Two Years Live

So, the AYF? two year anniversary passed with little fanfare.

However, it's never too late for a birthday (my father knows this), so I figure we can indulge in a celebratory post of live recordings we were listening to two years ago. Both of these bootlegs have been floating around the internet for - well - two years, but they're still a bit difficult to track down.

Featured here are two of our favorite musicians -- The Shins' James Mercer (thanks, Courtney), and Slowdive's Neil Halstead. The sets were recorded at the (surf/art-oriented) 2004 Moonshine Festival in Laguna Beach, California. Sound quality is great, and Halstead's rough start is endearing. He hits his stride on the last three tracks.

James Mercer live at Moonshine Festival (2004):

James Mercer - Intro
James Mercer - Caring Is Creepy
James Mercer - When I Goosestep
James Mercer - Young Pilgrims
James Mercer - Girl Inform Me
James Mercer - Won One Too Many Fights
James Mercer - Harvest
James Mercer - Pink Bullets
James Mercer - Gone For Good
James Mercer - Sphagnum Esplanade
James Mercer - The Past And Pending
James Mercer - New Slang
James Mercer - Saint Simon

Neil Halstead live at Moonshine Festival (2004)

Neil Halstead - See You On Rooftops
Neil Halstead - Two Stones In My Pocket
Neil Halstead - Driving With Bert
Neil Halstead - Sleeping On Roads
Neil Halstead - Who Do You Love
Neil Halstead - Yer Feet

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Last week Metric curated an outdoor festival here in Toronto. Not being a huge fan of the music, I went to hang out with friends and drink (horribly overpriced) beer. Turns out free tickets and "VIP" wristbands were being given away like so many McDonalds Monopoly playing pieces (no doubt to bolster the relatively thin attendance).

Rather than rip into what I heard that day (I missed Land Of Talk, the only band I'd wanted to see), I'll offer you a glimpse into what kills me about the music industry:

As I left the show, Emily Haines (singer for Metric) dropped into an anti-commercialism/anti-marketing rant during a breakdown in set-closer, "Dead Disco" -- she went on about "not being marketed to," and sounded very teenage and angsty. So, here I am still within earshot of the venue, watching a guy in a Porsche drive out of the parking lot. We're surrounded by jocks and young scenesters, and music industry types, and being handed all sorts of useless merch and flyers -- and she is ranting against corporate marketing? It's like anti-commercialism is part of the m.o. for these fashion/style-driven bands. Ironic? Yes.

To put it in further perspective: this is coming from the same band who has a touring stylist and had bottle service in their VIP lounge at the after-party. Thanks guys.