Free Download: Pontiak at Daytrotter

Last week was a good week for show postings at Daytrotter.com– our Internet-music fan-buddy to the Southeast of here. We got the 2008 recording of Nelly McKay, and we got the Pontiak session! Pontiak and Wye Oak were touring together last year on a shared bill and were scheduled to stop at the Mill in Iowa City on June 15th. However, the Floods of 2008 prevented them from performing their show. However, they managed to stop in at Daytrotter on the 16th and record four songs.

Pontiak’s sludgy psychedelia translated well to Daytrotter’s retro facility and in four songs provided a good snapshot of the ride that is Pontiak.

They recorded a song apiece from their previous efforts, “How Tall Are You?” from their debut Valley of Cats, and the waltzing title track from Sun on Sun. They also recorded the title track to their upcoming Thrill Jockey release Maker, due to drop on April 7th. They also dropped a campfire rendition of a recently-learned Warren Zevon cover “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner.”

Have a helping of Pontiak at Daytrotter.

Treat yourself to some Wye Oak from the same sessions.

Free Download: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals at Daytrotter

Grace in Space

Grace in Space

This session at Daytrotter had been scheduled for a long time– at least dating back to February that I can remember but weather and sickness seemed to delay it. Finally, in November they made the stop since they were in town again playing the Redstone room with Backyard Tire Fire in support. I had planned to see the show but some work stuff came up and I had to back out. At this point I probably won’t get a chance to see Grace and Co. again until the Spring after they have finished recording the follow up to the very successful This is Somewhere.

Since Somewhere’s 2007 release the band seems to have toured everywhere both as headliner and as supporting act– frequently with Gov’t Mule it seems who has taken Grace in as a little sister.

So, it seems that Daytrotter have captured the band at a time when they have had enough touring to bring an off-the-cuff recording the spark of why they are so popular live. It will be interesting to see what 2009 brings for the band.

The session has three songs (with file names that would imply they recorded two more…). Daytrotter says that all three are “unreleased” but the raucus show stopper “Paris” aka “If I Was from Paris” was actually recorded for Somewhere and has been available via iTunes as a bonus track. Also recorded was a somewhat atypically dark song in the Stones classic “Paint it Black” and a lengthy jam of what I assume is a new song “Watching You.”

Click Here for Grace Potter and the Nocturnal’s website

Click Here for the Grace Potter and the Nocturnal’s Daytrotter session where you can read an article about the band and session as well as stream or download the three tracks.