No Expectations 051: Live Forever
On being publicly wrong as a music writer and why we need more live LPs.
No Expectations hits inboxes on Thursdays at 9am cst. Next week marks the one-year anniversary of this newsletter: 52 consecutive weeks of music and culture blogging. I’m astounded I didn’t miss a single week and I’m endlessly grateful that people are still reading. The 2023 End of the Year albums list should run Thursday, Dec. 7 if I don’t procrastinate finishing the blurbs. Last week, the site also crossed the 2,000 subscriber mark, which is pretty cool to hit in just a year. Thanks so much for being here.
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In Defense of Live Albums
I try to think of music writing as a document of one critic’s perspective at a certain point in time rather than the final word on something. This definitely comes from a place between logical necessity and ass-covering. After all, I was just 20-years-old, barely an adult, when I had my first byline at a publication. With hundreds of articles and thousands of tweets since then, all of which are published on the internet or in print for public consumption, I have been loudly and publicly wrong many times. There have been ill-considered arguments and half-baked takes that I once thought were ironclad. There are albums I overrated or severely underrated. It’s part of the gig but instead of doubling down and sticking to my guns, I’ve found that it’s better to acknowledge the mistakes and errant judgment calls and recalibrate my thoughts instead. If music is something that can resonate differently and evolve, so should criticism.
With that in mind, here’s a time when I was, in retrospect, talking out of my ass. It’s this tweet from nearly five years ago on Feb. 8, 2019, where I wrote, “99% of live albums don't need to exist.” Now, you can generously argue that I was being spiritually true (only the top one percent of live LPs are what gets talked about anyway). Or, if you’re annoying, you can agree with 2019-me by saying that no art needs to exist. In reality, this was a tossed-off hot take, an ill-considered opinion that was needlessly inflammatory and was likely tweeted on the toilet. Live albums rule and more of them should be made. I was wrong then but I’m right now.
My flippancy five years ago was probably just projection. In 2019, I was working as a writer for VICE, and I was tasked with finding cool, new acts to profile and write about there. I’m betting I was feeling overwhelmed by how much good-to-great music is released each week and as a coping mechanism, I decided to write off live LPs as a way to save time to explore the glut of new studio efforts coming out. Maybe a little of my take had to do with how they can’t quite capture how it feels to literally be at a show or that they sometimes sound sloppy. But honestly, it was probably just a way to make myself feel better about skipping most concert recordings. I am no longer employed by a national outlet to write about new music and with this Substack, I have the freedom to listen to what I want and write about what I want without fear of getting laid off. Without traffic goals or byline quotas, you’re much more free to follow your interests.
Even though I was wrong about live albums, I’ve always thought that the best way to get a sense of an artist is to see them perform in person. There are so many acts that became personal all-timers because I caught them at a gig after only just liking their studio albums. On the other hand, if I love a record but the live show is underwhelming, I’ll second-guess myself about why I enjoyed that LP. Sometimes, live albums better capture an artist’s whole deal than anything they’ve recorded. You can’t separate Johnny Cash from At Folsom Prison or Cheap Trick from At Budokan and you’d be hard-pressed to find a Grateful Dead superfan who’s only listened to their studio albums. (I’m sure it’s happened but it’s wrong and weird).
Now, I’m sure my newfound appreciation for live albums has something to do with the fact that Apple Music says I listened to over 4,000 minutes of the Grateful Dead this year. But really, I’m revisiting classics (Neil Young’s Time Fades Away, Wilco’s Kicking Television) and going to the live effort first if it’s an artist I’m listening to for the first time. Though it’s not the best Dylan LP, no album of his brings such an instant hit of serotonin more than Before The Flood and nothing brings me back to being 25 more acutely than Twin Peaks’ Urbs In Horto (which is one of the only live albums that recorded shows I actually attended). Most Thanksgivings I revisit The Last Waltz and this year, I paired the iconic film with Cat Power’s new, resonant, and inventive reimagining of an iconic Dylan’s gig with Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert. I’m also diving into Dylan’s recent collection The Complete Budokan 1978.
There are so many good releases documenting shows from newer acts too. Take MJ Lendermen’s new And The Wind (Live and Loose). It was recorded mostly at L.A.’s The Lodge Room with a couple of tracks taken from his Pitchfork aftershow at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall (I was not there: biggest FOMO of the year). The LP highlights his killer band as well as transforms some of his older material into a more muscular, fully-formed rock arrangements. Most folks' intro to the Wednesday sideman and North Carolina songwriter was his 2022 AOTY-contender Boat Songs but if you’ve never listened, Live and Loose is the best primer on one of indie rock’s most exciting talents. Other stellar semi-recent ones come from Friends of the Substack Erin Rae (Lighten Up & Try), Brad Goodall (Live At Levon Helm Studios), and Deer Tick (Live From Fort Adams).
I want more live LPs, from legends and less established artists. If a relative unknown has a killer show, they should flaunt it. I know that streaming has devalued the medium and that it doesn’t make much sense to put resources into releasing a concert recording when it’s tough enough to make a living as a touring artist. However, there is magic in capturing a live performance: you can broadcast your talents and showcase the palpable energy of the songs and the crowd. It should be an aspirational thing for artists to at least want to put on a performance so undeniable you’d want to release it to the world. Five years ago, I was wrong to write off the format but I’m happy I got over it. It’s more fun to admit that you were totally off-base.
What I listened to:
No Expectations 051: Spotify, Apple Music Link
No Expectations 051:
01. The Band, “Don’t Do It” (Live)
02. Bob Dylan and the Band, “Lay Lady Lay” (Live)
03. Grateful Dead, “Sugaree” (Live)
04. Erin Rae, “Gonna Be Strange” (Live)
05. Neil Young, “On The Way Home” (Live) — Not on Spotify
06. MJ Lenderman, “Rudolph” (Live)
07. Wilco, “Handshake Drugs” (Live)
08. Bob Dylan, “Love Minus Zero, No Limit” (Live)
09. Talking Heads, “Burning Down the House” (Live)
10. Grateful Dead, “Althea” (Live)
11. MJ Lenderman, “You Are Every Girl To Me” (Live)
12. The Allman Brothers Band, “Statesboro Blues” (Live)
13. Neil Young, “Don’t Be Denied” (Live) — Not on Spotify
14. Joni Mitchell, “Both Sides Now” (Live) — Miles of Aisles Not on Spotify
15. Wilco, “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” (Live)
What I watched:
The Last Waltz
Thanksgiving is a holiday of food, family, and the annual rewatch of Martin Scorcese’s The Last Waltz. I watch it almost every year and with each viewing, I find something new to love (This year, it was Levon Helm’s never-extinguishing match during one of the interview segments). No band put on a better show than The Band. Dr. John’s “Such A Night” performance felt especially excellent this time too. Though Rock of Ages is the Band release I revisit most, Scorcese’s filmmaking is undeniable here. Perfect film. So many magical shows happened at the Winterland (RIP).
What I read:
This Is All a Dream We Dreamed: An Oral History of the Grateful Dead (by David Gans, Blair Jackson)
David Gans and Blair Jackson’s comprehensive, funny, and illuminating oral history on the Dead is such a fun primer on them. Beyond the history of the band, which I don’t need to summarize in this blurb, what sticks out to me is how the format of an oral history shows how normal these guys were and how most bands I’ve met have similar dynamics. Sure, the members of the Grateful Dead were weirdos and generational talents but at the end of the day, they’re just dudes. Like every musician I know, they like to have a good time and talk shit. They’re sometimes temperamental and all have their own quirks but friendship and music can be a grounding force. And as it turns out, sometimes it isn’t. The Grateful Dead’s story is obviously extraordinary but seeing it presented in such ordinary detail—the green room faux pas, the interpersonal band dynamics, the onstage fuckups—is such a smart way to tell it.
The Weekly Chicago Show Calendar:
Thursday, Nov. 30: Jason Narducy at Fitzgerald’s. Tickets.
Thursday, Nov. 30: Sunny War, Bill McKay & Marvin Tate at Judson & Moore. Tickets.
Friday, Dec. 1: Damien Rice at Auditorium Theatre. Sold out.
Friday, Dec. 1: Mavis Staples at Cahn Auditorium (Northwestern). Tickets.
Friday, Dec. 1: Maiden King, Astrachan, Lane Beckstrom at Schubas. Tickets.
Friday, Dec. 1: Nora O’Connor, Sara Jean Stevens at Space. Tickets.
Friday, Dec. 1: Angel Olsen, Kara Jackson at Thalia Hall. Sold out.
Friday, Dec. 1: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead at Riviera. Tickets.
Saturday, Dec. 2: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead at Riviera. Tickets.
Saturday, Dec. 2: Kiwi Jr., Stef Chura, Sonny Falls at Empty Bottle. Tickets.
Saturday, Dec. 2: Angel Olsen, Natural Information Society at Thalia Hall. Sold out.
Sunday, Dec. 3: Angel Olsen, Joanna Sternberg at Thalia Hall. Tickets.
Monday, Dec. 4: Dazy, Lifeguard, Illusion of Choice at Cobra Lounge. Tickets.
Tuesday, Dec. 5: Mandy, Indiana, MASS at Empty Bottle. Tickets.
Wednesday, Dec. 6: Lovejoy, White Reaper, Brigitte Calls Me Baby at Aragon. Tickets.
I love live albums myself, at least the good ones, LOL. I even made this video, 20 Live Albums That Are FUN To Have On Vinyl, which might inspire you to find a few that are unfamiliar. https://youtu.be/VZawmgDIixU?si=a06BBDu37bpDsszw
Good timing, I spent a lovely 90 minutes with Bowie’s Nassau Coliseum ‘76 last night. He’s had several killer live albums out in the last few years from his 70s glory days, really cool to hear his older songs evolve along with the lineup of the band.