Sunday, July 30, 2023

Braid - live acoustic at Record Exchange, Raleigh, NC 6/19/98

I've been on the fence about sharing this one for many, many years, with my hesitation usually dictating my decision not to do so, largely due to the low bitrate of the files, which I was never able to find a more satisfactory rip of.  Hard to believe it's not only the 25th anniversary of this particular event, but likewise for Braid's career-defining album, Frame and Canvas. It's no coincidence that almost every song in this set was culled from that aforementioned album, one that was a quantum leap in terms of proficiency and songwriting over Braid's previous two full lengths, The Age of Octeen (1996) and Frankie Welfare Boy Age 5 (1995).  If you're already acquainted with Frame... you know what I speak of.  To the contrary, if Braid is an unknown quantity to you, before delving into this live set it helps to have an appreciation of the album, or even what the band was about in a more traditional live setting.

This ten song exchange is pared down and as minimal as this crew ever got, yet the sub-par fidelity of the recording happens to mesh well with the intimacy of the spartan setup on this particular summer solstice in '98. In 2011 Braid reconvened for live shows and even new recordings, and the band just finished up a slate of dates this month commemorating the quarter-century birthday of Frame and Canvas.

01. killing a camera
02. i'm afraid of everything
03. urbana's too dark
04. never will come for us
05. first day back
06. a dozen roses (sort of)
07. niagara
08. forever got shorter
09. (strawberry ann) switzerland
10. ariel

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