Ten years ago, Bright Eyes and Tilly and the Wall were the first artists to ever have a concert webcast by NPR.
That’s the story behind yesterday’s “All Songs at 15: The Near Disaster of Our First Live Concert Webcast.” It’s the fifth installment in a weekly, year-long celebration of All Songs Considered’s 15th birthday. NPR staffers share stories and personal memories from the show.
And this one happened to take place right around the time I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning came out (which, hey, turned ten late last month). Bright Eyes was set to play 9:30 Club and NPR decides to webcast it live, a much more difficult task (and original idea) ten years ago than today.
Tilly and the Wall opened for Bright Eyes with CocoRosie. Read the original bit about the show here. What Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton couldn’t have anticipated is that Tilly and the Wall, the first band, would open the show with a profanity-laden call-and-response. Luckily nothing ever came of it and NPR has done many concert webcasts since.
Still, it’s a heart-in-the-throat kind of moment for them.
The article also includes setlists from both Bright Eyes and Tilly and the Wall. Neither are too surprising from that time. The Bright Eyes encore closes with “Road to Joy.” “Method Acting,” “Train Underwater,” “At The Bottom of Everything” all make appearances.
Maybe the most interesting part is that the band apparently played “I Must Belong Somewhere” that night, which would have been released on Cassadaga two years later.
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If you were able to attend, we hope you enjoyed last month’s Take Cover shows as much as we did.
The final step of completing the Nebraska Arts Council mini-grant we received for these events is gathering feedback from participants and the audience. Please give us a hand, and fill out this quick survey. It’s gotten a great response so far, but we’d like to gather as much feedback as possible.
photo by JP Davis
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Plenty of the shows this weekend, including two more nights of Lincoln Exposed. Tonight, Producers of the Word kicks it off at 6:00 p.m. Then options abound until 1:30 when The Bottle Tops close shop. Check out the whole schedule here. Keep an eye out for our Thursday coverage later today.
Fantastic Cassettes tape label hosts its Kickstarter campaign kick off show tonight at Parrish Studios in downtown Lincoln. The label will operate a retail shop out of the space. The Kickstarter, which will launch later today, will pay to stock and furnish the retail space and purchase higher-end recording and tape-dubbing gear. Hip-hop duo Kamakauzzy and Yellow will perform. RSVP here.
Powerman 5000 plays Vega tonight with Hed PE, Knee High Fox and Plack Blague. RSVP here. Powerman 5000 played a seemingly spur-of-the-moment how at Vega in November and Plack Blague opened. That must have gone well. Industrial metal band Powerman 5000 released its tenth full-length last May.
Reverb Lounge hosts the annual J Dilla Tribute Show tonight. Midtown Marauders, a group that features Conchance and Kethro, will play with DillaGents, a live band Keith Roder (Kethro) formed just for the occasion. Both and Static Soul have sets and Marcey Yates and Xoboi will play with Artillery Funk. All proceeds go to The J Dilla Foundation which supports music education in inner-cities. RSVP here and read our story of the show here.
Tomorrow night, The Hideout hosts a punk showcase to benefit Operation Music and Arts, which hopes to open an all-ages venue in Omaha, something the city has lacked for several years now. Read our interview with Emma Reker, who is spearheading the effort, here. The show starts at 5 p.m. and ten bands play tonight including Cordial Spew, Varmint, Suburban Crisis, DSM-5 and more. Check out the full lineup and RSVP here.
Sunday, The Bourbon kicks off its weekly musical brunch series. Specialty waffles are served from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Music runs from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. This week features Rebecca Lowry and Jessica Errett of All Young Girls Are Machine Guns. RSVP here.
That afternoon, Chez Hay, at 14th and P streets in Lincoln, hosts a benefit for Pat Clinch. Pat, a prominent Lincoln community member, was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He and his wife Maggie Pleskac, who operates Maggie’s Vegetarian Wraps in the Haymarket, have a daughter and a child on the way. The fundraiser includes a set by The Bottle Tops, a silent auction, a change jar and more. The event runs from 12-4 p.m. RSVP here.
Philadelphia’s Small Houses returns to O’Leaver’s on Sunday night to play with Anna McClellan. Jeremy Quentin, the man behind Small Houses, played Omaha and Lincoln shows last fall. He released his second album earlier this week and we premiered a Sonata Sessions video with the singer-songwriter. RSVP here.