The Grays at New York's infamous punk club CBGB's? While not an outright oxymoron, the combination is a little confounding nevertheless. Last year when I posted the Grays Companion, a fan-curated compendium of non-lp tracks and acoustic cuts, I was thoroughly unaware that this live recording even existed. For a quick backgrounder on the Grays, here's a quip from my commentary on the aforementioned Companion:
Falling somewhere between a launching pad and a showcase for gifted singer-songwriters Jason Falkner (formally of Jellyfish and The Three O' Clock) and Jon Brion, The Grays were a four piece, filled out by bassist Buddy Judge and skins-man Dan McCarroll, who after their demise in 1995 were regarded as something of a cult legend in power-pop circles.
Perhaps what makes this CBGB gig so ironic is the fact that The Grays hung out on the gentler, radio-tailored side of the pop spectrum - but than again I have to remind myself of all the non-punks that graced the recently put-to-pasture Bowery stage, including Springhouse, Lush, and Yo La Tengo. The Grays released all but one album, 1994's Ro Sham Bo on Epic Records, and Falkner and Co. treat the crowd to a healthy six LP cuts here, as well as covers by the Monochrome Set ("She's Frank") and The Move ("Blackberry Way). We're also offered a little insight into what Jason Falkner's 1996 debut album, Author Unknown, would hold on "Eloquence." This is a good (not great) audience recording, with the occasional audio drop-out, so please bear that in mind before indulging. Would also like to give credit to the folks that run this splendid Jason Falkner fanpage for assembling the artwork.
01. Everybody's World
02. Same Thing
03. Eloquence
04. Oh Well Maybe
05. Oh, Nevermind
06. He's Frank
07. Nothing Between Us
08. Nothing
09. Not Ready Yet
10. Is it Now Yet?
11. Blackberry Way
9 comments:
holy crap! love you even more now...
There's another Grays live recording called "Live Somewhere". Not sure where I found it, tho it's only 160kbps so probably came from Soulseek. I can pass it on to you for posting if you wish.
There's a file included with this info:
-------------------------
1. EVERYBODYS WORLD
2. SAME THING
3. SPOOKY
4. OH NEVER MIND
5. BLESSED
6. STRINGS
7. BOTH BELONG
8. I GO ASTRAY
9. ALL YOU WANTED
10. NO ON CAN HURT ME
THE GRAYS DID NOT PLAY MANY CONCERTS IN THEIR SHORT EXISTANCE AND THE FEW LIVE RECORDINGS THAT HAVE EMERGED ARE PRETTY DRAB AUDIENCE RECORDINGS…
THIS ONE IS THE EXCEPTION, EITHER A VERY GOOD AUDIENCE TAPE OR A SOUNDBOARD (YOU JUDGE FOR YOURSELF) I’D GIVE IT A EIGHT OR NINE OUT OF TEN. THE DATE IS UNKNOWN, THE VENUE ALSO BUT THE VERY INTERESTING TRACKLISTING MARKS IT AS PRE RO SHAM BO…MAYBE ONE OF THE SHOWCASE DID A FEW WEEK AFTER THEY GOT TOGETHER
-------------------------
Would definitely be interested in hearing "Live From Anywhere." Fire away!
Thanks for the Live at CBGBs
I have the "Live - Somewhere, Somewhen" too and I just uploaded it for somebody else.
http://rapidshare.com/files/273081122/The_Grays_-_Live_Somewhere_Somewhen.zip
can't thank you enough for posting these!!
Thank you infinitely! I was at this show!!!!!
Could you please re-up this post? Thank you very much!
I would certainly appreciate a re-up, too, thanks!
Is "Strings" on the "Somewhere" recording an early version of Brion's "Strngs That Tie to You?" Let me know:
drvcr@earthlink.net
Post a Comment