This is about Low, a band that existed in Duluth, MN during the years 1994 – 2022.
What follows are a couple of live recordings which Alan Sparhawk has graciously allowed me to record back in the day, and has generously allowed to be shared on Live Music Archive with other past, present and future fans.
Alan Sparhawk: vocals, guitar, piano
Mimi Parker: vocals, drums, 1994-2022
John Nichols: bass, 1994
Zak Sally: bass, 1994-2005
Matt Livingston: bass, 2005-2008
Steve Garrington: bass, 2008-2021
Low • 1993-09-30
Minneapolis, MN • Red Eye Theater
stereo audience recording
duration (45:09.73)
[01] Sea (02:08.57)
[02] Cut (06:40.14)
[03] Words (06:21.10)
[04] Slide (04:22.05)
[05] Fear (02:43.18)
[06] Lazy (06:20.11)
[07] Drag (05:38.72)
[08] You Are My Sunshine unknown] (03:15.16)
[09] Down (07:40.18)
Mimi Parker: Drums, Vocals
Alan Sparhawk: Guitar, Vocals
John Nichols: Bass
Bill:
Low
Azalia Snail
Lisa Raye
This fileset is a raw 24 bit / 48kHz analog > digital transfer made in 2024, from a 1st-gen edited copy made in 1993.
Thanks to Alan Sparhawk for getting in touch with me in 2024, which reminded me about this and a few other related recordings I hadn’t gotten to yet. Some times it just takes a gentle nudge to get these things moving along.
This is an alternate version of a fileset which was previously uploaded to LMA in 2007 – from the same source recording, and which can be found HERE ON LMA. The previous 16-bit upload appeared to be at least one or more generations removed from the source, whereas this is a 24-bit Azimuth-optimized transfer from a 1st-gen copy I made for myself shortly after the performance, so the band could be provided with the original master cassette. So, this is the closest there is to a master, apart from the actual master cassette I gave to the band in 1993.
The editing involved during the initial tape transfer simply refers to the removal of dead space between songs, minimizing the volume of the audience / applause following each song, as those levels were initially much louder than the music.
There may have been some introductions or comments by members of the group which were possibly removed during the initial tape transfer, but if so, it would have been minimal, to preserve the continuity of the music in its austerity.
Thankfully, the audience remained nearly silent during the music being performed.
These comments are from 2013, when I first discovered the previous upload of this show, and had posted this additional information. For some curious reason, they are no longer there.
Reviewer: Ground-Hog – – June 30, 2013
Subject: Hello from the taper of this show
Hi. I only just discovered this posting of my Low recording (in June 2013), so I would like to add a few details.
1) Red Eye Theater was not in St. Paul, MN, but was in Minneapolis, MN. It was located on 15th St between Nicollet Avenue and LaSalle Avenue. The event was curated by Chris Strouth. The other artists on the bill, who were also recorded, were Lisa Raye (of the band Big Red Ball), and Azalia Snail. The fact that this performance was recorded is owed to Lisa Raye, who was a friend of mine. I had accompanied her to the venue to record her set, and she thought I should record Low, who were relatively unknown at the time. She introduced me to the band, and they gave me permission to record them.
2) The recording of Low was made from the stage area where the band performed. They allowed me to set up my mics and equipment right in front of them, as they were interested in the possibility of a natural acoustic recording. That is why the audience sounds are minimal. I was using a pair of Radio Shack/Tandy PZM mics, connected to a home stereo cassette deck, via a small 4-channel potentiometer, which served as a mixer/pre-amp/conduit.
3) This recording as it is posted on LMA, seems to have gone through a few hands in a very short time. Apparently I made a copy of the tape for someone who circulated it, and it eventually ended up on LMA, although I can’t account for the difference in the sound quality which has transpired beyond the original recording. The sound quality of the version which has been posted here online is somewhat distorted, and it seems as though it has been edited by someone, although not by me [I’ve since realized that I had edited the 1st-generation copy]. I have the original cassette sitting in front of me as I write this, which I have never digitized, and the performance was recorded in its’ entirety. As time allows, I will digitize the cassette in 24/96 on a NAK deck, with Azimuth optimization applied to the playback head, and upload it to LMA.
Cheers,
J. Free
Sonic Archives
Recorded / transferred / tracked / edited / tagged by: J.Free / Sonic Archives
Photo courtesy of City Pages / Wayback Machine
Download or stream the show from Live Music Archive
Low • 1994-07-16
Minneapolis, MN • 7th St. Entry
stereo audience recording
duration (01:05.:27)
cassette side A (46:37.27):
[01] start (00:14.07)
[02] See-Through (04:49.22)
[03] Cut (06:58.19)
[04] interim / comments (00:49.17)
[05] Words (07:11.06)
[06] interim / comments (00:23.59)
[07] Sea (02:13.36)
[08] interim / comments (01:07.01)
[09] Lazy (06:38.00)
[10] interim (00:08.26)
[11] Transmission [Joy Division] (06:11.59)
[12] interim / comments (00:59.65)
[13] Violence (05:05.68)
[14] interim / comments (00:36.51)
[15] Rope [truncated] (03:10.41)
cassette side B (18:50.00):
[16] Rope [continued] (04:54.28)
[17] interim / comments (00:41.68)
[18] Fear (02:47.06)
[19] interim / encore applause / comments (02:06.23)
[20] Drag (06:20.46)
[21] applause (00:52.62)
[22] end / ambience of the 7th St Entry (01:06.67)
Bill:
Low
Balloon Guy
Shapeshifter
Lisa Raye [solo electric set]
[September 2024]:
A mutual friend had put Alan and I in touch with other for the first time in nearly thirty years, and he was curious what recordings I had of Low in my archives. Most of them he had already, but not this one.
This is the first time I ever attempted to transfer this set. It was an uncomfortably packed room by the time Low took the stage, and I ended up setting up my gear in front of the sound booth, rather than in the booth. For a number of reasons – including the extreme crowded-ness in the room – I was unable to secure the equipment as much as I would have liked to, and by the third song of the set, a couple of faders on my mixing console had been bumped by people in the audience, throwing the levels off for most of the set. I had always considered it un-salvageable, but revisiting it recently, I tried a few things which to my ears seemed to make it at least a bit more listenable.
Around the 4:00 mark in Track 05 [Words], the left fader on my mixer was bumped, resulting in an over-modulated signal in that channel which went un-noticed until around 50 seconds into Track 15 [Rope]. In hindsight, it would have been useful if I had been able to flip the tape before Rope started, so it wouldn’t have been broken up into two segments, although oddly enough, they almost provide a natural segue.
After the cassette was flipped, the same thing happened again on Side B, only this time it was the Right Channel which was bumped – not as drastically as before, but still resulting in a bit of saturation.
In both instances, I employed a few techniques including overwriting some segments with the stable signal, incremental gain changes and smoothing, in the hopes of ending up with a more listenable result.
This is a rare situation where I know that the band was not provided with a copy of their set at the time, due to my previous assessment of the sound quality. Thirty years later, Alan will have the opportunity to hear it for the first time, and hopefully the listening experience won’t be too dreadful.
On this date in 1994, the Shoemaker-Levy comet collided with Jupiter.
Recorded / transferred / tracked / edited / tagged by: J.Free / Sonic Archives
Download or stream the show from Live Music Archive
I always say this (only because it’s true!), but it is well worth your time to track down any of the band’s releases:
Download or stream all sets by Low from Live Music Archive
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