notes: 3/7/09, Triumph Brewing Company

This was a great time, with a ton of our friends and family out to join Triumph's ever-busy bar scene for just under three hours of music. With Joe's strat-and-tube-amp setup in tow, we packed the setlist with covers in deference to the Saturday-night crowd, took every opportunity to dig in to a tasty jam, and even gave permission for the manager to try out his new lights-and-fog rig, which he did to great (if bar mitzvah-like) effect during Joe's wah freakout in "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." Big thanks to our new friend Ken Adessa, whose expert tambourine held down the rhythm for about 75% of the set (he's a drummer in his own right for a few bands, including NJ soul outfit Enzo and the Bakers).

These Triumph shows can be a lot of fun, although I have to admit that I'm a sucker for the slow stuff that usually gets left out of these setlists. But Saturday night gigs are what they are, and you've got to play to your audience. Have no fear, of course...once I finish cutting up the audio for the decidedly-mellower 3/19 John & Peter's show, I'll be posting some of those tunes here.

For now, enjoy two taped-from-the-audience tracks from the show, "Corinne" (also known by its working title, "The Drunk Girl Song") and an interesting take on the George Harrison classic "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."

(NOTE: To hear full versions of these songs, you must apparently have an imeem profile. I will research different media hosts for future postings, I apologize for any inconvenience. For what it's worth, it takes about two seconds to set up a profile, and I'll vouch for seeing no spam emails or issues arise since I set mine up a year ago)

Corinne (live @ Triumph, 3/7/09).mp3 - Justin Pope & Friends

While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Harrison) (live @ Triumph, 3/7/09).mp3 - Justin Pope & Friends

03.07.09 - Triumph Brewing Company
Setlist:
(^ - featuring Joe Durniak, * - featuring Melanie Snyder, + - featuring Lisa Rich)

1. Saying Whatever (J. Durniak)^
2. Corinne^*+
3. The Birthday Song^*+
4. Carmelita (W. Zevon)^
5. How I Got Through It^*+
6. Dear Azalea Gwen^*
7. The Drugs Don't Work (R. Ashcroft)^
8. Six, Seven^*
9. Bubbles^
10. Swear^*

11. Into the Mystic (V. Morrison)^*
12. Graceland (P. Simon)^
13. The Ballad of Brighter Begins^*
14. I Wonder (The Letter Song) (J. Durniak)^
15. The Sun's In My Eyes (J. Durniak)^
16. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (G. Harrison)^
17. I'm Your Man (L. Cohen)^
18. Drive (J. Durniak)^
19. Black Star (Radiohead)*
20. A Plea To Lara^*+
21. The Sprinter (Avoiding a Marathon)^*
22. Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes (P. Simon)^

(songs by Justin Pope unless indicated. All Joe Durniak songs were sung by Joe, with backup by Justin)

notes: 2/19/09, John & Peter's

Just pics for this one, sadly. I updated the firmware for my recorder the day before the show, which apparently causes all the user's custom gain/comp/limit settings to reset to default, so it came out clipped and distorted. Adding insult to injury was the revelation that this and other minor gripes I have with the device were just fixed in the new model. Bastards.

I do, however, have audio from this week's show and the 3/7 Triumph show, so I'll post those as soon as they're cut up into tracks. For now, enjoy some snapshots from the 2/19 show at John & Peter's, featuring:

Melanie Snyder - cello/backing vox
Zach Sweet - cello
Steven Nocar - guitar/vox
Steve - electric guitar
Lisa Rich - backing vox

(from l to r: Melanie, Justin, Steve, Lisa, Steve, Zach)

(Steve & Zach)

(Steve)

(Justin & the Steves)

(Justin & Steve)

(Lisa also runs the boards)

from the vaults #1 - "Prom Song" (2003 Demo)

(the first in a series of blogs featuring old, unreleased material that's been gathering e-dust on my hard drive for years)

Though recorded (properly) for the first time in 2003, this song actually dates back to Stairwell, a band I played with in college (the remaining members of which later went on to form the very talented Throwback). Listening to it now, the stains of Freshman Year are all over this song; every word's an (often too-) obvious effort to cast off the imagined shackles of youth in the name of adulthood (which, as it turns out, has its own shackles). I recorded it with Joe Durniak -- that's him playing drums and bass on this recording -- in a messy, difficult recording session in the summer of 2004, when I realized I was growing out of it and ought to commit the thing to tape before it was too late.

Stairwell @ Battle of the Bands, Just For Laughs Museum, Montreal (2000)

When we started out, our little band was anchored by two fairly well-established talents: an eloquent lead singer and songwriter, and a multi-talented percussionist/beatboxer with a huge stage presence; I sort of felt my way around a lead here and there, held down the high harmonies and sang the occasional cover tune, pretty comfortable in my role as the "Other Guy" at our campus festival gigs and impromptu rez-hall jams. But after we began to expand off-campus and the venues got to be a little bigger, the crowds a little thicker, I wanted to bring something larger and more powerful to our sets than the slow dirges I'd been writing. Compelled by the twin forces of a burgeoning inferiority complex and the aforementioned heady dose of frosh freedom, "Prom Song" (boo-urns to that title on restrospection) was my first (and last?) attempt at writing A Big Rock Song: big chorus, big statements, big images, and big chords, one that would help me stand out in the band and, hopefully, get me laid, perhaps even often.

Stairwell @ Le Swimming, Montreal (2002)

...which didn't exactly happen. In fact, it didn't almost happen (see: guy with Jonas-brother hair above). Though, to its credit, "Prom Song" did spend some time in that coveted, rockers-only Last Song of the Night slot, so mission accomplished, I guess. Though they're largely exaggerated and clumsily-stated, I always liked the lyrics to this one, and for the most part, the performance recorded here isn't bad (minus the terrible "holding on to..." part, which is the only reason this hasn't been shared before, but alas, no master tracks, so no re-dos. Warts and all).

At 27, I sometimes feel like I'm already too cynical to sing this one with any degree of seriousness, so it's disappeared from setlists in recent years. But as I've got all this stuff sitting in folders, I figured I'd start to share it. Enjoy...

Prom Song (2003 Demo) - Justin Pope