Wooden Wand (James Toth) at Acme Records in Milwaukee on October 10, 2024

James Jackson Toth is a busy person. A member of One Eleven Heavy and James and the Giants as well as the person behind the moniker Wooden Wand, he has also found the time to write about music for NPR, Stereogum, The Wire, Aquarium Drunkard, The Quietus, and others.

His music ranges from avant garde experimentation to dreamy "New Weird America" gothic Americana. A recent collection of cover versions of his songs shows the breadth of the people who admire his songs, with contributions from Meg Baird, Ryley Walker, William Tyler, Marisa Anderson and Zachary Cale as well as Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore.

   

    

    

This evening he was alone on stage at Acme Records for a short set with just an acoustic guitar, opening for Universal Light. It was a delight and I can only hope he will return to Milwaukee soon for a longer exploration of his body of work.

Buy his most recent album here.

Recording information:

   

WOODEN WAND

2024-10-10

Milwaukee, WI

Acme Records

James Toth: guitar and voice

Setlist:

01 The Mountain (4:39)

02 Sacrificial (3:51)

03 Collateral Damage (4:09)

04 Spitting at the Cameras (3:16)

05 Days This Long (2:31)

06 Oasis vs Blur (4:34)

07 Outsider Blues (5:08)

Total time = 28:08

Microphones: Line Audio CM3 in ORTF at stage lip

Recorder: Sound Devices MixPre6ii at 32/96

Software: Audacity, Fission, xAct

Recorded with permission by Richard Hayes

downloads:

16bit, 44.kHz FLAC files (164 MB)

these lossless files can be burned to CDR, if you are into that

320 kbps mp3 files (158 MB)

highest quality lossy mp3 files possible