Saturday, May 16, 2009

JW / Electronica Classics 015: The Crystal Method Live At Showbox Seattle 1997


I've been on a big Crystal Method kick this week. This past Tuesday saw the release of their fourth studio album, "Divided By Night," and I've got tickets to see the guys do a live performance here at the House of Blues in Houston this coming Monday. Heck, I even downloaded their new iPhone app to keep up with their Twitter updates from the tour. Regarding "Divided By Night," I've probably listened to it about 6 times this week, and it's easily my second favorite Crystal Method album, behind the legendary "Vegas." I'm not a huge fan of every track on the new album, but there are some real stand-outs like "Smile" and "Black Rainbows."

There aren't many recordings of actual "live" performances of The Crystal Method floating around; most of the recordings I have in my collection are of DJ sets that the duo put together. However, I did run across a live performance while digging around Soulseek back during the summer of 2003. Prior to last weekend, I'd only listened to this performance a handful of times. But digging it out again revealed a really good find.

Surprisingly, there isn't a lot of info about this recording online. From what I've been able to determine, it's sometimes called "Live in Seattle," "Live at Showbox in Seattle," or "Live Seattle Bootleg". A few of the tracks were listed as "Unknown" or otherwise mislabeled when I originally downloaded it, and none of the websites I found online actually had the tracklisting correct. However, I believe I've been able to correct all those mistakes. The recording quality won't pass for a studio album, but it's definitely listenable.

This performance consists primarily of tracks from their "Vegas" album, so for those of you who are partial to their earlier work, you should really enjoy this one. An added bonus is their remix of Keoki's "Caterpillar" track which originally appeared on the "Altered Ego Trip" remix album that Keoki released in 1998. I'm a big fan of that album, too, and it's a good one to add to your collection if you're looking for a nice snapshot of remixes from early American electronica producers & DJs such as Uberzone, Rabbit In The Moon, & DJ Dan.

I'm glad to see these guys are still putting out new music. Now go grab this performance from the late 90s for a little historical perspective.

The Crystal Method - Live at Showbox in Seattle 1997
Megaupload Link / Rapidshare Link

1 - The Crystal Method - High Roller
2 - The Crystal Method - Cherry Twist
3 - The Crystal Method - Now Is The Time
4 - Keoki - Caterpillar (The Crystal Method Remix)
5 - The Crystal Method - Trip Like I Do
6 - The Crystal Method - Vapor Trail
7 - The Crystal Method - Alright
8 - The Crystal Method - Busy Child
9 - The Crystal Method - Keep Hope Alive

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