Throughout 2016’s opening two months, I was able to take in two surprisingly contained winter festivals in the upper Midwest: Madison, WI’s FRZN Fest and Chicago, IL’s Music Frozen Dancing. The former ran three days (I was in attendance for the bookends) at the High Noon Saloon while the latter took place outside of the Empty Bottle. Both boasted impressive lineups that reflected well on their venues and, to a larger extent, their cities. Those two fests were the year’s openers and they sent me scrambling for more shows to shoot and I was able to capitalize on several of those opportunities. Whether they were in a basement or at a historic club venue, if cameras were allowed, I’d have mine rolling. Several of the best photographs I managed to capture in that run of months can be found below. Enjoy.
Over the past six months, the site’s experienced a few hiatuses. While some of those hiatuses were due to personal reasons, the majority were because of long stretches of time spent on the road. During the course of those six months, I was fortunate enough to catch a small handful of shows (and play a few more). No live photography from 2016 has been posted (discounting the header photo that’s ran for the Told Slant feature spots and the Meat Wave photo that ran in conjuncture with the Live Videos segment) and below is a gallery — the first of five — designed to amend the oversight. Enjoy.
After a large handful of extended posts, Watch This will be back to its weekly schedule following this collection. Watch This has been an essential part of Heartbreaking Bravery since its first era as its very foundations are rooted in a philosophy that complements this space’s mission statement. They’re frequently ignored despite their astonishing level of artistry and are rarely featured in any meaningful way on any other forum. Live documentation is deeply important as it creates an immediate visual aid for a multifaceted chapter of history (and specifically the intersections that occur between venues/locations and artists).
Once again, 25 bands are featured in the below packet. Among these videos are performances that run the gamut from explosive covers (Meat Wave tackling Elliott Smith, Tacocat taking on Katy Perry), head-turning solo performances (Declan McKenna), confident experimentation (Operators, Fresh Snow, Blasteroid), and adrenaline-fueled thrill rides (Audacity, PWR BTTM, Mike Krol), among several other performance modes. Everything on display in this collection is worth studying, whether it’s the fillmmaking aspect or the performances themselves. There’s a lot to ingest so, as always, sit up straight, adjust the volume, get settled, and Watch This.
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1. Audacity – Dirty Boy (BreakThruRadio) 2. PWR BTTM – Ugly Cherries (Radio K) 3. Meat Wave – Speed Trials (SideOneDummy) 4. Stephen Steinbrink – Absent Mind (Little Elephant) 5. Moving Panoramas – Radar (BreakThruRadio) 6. David Bazan – Both Hands (KEXP) 7. The Zolas – Swooner (Light Organ) 8. Chris Bathgate – Nicosia (Radio K) 9. Hype – Last Man On Earth (DZ Records) 10. Operators – Space Needle (WFUV) 11. DIIE – Miracles & Magic Are Real (Radio K) 12. The So So Glos – Dancing Industry (Little Elephant) 13. Declan McKenna – Brazil (Conan) 14. Fresh Snow – Your Thirst For Magic Has Been Quenched By Death! (Exclaim!) 15. Mike Krol – This Is The News (KINK) 16. Tacocat – Roar (The AV Club) 17. The Kills – Tape Song (KCRW) 18. Guerilla Toss – Eraser Stargazer Forever (BreakThruRadio) 19. Blasteroid – Triple D (VHS Sessions) 20. GoGoPenguin – Branches Break (WFUV) 21. Saintseneca – How Many Blankets Are In The World (WXPN) 22. Murder By Death – Foxglove (Paste) 23. Nada Surf – Friend Hospital (World Cafe) 24. Furnsss – Roll With It (VHS Sessions) 25. Lee Fields – Don’t Leave Me This Way (KDHX)
Two Watch This posts will run tonight, bringing the series back up to the current release cycle. After more than 100 entries and several long-form packages, Watch Thishas only managed to expand in both scope and range. The underlying principle remains steadfast: this is a project to celebrate the very best in live performance video, one of the most under-recognized and under-appreciated multimedia art forms in the music and film world. An intense amount of craft is required to make a live video memorable (or, failing that craft, a formidable level of personality) and some of the people who are brave enough to make entries turn in unforgettable work.
Below are 25 great performances from 25 artists who are worth exploring. Whether it’s PUP tearing through the strongest opening 1-2 punch any record’s boasted this year, Courtney Barnett putting her heart into a gentle solo rendition of “Depreston“, Midnight Reruns unveiling a new song, or Small Houses putting a warm spin on a Weakerthans classic, there are a lot of moments to appreciate embedded into this compilation. Old favorites and emerging acts found themselves posited as the centerpiece(s) of artful documentation and this installment of Watch This is a presentation of those documents. So, as always, turn up the volume, calm down, lean in, and Watch This.
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1. Summer Cannibals – Go Home (KEXP) 2. Sunflower Bean – Easier Said (The Current) 3. Meat Wave – Delusion Moon (Ratio Beerworks) 4. Small Houses – Watermark (Onder Ivloed) 5. PUP – If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You, I Will + DVP (Stiegl) 6. Bird Laww – In My Sleep (Public Radio /\) 7. The Black Angels – Better Off Alone (Jam in the Van) 8. Mise En Scene – Show Me You’re Real (BreakThruRadio) 9. Wolf Solent – Countless Minds (Sea Records) 10. Courtney Barnett – Depreston (The Current) 11. The Coathangers – Make It Right (Paste) 12. Midnight Reruns – Warm Days (Set List) 13. Kevin Morby – Singing Saw + Doroth (The Daily Indie) 14. Katie Von Schleicher (Jenn Harrington) 15. Emily Yacina – Soft Stuff (This Has Got To Stop) 16. Bob Mould – Voices In My Head (Sound Opinions) 17. Palehound – Healthier Folk (Radio K) 18. Hemming – All I Want (Weathervane) 19. Odio Paris – En Junio (BalconyTV) 20. Mike Krol – Neighborhood Watch (Radio K) 21. Journalism – Watching & Waiting (BreakThruRadio) 22. David Bazan – Oblivion (Little Elephant) 23. Murder By Death – Shiola (Paste) 24. Lucy Dacus – Green Eyes, Red Face (BreakThruRadio) 25. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Clean Slate (3RRR)
2016 is just about at its midway mark and there hasn’t been any live coverage on this site since before the year turned over. There have been a number of extenuating circumstances preventing the live documentation that has been captured this year from being posted (travel, time, other commitments, etc.) but that changes today. Below are ten video packets from ten shows that I was fortunate enough to catch — and shoot — this year.
Normally, as a general rule of thumb, I avoid posting anything from shows I play but am making an exception for the Jungles package because the band’s woefully under-represented in America for their undeniable strength as a live act. A few other packets may be missing an artist or two but what’s below is the vast majority of what I’ve seen over the past six months.
Whether it’s Meat Wave ripping through a crushing new song on a (freakishly sunny) winter day in Chicago, Beach Slang covering The Replacements two times over, or Torres making everyone’s hairs stand on end with an unforgettable one-song encore, these are worth a look and were a privilege to experience. A photo gallery will be coming within the next few days but for now, enjoy the footage.
American Wrestlers, Eternal Summers, Palehound, and Torres.
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Julien Baker and Charly Bliss.
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Muuy Biien, Meat Wave, The Spits, and Black Lips.
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Runners, Beech Creeps, and Heavy Times.
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Jungles.
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Mr. Martin & The Sensitive Guys, BAG-DAD, Haunter, Miserable Friend, and Heavycritters.
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Yoko and the Oh No’s and PWR BTTM.
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Micah Schnabel, Dyke Drama, Potty Mouth, and Beach Slang.
There have been a few recent posts that have commented on (and made attempts to amend) the recent hiatus that Watch This experienced. There will be two more extended packets following this installment of the series and then Watch This will be caught back up to the current release cycle. After the last entry — the longest compilation of any kind that’s ever run on this site — nearly exhausted the finest full sessions of the past month and a half, it felt necessary to turn the attention to some more abbreviated sessions.
Now, for the sake of consistency of time, a few full sessions appear toward the end of the compilation below. There are 83 total videos in this package but, as is always the case for this extended version of Watch This, 25 performances are featured. Had they been able to fit in without repeating or more properly aligned with what this entry’s trying to accomplish (without being repeat inclusions for the artist), Charles Bradley & The Extraordinaires, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, and Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings all had sessions that would have made the cut. That trio of clips alone should serve as a testament to the strength of this edition of the series. So, as always, sit up, adjust the volume, lean back, and Watch This.
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1. Bully (The Current) 2. Those Manic Seas (Little Elephant) 3. Potty Mouth (Bedhead Sessions) 4. Torres (Paste) 5. Eddi Front (Hooke) 6. Alabama Shakes (Paste) 7. Tacocat (WFUV) 8. Thao & The Get Down Stay Down (KCRW) 9. Seratones (WFUV) 10. Frightened Rabbit (KCRW) 11. Music Band (Jam in the Van) 12. Charles Bradley (KINK) 13. Mass Gothic (Rhapsody) 14. Greys (Exclaim!) 15. Izzy True (Don Giovanni) 16. Black Beach (Allston Pudding) 17. Erik Blood (Band In Seattle) 18. Acid Dad (Jam in the Van) 19. Suuns (Exclaim!) 20. Diarrhea Planet (Jam in the Van) 21. Parquet Courts (Rough Trade) 22. Negative Scanner (Pressure Drop) 23. Wild Powwers (Band In Seattle) 24. Burnt Palms (Pressure Drop) 25. Wimps (Band In Seattle)
As was mentioned in the last post to run on this site, Watch This — the (usually) weekly series celebrating the very best in newly-released live video presentation — experienced an extended hiatus in the wake of incessant traveling and the frantic catch-up mode that traveling necessitated. Over the course of the next week, there’ll be a small handful of collections to get the series back on track.
The collection below contains 25 of the best full sessions released over the past month and a half. KEXP, Audiotree, and NPR (understandably) dominate the selections as they’re all operating at a gold standard level for full session presentation. The final result is a compilation that features an arsenal of site favorites and nears the 11 hour mark in running time. To that end, it’s likely best viewed in small bursts so a page bookmark is recommended. Everything, in true Watch This fashion, is worth seeing (and hearing). So, as always, sit up straight, adjust the settings to your preference, and Watch This.
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1. Lucy Dacus (Audiotree) 2. Palehound (NPR) 3. Eleanor Friedberger (KEXP) 4. Seratones (NPR) 5. And the Kids (Audiotree) 6. Florist (NPR) 7. Sunflower Bean (KEXP) 8. Mall Walk (KEXP) 9. PWR BTTM (TCGS) 10. Hockey Dad (3voor12) 11. Diarrhea Planet (KEXP) 12. Blue Crime (3voor12) 13. Bob Mould (KEXP) 14. Yuck (KEXP) 15. Car Seat Headrest (KEXP) 16. Quilt (KEXP) 17. Deep Sea Diver (KEXP) 18. Acid Dad (Audiotree) 19. The Ergs! (TCGS) 20. Pinegrove (Audiotree) 21. Operators (KEXP) 22. Strand of Oaks (KEXP) 23. Julien Baker (Amoeba) 24. Benjamin Clementine (NPR) 25. Jason Isbell (Front Row)
It’s been approximately a month and a half since the last volume of Watch This ran on this site. During the interim, there was a lull in coverage due to show coverage (the results of which will be appearing in the very near future) and then a spree to get the three main release categories — single streams, full streams, and music videos — caught back up to the current release cycle.
Now that everything’s back on pace, the Watch This series will be revived in a continuing series of posts that are spread out over the next week. During all of the time the series maintained radio silence, the material that was emerging was being taken into account on a near-daily basis. An intimidating amount of great live performance videos have surfaced in that time and will be split up into groups as those clips are recapped. Below is a list of strong candidates that have a lot to offer, either in the filmmaking department, through the band’s performances, or a mixture of both. So, as always, sit up, scroll down, and Watch This.
Last year, Mothers had me on the verge of tears with the unveiling of the devastatingly gorgeous “Too Small For Eyes“. I’d seen them a few months prior to that release but the restrictions CMJ presents essentially ensured that I wouldn’t be adequately prepared for the band’s astounding debut full-length, When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired. NPR recently hosted the band for an exquisite Tiny Desk session that does an intensely moving record justice.
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2. Sunflower Bean – Easier Said (World Cafe)
One of the more intriguing bands to watch develop and fine-tune over the past few years has been Sunflower Bean, whose insane work ethic has begun to translate to widespread success (and no shortage of burgeoning acclaim). While it may be easy to become fixated on the band’s backstory, in the face of their music — a lovely blend of powerpop and psych-pop — it simply doesn’t matter. The band’s recent World Cafe session sees them on steady, assured footing, ready to meet whatever may come their way.
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3. Kal Marks – Mankind (Allston Pudding)
Kal Marks is a name that’s appeared on this site multiple times over and the band keeps providing reasons to keep that name in heavy rotation on these pages. Case in point: an intense, scorched-earth single song performance for Allston Pudding. The band holds absolutely nothing back in this run through “Mankind”, which finds the trio elevating their no-holds-barred take on a blend of vicious basement grunge and snarling post-punk. It’s a thing to behold.
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4. Long Beard – Moths (VHS Sessions)
VHS Sessions has been crafting excellent live performance videos throughout 2016 but their current crown jewel came in the form of this humble run through “Moths” from Long Beard, who continue to set an exceedingly high bar for themselves and their peers. The trio constantly tap into an ineffable magic that renders songs that sound simple on paper transcendent in practice. This performance may very well be the most definitive example of their most intangible — and compelling — aspect.
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5. Daughter (KEXP)
One of the most unexpected shows I managed to luck my way into last year was Daughter‘s secret set at Baby’s All Right. I’d admired the band previously but was completely enraptured with their live set, even to a point where I was incapacitated by severe chills during a breathtaking run through “Doing The Right Thing”. While it’s impossible for what the band achieves onstage to translate to a filmed studio session, this KEXP run is as close as anyone’s likely to get for the foreseeable future.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: Each of the seven volumes that comprise this Watch This package contain 25 clips apiece. Due to the sheer volume of live videos that have come out during January, February, and March all of the packages will have the same introductory paragraph. Regular Watch This segments will resume on Sunday.]
It’s been a tremendous first quarter for live videos. While Watch This, Heartbreaking Bravery’s weekly series celebrating the very best of the live video format, hasn’t been in operation for roughly three full months, the information required to keep this thing humming (i.e., checking through hundreds of subscriptions and sources for outstanding new material) has been collected at regular intervals. If they were full sessions, single song performances, studio-shot, DIY captures, transcendent songs, or transcendent visual presentations, they were compiled into a massive list. 175 videos wound up making extraordinarily strong impressions, those videos will all be presented here, in the Watch This: The Best of 2016’s First Quarter extended package, one 25-clip presentation at a time.
Watch the seventh and final collection of those videos below.
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1. Two Inch Astronaut – At Risk Student (bandwidth.fm) 2. Bob Mould – You Say You (WFUV) 3. The Intelligence (KEXP) 4. Lever – The Task (DZ Records) 5. The Thermals – Always Never Be (Jam in the Van) 6. Saintseneca – Bad Ideas (KUTX) 7. Young Jesus – Oranges (Slanted Manor) 8. Eleventh Dream Day – Go Tell It (Sound Opinions) 9. Julia Holter – Betsy on the Roof (Strombo Sessions) 10. Mothers – It Hurts Until It Doesn’t (Do512) 11. Lucy Dacus – Strange Torpedo (Radio K) 12. Blah Blah Blah – Crying (DZ Records) 13. The Frights – Kids (Allston Pudding) 14. Caveman – Never Going Back (Jam in the Van) 15. Dan San (3voor12) 16. Test Apes (KEXP) 17. All Dogs – Farm (Slanted Manor) 18. Kitten Forever – Brainstorm (Radio K) 19. Bully – Milkman (KUTX) 20. Tancred (Audiotree) 21. PWR BTTM (NPR) 22. Pinegrove – Waveform (BrooklynVegan) 23. Mansfield.Tya – Le dictionnaire Larousse (Faits Divers) 24. Cross Record – Steady Waves (KUTX) 25. Charles Bradley (NPR)
Heartbreaking Bravery 