My review here
[onlyrockandroll.london]

I was there and thought it was great. Jody's drum sound was fantastic - one of the best live drum sounds I've heard (but too loud in the mix, as several audience members were eager to point out).

I did think Chris Stamey was straining a bit with several of his vocal turns - admirable they attempted the original keys given how high the register is in many of those songs.

They were clearly all having a blast which was great to see!

I saw them recently at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco and thought they sounded fabulous,

I saw them in LA a month ago. Saw them do all of #1 Record last year for its 50th, and honestly this one was probably better. The sets were almost exactly the same both years, though no less special. The 4 songs played this year to complete Radio City replaced one Chris Bell song they played last year, otherwise, its pretty much a show of both of those two albums with some Third and Chris Bell mixed in.

They do such a good job faithfully reproducing that music, and its special to see anything related to Big Star. Anyone that's a fan (if you're not, check out their doc, its fantastic) knows it was never an easy journey for them. Great songs and albums that just sadly went unnoticed for a number of reasons. Chris Bell sadly passed in the 70s as an unknown, and Alex Chilton became cult famous, eventually returning to Big Star with Jody to tour sporadically. Since his death, Jody has kept it going, with a great cast filling in. You can feel the love in the room for Jody, who plays his heart out at 72, and honestly, while it could be laughable to JUST see a band because the drummer is the only one living, if you know the music those drum fills are incredibly integral to the songs. I and many others in the room definitely feel special getting to see him recreate it, and the others up there are just wonderful. Big Star was the little band only some of us knew about, and its been a really special gathering everytime I've gotten to go, and they truly sounded fantastic last month.

Auer is absolutely perfect, Sansone for the most part is also a total gem for them. Can't imagine it without them. Mills has his strengths, mostly in the bass playing, though he has a great spirit, and his singing is pretty decent too. He maybe sang 5 songs? I'd say 2 were great, the others were fine. But he's also an REM legend so thats cool enough to have him there. I'd say Stamey is the weak link, but he has a very clear connection to Alex and the band and he got better as the night went on. I forget what he sang first but I thought it was pretty poor. It elevated from there. And I will say, I thought his solo on Bell's I Am The Cosmos was note perfect. A highlight of the night for me and others around, just hit right to so many of our hearts. So I see the value in all of them. I actually like that its not too bloated and people rotating in, which I've seen in other "tribute" bands. I like just 5 solid guys up there.

Yeah, but .... isn't this sort of like seeing the Stones without Mick or Keith?

Quote
tatters
Yeah, but .... isn't this sort of like seeing the Stones without Mick or Keith?

I would say when I saw Denny Laine play Band On The Run that was more similar. Specifically because Mick and Keith are still alive. No one in Big Star is, so there's not much more they can do. Works in their favor too that Big Star never actually hit it big, so it doesn't feel like you've seen the real thing and now are seeing rejects. Listen, I'm not totally disagreeing with, but just saying because everyone else is gone and its the only way to celebrate their music, and their fanbase is only so big, it feels like a special moment for fans. Its not like we all saw them play stadiums like the Stones for 50 years and now clinging to something. This is as much a thank you to Jody Stephens as anything.

ROCKMAN

I don't know how many shows this Big Star configuration did in 2024, but has anybody a tape from these concerts to share please?

i taped the london show

upped it on dime

and very happy to share here if there's interest

Got it, thanks a lot!

Special thanks for sharing in 16/44100 format;
some tapers lately share only in FLAC HD like 24/96000.
( Only to boost their ratio I think! )

I mean on an audience recording, what is there on 24/96000,
that I cannot hear on cd friendly FLACS??

Quote
Rank Stranger
Got it, thanks a lot!

Special thanks for sharing in 16/44100 format;
some tapers lately share only in FLAC HD like 24/96000.
( Only to boost their ratio I think! )

I mean on an audience recording, what is there on 24/96000,
that I cannot hear on cd friendly FLACS??

happy to help!

i tape in 24

but always up in 16

and if anyone wants the 24, they can DM me and i'll send it to them

hope you enjoy the recording!