Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Helmet - Live in Hultsfred - 06-13-97



Label: Bootleg
Year: 1997

Did someone say "Helmet"? They did? Well, fantastic, cause I just so happened to have this here live recording of said band playing on either German television or German radio (I'm not positive which, but if anyone from the Fatherland reads this, maybe they could translate and let us all know). The sound quality is tits, and the song selection is for the most part...uh, what's not quite as good as tits? Personality?
Sorry, that was sexist.
Misogyny aside, point is, the song selection is good, but you do have to deal with a couple jammers off of "Aftertaste", which live, aren't nearly as bad as that record would lead you to believe. And while I'm not here to say, "Helmet sucks after 'Betty'", I will say they weren't nearly as effective or enjoyable. Which is to say, they kinda did suck after 'Betty' isn't it? I suppose that if you judge most bands against the first three Helmet records they would "kinda suck" too.
In their heyday Helmet was pretty much unstoppable, and while 1997 was a few years after their prime, they were still a formidable killing machine, as evidenced by their versions of "Wilma's Rainbow", "FBLA II", and "Ironhead" on this recording. Holy fuck do those still smoke.

* Thanks to our eagle-eyed (and eared) Teutonic reader Mr Floppy for correcting me on the true origins of this particular bootleg. The files have been re-tagged and re-uploaded.

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16 comments:

  1. kittyempireFebruary 23, 2010 at 11:51 PM

    Live Helmet! Tits! Jackpot!

    Agreed, the first 3 Helmet records, like the first 3 Jesus Lizard records, are completely unfuckwithable classics. I actually like 'Aftertaste', but I know where you're coming from... a big step down for them.

    Thanks very much for this one.

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  2. AnonymousFebruary 24, 2010 at 4:56 AM

    great album!
    thanks!

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  3. convertidoFebruary 24, 2010 at 5:54 AM

    Thanks, I only got off my ass to see them live once and they figgin' deafened me for days. It was '90 or '91 and it was so freakin' loud. I wore earplugs, thankfully, and my ears rang for days afterward. It was a great friggin' night.

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  4. Mr. FloppyFebruary 24, 2010 at 8:22 AM

    I think something's wrong there. I am German and this is definitely not German, rather sounds like Swedish or Finnish. I think this whole show is tagged incorrectly. This all sounds very much like the Hultsfred bootleg from 1997.

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  5. GrayFebruary 24, 2010 at 9:55 AM

    Mr. Floppy,

    You may very well be correct, as I, sadly, do not speak German, or apparantly Swedish or Finnish either.
    I tagged the show myself, so if it's not correct, that's my fault. It seemed German, but could be Scandinavian I suppose. I have never heard the Hultsfred concert, but if you think this is one in the same, you are probably right. If so, I can re-tag, and re-upload this.

    Danke.
    Gray

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  6. AnonymousFebruary 24, 2010 at 10:27 AM

    I actually listened to Aftertaste recently for the first time in a while and found it to be much better than I remembered. I liked it when it first came out, but strangely like it even more now. Still have the most heart for the first three though. Helmet was my first legit show back in '94, so thanks a lot for this post.

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  7. Mr. FloppyFebruary 24, 2010 at 1:14 PM

    Hey Gray,

    I just checked my bootleg of the show and it is indeed the Hultfsfred festival show dated June 13th, 1997. Same klingon intro bla, same tracklist and the same outstanding quality recording.

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  8. AnonymousFebruary 24, 2010 at 1:16 PM

    cant wait to hear this. thanks much!

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  9. GrayFebruary 24, 2010 at 2:59 PM

    Mr. Floppy,

    Thank you very much for the fact check and I will update the tags and everything this evening when I get home.
    If I was able to bequeath unto you honorary Shiny Grey Monotone knighthood I would. I will speak with King Ipecac about just that.

    You are also my new favorite German, just beating out Nena.

    Thanks again.
    Gray

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  10. AnonymousFebruary 24, 2010 at 7:37 PM

    Aftertaste has aged very well, I think. The two "reunion" records aren't REALLY that bad; in fact they both have several fantastic tracks. It's just hard to listen to them and not imagine how much MORE awesome they would be with Stanier on drums. Thanks for the whoopass 'leg!!

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  11. AnonymousFebruary 25, 2010 at 5:18 PM

    I really liked Aftertaste, but I saw them when they were touring it, and there was almost like a switch went off between songs, and anything they played off the pre-Aftertaste albums got turned up a notch.
    -G_G

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  12. AnonymousFebruary 25, 2010 at 5:58 PM

    hultsfred is a festival in sweden. probably recorded for swedish national radio. they've recorded alot of good shows through the years! chairs.

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  13. AnonymousFebruary 25, 2010 at 6:06 PM

    yupp - P3 LIVE is the show --- http://www.sr.se/p3/live/a.stm

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  14. AnonymousFebruary 25, 2010 at 6:24 PM

    mostly crappyone though - but they've had them too - TAD '94 - TODAY IS THE DAY - CHOKEBORE - GUZZARD clusterfuck tour '94 - UNSANE '96 '98 - NEUROSIS '96 '99 '07 --ohyes the neurosis and unsane tour - sweet memories! MELT BANANA '01 - and they recorded the last JESUS LIZARD show in '99 as well as one from roskilde festival in '96. had many of these recorded on tape but they've gone missing over the years.

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  15. J-MeFebruary 26, 2010 at 12:45 PM

    In a live context I dug the Aftertaste stuff, but album-wise Helmet was quite intolerable after Betty. And of course without Bogdan and Stanier it's not really even Helmet anymore...

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  16. AnonymousJanuary 3, 2013 at 6:15 PM

    dead link :(

    ReplyDelete