Blogcritics

Bootleg Country: Robert Earl Keen - Live at the Strawberry Festival, 2000

Mat Brewster — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 09:09:50 EDT

It was the first time I'd ever paid money to see someone I didn't know.
A few years back some friends of mine dragged me to a Robert Earl Keen concert at the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville. Dragged isn't really the right word as I went freely, it is just that I didn't know any of Robert Earl's music. It was the first time I'd ever paid money to see someone I didn't know. It was a wonderful show - great, great fun...

Bootleg Country: Tom Waits - Live in Hamburg, 1977

Mat Brewster — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 09:29:57 EST

It took me nearly a decade, but I finally get Tom Waits. This show is the reason why.
My brother and I have always had something of a strained relationship. He is four years older than me which means he was always way ahead of me in everything – when I entered high school he graduated, when I went to college he had finished his term in the Navy and was well into the work force. Beyond the age difference we've never had...

Bootleg Country: Bob Dylan - Live in the '90s

Mat Brewster — Mon, 7 Jan 2008 23:26:08 EST

The greatest living songwriter performs during his mid-career slump and still knocks it out of the park.
Dylan. The mere name conjures up so much that I can't imagine I'll be able to do it justice, let alone to the man and his music. He's a poet and icon. He's the voice of a generation. A magician. A mystic. An enigma. A mystery. He is quite possibly the greatest songwriter of the last 100 years. And that's just the beginning.When...

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

Bootleg Country: Ryan Adams - 06/03/05

Mat Brewster — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 20:23:46 EDT

Some musicians take time to grow on me. A seed will be planted with one or two songs, but weeks, months, or even years may go by before I listen to another one. Sometimes I may hear a few other songs, but they won’t catch. In time a few more songs or albums may find their way across my musical table and their diggability may grow. Eventually I may even grow into true fandom, and on a few occasions that grows into total obsession.Ryan Adams is such an artist. I first heard him with his big hit “New York, New York,” shortly after 9/11. His infectious, hopeful tune about a city so prominent in the nations mind, coupled with the video, in heavy MTV rotation, shot on the Brooklyn Bridge helped ease my own (as well as many others) pain in such tumultuous times.It wasn’t enough to make me buy the album, though. Over the next few months, I heard little more of his work. There was a song or two that came to me through movies or TV shows, and I caught him performing during a Willie Nelson tribute, all of which I enjoyed but other than making a mental note that I kind of dug him, I did nothing else.More months slipped by and my Mondo Brethren began praising the name of Saint Ryan. I downloaded a few more upbeat songs and found I really was beginning to dig this man. Then I got a copy of Demolition and all was nearly lost. At the time I was living in a tiny apartment in Strasbourg with only my laptop and some cheap, crappy speakers of which to fulfill my musical needs. Demolitions brand of slower, softer, sad-bastard songs did not bode so well in this format. None, but “Hallelujah” clicked with me and I put off my Ryan Adams obsession after that. The Mondo Brethren continued to elevate St. Ryan to savior status, so I found a few more tunes that weren’t so depressing and my interest again perked up. Then Ryan found the Cardinals and I grew to true love and ultimate obsession status. Something about that band brings out the best in Mr. Adams, and I dug it like nothing else. Not long after I found Heartbreaker, and downloaded the unreleased Destroyer and I knew I’d never come back.I even grew to love Demolition.Ryan Adams and the Cardinals06/03/05Northern Lights, Clifton Park, NYIf they only played the opening song – “Easy Plateau” – I’d call this one of my favorite bootlegs ever. The beginning of the song is just cut off, but it fades into a nice interplay of sweet licks. Though they’ve only been playing together for maybe a year or so by this point, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals sound like they are old compatriots and road warriors. They are gelled, greased, and working together like a fine engine. Clearly this is a band on a mission. Ryan takes me to that place where “the cold don’t come and the wind don’t blow,” and every things all right.Damn, Sam, if this is the first song, what’s next?What’s next is nearly three hours of some darn fine rock and roll. Did I say that this band is playing like well tested road warriors? Well, it stands true through two tellings. I hate to compare them to the Grateful Dead, because well Brewster’s always rattling on about the Grateful Dead and there ain't nothing like the Dead, but these guys create a cohesive sounds that reminds me very much of those boys in their prime. Ryan seems to understand this as well, because he’s sure throwing out his best Jerry Garcia licks. They don’t ever get particularly out there or spacey, but each instrument seems to be telepathically transmitting what they are doing and where they are going to everyone else. It’s the type of thing I live for. Stretching a song in different directions, yet retaining a cohesive whole.It must have been a hot June night there in New York for the band has to stop several times throughout to retune their instruments. Ryan complains loudly about the heat and it’s impact upon the equipment, but this non-professional ear can’t tell the difference. In fact if the heat is screwing them up, here’s hoping for a life of brutal summers for them.Early in the first set they start to stretch out with an eleven minutes “What Sin” howls and yelps the blues like demons on fire. And the improvisational nature of the beast remains throughout the entire show. They even give nod to the Grateful Dead by covering their classic “Bird Song” to close out the first set.Not everything is loud with a growl, for to love Ryan Adams is to love his soft side too. To the Cardinals praise, they know how to turn down the howling beast and allow the pink underbelly to show when things get slow and soft. Songs like “She Wants to Play Hearts” and “When Stars Go Blue” are performed beautifully, with tenderness and just enough bite to keep them interesting.Though there are a few too many interruptions with heat warped instruments and rambly chatter, Ryan and the Cardinals put on a fantastic show full of too many highlights to list.Though I came to Ryan Adams a bit late in the game, and my interest was slow to grow, shows like this make me thank the rock gods for having him around and this chance to have captured it on tape.

Mat Brewster is an American stumbling as an ex-pat through the streets of Shanghai. He is helped by his lovely wife and an enormous piles of bootleg DVDs. He is chronicling his adventures in the Shanghai Diaries and musing on pop culture at The Midnight Cafe.

Bootleg Country: Pete Seeger And Big Bill Broonzy - 10/25/56

Mat Brewster — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 23:45:02 EDT

There are many thoughts that come to mind when I hear the name Pete Seeger: Socialist, outspoken folkie, encyclopedic knowledge of music worldwide, compatriot to Woody Guthrie, Pinko-Commie, and axe-wielding madman running after an electrified Bob Dylan. It is his love and gift for folk music from around the globe, though, that I hope he will always be remembered.Listening to Pete Seeger, in concert, is like being with a historian and archaeologist of the world’s music. He seems to know every song ever sung, and to be friends with their writers and singers. He is the soul of America, a true treasure trove of song.I have a handful of concerts by Seeger, some official, others not, and in every one is a historical road map of folk. Though he often plays by himself, with banjo for accompaniment, he is never short of musicians, for he makes everyone in the audience part of the band. No, Pete Seeger concerts are not Holy Places where the music is sacred, and the audience mere worshipers. We are part of the song, singers and clappers and performers one and all. In nearly every song, he points out a chorus, or a repeating line that he encourages the audience to sing. Where they can’t sing, he says they can clap and hum.To be honest, I was not at all familiar with Big Bill Broonzy before I listened to this concert. I’m not particularly well versed in the blues, and Broonzy is a name that circumvented my musical heritage. To be even more honest, I’m not one to particularly care for the blues. For the most part, I just don’t *get* it. For his part, Broonzy makes me wish I did. He is of the acoustic blues school, and his tunes are jaunty, even happy at times, and it is a simple pleasure to listen to him sing.As for positioning, each performer takes turns singing his tunes, song for song for the most part, while the other one sits in the back ground listening. They do perform together on a couple of songs, and they spend a lot of time conversing, talking about music and telling jokes. But mostly it is a solo show, split between two people.Seeger likes to talk, and I for one, could listen to him talk for days on end. He tells stories about the songs, about the writers of the songs, and of his life. And what a life! He’s been everywhere, done everything. Most people talk in hushed tones about the night Bob Dylan went electric at a folk festival. For Pete, that’s personal history. He was there. He’s the exciting part!In no way would I consider this a brilliantly performed performance, musically speaking, for Pete doesn’t show off. He seems more interested in creating a community of music, than coming off as a musical savior. In doing so, he creates something special, something different than a simple concert. It is a communal experience akin to a religious service, or family reunion. I don’t suppose there’s anyone who has heard a Seeger concert that will ever forget the experience. Broonzy is less talkative than Seeger, but shows his own gift of humor by asking if he can sit down whenever Seeger launches into one of his long stories. He plays his guitar with the fervor of a true prodigy and his songs gap the divide between Seeger’s folk and children’s music. The highlight of the show is when Seeger plays what he calls the “Goofing Off Suite.” Folk music, he says, needs its own version of chamber music, for the thinking man, so he’s wrote his own high minded piece. If you’ve ever seen the movie Raising Arizona, you will instantly recognize the number. It consists of what must be the main theme of that movie, which if you’ll remember is composed of this incredibly goofy bit of banjo and the wildest bit of yodeling known to man. He even throws in the humming and banjo version of “Ode to Joy” as the middle section.The first time I heard this I was driving in a heavily trafficked piece of down town. I’m surprised I didn’t get pulled over for all the swerving I did from the tears rolling down my face from laughing.I am quite saddened to know that I will probably never be able to attend a Pete Seeger concert. His age and health keep him from appearing much in public. But I am heartened by the knowledge that there are these recordings, and that a man like Pete Seeger ever lived and shared his love for great music.

Bootleg Country: Nanci Griffith - 11/29/98

Mat Brewster — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 18:10:05 EST

It is a proven fact. It is a distinguished truth. It is Holy Writ. It is absolutely impossible to hear Nanci Griffith’s version of “Across the Great Divide” for the first time and not immediately ask who it is singing, which is quickly followed by, “I like it.” Seriously, I have played it for die hard rockers, Deadheads, jazz aficionados, and even my uncle who hasn’t listened to music since the Hoover administration and they have all, without fail, said the same words. The song is that good.The rest of the album, Other Voice, Other Rooms follows suit. It’s brilliant in its conception and perfect in performance. It is essentially Nanci, performing her favorite songs with her favorite performers (who also happen to usually be the writers of those songs.)Like a number of my now favorite performers, I came to Nanci through the BMG music club. You know the drill, get 10 CDs for a penny and then agree to buy a few more at regular club prices. The thing with BMG is that they have lots of sales, and so their regular club prices come out not so bad. I’ve done this scores of times over the years, sign up, complete the deal, cancel and then sign up again. It was a great way to broaden my music collection without spending a fortune.During one of those periods, the little magazine they send each month had a blurb on it for Nanci’s Blue Roses From the Moon, and I snatched it up. Turns out the album was pretty danged good, and I quickly went out and bough her live album, One Fair Summer Evening. Turns out that album is no less than absolutely brilliant.That album finds a very young Nanci playing with a small band in a small club, proving to the world that she belongs. The music is fabulous, but she really shines when she is talking between playing. She is shy and quirky, cute and funny. She tells little stories about the songs, that aren’t really about the songs, or even with any point at all, but they are so wonderful no one in the world really cares. A favorite is her long ramble about going to Woolworths stores throughout the world, which is really about the noise the elevator makes (or lift as they say in Europe) which sounds similar to one little note on the guitar that shows up in “Love At The Five And Dime.” I’d write it out for you, but it wouldn’t make any sense, and really it doesn’t make any sense when she says it either, but it’s a lovely ramble anyway.11/29/98Barbican CentreLondon, UKThis performance came shortly after her album Other Voices, Too, which is a sequel to Other Voices, Other Rooms and follows in the same vein as the first one – meaning Nanci playing her favorite songs for her favorite people. And this concert features some of those very favorite songs and people.Artists such as Odetta, Dave Von Ronk, and a host of others wander back and forth onto the stage, to help Nanci out. This creates some wonderful noise, as well as plenty of distractions. Because so many are coming and going there are often long pauses between songs, and since most of the musicians are only playing for short periods of time, the inspiration is sometimes missing.However, none of this really matters for the music is beautiful. Nanci is clearly in her element here, playing great folk songs that fit both her voice and sense of arrangement to a tee. Her musicians friends, are just that, friends and admirers of her work, playing songs they either wrote or are deep fans of as well.Unfortunately, in the story telling department, older Nanci is spanked by young Nanci. She may be wiser, but she sure isn’t any cuter. Her little stories are just as rambly as before, but they are neither funny or sweet. She seems like a perfectly lovely woman, like an old aunt you visit on the weekends. But the spunk and hilarity that I fell in love with on the earlier disk is all but gone.But the music, let’s get back to the sweet pure music. Everyone is clearly having a grand time, and it shows in the performance. Every song is fun, and interesting and played to perfection. This is folk music. Americana in England. True, organic music being played by masters and fans. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Bootleg Country: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - 10/28/06

Mat Brewster — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 20:38:59 EST

In his 30 year career Tom Petty has sold more than 50 million albums, received three Grammy awards, a Golden Note award, the Gershwin Award For Lifetime Musical Achievement, and been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So why doesn’t he seem to get more respect?To me, it stems from his ability to continually knock out solid albums in a steady fashion for all those years. Every couple of years, Petty puts out an album full of solidly good, if not great material. There are usually a couple of standout hits in each, but no album really rises above the rest. Think about it. Is there one Petty album that you would consider to be an absolute classic? What is his Revolver? Or Dark Side of the Moon? Or Blonde on Blonde? No, in my ever so humble opinion, none of his albums quite make it to that genius level.Petty’s career has remained relatively stable over the last three decades as well. He continues to put out solid albums, record hit songs and take his band on the road. There haven’t been any giant breakdowns or burn outs. He hasn’t even faded away. No, there has always been a Tom Petty making good songs and churning out classic rock. Where almost all of your great rock bands have all died by one mean or another, Petty has remained one of the few rockers to keep truckin’.I think by continually putting out good, not great albums so steadily it is easy for the casual fan to overlook Petty’s achievement. Without one brilliant album to cling to, his dozen really good ones get overlooked. By never leaving our presence, it’s easy to sort of forget about how remarkable his career really is.10/28/06Double Down StageLas Vegas, NVDownload this show via BittorrentOne of the great things about Tom Petty’s long career is that he can play a different set list almost every night and still sprinkle it heavily with hit songs. For this performance he performs half a dozen of his hit singles, while mixing in songs from his newest album, Highway Companion, slightly obscure older songs, and a few BB King covers. The Heartbreakers never veer far from the original versions of the songs, but perform with the vibrant energy only found at live concerts. Occasionally there is an extended guitar solo, but it never wanders far from the song's melody and always ends way too quickly for these ears. Mike Campbell proves over and over that while he may never make it to any top lists of greatest guitarist lists, he is more than capable of producing sweet licks and charbroiled sounds.This is a pretty decent audience recording, and as such there is a good blend of the band playing and the audience enjoying the show. The band mixes are a little muddled, so this is nothing to put on your A-list shelf, but the audience is so exuberant and excited in their response and sing-along that I find myself getting swept away in it all. When the light is just right, I close my eyes and almost feel like I’m right there.Tom Petty may never find the diehard fanship of The Beatles, Dylan or The Dead, but by continually writing good songs and putting on shows like this, he’s proven to be one of the most steady and long-lasting performers in rock and roll. Not a bad epitaph to have in the end.Enjoy a few sample .mp3s: "Mary Jane's Last Dance," "Free Fallin'," "It's Good to be King," and "American Girl."

Bootleg Country: John Prine - 09/12/99

Mat Brewster — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 08:58:43 EST

It’s been a long time since the last installment of Bootleg Country, and I’m sorry about that. The truth of the matter is I do most of my primary musical listening in the car. Sure tunes are often playing in the homestead, but it is usually regulated to the background as when I’m at home I’m either cleaning, or reading, or playing on this here computer and definitely not paying that much attention to the music that fills the aural cavities.The thing that makes sense of that above paragraph is I was laid off from my job back in the month of August. Without a daily trip to and from the workplace, my automobile driving is rather limited. Well, I should say my automobile driving of my own car, for when I do go out these days it is usually with the misses and since she owns the better car, we take it.Thus I’ve had little opportunity to do any listening to bootlegs, and without the listening there isn’t much to write about.Thanks to a long drive to visit my folks out in Oklahoma, I’m happy to present the newest edition of Bootleg Country. I’d like to promise regular upcoming editions, but there still isn’t a decent job in sight.Back in the days of college I had a friend, well I had lots of friends, but there was one in particular that stood out. Musically that is. He had this big giant tape collection filled with all sorts of musicians I had never heard of.You see when I was in the age of growing up I only knew music through the pop radio station, MTV, and my mom. MTV and the radio both played basically the same songs, that is to say whatever was a hit at the moment, while my mom had a nice collection of classic rock vinyl. It was there I first heard Dylan, the Beatles, Sonny and Cher, Simon and Garfunkel, the Beach Boys and many others. But even all this was not cutting very deep into the pantheon of rock music.It was in the latter days of high school that I began to search for music out of the mainstream. With magazines like Spin and Alternative Press I began to learn of bands like Fugazi, Dinosaur Jr., All, and Operation Ivy. Periodically I actually had the cash to actually buy the albums I was reading about and my musical knowledge grew.Then there was this fella in college who had such a lovely collection of tunes. We became friendly enough, and I dropped by enough that he gave me a key to his dorm room and I would often slip in while he was at class or on a date or whatever. I would sit all alone in that room playing tape after tape, filled with new music.It was within those walls that I first heard a Grateful Dead bootleg. It was there I first fell in love with a man named Willie Nelson. And it was there I discovered Lyle Lovett, John McCutcheon, and John Prine.John Prine 09/12/99 Studio West 54 New York, NY Etree Setlist In the liner notes to the first John Prine album, Kris Kristopherson tells the story of hearing an unsigned and unheard of John Prine play a few songs in a little club, after hours. He relates that moment to what it must have been like to hear Bob Dylan at the Gaslight in the early sixties. Kristopherson, no stranger to great songwriting, knows of what he speaks.Prine laughs off the Dylan comparison in an interview on this bootleg with a breezy, “yeah there were four or five of us,” and while Dylan comparisons aren’t really necessary, Prine has written some of the best danged folk songs this country has ever seen.This bootleg is from a taping of the television program, Sessions at West 54th and as such you get a few things that differ from the normal bootleg. The sound quality is great, though having been compressed for television signals, the extreme audiophile may beg to differ. The set is relatively short, fitting nicely onto one blank CD. And there are a few interview sections with John Hiatt.I should also note that my bootleg is missing a few songs from the official set list, which makes me assume that it was recorded straight off of the television show, and not the later DVD release, or soundboard feed.As an added bonus there are a few duets with the always lovely Iris Dement. The taping comes off of Prine’s release of the album, In Spite of Ourselves, which heavily featured Ms. Dement.The show starts with a rollicking, rambling “Spanish Pipedream” with a full band, and they sound like they are having lots of fun, even if the music is a bit of a mess. It still remains one of my favorite songs and contains an oft quoted (at least by me) chorus: Blow up your TV throw away your paperGo to the country, build you a homePlant a little garden, eat a lot of peachesTry an find Jesus on your own The band settles down to a gentle “so sad it’s pretty” version of “Six O’Clock News” followed by the relatively new, but still utterly sad “All the Best.”Iris Dement sings on four songs (“(We're Not) The Jet Set,” “Let's Invite Them Over Again,” “When Two Worlds Collide,” and “In Spite of Ourselves”) and while she is always a welcome voice to my ears, on this set she only accentuates the raggedness of Prine’s natural voice.There is an amusing anecdote given before “In Spite of Ourselves” where Prine discusses how he had to cajole DeMent a little to sing the song with him due to it’s “questionable lyrics” (which include sniffing undies and convict movie fetishes.) Ultimately she was won over and we have a song that’s pure Prine -- raunchy, sweet and hilarious -- and the world is better for it.During one of the interview sections Prine mentions how he got started in the business by playing at an amateur hour for a local club. After hearing the first three songs he’d ever written Prine was hired permanent. Those three songs? “Souvenirs,” “Paradise,” and “Sam Stone.” As Hiatt says in the interview, “Good God, I would have hired you after that too.”For those of you unfamiliar with Prine or those songs, that would be like Dylan saying his first three songs were, “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Blowing in the Wind,” and “The Times They Are A-Changin.” This is the best sounding Prine bootleg I have, and despite a somewhat ragged performance, it is still a great disk. The entire session has been released on DVD and is available through the Amazon link.I’m always up for some bootleg trading, if you have a list, drop me a line. Or if you’re just starting out, I can always help a kind soul with a B+P.Here are a few MP3s from the show for your listening pleasure: "Six O'Clock News," "In Spite of Ourselves," and "Lake Marie."

Bootleg Country: Otis Redding - 1967

Mat Brewster — Mon, 9 Oct 2006 17:08:37 EDT

Let’s put a few facts on the table. I am a middle-aged, middle class white male from the Midwestern United States. I’ve got no soul, I can’t jump, I can’t dance, and I can’t get the blues. I don’t know the difference between hip-hop and rap, the blues from complaining, or soul from Shinola. What I do know is I love Otis Redding, and if it is soul that he sings, then I’ll spend my life wishing I had some.Otis had a voice like silk pie. He could make a blind man see, the dead rise again, and a middle class, middle-age white guy shake it like he’s got a pair.This particular bootleg is actually a mix of at least three separate venues, all from 1967. As such, the quality of each performance varies from simply super to less than stellar. It also contains a few songs played more than once. The result feels less than complete, a little like listening to rehearsal tapes for an album, but Otis displays enough overt energy in every song to make it well worth listening to.It helps that his band is cracker jack. They swing, jump, and pop all over the place. With Otis keeping up every step of the way, it is nothing short of a celebration of life, soul and music.Four songs into the disk, he covers the Beatles' classic “A Hard Days Night.” At first it feels out of place, the music feels to heavy and dense. But in less than a minute, as if by sheer force of will, Otis converts me to his side of things. He’s like a fire and brimstone preacher shouting to his minions that there is a better way, and it involves plenty of horns.Even on slower songs like the tender “Pain in My Heart,” the band cooks and lights a fire under the sentiment. It is not as soul wrenching as what you’ll hear on studio albums, but it is impossible to complain as the beat moves you out of your seat and onto the dance floor.In pieces you can hear that’s just where the audience is – moving and grooving and shouting like the apocalypse has just announced the end of times, but first there’s a party to attend. During “Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)” Otis turns the audience into part of the chorus and I think they blow him out of the park in terms of sheer volume. They are there to have a good time, and there ain't nothing gonna stop them now.The differing levels from venue to venue coupled with some of the songs played twice mars the overall effect of this bootleg, but Otis Redding turns it all loose and more than makes up for the problems with performances that are out of this world.With only a handful of available bootlegs out there for Otis Redding, this is definitely worth seeking out for collectors, fans of Otis, and soul music itself.

Bootleg Country: William Shatner 1977

Mat Brewster — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 12:17:00 EDT

William Shatner??/??/77Hofstra UniversityHempstead, NYI first learned of bootleg trading through the now defunct Grateful Dead usenet group rec.music.gdead. It is no surprise then when I say the majority of the music I saw available was the Dead and Dead related bands. Once in awhile I would find a list with something a little more unusual, say Pink Floyd or Lynard Skynard on a list, but it was usually just one show from such a band and it was an unusual sight.Whenever I would see these “odd” shows I would scramble to trade for them. Partially because I thought they were so rare and would make good trade bait, and partially because I was interested to hear what these other bands sounded like.It wasn’t until years later, with the availability of broadband internet and the usability of bit torrent that I realized that these oddities were much more available than I thought. Moving out of jam band circles enlightened me to another world.By far the oddest bootleg in my collection is this 1977 recording of a William Shatner performance. It is part stand up, part dramatic performance, part audience participation, and completely weird.The performance is some 8 years after the original Star Trek television series was cancelled and a couple of years before the first movie came out, yet it is obvious that Shatner is performing before a group of Trekkers. The show begins with Shatner reading a poem entitled “Earthbound” about a fanciful young man who is abducted by aliens for a time. It is very theatrical with spacey sound effects and Shatner reciting in his best Shakespearean voice. Throughout the show he reads poetry, essays and theatrical monologues to illustrate points he’s trying to make in his spoken word performance. In his verbal essay he points towards man’s yearning to travel, explore and learn throughout time.Shatner appears very well versed in history and philosophical matters, at least for the purpose of this performance.Scattered throughout the theatrics, he answers questions from the audience which mostly deal with the series and rumors of the upcoming movie. It is particularly interesting to hear this information as the film is still in the very early stages of development (Leonard Nimoy has yet to even sign on, though Shatner says it is simply a dispute over contracts.)In these segments Shatner also sound nervous and unsure of himself. It is quite often he tosses of a quick line and follows it with a high pitched giggle making him sound like a school boy asking a girl to the prom. It seems peculiar that a well worn actor of stage and screen would get nervous around an audience, but that may be the difference between performance and simply talking in front of a lot of people. In fact the nervousness goes completely away when he recites his theatrical lines.I would never be able to consider myself one of the Trek fold. I remember watching the original series as a boy in afternoon reruns. I was enthralled with the drama, the action and the ladies legs in those little skirts. On the school bus me and a friend would often draw the different versions of the Enterprise in the condensations forming on the window.However when the Next Generation came out I watched some episodes with enthusiasm, but often I was distracted by other things and paid it no mind whatsoever. I’ve watched all of the movies, but have paid no mind to subsequent series. So while I would consider myself a fan, I am always humble when I say such a thing for I know my fandom goes only so far.Which may be why when I listen to William Shatner wax poetic about mankind’s deepest desires to explore the unknown I have a mysterious smirk on my face instead of a mystified look of reverence.