October 2011 - Posts
We wanted to thank all of you who pre ordered Death By Stereo by granting access to a live in studio webcast this past Monday. Thanks for tuning in or catching it on the archive. The evening was full of great music and hilarious banter. Set II was almost entirely acoustic including a great rendition of Orfeo (solo Cummins) and only the 2nd performance of The Weight Around (solo Bayliss).
Jake debuts the acoustic demo version of Search 4
Cornelius J. Tunester (aka Death By Stereo Boombox) sitting in on the session
Audio downloads of the entire in studio performance are now available. Many of you have expressed interest in video downloads so we're looking into that as well. Who could deny that pull?
Manny Sanchez & Kevin Browning at the API Console in the IV Lab Control Room
Puppet String (make sure to check out the following banter track "birds & the bees" - some sage advice from Stasik's mom)
NOTE: If you didn't receive your access code but pre-ordered the album from our pre-order page, please forward your receipt or order number to dbswebcast@gmail.com to receive a code. iTunes pre orders were not included as part of this offer (it's a whole different eco system over there in Cupertino folks)
We all knew that stealth Groupon show at Lincoln Hall was going to be memorable. We just didn't realize how memorable it was going to be.
The Poster
About 15 minutes before the show was scheduled to start, I found myself milling about in the lobby when I heard the power fizzle. The entire city block went dark as the back up generators kicked on, keeping the venue illuminated. Blowing a fuse is one thing, an entire grid outage is something else entirely. I headed upstairs to inform the band of our predicament and start plotting a plan B. Waiting on the power company to fix things in a timely manner is like waiting on the rapture, it just ain't gonna happen.
We determined that we could muster enough juice from the generators to power 4 amps on stage allowing all 6 guys to at least play something...no PA, no monitors, no vocal microphones, and 4 lights (soon to be 3). My thoughts immediatley turned to the recording as we certainly couldn't afford to miss this. We back lined (rented) all the gear so all of the usual tools weren't at gig which left us with few options. So Chris Mitchell grabbed our FOH microphones and I roped in the Groupon camera guy to give up his battery powered recorder and help us out (THANK YOU). I dropped the microhpones at the down stage edge and off we went - recording the band exactly as they sounded off the stage, no mixing.
Day Nurse - One of my personal highlights from the evening
Ryan's bass amp was fried in the outage so Jake, Brendan & Andy kicked things off with some trio material. After a back up amp was snagged from our office, all 6 guys made their way onto the dimly lit stage to play the hand they were dealt. The set list was scrapped and replaced with an impromptu set of instrumental material.
The Original Plan
The power decided to join us around encore time so the guys took a brief break while the crew hurried to put the stage back together. The monitor board was also fried during the outage so the band could not hear themselves or each other for the entire encore. At that point, the recording switches back to a direct sound board mix with zero ambient microphones...one extreme to the other. It was one for the books and we're glad that we we're able to capture it at all. The easy thing to do would have been to shelve it as it's far from perfect but what fun would that have been? It's a once in a lifetime (god willing) experience that was too crazy not to share. It's not your usual UMLive but certainly a gem for the collection.
On that tip, we are making the entire show available for only $4 by extenidng the Groupon Now! deal today. Yea, we know we're crazy but we love you. GO GET IT NOW before it's regular price.
I'd personally like to give everyone involved a tip of the cap for rising above and just making it happen. Our crew was phenomnal (as usual) and both the Groupon & Lincoln Hall peeps kept on plugging away. What a night!
-Kevin
POWER
P.S. Did I mention that The Haunt was slated to be the original version? :)
In a continued effort to give you more of what you want, we are pleased to bring you another way to bask in some UM glory.
We filmed all 4 nights of our Brooklyn Bowl run this September and like mom says, it's nice to share. You can now stream any of the 4 shows for only $2.99 each or $10.99 for all 4. Purchase all 4 and you'll also get exclusive video of our Stew Art Series from Thursday, September 8th. This is the first time we've ever released an S2 in its entirety, let alone with video. All 4 shows are packed with highlights, from Bob Weir and Biz Markie sit ins to debuts of the new album songs Miami Virtue and Domino Theory. There is something for everybody in here.
Watch each video-on-demand purchase for 48 hours. The videos are 720p HD with high quality audio.
We hope you enjoy these shows as much as we did. Thanks for the continued support.
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Night One
Night Two
Night Three
Night Four
The Bluebird: Bloomington, IN 10/24/10
Who doesn't like the intimacy of the 'Dirty Bird'? Everyone knows we get down to the nitty gritty when we show up in this town. Show highlights include Release by Pearl Jam, The Haunt, & a Farag Regulate. Down dirty funk and sweaty dirty love filling up the room.
Crystal Bay Club, Crystal Bay, NV 10/27/09
Oh how I love casino gigs. I get to play some poker with fans, roll the dice, and get pumped up for a face-melting rock show. Again, intimacy and crowd energy was through the roof for this power show. Highlights for me include an 18 mintue Bright Lights, a rare 50 ways, and a 12 and 1/2 minute HBB encore. I love playing rooms where I am just a few feet away from the fans and I throw that awesome energy right back at them like we did at the Crystal Bay Club that night.
HOB, West Hollywood, CA 10/29/09
Raging LA the night before our two night Halloween run and we were ready to rock. Who doesn't love Jake singing Segar's Hollywood Nights? I also enjoyed the End of the Road followed by a powerful 1348. I hope you do too. Cheers to the best fans in the world!
Kevin Browning's picks for the Rockotober UMLive sale
Peoria, IL 10/10/09
With the guys roling out of their bunks and walking straight on stage, the hilarious start of this show set the tone from note one (see clip). The raucous crowd brough the thunder and the band delivered. A funky Much Obliged had all the heads bobbin' and this was one of only 5 versions of Cold Smoke ever played before it got the Go To Hell makeover. The Soup > Fancy encore had the place going nuts.
New York, New York 10/19/07 & 10/20/07
2 nights in the big apple never disappoint. Night one highlights include a cozy 30 minute DBK and an acoustic Great American > That's The Way > Great American that's always good for the soul. I'm a sucker for the acoustic stuff. Night two saw a smattering of guests including Matisyahu during the Roulette jam. This was a solid one, two punch.
Philadephia, PA 10/18/08
Ocean Billy > Resolution > Ocean Billy, Rosanna > Stewart. Game. Set. Match.
Brendan Bayliss's picks for the Rockotober UMLive sale
Wilma 10/9/2010:
I remember this being a good one. ND won that day (always sets up a good show) and we had been on the road for awhile at this point, so we were loose and ready. We hadn't played Missoula in years, so we were very surprised to have a huge crowd. Things took off after the partyin peeps opener and we never looked back.
Las Vegas 10/28/05:
Late night in vegas. That should be all i have to say here. Great jamming, the whole night felt loose and relaxed. Warren Haynes comes out to play immigrant song with us. Enough said.
St Louis 10/31/10 :
This was one of, if not my favorite, Halloween shows ever. The crowd was amped and really pumped us up. New mash ups, high energy improv, and Pony riding a motorcycle on stage with a midget. Amazing.
We are currently running a deep discount on all umlive shows from the October archives. Joel shares a few of his favorites from over the years. Head over to umlive.net to check out the full offering.
Traverse City 10/7/2009:
As the band's playing heated up in fall of 2009, we made our first stop in Traverse City. A wild night of improv, extended takes of Example 1, Andy's Last Beer, Hey 19 & Made to Measure made this one a night to remember. This show was so crazy that they banned booze from the venue after our visit. Now that's a rock show, thank you Michigan for always delivering.
Gainesville 10/19/2005:
Our first show in Gainesville was a sold out affair at a small club called Abbey Road and included a 27 minute version of Der Bluten Kat, a great jam out of Resolution and of course, a Beatles cover, I've Got a Feeling. Sometimes the more intimate spaces provide for high energy.
Canopy Club 10/29/2010:
The Canopy Club shows are always special, and this prelude to the much-talked-about Halloween run of 2010 in St. Louis flies under the radar as one of the best shows of the year. Whether it's good improvisation (Utopian Fir, Ringo, Crooked One) or rare covers you're looking for (The Stranger - Billy Joel, Bonafide Lovin - Chromeo), this show has it all.