If It's Too Loud...

In what now appears to be a November tradition, Letters to Cleo came back to their hometown of Boston for a three night stand last week. This year's trio of shows was soaked in nostalgia (the Paradise was playing a pretty generic 90's alt-rock playlist with everything from Pixies to The New Radicals represented) with the band playing one of their albums in its entirety each night. This particular night was 1993's Aurora Gory Alice.  Blake Babies opened up the evening (and all three nights) with a rare performance. The trio of Juliana Hatfield, John Strohm, and Freda Love-Smith are a much beloved Boston institution and could have easily played their own trio of shows. Since the three are now spread out over Cambridge, Chicago, and Nashville, seeing them reform is far too rare of a treat for fans. The band played at their charmingly sloppy best, including their cover of Mission of Burma's "From Here to Burma" and a heartbreakingly glorious version of "...

This is a pretty great Friday Freebie for you all. The Blake Babies are currently offering a free download of a concert from 1989 on Noisetrade. If you're unaware of the Blake Babies, they were (are?) a Boston band featuring Juliana Hatfield, Freda Love Smith, and John P. Strohm. The band is currently putting together some expanded reissues of their catalog, and found this in the archives. They found a live concert recorded on 5/9/1989 and decided to put it up for free. It was recorded for Emerson College's WERS, so the quality is really good, especially for 1989. It's really something you need to have. And it's free! To get your copy of Live 5.9.1989 , head over to Noisetrade . Also, be sure to sign up for the band's mailing list on their website to keep up on the reissues.