The Smithereens "Live In Concert" CD, 05-27-08

I can't wait to hear this! I was lucky to live in New Brunswick and I got to see The Smithereens many times at the Court Tavern when they were starting out. Often their last set of the night would a Beatles covers set. I'm glad that the Court is still there. All the redevolpment of New Brunswick took away some great landmarks such as Greasy Tony's.

 

I will definately have to check this out.

My best memory of the Smithereens was @15 years ago. I was at this club down the street from my house that always had live bands on Fri/Sat nights.

A couple of friends and I were downstairs in the bar area and this girl came downstairs from the 2nd floor where the bands performed. She had this pissed off look on her face. I asked her who was playing upstairs and I figured she would say a local band or a band I had never heard of. She matter of factly said "This band called the Smithereens?-I'm outta here".

My friends and I all looked at each other and figured "yeah right". They were not on the bill and this club booked pretty much local bands. We went up stairs anyways just to see who was playing and when we walked in The Smithereens were on the stage and Pat was talking to the crowd. They then RIPPED into the oldie "Shakin All Over" complete with authentic sounding rockabilly guitar riffs and sound. They continued to play for like an hour doing pretty much all old Rock and Roll classics. The 2 "encores" were "A Girl Like You" and "Blood and Roses".
They were amazing!

 

First up, thanks to our friends Pat and cartoonist for checking in with more news. They're the real deal, folks.

It's really amazing to see that neighborhood today. It's like blocks of parking garages and office buildings, and on the corner, this little house-like building, the one holdover from the old days that the developers couldn't force to sell out. It's a dive, to be sure, but very endearing, and I love visiting it when I make it back to New Brunswick. I've seen some great shows there, from The Grip Weeds, The Anderson Council, and Jim Babjak's Buzzed Meg, in addition to the Smithereens shows this past winter.

 

Sounds like some cool stuff coming on that DVD.

 

You will have a blast!! Trust me the earplugs are a must though. If we still had a place to stay in PA we'd be there again. It was a very good venue for these guys and when we saw them they had sold out the entire show.

Tell the guys Reechie & Frodis say hello!

 

awesome!!! Great news, gets even better!!!

 

Fortunately, I stood at the back, behind the cameras, so none of us will have to look at me during the DVD!

The place was so packed in, though, that I didn't actually see a heck of a lot of the show from where I was. I'll finally get to see what was going on when the DVD comes out...

 

Saw 'em last night. Those guys are nuts! Saw the second of 2 shows, so Pat was considerably drunk, and hilarious.
The cd they have coming out in Sept. oughta be good. "The Smithereens B-Sides The Beatles", with them covering, naturally the B-sides of Beatle singles.
They did "You Can't Do That" and "I Don't Want To Spoil The Party". Very cool.
The earplugs were definitely an excellent suggestion!
I used them intermittently, and my ears loved it.

 

I have SO got to get this...one of my favorite bands in the world!

 

Check out Pat's new album. I believe Jim Babjak & Thilla play on a lot of the album. It certainly sounds a lot like The Smithereens on several tracks. Check out this link for more info....

http://stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=127611&highlight=Pat+Dinizio

 

i prefer they do the beatles stuff... the new stuff they played at the state theatre just didn't do it for me..

i mean if they can write good songs i want the new songs but if they can't- and many people find it harder and harder to do so as they get older- then there's no reason to push it....

 

I dig the Beatle covers too!

 

also lets face it: they are doing the beatles albums because they sell! its a great match! smithereens fans like the beatles and there's plenty of beatles fans out there ocasionally willing to give other bands a chance if they know they are doing their beloved beatles songs

 

Make them an offer...

 

Agreed.

But I'll take what I can get.

 

there's no breaking point as long as its good and people like it and support it! they're trying to make a living you know????

the beatles spent years doing only covers... the idea that doing covers is somehow bad or shows lack of artistic chops is baloney.... last time i checked elvis did covers his whole life..

if it gets people out to see them perform their own songs and the covers its great (and it does!)

 

if they have a great album in them i hope they put it out..

i'm just saying they may not have a great album in them.and if its not great it won't sell more than 2000 copies! the demand is just not that high!

but my main point is that music is not great because you write it..its great if its great... and who writes it doesn't really matter... if pat has great songs in him i hope he puts it out.. but i think its obvious there will be no more blood and roses or behind the wall of sleep songs from the smithereens..

 

Now available for pre-order directly from the source:

http://www.officialsmithereens.com/newstore/store.html
http://www.jimbabjak.com/newstore/store.html

 

Bumping this topic back up today, as the album is now available at your favorite record emporium.

Look, I’m hardly going to give you an objective opinion about The Smithereens. I’ve basically been listening to Live In Concert for almost twenty years now. I’ve seen this so many times, that I know the act...no, I could probably DO the act if I had the musical ability, and I’ve got the battle scars to prove it. And I’ve been waiting for most of those twenty years for a proper live album from The Smithereens. Sure, there were live EP’s, radio shows and short budget label live comps...even a bootleg or two, but they never really captured what I’d been seeing for myself all those years.

I like live albums. I know some people don’t. Apart from the hits medleys, crowd singlongs, and that guy yelling “WOOOOO!” during the quiet parts (and I’m convinced it’s the same guy on every live album!), they can be hit and miss. I’ve been disappointed by a few of them myself. The exciting live sound you imagine in your head often gives way to a disinterested, rushed runthrough by a tired artist. I assure you, that’s not what you’re going to hear on Live In Concert. In fact, I hear at least three or four tracks on Live In Concert that I consider to be better than the versions on The Smithereens’ original studio albums. Don’t believe me? Cue up the new album’s versions of “Top Of The Pops” or “Yesterday Girl” for starters, and tell me there isn’t more life in them than they’ve had in years. Listen to the structured improvisation added to the close to 12 minute (!) “House We Used To Live In”. Immediately, you’ll notice the debt it owes to Live At Leeds, and amazingly, it compares quite well.

Here’s the weird part: I was there. I stood in The Court Tavern for two of the four nights, watching this happen right in front of me. Some of those “WOOOOO’s” are probably mine. Yet, when I heard the finished CD, I still couldn’t believe how good those guys sounded. They play like they’re hungry, because they still are. You know how it is...it sounded good at the show, but when you hear the tape later on, the imperfections show themselves. Not this time. It sounded great at The Court Tavern, it sounds great at home, and in my car. Kurt Reil has done a fantastic job of making The Smithereens sound like The Smithereens. The mix places everyone where you expect to see them on stage. Each player stands out, while jelling together as a whole.

A couple of my favorite little moments from the album: Listen to Jim Babjak weave in a bit of McCartney’s “Taxman” solo into the coda of “Only A Memory.” Just before the last chorus of “Spellbound”, a few audience members mimic a background scream from the studio version. To finish up, listen for a quick reprise of “Time And Time Again” tacked on to “Batman” to close the show with a final fanfare. Moments that happen all the time at Smithereens concerts that veterans treasure, and it's fun to hear them make the album.

Live In Concert is a loud CD, and I can see the red flags going up around the forum just at the mere mention of “loud”. I’ve listened to this CD a lot of times, in a lot of different places and systems, and even had a look at some of the waveforms, and here’s what I honestly found. The album is loud, but not over-loud, not brickwalled, not over-compressed. It’s loud on the fast songs, but on the slower, softer tracks, there are dynamics, and there are peaks and valleys in the sound. Realizing that listening in the car is generally no audiophile experience, I will say this: When I play a really loud, badly mastered CD in my car, and try to turn up the volume, the drums and the bass boom through the speakers as though the woofers are going to pop out of the door sockets at any second. Totally obscures the music, and I have to turn it down to stop the noise. When I turn up Live In Concert, I hear the drums and bass clearly as a part of the music, no thumping, no distortion. Just a great rhythm section in a great band. For a loud CD, it’s one of the better ones I’ve run across. You may disagree, but that’s what my 43 year old, deteriorating ears hear. Take it for what it’s worth.

If you’ve ever bought a Smithereens album, liked a song of their’s that you heard on the radio, or seen them live, there’s something here for you. If you’ve ever wondered why I can’t, and won’t, shut up about these guys, this album is my only defense. Buy it, crank it up, and figure it out.