The Zombies
2023-03-15
SXSW 2023
Stubb's BBQ
Austin, TX

SOURCE:
SP-CMC-8 (w/Mods) > Sony PCM-A10 > Sandisk Mini-SD Card (32gb - Class 10)

TRANSFER:
.WAV (24 Bit) > Adobe Audition 2023 CC (normalize/amplify/tracking/dithering/downsampling) > .WAV (16 Bit) > Trader's Little Helper > FLAC (Level 6)

SETLIST:

01. Intro
02. Moving On
03. I Want You Back Again
04. I Love You
05. Different Game
06. You Could Be My Love
07. Tell Her No
08. You've Really Got A Hold On Me / Bring It On Home to Me
09. Dropped Reeling and Stupid
10. Care of Cell 44
11. This Will Be Our Year
12. Time of the Season
13. Merry-Go-Round
14. (talking)
15. Hold Your Head Up (Argent cover)
16. She's Not There
17. The Way I Feel Inside

NOTES:

I must say, I was quite impressed with the number of "big" bands that SXSW was able to snag for "official showcases" this year. New Order, Tangerine Dream, Kaskade and deadmau5, and of course how could I forget: The Zombies! They're one of those bands who I've never gotten to see, but have grown up listening to here and there thanks to my Dad's "classic 60's rock" collection. I'm sure everyone has sung along to "Time of the Season'' at some point in their life. They were on my must-see list from the initial announcement, though I noticed they were slated to play multiple shows during the week.

They had one afternoon show at Waterloo records I believe, which I missed and did not attend. Then they also had a free show at the Ladybird Lake Outdoor stage, which I did attend (though did not record), but only saw about half the set. I must say, the layout for the outdoor stage/park this year was far different than last year. It was much smaller scale, with no security/check-in. I literally just walked on up to the grass and made my way towards the stage. Nothing was fenced off and nobody was checking anybody for anything. I don't know if that's good or bad. But it was an obvious observation to my eyes.

Anyway, the one full show that I did attend and did record was their showcase show at Stubb's BBQ on the night of the 15th. I love this venue and stage (it was one of my favorites from last year), so I made sure that if I could only see one of their shows, this was going to be the one. While waiting for the band to take the stage (and watching a few of the openers - who I also recorded), I met a couple cool people from Australia, one being this woman named Beth, who was cute and super sweet and even went and bought me a (weird) water in a can. She and her friend were going off about how SXSW had announced a Sydney version of the event for next year I think, and they were really upset that Sydney had been chosen as the host city. Being from Australia, they said Sydney was a shithole city and that the real musical culture was to be found in Melbourne and/or Brisband instead. Now I'm not from Australia, but all we see from the US media is how great Sydney is, but apparently that's not the case? Maybe someone from Australia could confirm/deny their thoughts, but yeah, they seemed bummed that such a cool festival was chosen (errr, most likely bought if we're being honest) to be in Sydney.

Anyway, the whole reason I bring them/her up, besides being cool and buying me a drink and giving me some company all night, is you'll occasionally hear Beth on the recording at a few various points asking me to hold her drinks or asking if I was having a good time. Who was I to tell a cute Aussie to be quiet? Wasn't going to happen, so you just have to roll with it. It's nothing too annoying to my years but maybe that's just me.

As for the band, though old yes (they said they started in 1961 - I quickly started doing math in my head trying to figure out how old the original remaining members must be - past 80 yes?), they still played a fairly long 80 minute set filled with hits and new songs alike. They all seemed in really great spirits despite the cold night (free of rain though, so no room to complain) and there were plenty of folks from the UK in the audience cheering them on. It's amazing how great music and great bands can really bring people from all across the world (Australia, UK, the US, etc) into one tiny dirty patch called Stubb's in Austin, TX. It really boggles my mind.


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