Garcia Peoples at Judson and Moore in Chicago on April 8, 2023

Garcia Peoples and Chris Forsyth co-headlined a short tour in April 2023 which brought them to (among other cities) Chicago (for two nights), Milwaukee, and Madison. The first night of their Chicago residency is presented here.

The band's name of course brings up associations with a very well known jam band, but I consider the group to be more of a psychedelic rock group with some elements of jamming, which I define as increasingly complicated variations of relative simple chord progressions and melodies. The point of a jam band is the jamming. The Garcia Peoples songs themselves, however, are high quality enough to stand o their own merit.

Purchase their music here.

Recording information:

Garcia Peoples

2023-04-08

Chicago, IL

Judson and Moore Distillery

Danny Arakaki: guitar, vocal

Tom Malach: guitar, vocal

Derek Spaldo: guitar, vocals  

Andy Cush: bass 

Cesar Arakaki: drums

Setlist:

01 Cashing Out - Sigh of Relief (5:06)

02 High Noon Violence (5:57)

03 Fire of the Now (9:02)

04 A Reckoning (11:19)

05 Total Yang (5:34)

06 One at a Time (8:08)

07 Show Your Troubles Out (5:45)

Total time = 50:51

Recorded with permission by Richard Hayes

Microphones: Beyerdynamic MC930 in NOS

Additional source: mono soundboard feed

Recorder: Sound Devices MixPre6ii

Software: Audacity, Fission, xAct

downloads (these will automatically download):

  

16bit, 44.1 kHz FLAC files (314 MB)

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

320 kbps mp3 files (153 MB)

highest quality lossy mp3 files possible

video of the band in Philadelphia a few weeks after this set:

Jake Acosta at Judson and Moore in Chicago on July 28, 2023

Recently, Ryley Walker declared on Twitter that Jake Acosta was his favorite guitarist. This high praise from a very talented musician reminded me that I had recorded Jake opening up for Ryley and Bill MacKay at their reunion show on July 28, 2023 at the Judson and Moore Distillery in Chicago. At the time, Jake seemed self-deprecating and reluctant to allow me to share his performance. Fortunately, after I contacted him again he gave me the go-ahead to post this.

Jake is originally from Kansas but moved to Chicago more than a decade ago, where he was a member of several bands including ADT and Famous Laughs and ran labels such as Teen River and Lake Paradise.

This performance is comprised of two medleys featuring a dozen or so instrumental and vocal songs. I thought the entire experience was mesmerizing and am so happy Jake has allowed me to share it with you.

Buy his most recent album here.

Recording information:

JAKE ACOSTA
2023-07-28
Chicago, IL
Judson and Moore Distillery

Jake Acosta: guitar and voice

Setlist:

01 Fate Jar ->
Back from a Painting ->
Guitar Interlude 1 ->
Distance Goes A Long Way ->
Sleeping in the 80s ->
Guitar Interlude 2 ->
Radical Charm ->
Sad By Design (18:57)

02 Speed Dreaming ->
Shiny Semblance ->
Omen (10:22)

Total Time = 29:19

Microphones: Line Audio CM3 in NOS
Additional source: mono SBD feed
Recorder: Sound Devices MixPre6ii at 32/96
Software: Audacity, Fission, xAct

downloads:

16bit, 44.kHz FLAC files (137 MB)

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

320 kbps mp3 files (80 MB)

highest quality lossy mp3 files possible 

Ryley Walker and Bill MacKay at Judson and Moore in Chicago on July 28, 2023

 We've covered several Ryley Walker and Bill MacKay shows here on the blog (going back to our first year of existence), so I was super excited to hear the news that they were reuniting for two gigs at the end of last July at Judson and Moore Distillery in Chicago.

Their two duo albums -- SpiderBeetleBee (2017) and Land of Plenty (2015) have become cult LPs because of their intricate interlocking finger style melodies. I told myself that Ryley returning to Chicago to perform again with Bill was heralding the onset of recording sessions for a third record, but it looks like that is still something for an uncertain future.

  

Judson can be a difficult place to present live music (and record it), given its narrow performance space, high ceiling and hard surfaces everywhere. Fortunately, this concert sounded delightful.

 

Buy their most recent album here.

Recording information:

RYLEY WALKER and BILL MacKAY

2023-07-28 

Chicago, IL
Judson and Moore Distillery

Ryley Walker: guitar
Bill MacKay: guitar

Setlist:
01 Grand Old Trout (9:27)
02 Pretty Weeds Revisited (4:45)
03 It Takes a Quilt -> Dragonfly (10:09)
04 Lonesome Traveler (6:16)
05 Promise Me (3:17)
06 Raga (9:32)

Total Time = 43:26

Source: SBD + Line Audio CM3 in NOS
Recorder: Sound Devices MixPre6ii at 32/96
Software: Audacity + Fission + xAct

downloads:

16bit, 44.kHz FLAC files (237 MB)

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

320 kbps mp3 files (180 MB)

highest quality lossy mp3 files possible 

 video of the concert the previous night at Judson and Moore:

Chris Forsyth at Judson and Moore in Chicago on April 8, 2023

During the week of April 7-12, 2023 I was fortunate to be able to see Chris Forsyth and Garcia Peoples perform four times on their co-headlining tour -- twice in Chicago and once each in Milwaukee and Madison. These will all eventually wind up on the blog so please keep an eye out for them.

  

For this tour, Chris was promoting his wonderful album Evolution Here We Come. The band was comprised of bassist Doug McCombs (Tortoise), drummer Ryan Jewell, and guitarist Tom Malach (also a member of Garcia Peoples). Forsyth has explored different methods to help keep tour costs down, and one ingenious method he has come up with is to share band members with his co-headliner (this was especially apparent when he toured with Meg Baird -- both used the same backing band).

   

On this date, Forsyth performed a cover by the band Television -- which I am sure has special significance for Chris, who at one time studied with Richard Lloyd. He also asked amazing guitarist Bill Mackay to accompany the band for the final two songs.

Buy multiple copies of his most recent album here.

Recording information:

CHRIS FORSYTH
2023-04-08
Chicago, IL
Judson and Moore Distillery

Chris Forsyth: guitar and voice
Tom Malach: guitar
Bill Mackay: guitar (tracks 4 and 5 only)
Doug McCombs: bass
Ryan Jewell: drums

Setlist:
01 Dreaming in the Non-Dream (16:22)
02 Heaven for a Few (8:08)
03 Friction [Television cover] (5:26)
04 Long Beach Idyll (10:25)
05 Robot Energy Machine (15:20)

Total time = 55:41

microphone: Beyerdynamic MC930 pair in ORTF
additional source: mono SBD feed
recorder: Sound Devices MixPre6ii at 32/96
software: Audacity, Fission, xAct

Recorded with explicit artist permission

downloads:

16bit, 44.kHz FLAC files (328 MB)

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

320 kbps mp3 files (214 MB)

highest quality lossy mp3 files possible