Dance Music | 2005-10-31 | The Mountain Goats

1:13:11

Rating:

10.00 / 2 ratings

Taper:

Thomas Hartnett

Transferrer:

Thomas Hartnett

SHNID:

tMG2005-10-31.aud.flac16

Source:

AUD>Visivox SCM Broadcast Pro microphones>Visivox SCM preamp>Sharp MD-MT866

Lineage:

Sharp MD-MT866>Sound Studio 3.5.6>MacFLAC

Taper Notes:

View NotesOof. This was a rough one. The final night of the Fall 2005 tour behind the Sunset Tree, with The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers opening and joint the band late in the set. On this particular date, a nascent Grizzly Bear was added as a second opener. At some point during either Prayers and Tears's or Grizzly Bear's set, my right microphone was completely lost. As a result, the left channel, which was completely saturated by the levels of this exceptionally loud and raucous performance, had to capture everything, and I replicated the signal from the left channel into the right channel to produce this mono recording. Everything is pretty much in the red, and that goes double for the end of the show when the Prayers and Tears join John and Peter. I sat on this recording for nearly 8 years trying to figure out a way to better clarify the sound in post, but I've finally resigned myself to the fact that there's only so much one can do with a bad source. SInce no other source has surfaced in the ensuing 8 years, however, I decided that I should put this document of an exceptionally energetic night out into the world rather than let it languish in obscurity.

As for the show itself: It was Halloween night, and the band were in costume - John was dressed as a Catholic priest (which made his proselytizing gestures during Against Pollution all the more effective), and Peter was in full Grim Reaper garb - a black cloak and an opaque black face shield that he did not remove for the entirety of the show, including the encores. Trust me, it was creepy as hell. When the Prayers and Tears joined the Mountain Goats on stage, guitarist David Karsten Daniels emerged dressed as a mummy, with probably two or three full rolls of toilet paper wrapped around himself. At the end of California song, Peter began tearing the strings from his bass with his bare hands - bear in mind that he was still dressed in a rather imposing Grim Reaper getup at the time.

Otherwise, the setlist and performance speak for themselves. Going to Georgia as an opener was quite a surprise - I believe at the time, John had placed a moratorium on performing that song in concert. Against Pollution was particularly inspired. Pet Politics is a Silver Jews cover originally recorded for The Believer magazine. And it's always great to hear The Hot Garden Stomp and Alpha Incipiens.