The Epic Haul

Epic.

I know many of you are totally spent from an epic day of vinyl hunting, and some (like me) are still celebrating RSD, depending on which time zone you are in. Cheers if you are. I unfortunately have had to switch from delicious Red Rock Amber Ale to Mickey's, but hey, on RSD I'm kicking it old school.

The morning started off with a moment of grogginess, the sense that I forgot to switch my alarm to "off" for the weekend, and then pure elation that today was the day: Record Store Day 2010. It was a beautiful spring day, and the drive downtown was gorgeous. With a few detours due to the marathon I arrived at Slowtrain at about 8:30AM. I ended up being third in line, and was able to talk to some pretty cool customers while we waited for the feeding frenzy.

The Slowtrain situation was great, they had it organized beautifully, let about 10 in at a time, and we got down to business. On a lighter note, I have a new crush, but we need to get to the vinyl. I quickly grabbed the Wilco Box, Stones 7'', Neko Case, and Neil Young offerings. After a quick look around I decided it was time to bolt (so I could get a free shwag bag, full of amazing goodies). Due to the heat today (finally, if I may say so) I needed to stash my finds at Dave Rock's Hawthorne palace, and after a quick breakfast I made my way to Randy's.

Randy's was packed of course, and I was able to snatch up the very limited Hold Steady album before going back to Dave Rock's, picking him up, and heading back to Slowtrain for an afternoon of more shopping, socializing, live shows (indoors and out) and plenty of beer drinking. Slowtrain RSD 2010 was sponsored by Red Rock Brewing of Salt Lake City and their Amber Ale really hit the spot after a stressful morning of shopping. Kudos to Chris and Anna of Slowtrain for organizing, and pulling off a spectacular day of music, friends, and brews.

It was back to Randy's after that for some serious digging. They were offering a used vinyl sale of 10-30% off, and I felt the urge to improve my back catalogue. I spent the rest of the afternoon sifting through the stacks at Randy's, sharing in some great conversation with Chris, Tom, and Sadie, and most of all just enjoying the fact that I can spend an entire weekend in a record shop. It really is where I do my best thinking. I was able to find some great gems deep in the archives including some CSN, Neil Young, Gear Daddies, Ohio Players, John Lennon, Grateful Dead, and Bob Dylan.

A more than solid outing for music lovers, and independent businesses today. I was pleased to see so many people out enjoying these things called record stores. It really is a community effort, and I hope that many people have re-discovered their love for a quality music shop today.

My purchases are listed below for your review. These came from Randy's and Slowtrain only (Thanks to you both for being amazing at what you do, my life, and the lives of many in this city would not be the same without you) because they are the only record shops I believe in. So support them, NOW!

I am already gearing up for RSD 2011, its never too early to start planning. Until then, I have a boat load of vinyl to review for my fellow readers, so expect updates often.

Until next time, keep em clean and keep em spinnin.

Acquisitions (RSD Exclusives)

Wilco - Kicking Television (Live In Chicago) 4 LP Box Set. This includes 8 previously unreleased songs, a limited edition concert poster, and the vinyl is 180 gram high performance vinyl. Nonesuch 523942-1. 1 of 5,000

The Flaming Lips, Stardeath & White Dwarfs With Henry Rollins and Peaches - Dark Side Of The Moon. Pressed on seafoam green vinyl. Warner Brothers 523541-1. 1 of 5,000

Neko Case - Middle Cyclone. 2 LP set on clear vinyl. Anti 86973-1. 1 of 2,000

Neil Young - Heart of Gold/ Sugar Mountain 7''. Limited.

Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball/ The Ghost of Tom Joad (Featuring Tom Morello) 10''. Columbia. Limited.

Jimi Hendrix - Live At Clark University 12'' EP. Dagger. Limited.

Fela Kuti - Fela Kuti 10'' EP. Knitting Factory Records. 1 of 1000.

The Hold Steady - Heaven Is Whenever. Full length album, limited edition clear vinyl. Screen printed cover. Vagrant/Rough Trade. 1 of 600.

Rolling Stones - Plundered My Soul/All Down The Line 7''. Limited and individually numbered.

Record Store Day - Choice Cuts 2010 (Various Artists) 12'' Sampler. Limited.

Acquisitions From Day 2 (Sunday the 18th)

Rodriguez - Inner City Blues/I'm Gonna Live Till I Die 7''. Includes a 12 track sampler and issue two of the Light In The Attic Zine. Hand numbered and limited to 1,500 copies. #1340. Light In The Attic Records.

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - Money 7''. Daptone Records. Limited.

Shampoo/Alien - Happy Birthday 7''. Sub Pop. 1 of 750.