Caspian – 2007-04-28 & 2007-04-29
April 30th, 2007You know how when you’re listening to a really awesome song and your body gets all chilly like a ghost just passed through your body? And you know how awesome that feels? And you know how there is even one step beyond the “all over tinglies” where your stomach sort of tenses up for a split second almost to the point of being painful?
Imagine being in that state for five or ten minutes at a time. When Caspian finishes a set, my body quite literally aches from the state they put me in. This isn’t hyperbole and this isn’t me trying to be all artsy fartsy with fancy words and similes. It’s just the plain truth. They are simply that amazingly awesome.
The first night took place at the Bellevue teen center “Ground Zero”. While I was initially disappointed that they didn’t get a proper Seattle gig, it turned out to be a grand affair anyway. All of the bands were on point and ready to shred faces into a million pieces and everyone in attendance was ready to be shredded. There were people driving up from Portland and flying in from Canada and Florida just for this show. That’s the kind of draw Caspian has. That’s how bad people want to be rocked by them.
Local post-rockers Joy Wants Eternity opened the show and tore the place up. I didn’t get a chance to record them because they started so early but rest assured, it was awesome.
Los Angeles instrumental band Beware Of Safety played next and colored me all kinds of impressed. They have this one song called Kaura that just can’t be appreciated fully until you hear it live. On the EP it’s a good song, but once you are experiencing that huge crashing kick drum sound at a ridiculous volume, you know how they meant for you to hear it.
You.May.Die.In.The.Desert was supposed to play earlier but they decided to play last so that the touring bands could get more crowd action (which was very cool). So Caspian went on next and played for about 35 minutes of sheer elation. Starting off with Brombie and leading into Crawlspace then straight into The Trilogy from their first EP, they closed with a new song that just makes you want to die right there and ascend to whatever afterlife you may believe in.
After Caspian, You.May.Die.In.The.Desert went on and did what they do best: get all math-rocky and shred nonstop. I just love watching their guitarist, Brian, play. He reminds me so much of my buddy Colin from high school in so many ways that it’s nice to know that there are other hyperactive, amazing guitar players out there who just don’t quit. These guys have a split coming out with Japanese post-rock group Te’ (pronounced “Tay”) so make sure you get a copy of that when it comes out.
THE SAGA CONTINUES…
Yesterday afternoon I got a call from my buddy Woody. He told me he got in a car accident and that the barbecue that was planned for the afternoon would have to be postponed. Once I was certain that he was not injured and that he didn’t need/want me to do anything to help out, I looked at The Girlfriend and said “Now I can go to that show!”
She asked me, “What show?”
And I said “Caspian in Portland!”
She kind of looked at me funny then she realized that I was serious and that I really really wanted to go. I only mention this because I don’t own a car but she does. If I want to go to a show, I have to borrow her car and if I want to go to a show in another state, I kind of have to run it by her first.
Because The Lady loves me, she obliged my request and I started driving to Portland.
Here is one thing I will say: If you are ever in Portland and you need a bar in which to “kick it”, The Someday Lounge is where you want to be doing that. Everyone who works there is mega-helpful, the place is very classy and clean, the food is great, the beer is great, and the room sounds amazing.
Here is another thing I will say: Both Caspian and Beware Of Safety obliterated the place last night. Just destroyed everyone. I saw an old man walk by the venue when Caspian was mid-set and his hip shattered just being within earshot of their sonic presence.
Caspian played first and ran through Moksha, The Trilogy, ASA and Some Are White Light. Then they blazed right into Brombie followed immediately by the new song (replete with seven person drumming action to close it out). It was fucking AWESOME.
Beware Of Safety played last and rocked some different songs than they had the previous evening. Two of the guitar players had issues with their amps which made them feel that the performance was less than stellar but I thought it was great. Even so, they asked me not to post it online until they hear it to see how it sounds. And that’s how things will be done.
The drive back to Seattle at 12:30 was redonkulous. I got home at about 3:15 (from venue to my doorstep) without getting pulled over or in an accident. I saw at least a dozen highway cops with their laser guns out trying to catch speeders (I wasn’t really speeding, Rachel, I promise) but I never got pulled over. I resorted to singing a capella classic rock tunes at ridiculous volumes in order to entertain and alert myself. These are the kinds of things I’m glad aren’t being recorded.
NIGHT ONE:
Caspian – 2007-04-28 Ground Zero – Bellevue, WA
Download: caspian2007-04-28.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
Download @ Archive.org: caspian2007-04-28.akgc1000s.flac16
MP3 Sample: caspian2007-04-28sample.mp3
Beware Of Safety – 2007-04-28 Ground Zero – Bellevue, WA
Download: bos2007-04-28.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: bos2007-04-28sample.mp3
You.May.Die.In.The.Desert – 2007-04-28 Ground Zero – Bellevue, WA
Download: ymditd2007-04-28.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: ymditd2007-04-28sample.mp3
NIGHT TWO:
Caspian – 2007-04-29 Someday Lounge – Portland, OR
Download: caspian2007-04-29.akgc1000s.sbd.matrix.flac16.zip
Download @ Archive.org: caspian2007-04-29.akgc1000s.sbd.matrix.flac16
MP3 Sample: caspian2007-04-29sample.mp3
April 30th, 2007 at 10:17 PM
oy brian! thanks for the caspian uploads! i read your story. you’re just like me. i went to san diego for explosions this past friday, went to the mono/weg/drift show on saturday locally, and went to coachella on sunday for explosions and other bands. man i’m tired of driving right now.
unfortunately though, i didn’t record any. glad to have a backup ;-)
btw, you planning to allow lossy formats to be downloaded from archive.org for the caspian shows?
April 30th, 2007 at 10:38 PM
Yeah I allow derivatives (lossy and otherwise) on LMA uploads because it’s all in one place and I don’t have to deal with transcoding to MP3… their site engine does it all for me.
As long as the lossless is available alongside the lossy, that’s all that matters. That way the people that care about lossless tapes can have them and the people who just want to have a quick listen can do their thing as well.
May 1st, 2007 at 6:08 AM
And the people who are too lazy to transcode to mp3 themselves can download both, keep the lossless & put the lossy into a (mostly shitty sounding) mp3 player. Then blast it through earphones in the Paris metro & get to work with a big grin on your face in the morning (and ignore the nasty looks from guys in suits who think it’s too loud, as if there was such a thing as “too loud”).
Because of that (and by that I mean the ton of live shows I have on my player, including many of your recordings) my collegues seem to think I love coming to work in the morning…
Thanks!
.cas.
May 1st, 2007 at 9:33 AM
Sorry for adding a second comment but I’ve just listened to the full You.May.Die.In.The.Desert set & it’s really great!
I NEED to see these guys live! They really have to tour Europe.
I also liked the other show of theirs you upped last year (2006-10-15, aslo with Caspian I think). It’s still on my hard drive & has been given out on cd-r to a bunch of people in Paris/suburbs.
I’m listening to the Caspian set right now (first night). On their website it doesn’t look like they’ve ever played in my part of the world. It’s too bad (for me) because they seem like a really good LIVE band to actually SEE & hear…
You.May.Die.In.The.Desert is going to be blasting in my ears tomorrow morning on my way to work. It’ll be a good way to start the day! Hopefully.
THANKS!
.cas.
May 1st, 2007 at 10:59 AM
The only tour they currently have planned is in Japan this summer. I’ll let them know that there is a fan in Paris, though!
Glad you enjoyed their set. I really loved it too. I did video of their set (as well as Caspian and Beware of Safety) and I’ll try to get the DVDs done next month.
May 1st, 2007 at 11:40 AM
Thanks a lot for the audio, been waiting to hear the new Caspian track :)
May 1st, 2007 at 12:56 PM
A video (or clips) would be really cool.
It might be as close as I’ll ever get to SEE them live (though I hope not).
May 1st, 2007 at 2:54 PM
Thanks so much for posting these! Despite some of the technical difficulties we had, these shows were amazing for us to play (and your recordings are a great way for us to make adjustments to our live show). The highlight of the night was joining Caspian on stage for their last number. Your recording has captured a very important moment for me, and I appreciate that. Hopefully we can rock that number again this week in LA…
I was wondering if you were going to post the Fall of Snow set (or if I could get a copy of it)? I’m eager to hear the live version of her last number (On The Run) that we’ve been working on. That was the first time we have ever performed a song together and was another special moment that night.
Thanks for coming to the shows!
Morgan & BoS
May 1st, 2007 at 3:02 PM
I can post what I did get recorded. I had some technical difficulties in the beginning but I got about 25 minutes of her set (I think I missed about 8 minutes). I definitely recorded the song you did with her at the end. I can send you guys a copy of that along with your set. Just email me your mailing address (brian@iamserio.us).
May 2nd, 2007 at 12:27 AM
thanks once again for taping and sharing some great much brian. this is especially nice since i’m not sure if i’ll be able to make the show on the 5th in LA. if i do end up making it to LA i can definitely return the favor.
May 2nd, 2007 at 12:40 AM
Awesome. Just do what you can and, if nothing else, just enjoy the pure rockness of Caspian. I wouldn’t even hold it against you if you went to the show and got super drunk and just wallowed in the tones of Caspian. I got kinda drunk and did that but I had to stay sober enough to a) run my rig and b) drive home.
May 2nd, 2007 at 5:36 PM
i just started listening to the live shows at work and i hear you in the background trying to hush the audience. nice!
May 2nd, 2007 at 8:16 PM
Yeah you can hear me in the beginning of the 04/28 show. There were three guys sitting by the stairs chatting it up and I just said “I’m not trying to be a dick but once they start playing, if you want to talk can you not do it right here?”
I’m glad that both of the tapes don’t really have a lot of talking on either of them.
May 13th, 2007 at 4:15 PM
a video of “to greet you outside the letter” would be absolutely fantastic. it’s such a stunning song much like the rest of the caspian catalogue. thanks for all these recordings you provide! a true music fan you are, i can tell.
February 9th, 2010 at 9:26 AM
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