The Black Eyed Snakes Blog » Venue

The Black Eyed Snakes – “Bo Diddley”, 2011-03-11

samh — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 15:06:05 +0000

March 11th, 2011 The Black Eyed Snakes performed at a longtime hot bed of Duluth music, R.T. Quinlan’s. Youtube user duluthiscool was there with video camera in his hand and his eye on style.

The Black Eyed Snakes – Homegrown “Secret Show”

samh — Tue, 18 May 2010 14:53:05 +0000

Duluth’s immensely popular Homegrown Music Festival recently went off with a week of good music, good people, and good times – - or so I hear from the buzz of the Internet. I lived in Duluth for about two years and enjoyed Homegrown as a bit of a Duluth n00b. Those who have been in attendance since its inception however tend to wax poetic and get misty-eyed over times gone by. The heart and soul of any good music festival – no matter how long you’ve been attending – is the power and raw emotion of a bitchin’ rock and roll show.

Former Duluthian and blogger, Laurie attended a “Secret Show” with The Black Eyed Snakes on a return visit to Duluth she took with her family. Current Duluthian and amateur scene-documenter Ryan Dahlberg was also there taking photos. Ryan e-mailed me to point out the link to Laurie’s blog and his photos from the show. Since I wasn’t there I won’t even bother paraphrasing so check out the links and get in the moment.

Black Eyed Snakes – Flickr photo set
I <3 Dirty Rocker Boys – This is Babble On blog post

Retribution Gospel Choir Live at Kilby Court on April 16, 2010

samh — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 08:00:39 +0000

I recently traveled to Salt Lake City to attend the Retribution Gospel Choir’s performance at Kilby Court, April 16th, 2010. Two opening acts performed followed by a set timing in just under an hour by RGC. Attendance was around fifty people, many of whom were obviously fans judging by their reactions to each song and by the informal chat sessions with the band following the show.

I recorded the fifty-three minute, twenty-four second set and have shared the audio on archive.org. To listen, use the embedded streaming functionality below, or download the set in it’s entirety from the archive.org set page.

Set page at archive.org:
Retribution Gospel Choir Live at Kilby Court on 2010-04-16

Photos from Flickr:
Retribution Gospel Choir Live at Kilby Court with last.fm event tag

Setlist:
01 Breaker (2:21)
02 Workin’ Hard (4:15)
03 White Wolf (4:42)
04 Poor Man’s Daughter (7:25)
05 They Knew You Well (2:55)
06 Take Your Time (3:56)
07 banter (2:16)
08 Hide It Away (3:07)
09 Your Bird (3:13)
10 Something’s Going to Break (2:49)
11 Electric Guitar (9:27)
12 banter (1:33)
13 Then She Turned Into (2:23)
14 ’68 Comeback (3:10)

Streaming Audio (53:56):

RGC at The Triple Rock Social Club, Feb. 20 2010

Greg — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:29:55 +0000

Alan Sparhawk, Retribution Gospel Choir (photo by Jon Behm)

In the City Pages, Erik Thompson provides an appropriately concise but complete review of Retribution Gospel Choir’s recent show in Minneapolis.

The three-piece were locked in all evening long, hardly giving themselves (or the crowd) time to catch their breath before it was on to the next song, which only served to add to the intensity and frenzy of the songs themselves. The spotlight was clearly on Sparhawk’s guitar work during the entire set, tearing it up on “Your Bird” and an extended, fierce version of — appropriately enough — “Electric Guitar.” Sparhawk joked recently about how he’s done things in reverse and gotten louder as he’s grown older, and this was by far the loudest show I’ve ever seen him play.

Retribution Gospel Choir get intense at the Triple Rock

To kick off the show, Alan Sparhawk stood on the stage and yelled, “We bring you greetings from Lake Superior.” Somewhere in the middle of one of the greatest jams in rock and roll history on “Poor Man’s Daughter,” I almost had a euphoric coronary.

Meanwhile, over at the website Reviler, photographer Jon Behm has posted several images from the concert that pretty well captured the energy.

Retribution Gospel Choir – Homegrown Music Festival, 2009

samh — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:06:15 +0000

Here’s an intimate location that would be fun to catch RGC. Check out Retribution Gospel Choir during Duluth’s Homegrown Music Festival in 2009. The band gives a lively, afternoon performance of Take Your Time to a small crowd of excited Duluthians.

The house in the video is the same one RGC gave a recent private show, a report of which can be read at: Retribution Gospel Choir – Private East Hillside Performance.

Retribution Gospel Choir – Live at Casa del Popolo – Quebec

samh — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:57:58 +0000

RGC is currently on a world tour promoting their newest album, “2″ and the commentary from fans in attendance thusfar has been quite positive. People are commenting on Sparhawk’s intensity and are noting that bandmembers Pollard and Garrington have taken to displaying a vigor not previously seen. Having seen them play in December I too saw and felt this new dynamic and think the band is really coming together as a performing act.

At their recent appearance at Casa del Popolo in Quebec, Montreal, Canada Retribution Gospel Choir’s live set was recorded by an obviously skilled bootlegger. The recording was submitted to the Internet via a Bittorrent and then subsequently uploaded and shared via archive.org. The recording quality is superb, the setlist quality. Use the embedded streaming functionality below, or download the set in it’s entirety from archive.org on the Retribution Gospel Choir Live at Casa del Popolo on 2010-01-26 page.

Setlist:
01. Breaker (3:40)
02. For Her Blood (2:06)
03. Working Hard (2:08)
04. Hide It Away (3:19)
05. Poor Man’s Daughter (8:10)
06. White Wolf (2:27)
07. They Knew You Well (3:30)
08. Your Bird (4:26)
09. What She Turned Into (2:23)
10. Electric Guitar (8:45)
11. Take Your Time (7:36)
12. Kids (5:31)

Streaming Audio (53:56):

Retribution Gospel Choir – Private East Hillside Performance

samh — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:09:19 +0000

January 16th, 2009
Undisclosed Location
Duluth, Minnesota
by Ryan Dahlberg

“After receiving a message from fellow Post-Duluthian [and proprietor of this blog] Sam Haraldson, I had a feeling that this was [a] show not to miss.”

Soon to be embarking on a world tour, Duluth’s own Retribution Gospel Choir was scheduled to appear for a private performance somewhere in the East Hillside. Upon my walk through downtown to get to the show, I had the chance to make a few quick words with Aaron Molina, whom if you don’t know by now is credited with the artwork for RGC’s new album “2″.

After arriving shortly after 9pm and being greeted by open arms, not to mention the bonfire, and the kegs of Surly, the early attendees and I waited for the band to arrive while listening to my advance copy of the new album. As more people arrive the band appears. It quickly becomes 10pm as we watch the traffic from the front window.

It’s now 10:30pm, I have my camera in hand, and my Surly is on the mantle: it’s show time.

The band starts the show with their classic rock anthem “Breaker”. As the band plays on through to Midnight with a collection of songs from the new album, the band seems larger than life. Steve and Eric’s stage presence have now grown equal to, being previously shadowed [by] that of Sparhawk. Towards the end of their set, each member continues to be focused and still being able to feed the group empowerment.

This was truly a performance to remember. For more photos of the show visit Ryan’s Flickr Gallery

This has been a guest post by Ryan Dahlberg, maintainer of theduluthscene.org, hosting a broad array of aural and visual content relating to Duluth music and culture.

Retribution Gospel Choir – 501 Club, Minneapolis

samh — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:03:36 +0000

On December 19th, 2009 Retribution Gospel Choir played a live show at the 501 Club in Minneapolis, MN. Sam Haraldson was present and wrote the following review on Last.fm.

The show at the 501 was full of people who were definitely fans as I could see the emotion in their eyes and the mouthing of song lyrics around the room. Alan Sparhawk, Steve Garrington, and Eric Pollard played a set that was (in my opinion) far too short, leaving out a couple of tracks from the new album 2 which is to be released January 20th, 2010.

The set was similar to the live shows of the past six months that have bootleg recordings available, focusing on the same tracks. It was obvious the band had been in the studio as the numbers were very tight. RGC’s typical poppy, melodic verse-chorus-verse was dead on. But the real proof the band is tight came during their famous dubby, noisy, freeform interludes. There was emotion on their faces that poured out through their instruments and right into the minds and bodies of the audience.

A short encore closed the set and when asked to play more, Sparkhawk declined stating a long drive back to Duluth that evening as reason. The show was well worth listening to as will their upcoming sets and soon-to-be-released album.

View photos at Retribution Gospel Choir – 501 Club, Minneapolis Flickr page.

Zen Identity; The Cove – Superior, WI; 1991

samh — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:42:17 +0000

This is a re-post from the Perfect Duluth Day blog, Zen Identity – Superior, WI 1991 – Part 7, By Dan E. on Apr 13, 2009.

Zen Identity @ The Cove, Superior, WI – Spring 1991.

Zen Identity; The Cove – Superior, WI; 1991

samh — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:41:01 +0000

This is a re-post from the Perfect Duluth Day blog, Zen Identity – Superior, WI 1991 – Part 6, By Dan E. on Apr 13, 2009.

Zen Identity @ The Cove, Superior, WI – Spring 1991.