Avail: Live at the Kings Head Inn

Avail: Live at the Kings Head Inn

1993

Old Glory Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Sidewalk  2. Stride  3. Song  4. Observations  5. Predictable   6. Forgotten  7. Pinned Up  8. Violent Femmes  9. Connection



A 10-inch live album by Avail. It mostly features "Satiate"-era material with a couple of tracks from the not-yet-released "Dixie" album filling things out...

A live album by Avail is always welcome, since they were one of the best live bands of the whole 90's punk scene...I've seen them a few times and can attest to how sweaty and slamming those 90's shows were...They never ever gave anything less than 100%, therefore any live album by Avail is going to rule...

However, this is a very, very raw recording...It sounds like an audience mic, capturing the blast of sound from the stage and PA's...So yea...Not exactly a studio-quality soundboard recording...This falls more in the category of those noisy "V.M.Live Presents" releases...If you can take those, you can take this..

Still, this is a great companion to "Satiate"...It kicks all the ass that "Satiate" only gently caressed...Every single one of these songs are improved in a live setting...My God, "Predictable" is a fucking force of nature here and "Pinned Up" sounds like it could explode any second...Oh yea, the track labelled, "Violent Femmes" is actually a cover of the song "Kiss Off" which is welcome since it's probably my favorite Violent Femmes song and they do a pretty good version of it...

The album closes with "Connection" which is another one of those songs that's perfectly suited to a crowded punk show with its big chants and universal message...Man, if anything makes me want to leave the computer and hoist my fist in the air at some 160 degree punk club, it's this...So good...

If you don't mind crispy sound and muddled mixing, check this out...If the rawness is too much, check out the "Live at the Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco" CD Lookout Records put out a few years after this...It's also a killer show and is much more clearly recorded...Still, there's something about this unhinged performance that I like...

Here, you can check out the whole thing here...It's only 20-something minutes...Enjoy...

Avail: Satiate

Avail: Satiate

1992

Catheter-Assembly Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. March  2. All About It  3. Forgotten  4. Bob's Crew  5. Observations  6. Upward Grind  7. Stride  8. Timeframe  9. Pinned Up  10. Predictable  11. Twisted  12. Hope 


I'd been looking for a copy of this album forever (which was a favorite of my high school/college years)  and recently found it on vinyl...I used to have it on CD, which had a couple of bonus tracks that this vinyl version doesn't have...

So no "Connection" or "Mr. Morgan" for me...Which is really sad! I love "Connection" and its catchy "No one turned your rally of peace! Into a! Into a!" chant..."Mr. Morgan" is also interesting for its overt Fugazi-ness and for hearing Tim Barry rap! The CD also had that cute cartoon drawing of the band...My vinyl copy has some xerox-y photo...
 

 

To be honest, "Satiate" isn't even close to being one of my favorite Avail albums...Whereas most punk bands start off harder and more fierce and end up softening with age, Avail's first full-length is much calmer than their subsequent albums...It all sounds like classic Avail, but it just seems to have  a softer touch...There's also the matter of two songs on the album that are so staggeringly awesome that they almost invalidate everything that follows:

"March" is such a perfectly anthemic album opener that nothing else on the album could ever possibly live up to it...It has everything: Militaristic drums, punchy guitars, soulful female backing vocals, about a hundred different vocal hooks...If this one song was the only thing the band had ever released, their place in punk history would have still been assured...Flawless in every way and captures that hard-earned, positive spirit that you can sometimes find at a particularly transcendent punk rock show...

The other towering moment is "Pinned Up" which is just so much more ferocious than anything else here...This, more than anything else points the way to the direction the band was heading...Blasting, melodic hardcore with a hook so sharp that I could still sing along to every word despite not having heard it in 15 years...

The rest of the album isn't bad by any stretch...Lots of good, gut-punching, emotional punk rock like "Bob's Crew" and "Stride"...The pair of ballads that close the album often cause me to check out early though..."Twisted" is interesting, since it's a surging, 5-minute plus monster but by the time they bust out the acoustic guitar for "Hope" the mosh pit is empty and the lights are on...Avail would quickly learn how to better incorporate melancholy into their sound, but they haven't quite nailed it yet...Oh, well...

For all its flaws, it's still a huge cut above most 90's pop-punk and my college playlist would have been a much emptier place without "Satiate"...

Here's "March" by Avail...Enjoy...

Avail: One Wrench

Avail: One Wrench

2000

Fat Wreck Chords

Format I Own it On: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Fast One  2. Taken  3.N30  4. Leveled  5. New Song  6. High Lonesome  7. Invisible  8. Union  9. Heron  10. Rest  11.C. Days  12. Bell  13.Leather  14. Old Dominion

This is the fifth album by Richmond Virginia's punk rock band Avail. I never quite got into this one as much as the others, but I can see how someone who is more into the harder/faster side of the band could really dig this.

 They certainly kick a lot of ass here, and the energy levels are through the roof!  The tempos blast with hardcore speed, but they still remember to make a few stops for some melody every now and again. It is a bracing listen and I do always enjoy it when I put it on, but it seems like they don't quite have the awesome hooks they so prominently displayed on their previous albums. Which is fair, because I don't think that's what they were aiming for this time around.  I think it was more of a "we're not going soft," move after the poppier material on "Over the James.. .But I liked the poppier material...I did catch one of their shows right after this record dropped and these high-impact songs certainly were a big hit in the pit...So...

That said, there is one song on here that's among their best..."High Lonesome" is a perfect  example of what makes Avail so great. Loud, mid-tempo, a shout-along vocal melody...It's all here. Man, I love this....I might have to play that one again... (press rewind)

Avail has  only released one album since "One Wrench," but I haven't heard it yet.  In all my travels to the Record Store, I've never run across "Back Porch Stories."...Hell,  I wasn't even really aware of its existence until a couple years ago...But if I locate a copy someday maybe I'll check it out and let you know what I think...

Let's recount the important events that occurred in 2000 (the year of "One Wrench's" release):

The 2000 Presidential election results show George W Bush winning  over Al Gore, the results are delayed due to extremely close results and allegations of voter fraud...I demand a recount!

Defective tires cause almost 100 deaths... What?! 100 deaths!? The CEO of Firestone demands a recount!

 Santana and Rob Thomas win "Record of the Year" for their record "Smooth." Wait...what?  The Record of the Year had Rob Thomas on it?! I demand a recount! Alright...Enough recounting...Let's check out Avail's"High Lonesome..." Enjoy...

Avail: Over the James

Avail: Over the James

1998

Lookout Records

Format I Own it On: Vinyl and Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Deepwood  2. New #2  3. August  4. Fall Apart  5. Nickel Bridge  6. Scuffle Town  7. Sanctuary 13  8. S.R.O.  9. Mid-Town West  10. Lombardy St.  11. Vine  12. Cross Tie  13.Ask  14. Fifth Wheel 

This is an album I love to an almost ridiculous degree, It was a real staple during the Summer of '97. The songwriting is more fleshed-out, the choruses are even catchier and the hardcore is even harder...I mean, this album might just have been the reason Mike Tyson bit off Evander Holyfield's ear a month after this came out...

My faves this time around are almost too numerous to mention, the hooky hardcore and soaring chorus of "Nickel Bridge," the surging anthem "August," the towering closer ,"Fifth Wheel." I honestly don't see a weak spot on this thing, and I don't think this band put out an album this good again...If you check out only one Avail album I'd recommend this...but why check out only one Avail album? These guys really hit upon a sort of rustic majesty that makes me wanna drive a John Deere in the moshpit...

.I'm calling it one of the greats of 90's punk...

Remember a couple weeks ago I was trying to think  of great album covers of the CD era, and I couldn't come up with anything better than Fabio? Well, I gave it some more thought and came up with these CD covers I like...

Shins: Chutes Too Narrow

(I'm kind of a sucker for fun foldy CD covers...But I think this one goes beyond novelty...I like the colors and design and everything...)

Mars Volta: Amputechture (I find this really fascinating for some reason...)

of Montreal: Hissing Fauna...Are You the Destroyer

(Although I didn't really fully appreciate this one until I got a vinyl copy of it...)

Pink Floyd: The Division Bell (all the story and mystery behind this album cover had me really captivated at the time...There's still not a clear answer as to what the prize was...some people involved say they forgot, or there wasn't one, or it was an area with a bunch of trees planted...who knows...but it was pretty memorable...I also liked this Pink Floyd one...)

Pink Floyd: Pulse (I don't really like the cover so much...It reminds me of one of those all-over shirts you'd buy at Walt-Mart...I like this one for that flashing red light that's built into the cover... .It cracks me up to hear that people still have a faint red flashing light that's going 24/7 twenty years after the fact...I never bought it because I think that's too big a commitment for me...)

Cut Copy: Zonoscope (I have no idea who this band is but I saw the cover at the record story and really liked it...I think it's dance music or something...I don't really have any reason to listen to dance music, since I'm totally averse to dancing.

Except this dance...

...that dance was awesome...)

Well, that's all the cool CD-era covers I can think of today...If I think of any more later I'll post them too...In the meantime, let's check out by Avail. Enjoy...

Avail: 4am Friday

Avail: 4am Friday

1996

Lookout Records

Format I Own it On: Compact Disc

Track Listing:  1. Simple Song  2. Order  3. Tuesday  4. '92  5. McCarthy  6. (Ben)  7. Monroe Park  8. Armchair  9. Fix  10. Blue Ridge  11. Swing Low  12. F.C.A  13. Hang  14. Governor  15. Nameless

Avail's mighty 1996 album follows "Dixie's" established sound of blistering hardcore, giant choruses, and blue-collar vocals. I actually like this one just as much as "Dixie."

I can still recall my friend Joe bringing this album over and putting it on for the first time, after anxiously waiting for 2 years.  We were greeted by the roaring guitars of  "Simple Song," Which is a fine welcome indeed! I also love the catchy wrecking-ball swing of "Tuesday," which is closely related to "Dixie's" "Tuning." 

"Armchair" and "Nameless"  explore scene politcs to endlessly hooky results. Again, this is the same type of stuff you've heard on "Dixie," perhaps the only real departure is when the band busts out the acoustic guitar for a cover of "Swing Low  Sweet Chariot," which is pretty cool...

This album works as an excellent companion to "Dixie" and brings back warm memories of the 1990's pop-punk heyday...an era  I always thoroughly enjoy revisiting, despite my pounding headache today...You see, I was recently told by a doctor to cut my caffeine intake. I ingest an almost lethal amount of caffeine everyday once you factor in the sheer volume of coffee, Pepsi and Beer Bulls that I ingest daily...So I went ahead and kicked it cold turkey...Which turns out to maybe not be the way to go since I've had a splitting headache that won't go away...But it's hard...I love caffeine...No matter how little sleep I get, once I pound some coffee I'm as good as new... Why are all the things that make life so enjoyable so bad for you? I've compiled a list of things that are bad for us but I still love despite their faults...

No. 1: Alcohol!

 C'mon! I love beer! No matter how shitty a day I might have had,  a beer melts away the stress immediately...How can that be bad? It seems like something this effective in its stress-reducing qualities should be good for you, right? This is unfair!

No. 2: Red Meat!

Look at it! Its aesthetic beauty alone is life-affirming! Unless, you're the animal being eaten...And what really sucks is you can avoid all the items on this list and something else just comes along and kills you! This game is rigged, I tell ya!

No. 3: Stress, Itself!

Stress is so much fun! There's nothing quite like getting pissed off when the car in front of you cuts you off! And nothing quite like the exhilarating feeling of  getting out of your car, finding a tank and demolishing half the downtown area in an orgy of destruction! Can't a guy have some fun?

No. 4: Crack Cocaine!

I just can't believe this stuff is bad for you! I mean, 1070 mg of sodium per serving! That should be illegal!
Hey, I didn't invite you guys over just to unload on ya...I invited you guys to my  Friday Night Record Party so we could rock out to Avail's "Armchair." So let's go...

Avail: Dixie

Avail: Dixie

1994

Lookout Records

Format I Own it On: Compact Disc


Track Listing: 1. On the Nod  2. Clone  3. Tuning  4. Song  5. Sidewalk  6. 25 Years  7. Virus  8. Beliefs Pile  9. Treading on Heels  10. Model  11. South Bound 95  12. Pink Houses

This was another Lookout Records release that was really big  hit with me and my friends back in the mid-90's...I think my friend Cory (R.I.P) introduced me to this band. I'd describe them as a melodic rural hardcore band, bringing to mind Carhartts and  lawns scattered with car parts and rusted tricycles. I mean, they even do a punk version of John Cougar-Mellencamp's "Pink Houses!" Rural as fuck!

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Like I said, this record was a big hit in my area, the mid-tempo pounder "Tuning" in particular. I can recall hanging out at bonfires on Friday and Saturday Nights at either Scott or Joe's house... Everybody would pull up their trucks and play their car radios...and this one was one we'd all beller along to...We even went to one of Avail's shows in Detroit  right around the time of this release of this album. I'll never forget the show because once we were in, some guy pulled his shirt up to reveal a gun he had tucked in his boxers... So I was a little nervous to say the least. But nothing bad happened....Avail played a mighty set, full of favorites from the "Dixie" album, winning over the crowd in big way, despite some persistent sound problems... I went back to see these guys a couple more times during the '90's.

They really were an incredible live band, and I consider their run of albums starting with "Dixie" through "Over the James" to be highlights of that era. Catchy, sweaty, shout-a-long punk. We need these guys back...

While we're listening to Avail's 1994 classic "Dixie" let's take a look back at the events of 1994...

This was the year of the "Whitewater" scandal; which began when investigator's took a closer look into  real estate investments made by Bill and Hillary Clinton and their associates Jim and Susan McDougal and...

...You know what? This is boring.

Let's just combine all of the events of 1994 into one big exciting event...

In 1994, after killing Kurt Cobain...

 ...O.J. Simpson and Tonya Harding drive a white Ford Bronco...

 all the way to Norway for the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer!



There, that was exciting!

Now let's listen to "South Bound 95" by Avail...