Judges 5:27

And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

It’s always been something of a running joke of mine whenever live music is introduced into a topical conversation that I’ve played more shows than I’ve seen. & in fact, this isn’t a joke, I suppose I should just call it a running comment. But that doesn’t sound as good. My point is, I don’t go to shows very often. In fact, here is a list of the “real” bands I’ve seen live (quotes here denoting a contract, a label, notoreity, etc.):

1. The White Stripes (right after Elephant came out, in DC. It was good, it was my first concert.)

2. The Fiery Furnaces (they were late & it was crowded, but their drummer was like the poor man’s Jim Carrey. Exciting hipster fun was had by all)

3. Cake (at one of DC101’s Chili Cook-offs. The DJ introducing them encouraged women to expose themselves, & I was with my mother wishing I wasn’t. The band played & I was happy cos they were why I was there.)

4. Negativland (in Baltimore last summer, in an Anglican church, it was a live radio broadcast & thus we were given blindfolds & it was implied we put them on to experience the show as it should be experienced: as a radio show. There’s a bigger blog post in there, I’ll do it one day)

5. His Name is Alive (last September in DC. They handed out tambourines & jingle bells to the audience & everyone in the audience played along with them. They also handed out lyric booklets & everyone sang along. Probably my favorite show, plus it’s a 20-year old band that hardly anyone cares about anymore)

6. Kanye West, Rihanna, N.E.R.D., Lupe Fiasco (Hah!! Rihanna danced with umbrellas like we all hoped she would. Everything smelled like weed & I kept tripping on empty beer bottles. What a night)

So yes, it’s a meager list, but give me a break shows are way too much money these days & you get upcharged everywhere you go. Did you know when Wu-Tang came to DC a couple years ago, general admission tickets were 50 dollars? Yea, don’t get me started.

So where do we go to see our bands live? The same place we go to see anything these days (this “we” is of course the infamous “royal we,” meaning “I”) — YouTube. With the joy of having an account with YouTube, I have amassed a nice little collection of some of my favorite performances, some old, some new, & J.Groom’s post on the worst music video ever inspired me to revisit these gems & share them. Without the internet, how could I ever travel back in time & watch Sinead O’Connor perform in 1994, or His Name in 1993?? Take comfort in the preservation of music’s past & revel in the excitement of LIVE!

[youtube http://youtube.com/watch?v=9CIpnhnbZ8o[/youtube]

Yo La Tengo “Mushroom Cloud of Hiss,” 1994. Arguments that there is a better Yo La Tengo song out there are invalid after one viewing of this video. Also: this is such an unattractive band!

[youtube http://youtube.com/watch?v=rEGILTA3UYs[/youtube]

Sinead O’Connor (with Christy Moore) “In This Heart,” 1994. No. 1 on the staggeringly beautiful songs list! (Listen to the strain in this girl’s voice — it’s almost imperceptible!) Studio version is maybe better, but this is so strained & stripped! A prize.

[youtube http://youtube.com/watch?v=bj9ayPMdgoY[/youtube]

Devendra Banhart “Doo Wop (That Thing)/Your Home is Where You’re Happy,” 2006. This was played just about daily at top volume as I made coffee alone while I house-sat for my mother over winter break. A perfect mash of artists (Lauryn Hill & Charles Manson!!) to start your day.

[youtube http://youtube.com/watch?v=ubI2TsIfCIw[/youtube]

Blind Melon “No Rain (?),” early nineties. Definitely not “No Rain,” & that’s the hidden prize! Cos it’s a way better song, & it’s like a minute long! Bada bing! (A bonus: he says, “Let everyone know where you’re from, Brad,” & I always say “Okay!!” & then I say aloud where I’m from. This is a fun kind of game I like to play sometimes, to pretend I am THE Brad, the only Brad in the world)

[youtube http://youtube.com/watch?v=Fx-A1YklJfI[/youtube]

His Name is Alive “Are You Coming Down This Weekend?,” 1993. I’ve never heard this song’s full version before except in this video. It’s a great one!! What a captured moment in time, I love stuff like this. He was bald when I saw them last year, & she was on drugs (physically, obviously on drugs!). Who says you need two hands to play the guitar? I love it

[youtube http://youtube.com/watch?v=XrkThaBWa5c[/youtube]

Tom Waits “Tom Traubert’s Blues,” 1977. Too painfully obviously amazing for a comment.

[youtube http://youtube.com/watch?v=MD6lC9NrAbQ[/youtube]

The Cassettes “Lady Faire,” 2006. In a used record store in DC, crammed against a wall with a lovely arrange of instruments, & would you expect anything less from this band? I weep for having missed this show, I also weep for having missed them when they came to UMW (!!!!) the year before I started school there. O, Mary Washington Underground, where have you gone!

[youtube http://youtube.com/watch?v=cmR03OGqOsM[/youtube]

Dreamland Faces “Smoke Rings,” 2007. Fine this is newer & these guys still tour like this, but the quality of this is undeniable! Music after my own heart

I am quickly realizing I could do this forever, & there are a million ones I am missing (Andrew Bird…Half-handed Cloud…early Danielson…SELENA!!). The point, I suppose, is to not worry if you can’t make it to every show you wish you could, because YouTube is kind of like the friend you’ve known your whole life — it always has your back. & so, I leave with this stark contrast: The Foundations’ “Baby, Now That I’ve Found You” as performed in 1967 — an off-key, stupidly performed time capsule of a gem from 1967 — & Alison Krauss’ perfectly polished, sorrowfully heartbreaking version from 2002.

[youtube http://youtube.com/watch?v=NuHhLiRkxNM[/youtube]

[youtube http://youtube.com/watch?v=EvKtxTsVoMo[/youtube]

Keep the music alive & the tickets low!