Daniel Johnston - Old Fruitmarket Glasgow - Wednesday 23rd July 2008
" An Evening with Daniel Johnston and friends"
Daniel Johnstone supported and backed by Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse, Scout Niblett,
James McNew of Yo La Tengo, Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub, and Jad Fair of Half Japanese.
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Daniel Solo Set -
tufty D50 > wav > flac > you
01 Mean Girls
02 There is a Sense of Humour
03 Mask
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Daniel + Band Set -
tufty D50 > wav > amplified in Audacity > flac > you
01 Mountain Top *
02 Speeding Motorcycle
03 Casper
04 Hey Joe
05 Fish **
06 Rain
07 Go
08 Story an Artist
09 Rock this Town
10 Walking the Cow
11 Love Enchanted
12 Rock 'n' Roll
13 crowd
14 True Love Will Find You in the End
15 Devil Town
* track 1 recording volume was adjusted slightly a few seconds in
** track 5 has 2/3 short jumps between stereo to mono at the start
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also included is track 3 of the Mark Linkous set which has vocals from Daniel -
tufty D50 > wav > flac > you
03 Most Beautiful Widow
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Pics from the gig also included thanks to Paradasos, Gaseous Brain + Horsemeat
Tea with Tufty
" An Evening with Daniel Johnston and friends"
Daniel Johnston supported and backed by Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse, Scout Niblett, James McNew of Yo La Tengo, Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub, and Jad Fair of Half Japanese.
Daniel Solo Set - tracks 1-3
With Band - tracks 4-18
track 19 - track 3 of the Mark Linkous set which has vocals from Daniel
Live review: An Evening with Daniel Johnston and friends
By FIONA SHEPHERD
AN EVENING WITH DANIEL JOHNSTON & FRIENDS - OLD FRUITMARKET, GLASGOW
IT WAS almost a relief to see Daniel Johnston surrounded by so many supportive musicians – for the purposes of this gig, his "friends" included quirky singer Scout Niblett, Teenage Fanclub frontman Norman Blake, Yo La Tengo bassist James McNew and SpADVERTISEMENTarklehorse's Mark Linkous.
For years, this cult Texan songwriter, who was championed by Kurt Cobain and Sonic Youth, has battled with severe mental illness, the full extent of which was made public in the harrowing 2005 documentary The Devil And Daniel Johnston. But there was a calming, homely warmth to this ensemble set-up. It felt like a safe place.
Following brief solo sets from the various participants – with Linkous's spectral quavering providing the atmospheric highlight – Johnston took the stage, firstly solo and acoustic and then with his indie supergroup. He is still a vulnerable soul, shaking as he sang and occasionally unable to keep a steady rhythm as he scratched away at his guitar.
Though helplessly childlike and often plain twee, his songs can also communicate the pain and desperation of the blues and the simple truths of a good folk song. Some renditions were more accomplished than others: Speeding Motorcycle sounded like a Fisher-Price Velvet Underground, and the harmonising on a cover of The Beatles' Rain sounded like an alleycats' chorus, but Story Of An Artist, with its refrain copied from a TV ad jingle, was guileless and beautiful, and True Love Will Find You In The End was sweet and poignant.
Yet, even as the audience was charmed by the hope and innocence of these tracks, there was no escaping the underlying darkness and paranoia expressed in the closing a capella Devil Town, a noir nursery rhyme which lingered like a brooding cloud after Johnston left the stage.