When The Lights Go Down: September 2020

According to some, we’re looking at more than a year before concert halls and music venues will return to any normalcy. It is in that vein that we present to you When The Lights Go Down, a monthly curated “concert” of sorts that sequences live clips of great songs or great bands, with the hopes to give you a dynamic concert experience you can broadcast on your TV. We’ve bundled the whole thing into a playlist, which you can find here, but otherwise give a look to some of our favorite live clips with a brief amount of commentary on each, and give yourself a concert night in. — Editor-in-Chief, CJ Simonson

1. Black Star – “Definition” / “Respiration” (Planet Groove, 1998)

I mean, the interplay between Mos Def and Talib Kweli in the late 90s was unparalleled—if you’ve never heard MOS DEF & TALIB KWELI ARE BLACK STAR, you’ve done yourself a disservice as it’s one of (perhaps the?) best hip hop albums of the 90s and has aged like a fine wine. I saw Black Star on a reunion show in the early 2010s and despite being an environment that should’ve fostered a Planet Groove esque atmosphere, it was pretty boring—perhaps the messages and energy had soured all those years later for the two elite emcees. So virtually wave your arms in the air with this great double header of “Definition” and “Respiration.”

2. Titus Andronicus – “A More Perfect Union” (Pitchfork Fest, 2010)

THE MONITOR turned ten earlier this year and it remains a perfect pinnacle of heady, explosive, exciting rock ‘n roll. And I know Patrick Stickles probably resents playing “A More Perfect Union” at this point, a song he finds to be childish rather than cathartic. But at P4K Fest in 2010 he certainly hadn’t become so jaded, and boy howdy does this version fucking whip, a song meant for moshing outdoors.

3. Liz Phair – “Fuck & Run” (Unknown, 1995)

There’s something kinda magical about the aesthetic of this video… it’s a pretty muted, tape worn version of the song visually speaking, static camera as Phair lays out her signature song solo, but that’s also what makes it such a gripping video. No bandmates. No camera tricks. Just a grainy time capsule of desire and stripped down 1995 alternative rock.  

4. The Specials – “A Message To You Rudy” (Carnival House, Japan, 1980)

What if we kissed in Japan in 1980 while The Specials played “A Message To You Rudy”? ? Just a bit of ska vibing up the crowd in Japan as the ‘80s begin is a wild thing to consider and I’m all for this kind of energy once shows start back up, sweaty clubs and bright brass tones. 

5. Against Me! – “Pints of Guinness Make You Strong” (A38, Hungary, 2015)

It’s certainly a tease to watch this video and know how far away we are from watching Against Me! play it in real life any time soon. It’s a massive rallying cry in the context of their shows, and at its peak you’d follow Laura Jane Grace off a goddamn cliff if she told you to. The live staple I’ll be waiting for most is “Sink Florida Sink,” since god knows we’re all collectively ready for a good cry, but this 2015 performance of “Pints of Guinness Make You Strong” is a powerful unifier in a wholesome way. Long live Against Me!

6. Taylor Swift – “All Too Well” (Club Nomadic, 2017)

Look, RED is a great album, and this is perhaps its best song, but you should watch this video because at the 2:35 mark Taylor screams “yeahhhh!” and throws her head back (which is honestly pretty badass contextually) and you can clearly hear someone scream just an insanely satisfying almost goat’ish fangirl scream and it’s kind of hilarious and kind of delightful. 

7. Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band – “Thunder Road” (Houston Figure It Out, 1977)

You watch a “Thunder Road” live video for Clarence Clemons, and this ‘77 performance satisfies in every way in that regard. I mean, his fit is already fire, the white suit with the black t-shirt. Bruce is in peak Bruce mode, bossing it up and running around a kinda shoddily lit stage for our perspective, but it sounds amazing, and he’s giving it all he’s got. Just a massive song seeing a great performance. 

8. Lucero – “My Best Girl” (Masquerade, 2013)

When it’s JUST Ben Nichols on guitar and vocals and Rick Steff on accordion or piano, there’s a real good chance you’re gonna cry. Those are the rules Lucero play by, and they’re a-okay with me. Be it “The War” or in this instance “My Best Girl,” no one does sad country songs better than Lucero, Nichols rasp representative of a life lived and heartbreak experienced. This video, shot in black and white, has a nice anecdote that seems to indicate that Nichols was just recently broken up with, a funny aside in an otherwise devastating song. 

Encore:

9. Grateful Dead – “Eyes of the World” (Giants Stadium, 1991)

My year of the Grateful Dead has mostly been focused on the 70s, but this Giants Stadium ‘91 show is among my favorite shows from the Dead, a frequently breezy, jazz heavy groove radiating throughout both nights. They released a live album in September of last year featuring sets from all the Giants Stadium performances from the years 1987, 1989, and 1991, and the ‘91 material just dazzles with a newfound Bruce Hornsby on keys. My favorite Dead track and one of the few clips of this Meet-Up At The Movies recording that’s HD and on the bands YouTube in HD, this “Eyes Of the World” is such stunning, elderly Jerry with an incredible late-in-life solo, Bob Weird with one of the most iconic early ‘90s outfit choices I’ve ever seen, and Hornsby absolutely bodying what was at that point a nearly twenty year old staple. I can’t ride for all ‘90s Dead, but it beats the hell out of what was happening in the ‘80s and this song is this iteration of the band at their peak.