear the younger son state that the oldest wanted to leave...ended up missing much of Sic Alps as I drove both of them back home and returned

in time to catch the other bands.

Pylon + The Fresh And Onlys - 2008-11-18 - The Independent SF

Pylon
2008-11-18
The Independent
San Francisco, CA USA

***32 bit/48kHz recording***

taper: lammah
gear:  Edirol R-09HR (built-in mics) [48kHz/32 bit] > Adobe Audition 1.5 (normalization) >
       CD Wave Editor (tracksplits) > FLAC(6)

Tracklisting

01.  Cool [3:51]
02.  Dub [4:25]
03.  Read A Book (breakdown) [0:24]
04.  Read A Book [2:06]
05.  K [5:05]
06.  No Clocks [3:33]
07.  Weather Radio [5:12]
08.  The Human Body [3:46]
09.  Working Is No Problem [2:32]
10.  Gravity [5:39]
11.  Danger [2:19]
12.  Crazy [3:19]
13.  Volume [4:36]
14.  Sugar [3:32]
15.  Beep [4:06]
16.  Feast On My Heart [6:18]
17.  Stop It [2:53]
18.  M-Train [4:45]

Total [68:30]

Notes from when this was shared on a certain Bittorrent site back in 2008.

Caught them briefly during Part Time Punks, only taped the encore track (M-Train), as I decided to go see Savage Republic instead, figuring that they were playing in SF a couple days later so I could catch them then.  [2021 note:  Sadly, guitarist Randy Bewley would tragically pass away from a heart attack in January 2009, this was their penultimate show playing with him.  In retrospect, I should have skipped SR and seen them instead]

This time, remembered to use the bass cut on my Edirol.  Works wonders.  [2021 note: did it?  I can improve on this now, but am presenting this as shared back in 2008]

Also included a scan of my ticket, a couple of photos of the setlist...note that while 3x3 and Beep were was listed, they weren't played  [2021 note: actually, only 3x3 wasn't played, I had Beep mis-id'ed as "Permanence"], and there was going to be an encore whether whe liked it or not, though most people enjoyed themselves very very much, lots of hardcore Pylon cones in the City, it seems.

REMEMBER

Please do not leverage for material gain.
Please do not redistribute in mp3 format. 

(stopped caring about that years ago)

CONED  (pCloud download + streaming)

While I couldn't locate any video of the proceedings that night, here's one from 8 years later featuring Vanessa with Pylon Reenactment Society....that Pylon was no more Randy is an ultimate testament to his presence and that PRS still honors their legacy and records their own material (well-worth listening to) is even more so....

Here's M Train, from 2016-12-12 at the Independent...

 
Also, for the first time, I present my recording of the openers, The Fresh and Onlys, featuring Tim Cohen, Wymond Miles, and Shayde Sartin.   More after the jump....