The Sounds Of Summer..

The Sounds of Summer have made their way up to the archive and here's a nice sampling of my favorite 5 recordings of the summer. I made this list based on the setlist, the performance and the recording, you may not agree with my choices, but these are all the cream of a very bountiful summer harvest.

StrangeCreek

(5) - Joe Bouchard (SmokinJoe) - MT The guys playing on a nice outdoor main stage, the day was a little windy but the recording is nice and full, very rich. A quickish set, only about 50 minutes and the perfect mix of shreddy and jammy.

Bearsville Theater

(4) - John Dailey (Taper John) - Matrix recording. Another show opening for Max Creek, seems to really bring out the best in the boys, a sprite little show, some very nice exploratory jamming, Jeff and Jason are attached at the hip on this one.

The Main Pub

(3) - Dave Malloy - Audience recording. Another of the shows that really set the stage for the McLovins sound of the summer. This is turning into a favored room for the guys to play, this night was a great mix of audience participation and setlist. The surprise of the night was the Tweezer Reprise which tied in so well with the Phish Double Tweeprise at Hartford the week before.

Salmon Brook Park

(2) - Dave Malloy - Matrix recording. A full and beefy sound from this upside -down boat bandshell the standout aspectof this show comes from the recording quality and choice of cover songs.

Nateva

(1) - Greg Ott - Matrix recording. This is the real deal, the first song is audence only, but the rest of the show is gorgeous full blown matrix.. this short sharp shock to the system comes in at a lean and mean 45 minutes with the infamous killer Tweezer Reprise.

These are my choices, each one is a winner, and who knows, the best set of the year could be just around the corner and it probably is; lurking in the near future in all it's melt-tastic glory.