Soiled Dove Underground - Denver, CO

[KarenR61]

Still stoked about Vienna's and Alex's performance in Denver on January 21! I'd never seen them perform before, and it was everything I'd hoped it would be! Just wish they'd had more performance time. ~ Karen

[Fred]

:D Still stoked about Vienna's and Alex's performance in Denver on January 21! I'd never seen them perform before, and it was everything I'd hoped it would be! Just wish they'd had more performance time. ~ Karen

Hi KarenR61! Vienna and Alex really are amazing live, aren't they! Glad you enjoyed it, hope you get to go to many more. Welcome to the forum & hope to see more posts from you!

[Michele]

:D Still stoked about Vienna's and Alex's performance in Denver on January 21! I'd never seen them perform before, and it was everything I'd hoped it would be! Just wish they'd had more performance time. ~ Karen

Hi Karen! Welcome to the forum Glad you liked the show!

We are very fortunate to have recordings of the whole night from a taper who has previously recorded Toad the Wet Sprocket and Ben Sollee, amongst many others. Not only was it well taped, but finished and put up in the blink of an eye. Thanks to Lance at The Flat Response for his hard work!

[aaparallel]

:D Still stoked about Vienna's and Alex's performance in Denver on January 21! I'd never seen them perform before, and it was everything I'd hoped it would be! Just wish they'd had more performance time. ~ Karen

Hi Karen! Welcome to the forum Glad you liked the show!

We are very fortunate to have recordings of the whole night from a taper who has previously recorded Toad the Wet Sprocket and Ben Sollee, amongst many others. Not only was it well taped, but finished and put up in the blink of an eye. Thanks to Lance at The Flat Response for his hard work!

Thanks for the heads-up, Michele! I'm listening to My Medea right now, and freaking out! Ahhhhh! I'm ridiculously happy they've been developing it for the live set again.

Welcome to the forum and VTAW fandom, Karen!

[KarenR61]

Thanks so much for the link to the recording! Already downloaded!!! ~ Karen, a happy camper

[Fred]

We are very fortunate to have recordings of the whole night from a taper who has previously recorded Toad the Wet Sprocket and Ben Sollee, amongst many others. Not only was it well taped, but finished and put up in the blink of an eye. Thanks to Lance at The Flat Response for his hard work!

Wow, thanks Michele! Caught the My Medea re-posted by aaparallel on FB already. Phenomenal!

Any idea if there was a taper at Infinity Hall? The Grandmother Song there was the best I've heard, the solo/looper Whatever You Want was a revelation, and a rare performance of Signal Fire was an event.

[Reileen]

Thanks for the link to the recording, Michele! Am excited to listen to them.

[Reileen]

Oh my goodness, I love the electro effects on the new arrangement of My Medea! And I'm still blown away by the live arrangement of "Radio". Simply amazing.

[Kalenabear]

Welcome to the forum, Karen! I'm also a Karen. We should throw a name party! Glad you finally got to catch VT/AW's show! You're right when you say that they don't disappoint. I always leave a show with a smile. Here's to the first of many shows, no?

Thank you, Michele, for the Flat Response link. I'm still getting used to the new My Medea, but love that it's been cropping up on recent setlists. The deliberate intro of the album version sounds more angry and austere to me (if that makes sense) but this also casts an eerie and mysterious shadow over it. Still hauntingly beautiful.

She's changed Radio since the last time I heard it live in May. I love the layers of whispers and vocals at the beginning. So chilling. Y'know, it's safe to say that Radio live will be one of the most bad*ss performances you've ever seen. It awes me every time.

[Reileen]

I feel like the difference in tone between the rearranged version and the album version is that the rearranged version feels more retrospective in its grief and anguish, while the album version has a more immediate emotional punch. The rearranged version is like glancing at the bloodstains on your hands that have faded with time but which still remain, while the album version is like having suddenly realized that your palms are glistening crimson. I think this analogy primarily applies to the ending of the song, though -- in particular I'm thinking of the treatment of the main piano riff + Alex's percussion in the rearranged version which gives off sort of a distantly painful sensation. There is a visual that pops into my head whenever that part of the song comes up -- sepia tones and a woman in a white dress walking away after she's confessed these deepest feelings of hers.

Actually, now that I think about it, the rearranged version feels like it takes place in modern times, whereas the album version feels more like it takes place during ancient times (obviously). I imagine the rearranged version playing in a Victorian-style house in suburbia, while the album version plays out in a marble labyrinth/temple next to the ocean, with stormy gray skies ahead but the sun still shining brightly enough to illuminate the pale bricks.

/ramble ramble

[Cooler Near The Lake]

At the concerts in Germany in August I had the impression that Vienna was avoiding the high notes in songs such as Harbor and Blue Caravan, as if her vocal chords were somewhat stressed. Nice to hear from the recording that the high notes are back.