Cover jam of the day and live concert radio shows: Tool / "No Quarter" [Led Zeppelin]

I was driving down to the South Side this afternoon and tuned into WRCT during the ride. Whatever DJ was on played two straight songs of live Led Zeppelin—"Misty Mountain Hop" and one other— and I was digging it. It got me wondering whether there are radio shows out there that devote themselves to replaying "classic" concerts from the past. I mean, there are Grateful Dead and Phish and DMB junkies—and others focused on bands with extensive live discographies—who collect bootleg recordings of live shows and debate which were best and discuss them with others, but I'm thinking about a show that has a different band every week. I can think of a number of live albums I enjoy listening to, and I'm sure there are lots of bands who sound great live but maybe not so much on record. Anyone know of such a show out there somewhere in internet/radio-land? Maybe a live recording blog of classic shows? Point me towards it!

The next song the DJ played was … well, I thought I correctly heard him say "Tool playing 'No Quarter' " and I wasn't sure until a minute or so in, and then … yeah, that's what it was. One of my absolute favorite Led Zep tunes played by a band that I don't really know and haven't bothered to listen to ever, but this version actually sounds really good. Faithful enough to the gloomy cock-rock guitar of the original, creepy-as-hell vocals, absolutely pounding drums. Yeah, this is a great cover. Wikipedia lists several other covers of this song, which I will be investigating, for sure.

"Lock the door, kill the light No one's coming home tonight"

Jam of the day, and an upcoming film screening: "Glósóli" and Inni

I just found out that Inni will be screened at the Three Rivers Film Festival next weekend, and I had to share. Inni is a live album, with footage from a 2008 performance at the Alexandra Palace in London, directed by Vincent Morisset. The CD/DVD will be officially released on November 7, but the 3RFF will be screening the film on both Saturday, November 5 and Friday, November 11! (You can buy tickets to those screenings here and here; $9 each night.) A description on the band's website nicely summarizes the appeal of the film and how it fits into their discography and band history:

unlike many concerts, watching sigur rós is seldom a communal experience; it is instead intensely personal. by almost entirely removing awareness of the crowd and any sense of place, morisset brings you closer than ever to the players, using multiple camera angles to reveal in sometimes minute close up the concentration and effort involved in delivering such a powerful rock show. …

the performance captures the band playing as a stripped down four-piece for the first time since they were joined by string section amiina at the start of the decade. this fundamental 'boiling down' makes 'inni' a more forceful and primal proposition, much at odds with the popular misconception of the band as purveyors of instant emotional heft for film-makers in need.

the album features 15 tracks, with songs taken from all five sigur rós studio albums. there is also the bonus of an unreleased studio track in the form of 'lúppulagið', which is used both over the credits of the film and as the final non-live track on the album. the dvd/blu-ray, meanwhile, also includes four extra songs from the night.

This sounds incredible. You can pre-order a deluxe edition of the film/album here (with CDs, DVD, Blu-Ray, 7", photos, etc.) or a more reasonably-priced DVD/CD combo here. I really want to check out one of the screenings here in town (probably Nov. 11) and see if they're selling DVDs there, perhaps. In the meantime, here's a trailer for the film:


 
While we're here, I might as well share one of my favorite Sigur Rós songs, too. I think Takk… is what got me into Sigur Rós in the first place, so it will always have a special place in my listening heart. This particular song is lovely and energetic and perfectly arranged and executed, and the same can be said about the outstanding music video. (Read more about the song and the video on Wikipedia.)

Sigur Rós / "Glósóli" / Takk… [EMI, 2005] / dir. Arni & Kinski

 
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