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

I did and it is..they got the last name wrong but at least it is on there. It was the TODD lp. I also have a rubber barf he threw out to the crowd at the Burbank Starlight Theater in 74.

 

Wow, great merchandising opportunity!

 

"Like a rubber barf, I'll come bouncin' back to you..."

 

It's also available on emusic.

 

I picked it up at Newbury Comics today. They had a bunch of copies.

 

Rich,

I've enjoyed reading your "fanboy" posts for years online (and I say that with full respect,) even in the glorious yet shortlived Smithereens fanclub newsletter, as I recall.

I put my own review down last night (although it's not online, quite yet,) for an album that as a potentially "jaded Smithereens fan," I didn't expect to enjoy, half as much as I did.

I picked it up at Best Buy here in Cleveland, and made my way through the first few tracks as I drove 15 minutes back to my house. As I pulled into my driveway, House We Used To Live In was about 7 minutes in, and I SAT IN MY DRIVEWAY listening to the best version of House that I've ever heard.

I think that all music fans know, when you are sitting in your driveway, glued to your car, IT'S GOOD.

I thought that I had already heard the definitive version of House (which bootleg, I can't recall) but Live in Concert officially delivers THE definitive version. Hearing the guitar pick intricately picking individual notes in the quietest moments of House, I was blown away at how GREAT the mix is on this album.

I can't recall the last time I heard that kind of individual detail in recorded form on an album live or studio. I really felt like I was standing in front of Dinizio/Babjak at that point, inches away from the stage monitors.

Kurt / House of Vibes / Smithereens boys REALLY did themselves proud on this album.

I dug this particular paragraph from the liner notes...

There are rock songs and there are anthems. We were uplifted at the Court, but there was also a sadness and a striving. Both the band and its audience know all about hard work. They know life will ultimately knock them down, and that rock music at its best, doesn't make you forget your troubles so much as it makes you realize you're not alone. The Smithereens and their Court Tavern audience have been in this together for more than 25 years, and these four shows were a physical manifestation of that bond, of that love. They are us, and we are them.

Whether personally together or alone, I've never felt "alone" at a Smithereens show. There is a unique bond with the people that you are standing with in the audience at a Smithereens show, and certainly a bond with the band that is on stage. You have great conversations, both with the band, and with the people that are standing around you. We finally have a proper recorded souvenir of so many great years, so many great Smithereens shows, on one disc. I wouldn't have believed that you could properly contain that on one CD, but with this one, they've done it properly in one 78 minute package.

It's great. Agree completely with your review below...thanks!

 

Thanks, I admittedly go overboard for these guys...pretty much the last band I do that for...but we go back a long way.

Thanks for checking in, glad to hear there's a Best Buy somewhere stocking the thing.

 

I snagged this last night. It rocks! What a nice live recording.

 

The Beast Buy closest to me has kept Meet The Smithereens in stock pretty much since it came out last year.

Go figure...

 

Yeah - the BB here actually has a decent stock as well....I got the Xmas CD there as well, and I believe even that was still in stock when I picked this up last night!

 

Found it on Tuesday at the local Best Buy, I grabbed the last one they had left. What an amazing live band…I swear some of these live versions are better than their studio versions!
I just saw them in LA in mid May (was up against the stage), their live shows have such an intimate “house party” ambience about them, can't wait to see them again ...

 

My Best Buy, Circuit City, Borders, etc. show this as not in stock. I really want this and may have to resort to on line.

 

Don't believe the Best Buy website - I checked the website for something a couple of weeks ago (and wow, I can't remember what it was) but they didn't have it listed as being in stock at any of the Cleveland area stores. I found it hard to believe, called the store closest to me, and confirmed that they had stock on hand - several copies actually.

Had the same thing happen with the Smithereens disc - so again, I called my preferred location, and they verified that they had two copies in stock, so I went and picked it up.

So there are two times personally in the past two weeks that I have found something in stock that the BB website said was not stocked.

 

Got mine a couple hours ago at Oz Records in Tuscaloosa after sampling it on iTunes yesterday.

$17.99 (ouch), but I support independent record stores. A few extra dollars don't matter when it's all said and done. Besides, it took me all of three days after I joined this Forum to drop a "bill" or so on the Smithereens Box Set. I have my priorities straight, don't I?

I'll be listening tonight...

 

Thanks, I'll stop by after work. Got my fingers crossed.

 

Free Smithereens MP3 Download (Today Only!)

Guys--

In case anyone wants to check out the opening track from the new Smithereens live CD, you can actually download "Behind the Wall of Sleep" from Emusic's "daily download" as a free promotion (today only!) You don't have to sign-up or do anything else to download this free 231 (kbps) MP3 either.

Grab a free download of “Behind the Wall of Sleep”

from their brand new KOCH release

Live in Concert- Greatest Hits and More

http://www.emusic.com/dailydownloads/toolbar/main.html

 

Thanks CT, I didn't get the word on that until I got home.

Get it while it's hot, get it while it's buttered...

 

Time to complain. I unhappy already. I have a copy here in my hands and I cannot believe that- Cut Flowers, Now & Then, Blue Period were left off this thing. With that in mind was an 11 minute live version of House We Used To Live in really neccessary?

No Cigarette. No In A Lonely Place. Gah.

Another question- Did Pat have some dental work done or something? He's slurring all of his s's.

 

Apples and oranges here. The new "Smithereens Live In Concert" CD is equally dynamic and sounds great for my money and runs nearly 80 minutes (about how long a "double LP" used to be). Like you said, the new one ("Live In Concert") is more comprehensive and has two Smithereens versions of Pat DiNizio solo songs and a really nice Smithereens version of Buddy Holly's "Well Alright" besides the "hits" and "deep cuts" like "Spellbound". The "Extended Versions" CD is heavily concentrated on the "A Date With The Smithereens" CD with four of its ten songs coming from that album. "Extended Versions" runs about 45 minutes. Its version of "House We Used To Live In" can't hold a candle to the 11 minute ultimate version on the new "Live In Concert" CD in my humble opinion. However, I view "Extended Versions" as a nice supplement and souvenir of the "A Date With the Smithereens" tour. Both are very good but I prefer the new one overall.

But hey...different strokes for different folks.

 

According to a post on DiNizio's website, early Beatles' session drummer just completed re-creating his drum parts for the songs Love Me Do and P.S. I Love You for an upcoming Beatles tribute album by The Smithereens.

Full Text

 

Thanks for urging me to check at BB for this. I went, and they had one copy left. Now they have none (at least on the floor). I just listened to it and like it very much. I also liked the writeup on Court Tavern. It sounds like a great place. Nothing like that around here anymore that I know of.