Completely Conspicuous 661: Shakin' All Over

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about concerts we'd like to go back in time to see. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

• Jay: Bowie on the Ziggy Stardust tour in 1973
• Never saw Bowie
• Phil: Grateful Dead's famous Cornell show 5/8/77
• The Holy Grail for Deadheads
• Jay: Canadian art rock weirdos Max Webster in southern Ontario 8/9/79
• Band split up in 1981 as singer-guitarist Kim Mitchell went solo
• Opened for Rush in the U.S. in the mid- to late '70s
• Phil: The Stones at the Boston Garden, 1972
• Jagger and Richards were arrested in Providence and Boston mayor bailed them out in time for the Garden show
• Mick Taylor era was notable
• Jay: Van Halen at Oakland Arena in June 1981
• A few songs were captured on video; VH fans have hoped for more
• Phil: Zeppelin at Berkeley, Calif., September 1971
• Touring before their fourth album was released
• Playing some of their acoustic songs
• Jay: SST legends Husker Du at the Channel in Boston 9/30/84
• In the middle of a killer stretch of albums; this one was for Zen Arcade
• Two classic albums were released the next year
• Phil: Allman Brothers at the Fillmore East in 1971 
• Original lineup including Duane Allman
• Jay and Phil: The Who live at University of Leeds on Valentine's Day 1970
• Played a show at Hull the following night
• We're going to see the Who at Fenway later this month
• Band was at the literal peak of their powers
• First release of Live at Leeds was only six songs
• Longer versions have come out; full set was 33 songs
• No video of this show unfortunately

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 660: When Schlitz Rocked America

Celebrating 19 years of podcasting with part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about concerts we'd like to go back in time to see. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

• On to our top 10 shows
• Phil's are in chronological order, Jay's in no particular order
• Phil: Neil Young and Pearl Jam on their short Euro tour, 8/26/95 in Dublin
• PJ standing in for Crazy Horse
• The Velvet Sundown, lame AI band
• Jay: The Clash from June 1980 at Hammersmith Palais
• 31 songs from throughout their career
• The Clash opened for the Who on the Schlitz Rocks America tour
• Apparently Schlitz was once a big name in beer
• Phil: Stevie Ray Vaughan on 9/21/85 at the Capitol Theatre
• Jay: PJ Harvey on the Rid of Me tour in '93
• Saw her on the next tour in '95
• Phil: Talking Heads on the Speaking in Tongues tour in Oct. 1983 in Billerica, Mass.
• Jay: I would've picked the 1980 tour with Adrian Belew on guitar
• Jay: Living Colour at TT the Bears in Cambridge, Mass. in the summer of '88
• Taped the show off the radio simulcast on WBCN
• Killer show before the band blew up the next year
• Phil: U2 on the War tour in March 1983
• Jay: Prince's Purple Rain tour at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse
• Prince was the biggest musician in the world at the time
• Phil: The Pretenders at the Paradise in Boston in 1980
• The band's original lineup was so good
• Jay: Went with a December 1981 Pretenders show in France
• To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian. 

Completely Conspicuous 659: Journey Through the Past

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about concerts we'd like to go back in time to see. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

• We're taking advantage of time machine technology
• That time Zebra opened for their own Zep cover band
• We're listing specific shows
• So many great artists to choose from
• YouTube makes it easier to see a lot of shows you missed
• Honorable mentions
• Jay: Surprise show by the Stones at a small Toronto club in '77
• Two shows were turned into a live album decades later
• Phil: Bob Marley and the Wailers in London, Monterey Pop, Bowie on Diamond Dogs tour, Sleater-Kinney in Berkeley, James Brown at the Boston Garden in '68, Beatles in Hamburg or the rooftop set, Prince on Purple Rain tour, Phish in '98, Steely Dan in '74  
• Jay: JB at the Soul Train studios in '73, the Police in '79, Iggy and the Stooges in '73, Zeppelin in '70, Mission of Burma's first farewell in '83, Drive Like Jehu in '94, Black Sabbath in '70, Iron Maiden in '81 with their original singer
• The Police jumped on the new wave bandwagon and brought energy and skill to it
• Sabbath's had interesting line items in their recording budget
• Shout out to CompCon intern Lily
• To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 650: Rip This Joint

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite concerts. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

• Our top 10 concerts in no particular order
• Phil: Banged up and seeing his first Dead show in Foxborough in 1989
• The show is popular with Dead fans
• Jay: Caught Mike Watt backed by the Foo Fighters in their first Boston appearance in '95
• Phil: 12 days after that Dead show, saw the Who at the same venue
• A 3-hour show for the 20th anniversary of Tommy
• Jay: The one area appearance by Them Crooked Vultures in '09
• Supergroup with Josh Homme, Dave Grohl, John Paul Jones
• Phil: McCartney at Sullivan Stadium in 1990
• The tour book phenomenon
• Jay: Two shows in one night--The Amps followed by Mighty Mighty Bosstones
• Phil: U2 show on St. Patrick's Day '92 in Boston, Achtung Baby tour
• "Put it in H"
• Jay: Also a U2 show; September 1987 at the Boston Garden
• Phil: Dylan at Endicott College in October 1992
• Tickets purchased at a local jewelry store
• Dylan almost didn't play because a heater wasn't working on stage
• Jay: Electric performance from Nick Cave's band Grinderman at House of Blues
• Phil: Pearl Jam at the Orpheum in April 1994
• A few days after Cobain's death
• Jay: Front row at the Orpheum for Sugar, November 1994
• Bob Mould's last tour with Sugar
• Phil: Neil Young at the Wang Center in 2018 with Jay
• Neil was solo, telling stories between songs
• Gotta see some of these older artists while they're around
• Jay: Pearl Jam in April '92 at tiny club Axis
• Just before PJ blew up
• Phil: Dead & Co. at Fenway in summer '23
• $60 cheese pizza 
• Jay: Last month seeing Sloan in Toronto with my daughter
• Played their first album front to back
• Only concert I've ever seen in Toronto
• Phil: Phish playing third show in three nights at Mansfield
• Jay: Ty Segall at the late lamented Great Scott in 2014
• So loud the floor was shaking
• Jay: No issues with seeing shows by myself
• Phil: Goose at MGM Fenway last year
• Played lots of covers, including the odd 36-minute jam
• Jay: First time seeing the Tragically Hip at the Paradise in April '91
• About 25 people there, but the band killed it
• Saw the band many times after that

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 649: Live Without a Net

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite concerts. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

• Cold weather running tips
• What makes a great concert?
• Small shows vs. stadiums
• Hard to pare down the list
• Limited to one show per artist
• Good idea for a sequel involving a time machine
• Phil leaned toward larger shows
• Didn't include: R.E.M., the Cure, Sleater-Kinney, Drive-By Truckers, Tedeschi Trucks Band 
• Jay: Prefer the intimacy of club shows
• We were at the same shows before we knew each other
• Phil: First concert was Van Halen in 1986
• Setlist.fm is a great resource
• MTV's Saturday Night concerts
• Jay's first show was a festival show in Kingston, NH with Cheap Trick, Ratt, Twisted Sister and Lita Ford in 1984
• Jay: Not a fan of festival shows anymore
• Adventures in seeing Rush
• Jay: Didn't see R.E.M. when they played my college 
• Other favorites: PJ Harvey, Hot Snakes, Lollapalooza '92, Afghan Whigs, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Drive-By Truckers, Alice in Chains/Screaming Trees, Peter Gabriel, White Stripes, Hold Steady, Mission of Burma, Gord Downie
• To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 583: Fascination Street

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1989. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Recorded via Zoom during a blizzard

- In '89, Jay turned 22 and graduated from college, Phil turned 20

- Early seeds of Seattle and Manchester sound

- GNR became huge

- Milli Vanilli was enjoying some short-lived success

-Big year for pop

- Phil's non-top 5 albums: Bob Mould, The Cure, B-52s, Stone Roses, The Ocean Blue, XTC, De La Soul, Replacements, Joe Jackson, Galaxie 500, Fugazi, RHCP, Lenny Kravitz, Tragically Hip, Indigo Girls, Bonnie Raitt, Tin Machine, Lou Reed, Dylan, McCartney, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Stones, Grateful Dead

- George Jefferson, prog fan

- Phil saw Stones, Who, McCartney, the Dead, the Cure, B-52s; Jay saw R.E.M., Elvis Costello

- Jay: Faith No More, Soundgarden, Elvis Costello, Cult, Mudhoney, Buffalo Tom, Nine Inch Nails

- To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 547: 2020 Hindsight

It's part 1 of my Zoomified conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of 2020. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Recorded via Zoom

- This podcast is not affiliated in any with MovieFone.

- The first time in nine years that we're not talking the year in rock in the same room

- No live shows after early March

- Breitling last saw Hallelujah the Hills at Great Scott last November, Kumar saw Drive-By Truckers at Somerville Theater in March

- Devastating economic impact on all the non-musicians who work to put concerts together

- If approved, Save Our Stages act would aid live venues

- Many independent Boston-area venues have already closed

- Great Scott may reopen in a new location

- No touring means no income for many smaller artists

- Streaming royalties need to be updated and increased

- The Breitlings enjoyed Strange Brew recently

- Plenty of livestreams, free, for charity and for profit

- Bandcamp Friday has been a good way to help out artists

- Online radio has been fun

- Breitling is doing a show with a couple of fellow Wesleyan DJs called Parcheesi Redux

- Parcheesi Redux Thursday (along with the other shows) is on Mixcloud

- Kumar's show, Stuck In Thee Garage, is in its 7th year on BFF.fm

- Great way to discover new music

- Our favorite music

- Breitling's picks from the midyear that didn't make his top 10: Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Soft Pink Truth, Gigi Masin, Peel Dream Magazine, Mandarina Duck, Destroyer

- Kumar's midyear picks that didn't make final top 10: Flat Worms, Dogleg, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Drakulas, Car Seat Headrest

- More Breitling on-the-bubble picks: Susie Derkins, Hum, Coriky, Mountain Goats, Milky Wimpshake, Somerset Thrower, Nothing, METZ, Bob Mould, The Brother Kite, Paper Birch

- More Kumar honorable mention picks: Psychedelic Furs, Kestrels, Fontaines D.C., Pearl Jam, Lo Tom, Disheveled Cuss, Emerald Comets/Ex-Hyena

- Next week: We count down our top 10 albums

Completely Conspicuous is available through the Apple Podcasts directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 539: Half and Half

It's part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the year so far. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded via Zoom
- Breitling's #10 and Kumar's #8
- Jangly indie pop sounds from Australia
- The lack of touring is really hurting bands and fans
- Breitling's #9
- A Matmos side project, "a niche of a niche"
- Kumar's #10
- All-star post-punk act out of LA
- Kumar's #9
- The loud/loud dynamic
- Breitling's #8
- Solo album from singer of Hop Along
- Breitling's #7
- Ambient electronic from an Italian musician in his 60s
- Bandcamp Friday has been a big hit this year
- Kumar's #7
- New band from Ian MacKaye, Amy Farina and Joe Lally
- Harking back to Fugazi's sound
- Kumar's #6
- Texas-based act with members from the Riverboat Gamblers and Rise Against
- Breitling's #6
- Another great Slumberland release
- Breitling's #5
- Dream pop from the Ukraine
- Kumar's #5
- Indie rock stalwart continues evolving his sound
- Kumar's and Breitling's #4
- Another cinematic effort from Canuck genius
- Breitling's #3
- Powerful release overshadowed by the pandemic
- Breitling's #2 and Kumar's #1
- Political hip hop as an art form
- Never more timely
- Kumar's #3
- Atmospheric new release from an alt-rock OG
- Kumar's #2
- Striking record from Boston-based indie rock act
- Breitling's #1
- UK indie act "like Elliot Smith making a Teenage Fanclub record"
- Looking forward to new releases from Sam Prekop, Katie Day, Bob Mould, IDLES, Fontaines DC, Psychedelic Furs
- When will concerts happen again?
- Probably dependent on a vaccine
- Liability is a big factor in whether shows come back

Completely Conspicuous is available through the Apple Podcasts directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 528: Burn and Shine

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss rock stars and aging. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- '90s butt rock is alive and well in New Hampshire
- Marlins will soar, according to Scott Stapp
- Commercial rock radio is dying
- In the mid-80s, rock radio was thriving in the Boston area
- Brian has satellite radio
- GNR/Smashing Pumpkins touring this summer
- The evolution of Sugar Ray's sound
- Mark McGrath is always working
- The Cameo economy
- Talking to musicians
- The ubiquity of Henry Rollins
- The musician deaths have always been plentiful
- 10 years ago, we lost Jay Reatard, Teddy Pendergrass, Doug Fieger, Mark Linkous, Alex Chilton, Malcolm McLaren, Dio
- So many big names in rock are getting older
- Eagles have continued to tour without Glenn Frey
- Surviving members of Nirvana have reunited for charity shows
- Rush will never play another show
- R.E.M. has never performed together since their breakup
- More fun with Cameo
- Don't wait to see a band you like
- Jay: Trying to see bands I haven't seen before
- Making up for lost time with some bands
- Some bands sound better than ever: Dino Jr., Ween
- Ozzy's looking pretty rough these days
- Some artists you don't want to see anymore

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts and anywhere else you get podcasts. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 511: On With the Show

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Gary Barth as we discuss the concertgoing experience. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded in Gary's car on the way to the show
- Driving before and briefly after an Iron Maiden concert at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, MA
- Jay: Big fan of club shows
- Like to get up close to the stage
- The downside of theater shows
- Some shows are made for big venues
- Getting your face melted by Ty Segall
- Demographics: We're the target market for Maiden, but often among the oldest when seeing newer acts
- If you were 30 when you saw Maiden during their early days, you're pushing 70 now
- Still weird to be "the old guy"
- No institutional knowledge of what came before
- Gary: Raised our kids on the Beatles
- Jay: My kids love Taylor Swift; at least she writes her own songs
- I listen to a lot of pop these days when I drive the girls around
- Making the kids listen to your music
- Gary: We played Beatles Rock Band a lot as a family
- Will we still go to rock shows as senior citizens?
- No such thing as guilty pleasures
- We both love the Bee Gees
- Jay: Traded the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack for a Zeppelin album
- Reconciled with my disco-loving childhood
- People who watch a show through their smart phones
- Making Gary self-conscious about phone use at concerts
- Artists who ban cellphone use at shows
- After the concert
- We paid extra to park in a lot to get out earlier
- High energy, over-the-top stage show
- Saw some people with toddlers
- Fun to go to a big show with friends
- Gary's next show: Raconteurs in September
- Jay's next show: Sleater-Kinney in October
- Gary plays about 20 shows a year

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 510: Maiden Voyage

Celebrating 13 years of podcasting with part 1 of my conversation with guest Gary Barth as we discuss the concertgoing experience...while we drive to a concert. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded in Gary's car on the way to the show
- Driving to an Iron Maiden concert at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, MA
- Gary's first concert: Huey Lewis and the News in 1985
- Huey's got rock cred
- All the big shows back in the '80s were at hockey rinks
- Many bands now play smaller theaters and clubs
- Jay: Used to go see only arena shows back then
- Arenas in Worcester, Portland, Providence
- Shows were cheaper back then, but we had less money
- People would get really wasted before concerts
- The guy who sat behind us and still missed the entire Maiden show
- Getting rides to concerts from parents
- Gary plays in a Grateful Dead cover band, Deadbeat
- Listening to some "nice hahd rawk"
- Jay's (very) short-lived high school band
- Jay: Liked a lot of metal and hard rock in high school, turned away from it in the '90s
- We both started listening to Maiden again in 2006
- Bands don't make money from selling albums anymore
- Saw Drive-By Truckers at the local theater in Beverly
- Go see Deadbeat at the Bull Run in Shirley, MA on 8/9
- Cover bands are doing pretty well these days
- Heavy Metal Cul de Sac
- Bands keep touring into their old age
- The Iron Maiden guys are all in their 60s but put on a high-energy show
- To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 399: Reeling in the Years, 1992 (Part 1)

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1992. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
 
Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- In '92, Brian turned 10 and Jay turned 25
- Hot 100 chart had a lot of pop, R&B, some hip hop
- But alternative rock was booming
- "Baby Got Back" was #2 song of the year
- Clapton's Unplugged album was huge
- The greatness of early Dire Straits
- Pat Smear in the Chili Peppers?
- The evolution of Guns N' Roses
- Axl's vampire voice
- Labels got rid of the CD longbox
- Once it was about hifi, now nobody cares about audio quality
- Big year for rock weddings
- Concert for Life paid tribute to the late Freddie Mercury
- Wayne's World appealed to both of us for different reasons
- Hair metal died in the U.S. but remained huge in Europe
- Montreal fans rioted because of Axl's antics
- Arena shows were de rigeur in the '70s and '80s
- Bands play much smaller venues now
- To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 266: Streets Ahead

Part 3 of my conversation with guests Mike Piantigini and Brad Searles as we discuss the new music we're looking forward to in 2013. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:
- Recorded at Piantigini Place, Somerville, Mass.
- Mike: New Big Dipper album is great
- Bettie Serveert is back with a new release
- Brad: The Neats reunion is happening
- Shockingly, Brad's never been to SXSW
- SXSW has grown into a huge spectacle
- Thumbs up to The Sinclair
- Def Leppard's Vegas residency
- Bob Mould can't play acoustic shows quietly
- Sting's "Back to Bass" tour
- Bands going out on a bad note
- Guitar Hero/Rock Band games flamed out quickly
- Do not taunt the Zoo TV
- Brad and Mike reminisce about the Merge Records 20th anniv. show
- Wilco's Solid Sound Festival is always good
- Bonehead of the Week


Music:
The XX - Reconsider
The Thermals - Born to Kill
Redd Kross - Stay Away from Downtown
!!! - Slyd

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The XX song is on the album Coexist on XL Recordings. Download it for free at Chromewaves.
The Thermals song is on the album Desperate Ground on Saddle Creek. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) at Soundcloud.
The Redd Kross song is on the album Researching the Blues on Merge Records. Download the song for free at Chromewaves.
The !!! song is on the album Thri!!!er on Warp Records. Download the song for free at Soundcloud.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 264: Reasons to Be Cheerful

Part 1 of my conversation with guests Mike Piantigini and Brad Searles as we discuss what we're looking forward to in 2013, musically speaking. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Recorded at Piantigini Place, Somerville, Mass.
- Breitling couldn't make it
- Brad: Unusual collaborations including New Medicants (Joe Pernice and Norman Blake), Kristen Hersh and Pond, Greg Dulli and Steve Kilbey
- Hersh is super busy
- Artists escape from the album-tour-album cycle
- Robert Pollard is a freak of nature
- Mike: Replacements cover EP to benefit Slim Dunlap
- Westerberg should tour again
- Axl Rose soldiers on...at his own pace
- Great artists aren't always great businessmen
- Mike watches "Nashville"
- Breitling's list includes the Come reunion
- Come reissue has live set that Brad had hosted on his blog
- Jay: Bowie's back
- New Marnie Stern album on the way
- To be continued
- Bonehead of the Week


Music:
The Spinto Band - Shake It Off
FIDLAR - Got No Money
King Tuff - Keep On Movin'
The Maccabees - Go


Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Spinto Band song is on the album Cool Cocoon on Spintonic Recordings. Download it for free at Spintonic.
The FIDLAR song is on the EP Don't Try on Mom and Pop Music. Download the song for free at Chromewaves.
The King Tuff song is on his self-titled album on Sub Pop. Download the song for free from Sub Pop.
The Maccabees song is on the album Given to the Wild on Fiction. Download the song for free at Chromewaves.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 217: Dirty Water

Part 2 of my conversation with special guest Mike Heyliger as we discuss the whole New York vs. Boston thing. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:

- Check out Mike's blog Popblerd

- It's all about efficiency

- NYC's got the advantage for things to do after 2 a.m.

- Everything closes up early in Boston

- Jay: Mid-week club shows are tough when you have kids

- Green Day's ready for Vegas

- Boston has a ton of great small rock clubs

- NYC has a better assortment of R&B and hip hop shows

- The undeniable greatness of The Roots

- Duran Duran's long and winding career

- Mike had the Duran Duran board game as a kid

- Mike: Rudy Giuliani cleaned up NYC in early '90s

- The Northeast has a certain intensity

- Boston's a good place to live

- Beer's a whole lot cheaper than in NYC bars

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Torche - Kicking

Brendan Benson - Bad For Me

White Rabbits - Temporary

Sun Kil Moon - Sunshine in Chicago

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Torche song is on the band's forthcoming album Harmonicraft on Volcom Entertainment. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) from TorcheMusic.

The Brendan Benson song is on the album What Kind of World on ReadyMade. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) at BrendanBenson.com.

The White Rabbits song is on the album Milk Famous on TBD Records. Download the song for free at RCRDLBL.

The Sun Kil Moon song is on the album Among the Leaves on Caldo Verde Records. Download the song for free at Epitonic.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian; check out his site PodGeek.

Completely Conspicuous 210: Live and Dangerous

Part 2 of my conversation with special guests Nick Lorenzen and Mike Piantigini as we discuss Boston's live music scene. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:

- Mike still goes to many rock shows

- The scene's rebounding, more new clubs

- Nick did not pogo at recent Superchunk show

- Nick and Mike saw Paul Westerberg's first solo show

- Myspace lives!

- Nick and Mike were in the band Lump in the '90s

- Brighton Music Hall is making an impression

- Live Nation squeezes out smaller clubs

- Live Nation Entertainment owns Live Nation and Ticketmaster

- Big venues are in trouble

- More bands played big arenas like Worcester Centrum in the '80s

- Memories of INXS

- Discovering your new singer on YouTube: Yes, Journey

- O Positive, a great Boston band from the past

- The suburban rock clubs of the '80s and '90s are mostly gone now

- The smartphone has reduced the amount of longform reading we do

- Debating Pearl Jam's fight vs. Ticketmaster

- Tickets in big venues are more expensive, but club tickets are still cheap

- Movie ticket prices haven't grown exponentially

- Moviegoing experience is less enjoyable

- Pixies need to pick another album to play; touring behind Doolittle for a few years now

- Mike: 2011 was a good music year

- We consume and digest music much quicker now

- Who doesn't have a Rick Neilsen guitar pick?

- Jay and Mike realized they grew up a few towns over from each other

- Mike bagged Queensryche's groceries (not a euphemism)

- The Kingston, NH Fairgrounds had several big festival shows in the '80s

- Next episode: Older artists aging gracefully while others hang on too long

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Lee Ranaldo - Off the Wall

Reigning Sound - Shaw

White Rabbits - Heavy Metal

Mind Spiders - Wait For Us

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!
The show is sponsored by Budget, the country's premier car rental service with 900 locations. Go to Budget.com/CompCon and save 10% off any reservation or $30 off a weekly rental.

The Lee Ranadlo song is on the album Between the Times and Tides on Matador Records. Download the song for free at Matador.

The Reigning Sound song is on the EP Abdication...For Your Love. Download the song for free at Scion AV.

The White Rabbits song is from the album Milk Famous on TBD Records. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) at the band's website.

The Mind Spiders song is on the album Meltdown on Dirtnap Records. Download the song for free at Epitonic.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography at his blog. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian; check out his site PodGeek.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 132: All the World's a Stage

Jay Breitling joins me again on the podcast to discuss the power of live rock. Listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Kumar only went to arena rock shows in the '80s

- The Worcester Centrum was the big rock venue in the Boston area back then

- Started going to club shows in early '90s

- Breitling camped out for Stones tickets in '89

- Chloe lets rip a mighty screech

- Breitling saw a ton of club shows

- We saw a drunken Hold Steady show in '06 that was awesome

- In late '80s/early '90s, Kumar started seeing bands play in rock club in Beverly, Mass.

- Breitling's friends were playing in bands

- Club shows are great for seeing bands on the way up

- Half time = bath time

- Listen to Ric Dube's More Lost Time podcast

- Big arena shows now suck because of corporate influence

- Kumar and Dube saw the Go-Go's play a JVC private party at CES in 2001

- People got annoyed because we were jumping around

- People don't pay attention at shows anymore

- Only really huge bands and teenybopper acts sell a lot of tickets now

- Established acts like the Eagles and AC/DC are doing store exclusive deals, charging huge ticket prices

- Wear earplugs, people

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

!!! - AM/FM

The Kominas - High Noon

EELS - Looking Up

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The show is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com, a leading supplier of athletic footwear, apparel and sports equipment. Find gear from top brands such as Nike, Adidas, Asics and more. Use promo code AFCOMP15 for 15% off any order at Eastbay.com, AFCOMP20 for 20% off any order of $75 or more at Eastbay.com and AFCOMPFL for 15% off any order at Footlocker.com.

The !!! song is on the forthcoming album Strange Weather, Isn't It? on Warp Records. Find out more and download the song for free from the band's website.

The Kominas song is on the EP Escape to Blackout Beach. Find out more and download the EP for free directly from the band.

The EELS song is on the forthcoming album Tomorrow Morning on E Works/Vagrant Records. Download the song for free at the band's website.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography at his blog.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 131: Double Live Gonzo

I'm joined this week on the podcast by special guest Jay Breitling as we discuss the power of live rock. Listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Breitling thought we were going to talk about beer

- It was much easier to see bands before becoming a parent

- Chloe's trashing the place

- We saw The Feelies play six encores recently

- Remembering Dread Zeppelin

- Hammer of the Gods is a classic rock biography

- Fond memories of cranking Triumph and Bad Co.

- Gotta love when bands open and close with the same song

- House of Pain had a wussy posse

- Breitling was inspired by seeing classmate's band in high school

- Breitling's first concert: Super '70s Fest with BTO, Guess Who, Dr. Hook, Grand Funk Railroad

- As a 12-year-old, Kumar hoped to see Led Zep...but then Bonham died

- Kumar's first concert: Cheap Trick, Ratt, Twisted Sister, Lita Ford

- Twisted Sister had a great live show

- Cheap Trick was one of the first bands to play old albums in their entirety

- Now everyone's doing it

- Bands can alienate audience by playing entire new album

- Some bands you want to see while they're still around

- Seeing bands in smaller venues is preferable

- Breitling saw The Cure, The Grateful Dead and Nitzer Ebb in same week

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

Iron Maiden - El Dorado

The Melvins - Evil New War God

The Black Angels - Bad Vibrations

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The show is sponsored by Budget, the country's premier car rental service with 900 locations. Go to Budget.com/CompCon and save 10% off any reservation or $30 off a weekly rental.

The Iron Maiden song is on the forthcoming album The Final Frontier on EMI Records. Download the song for free through the band's website.

The Melvins song is on the album The Bride Screamed Murder on Ipecac Records. Download the song for free at RCRDLBL.

The Black Angels song is on the forthcoming album Phosphene Dream on Blue Horizon Records. Download the song for free at the Black Angels' website.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography at his blog.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.