BIG IN IOWA

Live at Wolfstock

2xCDR, Bootleg

Four big boys from, yes, you guessed it, Ohio flew over to Germany to play some show, one of which was recorded by a fan. And because it was a killer-show and the recording turned out so well, Blue Rose records, the label of Big In Iowa, put it on their homepage, ready to be downloaded b everyone out there. And so a friend of mine did, and because he knew, that I liked any kind of country-music there is, he gave these two CDRs to me and guess what one more time, I really liked it. This one is one great documentary of everything a great shows makes – good music, a band that gives everything, a cool mixture of great original tunes and some genius cover versions. If you want to know what a cool country-guitar-rock-concert is all about, check out this one.

Just take it easy and scroll through the internet until you reach the homepage of Blue Rose Records and check out the MP3-section there. This is where this whole concert comes from. Great thing, ain’t it? In a time where each and every music-business-dumbfuck complains about receding turnovers, smaller selling-margins and mp3-piracy and whatever, these dudes put a whole live-show of one of their bands on the internet to be downloaded for free! I tell you an open secret – those who download and burn the most music on CDRs are also those who buy the highest numbers of CDRs, which means, internet piracy is nothing more than a access-drug which makes people buy CDs. I know that, Robbie Williams does and now you know it too. And it is true, because a show like this will really make you want to check out this band further. I only know Big In Iowa (who are actually from Ohio not Iowa) from some tracks on compilations, but maybe I will check them out some more when I get an opportunity.

Which makes me turn to the music. These four boys play your basic country-rock-music, but they do it with so much heart and soul and emphasis that you will like to listen to them live as soon as you heard this bootleg. They’ll give you a lot of great tunes, some laidback, thoughtful and melancholic, others more straightforward and rocking. My favorites are “Neon Signs” and “Anna Lee” right at the beginning of the show. They also pull a great variety of different cover versions, from Neil Young (“Rockin in the free world” and “Cinnamon Girls”) and Van Morrisson (“Into the Mystic”) to Johnny Cash (“Folsom Prison Blues”) to some I don’t know who sang them first (like “rockin all over the world” and “Ohio”). Sure, these dudes are a basic four-piece-band with bass, guitars, drums and singing – joined for a few songs by Rich Hopkins – but the most important thing is that you get the feeling that they are having a good time up there playing music. That they don’t want to leave this place anymore. And that you yourself are standing in the crowd, holding an ever-cold beer and enjoying the whole thing. There ain’t a lot of good concerts out there and actually I don’t like concerts very much anyway. But this CDR makes me want to go to see one and this is the best thing you can say about a live-CDR.

If you don’t want to go to the homepage of Blue Rose Records and download the whole thing (it is quite a lot), then I’ll be glad to make a deal with you. You send me your favorite CDR-bootleg and I send you this one. Or a few other ones. I have collected a few great recordings by some bands from live shows. Don’t ask me where I have them from, because I forgot all about that. But I might make a copy for personal use and then lose it in your vicinity by accident. Things like that happen, y’know. And I might throw in a few bonus songs as well, to make the whole thing as worthwile as possible.

01/2003