Bitchin Bajas at the Empty Bottle in Chicago on March 5, 2022

Ryley Walker brought the Bitchin Bajas with him on a little mini-tour of Milwaukee and Chicago during the first week of March 2022. It was really more of a co-headlining show, as Ryley no doubt would agree to, since he referred to the Bajas on stage as "one of the most important Chicago bands of the past 20 years."

   

Comprised of keyboardists Cooper Crain, Dan Quinlivan, and Rob Frye (who also plays flute and sax) the band has released a surprising number of albums since their beginnings in 2010. The music is at turns psychedelic and meditative, lush and hypnotically repetitive. 

For this show they were joined onstage by Jayve Montgomery on an Akai electronic wind instrument for a cover of Sun Ra's "Opus in Springtime."

Big thanks to the band for allowing taping and especially Cooper who went out of his way to make sure I had the correct setlist.

Buy their newest album here.

Recording information:

BITCHIN’ BAJAS
2022-03-05
Chicago, IL at the Empty Bottle

Cooper Crain: keyboards
Rob Frye: flute, sax, and keyboards
Dan Quinlivan: keyboards
Jayve Montgomery: Akai EWI-4000 (Track 4 only)

Setlist:
01 World B. Free (10:54)
02 Amorpha (8:17)
03 Chili (5:21)
04 Opus In Springtime [Sun Ra] (8:03)
05 Jammu (8:49)
06 Be Going (10:00)

Total time = 51:24

microphones: Beyerdynamic MC930 stereo pair in NOS
additional source: mono soundboard feed
recorder: Sound Devices MixPre 6 at 24/96
software: Audacity, Fission, xAct

downloads:

16bit, 44.kHz FLAC files (230 MB)

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

320 kbps mp3 files (121 MB)

highest quality lossy mp3 files possible 

Bitchin' Bajas at Colectivo Back Room in Milwaukee on December 15, 2023

One of the most interesting bands in Chicago over the past decade has been the Bitchin' Bajas. Despite their somewhat goofy name, the trio (Cooper Crain, Dan Quinlivan, and Rob Frye) are dead serious in their approach to musical explorations.

 

Drawing inspiration from the so-called Berlin school of electronics (1970s synth pioneers such as Klaus Schulze) as well as jazz artists such as Sun Ra, the Bajas spun a mesmerizing web of melodies over an hour or so of the concert.

 

This was the last concert ever at this venue and I will not be missing seeing shows here. From super talkative crowds to security staff who seem to approach recording gear as something akin to high-level explosives (and permission to tape as something impossibly difficult to comprehend), my history at the venue has been somewhat unfortunate.

Despite all this, the show was amazing.

Buy their latest album here.

Recording information:

BITCHIN’ BAJAS
2023-12-15
Milwaukee, WI at Colectivo Back Room

Cooper Crain: synthesizers
Dan Quinlivan: synthesizers
Rob Frye: synthesizers, sax

Setlist:

01 Unknown Title (14:30)
02 Unknown Title (5:34)
03 Unknown Title (7:24)
04 Unknown Title (7:18)
05 Unknown Title (11:20)
06 Unknown Title (11:58)
07 Unknown Title (9:46)

Total time = 67:50

Microphones: Beyerdynamic MC 930 in ORTF on stand
Recorder: Sound Devices MixPre6ii at 32/96
Software: Audacity, Fission, xAct

downloads:

16bit, 44.kHz FLAC files (325 MB)

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

320 kbps mp3 files (107 MB)

highest quality lossy mp3 files possible 

Itasca at Acme Records in Milwaukee on November 22, 2019

Kayla Cohen has been writing songs and performing under the name Itasca since at least 2012, when "Grace Riders on the Road" was released. Along the way she has released several other limited edition cassettes and also two LPs on the always-reliable Paradise of Bachelors label.

She came to Milwaukee with a band packed with amazing musicians this past November 22nd on her record-release tour for her latest album, "Spring."

Kayla Cohen: guitar and vocals

Robbie Cody: electric guitar
Evan Backer: bass,
Daniel Swire: drums
Rob Frye: flute

setlist:

Plains

Golden Fields
Bess’s Dance
A’s Lament
Only a Traveler
Blue Spring
Lily
Daylight Under My Wing
Cornsilk
Voice of the Beloved

soundchecking with the bassist in the audience. it sounded good.

Please support these superb musicians and friendly people by seeing their live shows, buying multiple copies of their great merchandise (your friends are starving for great music -- why aren't you buying them music?), and talking to them respectfully after shows. Unless they look tired or something. 

https://itasca.bandcamp.com

http://www.paradiseofbachelors.com/category/artist/itasca/

downloads (click on the description to download):

16bit, 44.1kHz WAV file (442 MB)

suitable for burning to CD

16bit, 44.1kHz ALAC file (192 MB)

lossless copy of the wav file - can also be burned to CD or played on your iPhone

320kbps mp3 file (100 MB)

highest quality version of this lossy-but-popular audio file format