When Ace first asked me to work with him on Hidden Track a little more than a year ago, I would have never guessed how much I’d enjoy writing for y’all. One of the first ideas I presented to Ace was a column highlighting the best live shows that turned up on the torrent sites each week. Now please allow me to toot my horn a bit: I began my writing career — really, my first published article — on October 22nd, 2006 by posting the first edition of Grousing The Aisles, and I followed that up with 380 other posts this year, including 48 editions of GTA.

We’ve turned you onto to some terrific shows this year, but a few stand out from the pack. First up is a Steely Dan DVD that is the best unofficial concert video we’ve ever seen. Next up is Crowded House’s American coming-out party from The Bottom Line in 1987. After that we’ve got recent shows from two of our favorite bands: Apollo Sunshine and Wilco. So make the most of your high speed connection and check out the best of Grousing The Aisles…

Steely Dan w/ Michael McDonald 08/12/2006 PROSHOT (VIDEO, AUDIO):

Nearly every shed in America these days has those screens that show video of the concert to people with bad views. Most of the footage from these screens either doesn’t get recorded or gets stashed in the archives of the venue or the performer. Once in a while, though, video from one of these concerts leaks onto the ‘net. The latest of these leaks comes from last summer’s Steely Dan tour, which featured special guest and longtime HT idol Michael McDonald.

The Dan was feelin’ it this night, rolling through magnificent performances of hits such as Hey 19, Green Earrings, and Josie. Mikey Mac adds his husky vocals to the last seven songs of the set, including the kickass My Old School closer. The Steely Dan Orchestra backing band is made up of extremely talented musicians. Keith Carlock is a revelation on the drums — at times there is so much going on that you wonder whether there are two drummers behind the kit. Backup vocalists Carolyn Leonhart-Escoffery and Cindy Mizelle both look and sing beautifully.

The quality of this footage is unbelievably good, allowing a nice look at the ladies as they sing their hearts out during Dirty Work. The crispy soundboard feed that supplies the audio is also top notch, and worth the download by itself. I can honestly say that in my four years of collecting live concert DVDs, this puppy may take the cake as the best in my collection. It’s that good. Read on for more…

Crowded House 03/19/1987 FM (FLAC, MP3):

After I left the Crowded House show last week, I ran home and downloaded every bootleg I could find. The best sounding boot from the early days is this show from the Bottom Line in NYC, which was broadcast live on WNEW. Check out this show for some funny banter and incredible performances of tunes from their two albums.

Crowded House’s performances of Mean To Me, Something So Strong and Don’t Dream It’s Over are full of moxie. You can almost hear the audience singing along. The new-at-the-time Better Be Home Soon works as a fine tearjerker amongst a batch of high-energy tunes. Neil Finn has some technical issues during Tombstone that leads to an improvised medley, which includes a snippet of the Sex Pistols’ Anarchy in the U.K. The final tune of the evening is a rollicking take on Buddy Holly’s Not Fade Away that must have sent the crowd home happy.

Apollo Sunshine 06/17/2007 DAUD (FLAC, MP3, STREAM):

Photo by zacharia420

It’s been nearly six weeks since we’ve talked about Apollo Sunshine, and I’m starting to get the shakes. The Sunshine dudes are currently in the studio recording an album that could break them into the big time. As nice as it would be to keep Apollo Sunshine a secret, my parents taught me to share. One of the only shows the band played this summer was a plum spot at Bonnaroo, and recently, a kind-hearted taper uploaded AS’s set to the Live Music Archive.

As per usual, Apollo Sunshine opened the set with Better Change Your Mind, which quickly melted into a tasty orgy of noise and melody. They followed it up by playing Magnolia, their most accessible tune. Two classics, 666 and Flip!, kept the momentum goin’. Your Advice, a song I don’t think I’ve heard before, calms things down a bit before Bach and Lord bring back the frenetic energy.

All told, Sunshine played a terrific set and seemed to be augmented by the percussion player banging on the bongos. Here’s hoping the new album brings us plenty of tour dates, because when these guys add a new batch of songs to the mix, you better hide the children.

Wilco 08/22/2007 SBD/AUD Matrix [FLAC, MP3]

Wilco has made a habit of allowing soundboard patches at some of their recent shows. Wilco fans, for their part, have made a habit out of combining the soundboard feeds with audience feeds to give the recordings a much needed touch of life. Just this week we came across a crispy matrix recording of Wilco’s August 22nd gig at the Edgefield Inn in Troutdale, Oregon. Not only does the recording sound great, but Wilco’s performance is top-shelf.

Jeff Tweedy’s voice is in fine form throughout the recording, but the star of this boot is Nels Cline. Cline’s machine gun-like runs on his guitar fit Tweedy’s songs so perfectly it hurts. One of the best tunes from this show is Impossible Germany off Sky Blue Sky. While I like the studio version, Impossible Germany thrives in a live setting from the energy the crowd emits during the peak of Cline’s magnificent solo. Other noteworthy tunes include a special version of California Stars with Peter Buck of R.E.M. and Scott McCaughey of the Minus 5, and a gorgeous rendition of Jesus Etc. Wilco plays their hometown of Chicago tonight, and will be on tour for the remainder of the year.

Stay tuned for another year of great downloads here at Hidden Track…