Are You Ready To Rock with Messora

In America, it's easy to forget how there are two Canada's. Plain Canada and French Canada. Honestly, that's really cool. 

(NOTE: There's also a French America as well. The Acadians who were expelled from French Canada became the...wait for it... CAJUNS.)

Here in St. Louis, we collectively (read Auguste Chouteau) decided there was more money in English than French.

In Montreal, Messora has dropped their debut album via BANDCAMP. You should probably check that stuff out.

In the meantime, let's talk about the majesty of live records.

1. Every major band worth its salt has released a live album. Tell me about your favorite A list band's live record and your favorite underground live album.  

I think maybe my A list band might be too underground and vice versa, but I’d say that Converge’s Jane Live is my favorite A list live recording. 

More underground would be Public Castration is a Good Idea by Swans.

2. Kiss, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, etc, all have released several live sets. Tell me about a band who's gotten you to purchase multiple live sets and why?  

I have to cheat here and say How the West Was Won by Led Zeppelin. It’s one record but it’s two different live sets.

3. Now, it's time to take a stand. Would you rather have an album like Kiss's Alive! where the tracks were doctored into perfection or would you rather have a Jimi Hendrix Live At Berkeley set where they just mixed and mastered the tapes?

I’ll definitely side with Jimi Hendrix here. 

Studio recordings are meant to be doctored (kind of) but live is live, and if that’s what you want you should be getting an unaltered performance.

4. In the early 90's, Anthrax released a live album called Live: The Island  Years. Due to reasons beyond Anthrax's control, this one just never felt right to me and I soon unloaded it. Tell me about one that disappointed you when it came out?

I was really excited for Opeth’s Garden of the Titans because the promo videos that they released looked phenomenal. 

The problem is that Mikael Akerfeldt seems to have almost completely lost his chops when it comes to his death metal vocals, and every time he does a sloppy scream I’m disappointed.

5. What's the right length for a live album?  

I think that a good setlist can get away with a bit longer than a studio album, maybe something pushing 1h15. 

Something from a band like Swans, could totally go for two hours or even more seeing as how their most recent studio albums have been two hours in length and they totally work.