RECORDING:

Type: Audience (master), recorded front of house, 3 metres back from the left,
ceiling-mounted PA.
Source: 2 x DPA 4060 mics -> DPA MMA6000 amplifier (100 Hz low-cut filter) ->
Edirol R-09HR recorder (44.1 kHz/16 bit WAV)
Lineage: Audacity 1.3.13-beta (tracks split, fades added) ->
FLAC (compression level 8) [libFLAC 1.2.1 20070917]

SET LIST:

01. Son Of A Gun
02. Way Out
03. Come In Come Out
04. Feelin'
05. I Can't Sleep
06. I.O.U.
07. Knock Me Down
08. [untitled]
09. Clean Prophet
10. Doledrum
11. There She Goes
12. Timeless Melody
13. Liberty Ship
14. Callin' All
15. Failure
16. Looking Glass
17. [encore break]
18. My Generation

Running time: 50m 35s

NOTES:

This gig had been announced just a couple of weeks in advance. That, and the fact that it would be taking place during the summer holiday, made me wonder how many people would attend.

I had to bike through torrential rain to get to this gig at Bitterzoet on the Spuistraat. When I arrived, I stood at the side of the road and literally wrang out my T-shirt. I was soaked to the skin, with water dripping out of my shirt and trousers. My jacket, which containing my recording gear, had been protected under a plastic cover and was still nice and dry.

I entered the steamy cellar of Bitterzoet and was surprised to see that it was close to full, if not sold out on the night. Obviously, the memory of The La's lingers in the Dutch musical consciousness.

I manoeuvred my way to the front, donned my jacket and waited for Lee Mavers to take to the stage, which he finally did at 21:20.

Grabbing his guitar, he launched straight into 'Son Of A Gun' with his bass player. Without speaking a word to the audience and pausing for mere seconds between songs, they stormed through the rest of the The La's one and only album, playing every song, plus a couple of non-album tracks and an instrumental not mentioned on the set-list.

The encore consisted of a single song, but it was a good one: a spirited cover of The Who's 'My Generation', with Mavers' roadie joining in on drums.

And that was that: 17 songs in 50 minutes. What a pace.

I had a few problems with the right mic on tracks 9 to 11. The necessary patching from the left channel has been done here to cover up the evidence. It's time to replace one of my expensive DPA 4060s, I fear.

Other than the aforementioned minimal patching, I have performed no software trickery to enhance the recording. This is a faithful reproduction of the show as heard on the night. The sound is excellent throughout.

Enjoy!