Doom & Gloom From The Tomb

Harry Dean Stanton - SNAP/KCRW, Santa Monica, California, June 24, 1987

I watched Partly Fiction, Sophie Huber's Harry Dean Stanton documentary, last week and it was a beautiful, intimate portrait of the late/great character actor, who would've turned 100 a few weeks back. Even if he was appearing in a cruddy movie, Harry Dean was always worth watching, finding moments within moments, speaking volumes with just his eyes. The dude just had what they used to call "screen presence"!

In the doc, Stanton sings a lot — and for a lifelong smoker (not to mention other vices), his voice was in remarkably great shape all the way up to the end, whether he was tackling old ranchera ballads or David Allan Coe. Harry notes that he didn't properly pursue a career in music, but of course, he brought music into many of his best-known roles, from Cool Hand Luke to Paris, Texas to Twin Peaks: The Return. And whenever I watch Cisco Pike, I find it incredibly disappointing that he and Kris Kristofferson didn't actually have a killer early 1970s duo act.

But there are a few documents out there: a Partly Fiction soundtrack on Omnivore and an early 1990s session with the Cheap Dates. And then there's an hour-plus live broadcast on KCRW, featuring a slightly nervous Stanton playing with Rolling Thunder alum Steven Soles — gorgeous versions of Ry Cooder's "Across the Borderline," Marty Robbins' "El Paso" and Dylan's "To Ramona."

Speaking of Bob, a couple months later, he and Harry would infamously show up at an LA telethon to perform "Hava Nagila." True story! Rock that recorder, Zimmy!

Ayami Suzuki & Rob Noyes - Classic Fevers and Chills

Lyres - The Grotto, New Haven, Connecticut, August 18, 1984

RIP to Lyres frontman Jeff "Monoman" Conolly, who passed away last week. As his nickname tells us, this guy was indeed monomaniacal in his quest for garage rock perfection over the decades. Is "garage rock perfection" a contradiction in terms? I don't know — but I do know that this tape of Lyres way back in 1984 in New Haven is a scorcher, overflowing with stabbing Vox Continental keys, snarled vocals and rip-snorting guitars. Perfect!

Thanks to Alex Butterfield for digging this one out of his stash. Root around in the archives for many many more classic shows that Alex has taped over the years ...

The Beatles - Rubber Soul Sessions

Will the powers that be ever stop finding new ways to sell old Beatles albums to us? Probably not. To wit: there's a Rubber Soul "special edition" coming out in early October, boasting one of those semi-questionable remixes, a disc of outtakes, and so forth and so on. I'm sure there will be some interesting stuff — hey, a previously unheard/un-bootlegged demo of something called "Little Girl" that just might be an early Lennon draft of "I'm Only Sleeping"? Sure, why not.

But when I want to dive into the Beatles underground these days, I usually look for those wild/wooly unofficial compilations that obsessively gather together every last moment — weirdo Rock Band mixes, in-studio chatter, instrumentals, vocals-only oddities, unlistenable arcana. The good shit, right?

Nico & Kevin Ayers - Arènes d'Arles, Arles, France, August 6, 1975

We mentioned that forthcoming Can live release a couple weeks back — and we noted that the lineup for that 1975 night in Arles also featured everyone's favorite former Velvet Underground chanteuse Nico! Is there a tape of Nico's set? Oh yeah, there is. And it even features a special guest appearance from her old ACNE pal Kevin Ayers.

Like so many others before him, Ayers had been bewitched by Nico, writing his classic tune "Decadence" in her honor a few years before. "A very inspirational lady whose aura I absorbed slightly," he said. And their auras sound nice together, with Kevin adding a little lightness to Nico's otherwise doomy solo harmonium situations — especially when their childlike duet on Kev's "Falling In Love Again" rolls around. The crowd is a little rowdy for this kind of music, but Nico still casts a spell; it must've been haunting to experience in a crumbling Roman ruin.

And hey! There was a third act on the bill ... As Ra Temple! Now that's what I call a Hot August Night. You can also listen to some of their set, which might be interrupted by ... a woman in the audience giving birth? What a way to enter this world. Félicitations!

Richard Hell & the Voidoids + The Feelies - CBGB, New York City, July 1 / July 2, 1978

We've been hanging out a lot at CBGB lately — and why not? It's a cool place to hang out. Today, we've got audience tapes recorded during a thrilling double bill in the summer of '78: Richard Hell & the Voidoids and the Feelies! It doesn't get much better than that.

Hell's old buds Television were just about to break up over at the Bottom Line a few weeks after this. But Richard was powering through at the club he, Verlaine, Lloyd and Ficca had kickstarted in early 1974. Kind of! Even though Hell and the Voidoids had released their brilliant debut LP a year earlier, they wouldn't manage a follow-up until Destiny Street in 1982. Still, they sound revved up and ready to go at CBGB on this particular evening, the Quine/Julian twin guitar attack as nasty/glorious as can be. And there's some new material sprinkled in, too — "Amuse Yourself" and a bracing encore of "The Kid With The Replaceable Head" which would soon be released as a 7-inch single. It might be the covers that impress the most, however; two Rolling Stones workouts, a CCR blast-off, "All The Way" and an appropriately nuts version of "I Wanna Be Your Dog."

The Feelies, meanwhile, were still in their early-ish days, tirelessly workshopping the songs that would eventually make up Crazy Rhythms. And we get a nice selection of that classic LP, presented in wilder (though still fairly precise) fashion. Most interesting is the rare rendition of "Clean Girls," a tune that wouldn't make the Crazy cut. It would've fit right in, though, with a churning riff and relentless moody momentum. Where's the studio recording of this one???

Absolute Grey - CBGB's 1985

A very cool archival release from the undersung 1980s band Absolute Grey, capturing a particularly fiery set from the Rochester, NY quartet at the legendary CBGB. Front and center are Beth Brown's powerful vocals, which call to mind a winning blend of Michael Stipe and Grace Slick — and hey, Absolute Grey encore with a killer rendition of "White Rabbit." The band behind her leans more in the R.E.M. direction though, with sharp interplay between bassist Mitchell Rasor and guitarist Matt Kitchen, sometimes spiky sometimes jangly, always locked in. Meanwhile, Pat Thomas drives everything with style and energy from behind the kit. Whether you're a longtime fan or a newcomer to Absolute Grey, CBGB's 1985 is a must-listen.

Barry Walker Unit - 13th Moon Gravity Well, Portland, Oregon, July 25, 2026

The Pacific Northwest's finest pedal steel-led free jazz country rock experimental collective is back! The Barry Walker Unit's debut LP from last year was a complete stunner (you can learn more about it from my conversation with Barry on Aquarium Drunkard) — but it definitely left you wanting more. Well, here's more: a fantastic recording from just last weekend. Thanks to Michael Pemulis for taping!

The Unit this time around features Barry's Rose City bandmate Ripley Johnson, Dana Buoy (ex-Akron/Family) and Jason Willmon (Mouth Painter), and they sound magnificent throughout these two sets, whether floating into a dream or taking things into wilder territory. On the 18-minute interpretation of Alice Coltrane's "Journey in Satchidananda," they do both, as Walker coaxes harp-like cadences out of his pedal steel, the groove wafting behind him like a smoke ring.

Tom Verlaine - The Ritz, New York City, December 21 / December 22, 1984

Uhh, who's that creepy dude in the parking lot? Nosferatu? Slender Man?!! Oh wait, it's just Tom Verlaine being Tom Verlaine. Yeah, we're going to hang out with Tom a little while longer this week after listening to him at CBGB in 1976 yesterday. Hey, I'm in charge here.

Today's tapes are from eight years later across town at the Ritz! Verlaine didn't play live a ton in 1984 (and he wouldn't play live again until 1987), but you wouldn't know it from the performances here, stretched across two wintry nights. He and his usual 1980s band (Fred Smith, Jay Dee Daugherty and Jimmy Ripp) are blazing throughout, giving the crowd some rare airings of the then-new Cover material, which would rarely be heard in the years to come — worthy stuff like "Let Go the Mansion," "Five Miles of You" and "Lindi-Liu." The strange spoken word bits before each evening's rendition of "Swim" are interesting, too. And of course, Television chestnuts like "Glory" and "Marquee Moon" are absolutely killer.

The Ritz recordings come from a new and exciting archival project — the Jeff Lazar Audio Collection! Things are just getting rolling, but already there are plenty of treasures from Lazar's stash, from the Butthole Surfers to Keiji Haino, from Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 to Neil Young and the Bluenotes. Thanks to Jeff and all the folks behind the scenes for making it happen ... can't wait to see what they turn up.

Tom is gone, but Ripp and Daugherty recently announced TMOTV (The Music of Tom Verlaine), which should be cool — it also includes Jackson Smith, Patti's son. “We miss playing these songs almost as much as we miss Tom, and with these shows we’re hoping to keep his beautiful, bright spirit shimmering.” Check out Ripp's Instagram for future doings.

Talking Heads + Television - CBGB, New York City, July 29-31, 1976

A little expanded 50th anniversary repost! I first shared these recordings ... 15 years ago?!

Let’s take a trip back in time, shall we? Not too long a trip, just 35 50 summers ago, to NYC’s Bowery, where great rock ‘n’ roll was being created on a frighteningly regular basis. This particular run featured two sets apiece each night from Talking Heads and Television. We don't have every last note played, but it's an embarrassment of riches anyway.

The Heads in the summer of '76 were still in their lean/mean trio phase, still a bit of a work in progress, but pretty incredible nonetheless. Judging from the audience response here and the shouted requests, they already had plenty of die-hard fans. Could any of those fans have predicted that just a few years later, this little Bowery band would record Remain In Light? Probably not.

Television, meanwhile, is god-like (duh), as we hear the band just a few short months away from recording their Marquee Moon masterpiece. I’ve got a lot of Television bootlegs, but this one is special – Verlaine, Lloyd, Smith and Ficca are extremely energized, playing most of the debut LP (including a rare rendition of "Torn Curtain"), along with a few other choice cuts. Both Lloyd and Verlaine really lean into all of their solos, Ficca and Smith bend all rhythm section rules; to make a long story short, Television basically sounds like the best band ever. Taken as a whole, the two bands here bear very little resemblance to what we’d come to call “punk rock.” I don’t know what to call it, other than awesome. Thanks to the taper(s) who preserved this wonderful time capsule for us to listen to all these years later.

Talking Heads: 7/29/76, 7/30/76

Television: 7/29/76, 7/30/76, 7/31/76

Pavement - The Cat’s Cradle, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, July 28, 1996

Pavement is stomping out the footlights at the Ryman tonight — but 30 years ago this summer, the band was holed up in Mitch Easter’s Piedmont Triad Studio, recording what would become the band’s fourth studio album, Brighten the Corners. To blow off steam during the sessions, Malkmus and Co. booked a one-off gig at The Cat’s Cradle in nearby Chapel Hill, where they treated the crowd to a wild set, made up largely of brand new tunes.

This is a fascinating tape because the BtC songs (and a wealth of outtakes/b-sides) are for the most part complete musically, but SM has yet to finalize the lyrics, and spends the show spitting out (probably ad-libbed) verses over the now-familiar structures and melodies. I think most of it is obscure sports references; the band must've been watching the Atlanta Olympics during downtime. Things get dark from time to time — Steve confesses to cheating at Scrabble during an embryonic "Shady Lane." All in all, a valuable look into Malkmus' creative process – we’re lucky the taper was on hand for posterity’s sake! Added bonus: Bob Nastanovich’s impassioned poetry readings. Thanks to Cory for hooking me up with the recording … 

Tara Clerkin Trio - Somewhere Good

Sonic Youth - Complex, Washington, DC, July 25, 1986

What the world needs now is EVOL, sweet EVOL. Right? Just about 40 years ago, Sonic Youth was touring all over in support of their classic third LP, which had been unleashed earlier that spring. A lotta good tapes from this era, some officially released, some unofficially circulated. This Washington, DC, show falls in the latter category — but with its high-fidelity recording and high-quality performance, it could easily be added to the former.

By this point, drummer Steve Shelley had been in the band for a little over a year, and was fully integrated into the Sonic Youth sound and lifestyle. After a couple cool soundcheck snippets, Steve drives the band relentlessly through most of EVOL, only letting up occasionally for retuning breaks soundtracked by the pop hits of the day; there's a nice moment where Prince's "Kiss" is almost medleyed with "Shadow of a Doubt." The guitars are glorious throughout, especially on the majestic "Expressway to Yr Skull" and the raging Sister sneak preview of "White Cross."

Seems like there's some sort of DC scene altercation going on in the crowd during some of the set, as an unhinged dude threatens other audience members with physical violence and generally behaves inappropriately. Kim shuts him down finally towards the end: "Hey, whatever you do, don't show your dick, OK?"

Stephen Malkmus: EVOL striked us Noise-Rock kids like no other record. I was 20 years old back then and studied at the University of Virginia. That was a few hundred miles away from the New York Underground that Sonic Youth was revolutionizing at that moment. But when we listened to EVOL, it felt very close ... The force with which EVOL hit me is what makes this album unique to this day and so important from a biographical point of view. In most songs of the album there is a darkness that Sonic Youth gave up very soon after. You can almost call it Indie-Gothic-Rock. Also, on this record there’s “Expressway To Yr. Skull” – one of my absolutely favorite songs. The song plays just over seven minutes and offers everything that alternative guitar music can do during this time.

Can - Palais de Chaillot, Paris, France, September 4, 1975

Can you dig it?! After a little break, the Can live series is revving back up again with Live in Arles, a tape from August 1975 recorded in a crumbling Roman amphitheatre on a bill with Nico and Kevin Ayers. Apparently, it's "regarded as one of their finest performances, even by the band members themselves"! And yeah, it is definitely great, with a particularly killer rendition of "Vitamin C" that might've raised a few centurions from the dead.

Live in Arles isn't out for another two months or so, but you can prep by checking out another killer recording from a few weeks later in Paris. A radio broadcast, no less! It's likely not the entire show, but what we've got here is good enough, with Irmin, Jaki, Holger and Michael all finding collective ecstasy, kraut-boogieing the night away. The quartet sounds like they're in a playful mood; not sure if Can gets a lot of credit for their sense of humor, but I laughed out loud a few times anyway.

Styrofoam Winos :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Earlier this summer, I chatted with Joe Kenkel, Trevor Nikrant and Lou Turner — AKA Styrofoam Winos! And now, you can read the (condensed) results of our talk over on Aquarium Drunkard.

I've loved the Winos since I first heard 'em a few years back, and the Nashville-based trio just seems to be getting better and better. In my AD intro, I call their latest LP Any River a masterpiece — and I stand by that! But "masterpiece" as a word does feel a little grand and high-falutin' for this band. What the Winos do so well is that understated, low-key thing; their songs feel like conversations between friends ... intimate, funny and weird all at once.

And importantly, as MJ Lenderman notes: “They know how to boogie.” I've yet to catch Styrofoam Winos in person, but in the meantime, I'm checking out a crackling live performance from last year's Nelsonville Music Festival, with the friendly ghost of Michael Hurley watching approvingly.

DIY Festivals, Coast to Coast :: Ghost Canyon, Fly Around Fest & Open Melody

When we think of music festivals these days, it’s often the big ones that come to mind — your Coachellas, Lollapaloozas or Bonnaroos. Sweltering heat, fields full of fans, lineups that feel increasingly algorithmic and boring. Such events can be fun, of course, but hardly anyone would argue that they’re really about music.

But for those of us in search of a more sonically fulfilling experience, a number of homegrown festivals are springing up across the country. These community-focused labors of love are carefully curated, purposefully eclectic and fiercely independent, giving attendees a chance to catch an array of artists over the course of a single action-packed weekend.

To get a little behind-the-scenes intel, over on Aquarium Drunkard I talked with the organizers of a few leading lights of this burgeoning world of DIY festivals. There’s Fly Around Fest in Lansing, NC, taking place July 31-August 1, 2026, with Jake Xerxes Fussell, PG Six, Weirs and beyond. There’s Ghost Canyon in Denver, taking place Aug. 27-30, 2026, featuring such ringers as Silkworm, Claire Rousay, Six Organs of Admittance and many more. And then there’s Open Melody, which held its inaugural event this past spring, bringing Lightning Bolt, Lubomyr Melnyk, OOIOO and others to Los Angeles (the next OM is scheduled for March 26-28, 2027, at 2220 Arts + Archives).

You're also going to want to check out the magnificent video that the Fly Around folks shared with us for this article — a Magic Tuber Stringband "In C" megajam featuring all kinds of cool players and live film projections by Tom Hansell.

Bulayo - Guitar Songs From Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia and DR Congo