Underground Bee
type: channel
description: Robert Loerzel's blog on music and the arts
date: 2023-12-31T01:39:53Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: Favorite Records of 2023
items: Favorite Records of 2022
items: Favorite Records of 2021
items: Favorite Albums of 2020
items: A note to our readers
items: Favorite Albums of 2017
items: Chad VanGaalen at the Empty Bottle
items: Jon Langford’s Four Lost Souls at the Hideout
items: Hideout Block Party 2017
items: Cropped Out 2017

Favorite Records of 2023
type: item
creator: Robert Loerzel
date: 2023-12-31T01:39:53Z
subject: music
subject: 2023
subject: best of 2023
description: 1. Lankum, False Lankum This Dublin band channels old Irish folk music through drones and other alien elements, giving it an unusual power and intensity. I was so enchanted by this album that I haven’t had much time to familiarize myself with Lankum’s three earlier records, so I have some catching up to do. But … Continue reading "Favorite Records of 2023"
encoded: <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="350" height="351" src="https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/01-lankum.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-12600" srcset="https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/01-lankum.jpeg 350w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/01-lankum-300x300.jpeg 300w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/01-lankum-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/01-lankum-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" /> 1. Lankum, False Lankum This Dublin band channels old Irish folk music through drones and other alien elements, giving it an unusual power and intensity. I was so enchanted by this album that I haven’t had much time to familiarize myself with Lankum’s three earlier records, so I have some catching up to do. But in a strong year with many noteworthy records, this was the one that cast a spell on me more than any other. https://lankum.bandcamp.com/album/false-lankum <img decoding="async" width="350" height="350" src="https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/02-brennen-leigh.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-12601" srcset="https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/02-brennen-leigh.jpeg 350w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/02-brennen-leigh-300x300.jpeg 300w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/02-brennen-leigh-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/02-brennen-leigh-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" /> 2. Brennen Leigh, Ain’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet There’s a sparkling wit and spirit in Leigh’s old-fashioned country songs, which are all pretty darn catchy. https://brennenleigh.bandcamp.com/album/aint-through-honky-tonkin-yet <img decoding="async" width="350" height="350" src="https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/03-pjharvey.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-1…

Favorite Records of 2022
type: item
creator: Robert Loerzel
date: 2022-12-27T20:37:57Z
subject: music
subject: best of 2022
subject: favorite records
subject: records
description: 1.S.G. GoodmanTeeth Marks This Kentucky singer-songwriter’s debut, Old Time Feeling, was my favorite album of 2020, and she captured my heart once again with her second record. This one is more of a rock album, as Goodman plays with a terrific group, often sounding like a talented bar band playing in a backwoods roadhouse. (At … Continue reading "Favorite Records of 2022"
encoded: <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/01-sggoodman-1024x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-12572" width="256" height="256" srcset="https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/01-sggoodman-1024x1024.jpeg 1024w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/01-sggoodman-300x300.jpeg 300w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/01-sggoodman-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/01-sggoodman-768x768.jpeg 768w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/01-sggoodman-100x100.jpeg 100w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/01-sggoodman.jpeg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 256px) 100vw, 256px" /> 1. S.G. Goodman Teeth Marks This Kentucky singer-songwriter’s debut, Old Time Feeling, was my favorite album of 2020, and she captured my heart once again with her second record. This one is more of a rock album, as Goodman plays with a terrific group, often sounding like a talented bar band playing in a backwoods roadhouse. (At least, that’s how I picture it.) Another critic mentioned “shoegaze” when describing Goodman’s music, which struck me as a peculiar choice of musical terms. But I understand where that idea came from: There are times when Goodman and her backing band get into a groove, repeating a riff as if hypnotized or reveling in the waves of sound. A similar intensity and focus come through in Goodman’s voice, evoking the mountain music of her home state as well as its deeper roots in British folk. Goodman’s lyrics are poetic and passionate. I enjoyed hearing her conversation with Marc Maron on his WTF podcast, and then when she performed a top-notch show at Schubas, her strong personality was on display during her delightful storytelling in between the songs. The centerpiece of this album is a pair of haunting tracks, “If You Were Someone I Loved” and “You Were Someone I Loved.” Or is it on…

Favorite Records of 2021
type: item
creator: Robert Loerzel
date: 2021-12-31T18:34:49Z
subject: music
subject: albums
subject: best
subject: best records of 2021
description: 1.Aeon StationObservatory The story behind this album was dispiriting for those of us who love the Wrens’ 2003 masterpiece The Meadowlands. We’ve been waiting 18 years for the Wrens to release a long-promised follow-up record. But now, one of the Wrens has gone his own way: Kevin Whelan says he was tired of waiting for … Continue reading "Favorite Records of 2021"
encoded: 1. Aeon Station Observatory <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="http://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/01-aeon-1024x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-12547" width="256" height="256" srcset="https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/01-aeon-1024x1024.jpeg 1024w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/01-aeon-300x300.jpeg 300w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/01-aeon-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/01-aeon-768x768.jpeg 768w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/01-aeon-100x100.jpeg 100w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/01-aeon.jpeg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 256px) 100vw, 256px" /> The story behind this album was dispiriting for those of us who love the Wrens’ 2003 masterpiece The Meadowlands. We’ve been waiting 18 years for the Wrens to release a long-promised follow-up record. But now, one of the Wrens has gone his own way: Kevin Whelan says he was tired of waiting for bandmate Charles Bissell to put out the music they’d been working on for all of those years. So he released this album under the Aeon Station name, including five songs that had been intended for the next Wrens album. It’s sad to see the Wrens dissolving in a “bitter feud,” as the Guardian called it. And we might never hear that Wrens album that was supposedly coming out, though some version of it will surely surface in one way or another. Bissell tweeted: “my songs have also been done for a couple years & will come out now…as a solo album, I guess.” It’s hard not to listen to Aeon Station’s album without wondering what might have been. Is this half of a never-to-be-heard Wrens masterpiece? Is it just a shadow of that phantom album? Perhaps. The image on the album cover, a half-built office block, symbolizes how “projects sometimes just don’t get finished,” Whelan told the Guardian. But this is also outstanding music in it…

Favorite Albums of 2020
type: item
creator: Robert Loerzel
date: 2021-01-01T21:38:01Z
subject: music
subject: 2020
subject: albums
subject: best of 2020
subject: favorite albums of 2020
description: 1. S.G. Goodman, Old Time Feeling (Verve Forecast) I heard this album only because someone put one of S.G. Goodman’s songs on a Spotify playlist that I happened to check out. I liked it and listened to the whole album. And then I just kept on listening, again and again. What a solid record, filled … Continue reading "Favorite Albums of 2020"
encoded: <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="600" src="http://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/01sggoodman.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-12513" srcset="https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/01sggoodman.jpg 600w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/01sggoodman-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/01sggoodman-150x150.jpg 150w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/01sggoodman-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /> 1. S.G. Goodman, Old Time Feeling (Verve Forecast) I heard this album only because someone put one of S.G. Goodman’s songs on a Spotify playlist that I happened to check out. I liked it and listened to the whole album. And then I just kept on listening, again and again. What a solid record, filled with one terrific song after another. This singer-songwriter from rural Kentucky probably fits best into the Americana genre, but she pulls together elements from other styles of rock, pop and folk on this gorgeous collection (produced by My Morning Jacket’s Jim James). Like her voice, the sonic aura of the recordings is entrancing. Goodman laces her music with poetic turns of phrase. I’m particularly taken with the lyrics of the title song, which comment on the rural-urban political divide in America. “The south has a very complex history of social and economic injustice,” Goodman said in a Consequence of Sound article. “It was important for me as a proud southerner to vocalize that many of us are working hard to undo those generational cycles that have long held us back. Many of us are not living in that old time feeling.” In the song’s second verse, she sings: Oh, and I hear people saying how they want a change And then the most of them do something strange They move where everybody feels the same About the southern state behind The southern state is a condition, it’s true I’ve got a little proposition for yo…

A note to our readers
type: item
creator: Robert Loerzel
date: 2019-05-13T19:32:26Z
subject: music
description: The Underground Bee is on hiatus. We hope to return soon. In the meantime, please enjoy our blog posts and photos from past years.
encoded: The Underground Bee is on hiatus. We hope to return soon. In the meantime, please enjoy our blog posts and photos from past years.

Favorite Albums of 2017
type: item
creator: Robert Loerzel
date: 2018-01-01T02:57:16Z
subject: music
subject: 2017
subject: best albums
subject: best records
subject: favorite albums
description: 1. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings: Soul of a Woman (Daptone) In the year before she died of pancreatic cancer in 2016, this astounding soul singer recorded one last album, and it’s flat-out terrific — a testament to Jones’ indomitable spirit and the enduring power of the soul music genre when it’s in the hands … Continue reading "Favorite Albums of 2017"
encoded: <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-12237" src="http://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/01sharonjones.jpg" alt="" width="320" height="320" srcset="https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/01sharonjones.jpg 320w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/01sharonjones-150x150.jpg 150w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/01sharonjones-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/01sharonjones-268x268.jpg 268w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px" /> 1. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings: Soul of a Woman (Daptone) In the year before she died of pancreatic cancer in 2016, this astounding soul singer recorded one last album, and it’s flat-out terrific — a testament to Jones’ indomitable spirit and the enduring power of the soul music genre when it’s in the hands of such talented artists. daptonerecords.com <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-12238" src="http://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/02joanshelley.jpeg" alt="" width="320" height="320" srcset="https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/02joanshelley.jpeg 320w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/02joanshelley-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/02joanshelley-300x300.jpeg 300w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/02joanshelley-268x268.jpeg 268w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px" /> 2. Joan Shelley: Joan Shelley (No Quarter) This Louisville singer-songwriter made my favorite record of 2015, Over and Even, and came very close to winning that title again with her self-titled. Simply beautiful acoustic folk music, with a sense of yearning that pulls me in every time. joanshelley.net <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-12239" src="http://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/u…

Chad VanGaalen at the Empty Bottle
type: item
creator: Robert Loerzel
date: 2017-12-09T19:55:12Z
subject: music
subject: chad vangaalen
subject: concerts
subject: empty bottle
subject: un blonde
description: Chad VanGaalen, a singer-songwriter from Calgary, Alberta, makes his recordings practically alone, writing every note and playing nearly every instrument. VanGaalen’s most recent album on Sub Pop, Light Information, offers an outstanding example of what he does so well: richly layered indie rock, with tuneful melodies but plenty of strange and murky textures. His songs … Continue reading "Chad VanGaalen at the Empty Bottle"
encoded: Chad VanGaalen, a singer-songwriter from Calgary, Alberta, makes his recordings practically alone, writing every note and playing nearly every instrument. VanGaalen’s most recent album on Sub Pop, Light Information, offers an outstanding example of what he does so well: richly layered indie rock, with tuneful melodies but plenty of strange and murky textures. His songs have a touch of the lo-fi quality heard in classic Guided By Voices records, although it’s not because of any tape hiss — it has more to do with the way VanGaalen blends his various elements into an alchemical stew. It isn’t always immediately apparent which instrument is doing what in a song. How does this translate during a live performance? As VanGaalen demonstrated during his Dec. 2 gig at the Empty Bottle, his songs also sound great when they’re played in a pretty straightforward style by a rock band. The tunes were less ornate and more direct — like an alternate but equally compelling version of the brilliant audio art VanGaalen creates in his home studio. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-12221" src="http://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/L99A2736.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667" srcset="https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/L99A2736.jpg 1000w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/L99A2736-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/L99A2736-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/L99A2736-700x467.jpg 700w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/L99A2736-332x221.jpg 332w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-12222" src="http://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/L99A2803.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="636" srcset="https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-conten…

Jon Langford’s Four Lost Souls at the Hideout
type: item
creator: Robert Loerzel
date: 2017-10-16T05:22:31Z
subject: music
subject: Bethany Thomas
subject: Four Lost Souls
subject: hideout
subject: John Szymanski
subject: jon langford
subject: Tawny Newsome
description: Oct. 11 was Jon Langford’s 60th birthday, and it was also the date of a release party at the Hideout for his latest record. Of course, this prolific Chicago musician who never seems to stop creating would spend his birthday on a stage. His latest project is a great one: The album is called Four … Continue reading "Jon Langford’s Four Lost Souls at the Hideout"
encoded: <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-12199" src="http://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/L99A1239.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="628" srcset="https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/L99A1239.jpg 1000w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/L99A1239-300x188.jpg 300w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/L99A1239-768x482.jpg 768w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/L99A1239-700x440.jpg 700w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/L99A1239-332x208.jpg 332w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /> Oct. 11 was Jon Langford’s 60th birthday, and it was also the date of a release party at the Hideout for his latest record. Of course, this prolific Chicago musician who never seems to stop creating would spend his birthday on a stage. His latest project is a great one: The album is called Four Lost Souls, which is also the name of the group he assembled for some recording sessions in the fabled area around Muscle Shoals, Alabama. In addition to Langford, the Four Lost Souls include vocalists Tawny Newsome and Bethany Thomas and guitarist-singer John Szymanski. As the Chicago Reader noted in a feature story, Langford ditched his usual process of writing songs on guitar, opting to create them on piano instead. He did sit down at the Hideout’s piano during another recent gig (with the Freakons), but despite the piano origins of his Four Lost Souls tunes, he played them all on guitar. They’re recognizable as the sturdy sort of rock and country songs Langford is known for, but his collaborators add different flavors to the sound. It’s great to hear Newsome and Thomas singing, whether it’s adding the heft of their harmonies or stepping to the forefront with occasional lead vocals. That’s true of the record, and the strength of that singing was loud and clear during t…

Hideout Block Party 2017
type: item
creator: Robert Loerzel
date: 2017-09-27T02:48:11Z
subject: music
subject: 2017
subject: concerts
subject: Danielson
subject: Danielson Famile
subject: electrical audio
subject: hideout
subject: hideout block party
subject: man or astroman
subject: nina nastasia
subject: screaming females
subject: steve albini
description: I missed the first day and a half of the Hideout Block Party this weekend — I was in Louisville for the Cropped Out music festival — but I got back into Chicago on Sunday afternoon and caught the final few hours of the Hideout’s fun shindig, which I was glad to see making a … Continue reading "Hideout Block Party 2017"
encoded: I missed the first day and a half of the Hideout Block Party this weekend — I was in Louisville for the Cropped Out music festival — but I got back into Chicago on Sunday afternoon and caught the final few hours of the Hideout’s fun shindig, which I was glad to see making a return after a gap for the past couple of years. Here are my photos from Sunday night, which capped off daylong celebration for the 20th birthday of Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio studio. Danielson Famile <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-12171" src="http://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/L99A7579.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="652" srcset="https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/L99A7579.jpg 1000w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/L99A7579-300x196.jpg 300w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/L99A7579-768x501.jpg 768w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/L99A7579-700x456.jpg 700w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/L99A7579-332x216.jpg 332w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-12172" src="http://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/L99A7673.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="673" srcset="https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/L99A7673.jpg 1000w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/L99A7673-300x202.jpg 300w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/L99A7673-768x517.jpg 768w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/L99A7673-700x471.jpg 700w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/L99A7673-332x223.jpg 332w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-12173" s…

Cropped Out 2017
type: item
creator: Robert Loerzel
date: 2017-09-27T02:16:07Z
subject: music
subject: 2017
subject: 75 Dollar Bill
subject: American Turners Club
subject: Axis: Sova
subject: Billington/Shippy/Wyche
subject: Bonafide United Musicians
subject: bonnie prince billy
subject: Circle X
subject: concerts
subject: Crazy Doberman
subject: Cropped Out
subject: Dan Melchior
subject: David Nance
subject: Deep State
subject: feedtime
subject: Frank Hurricane
subject: Fried Egg
subject: John Bender
subject: Le fruit vert
subject: Magik Markers
subject: Matt Jencik
subject: Neil Hamburger
subject: Peter Brötzmann
subject: Pile
subject: Rays
subject: Royal Trux
subject: Sadat X
subject: Sarah Squirm
subject: Shit & Shine
subject: Tara Jane O’Neill
subject: Tashi Dorji
subject: The Cowboys
subject: The Other Years
subject: The Stranger
subject: Tommy Jay
subject: Tyler Damon
subject: Tyvek
description: Cropped Out, an underground music festival in Louisville, Kentucky, lined up a blockbuster band for the top of its lineup this summer: The Fall. I was already eager to attend Cropped Out again after having a fun time there last year, and this sealed the deal. Alas, The Fall later announced it was canceling this … Continue reading "Cropped Out 2017"
encoded: <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-12161" src="http://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/L99A6712.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="731" srcset="https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/L99A6712.jpg 1000w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/L99A6712-300x219.jpg 300w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/L99A6712-768x561.jpg 768w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/L99A6712-700x512.jpg 700w, https://www.undergroundbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/L99A6712-332x243.jpg 332w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /> Cropped Out, an underground music festival in Louisville, Kentucky, lined up a blockbuster band for the top of its lineup this summer: The Fall. I was already eager to attend Cropped Out again after having a fun time there last year, and this sealed the deal. Alas, The Fall later announced it was canceling this show along with a few others, due to frontman Mark E. Smith’s health. As a replacement, Cropped Out added a new headliner, and it was not a surprising one: Louisville’s own Bonnie “Prince” Billy, who also played at this rather DIY festival last year. And so, on Saturday, Sept. 24, when Will Oldham (aka Bonnie “Prince” Billy) stepped up to the microphone, he told the crowd: “Hello, class. Sorry, Mr. Smith is sick, but I’m the sub.” And then Oldham and his band, the Bonafide United Musicians, proceeded to play a set consisting entirely of songs from his most recent album, Best Troubadour, a tribute to the late country music icon Merle Haggard. This was a cool treat for me — it’s an outstanding record that has deepened my appreciation for Haggard’s artistry as well as Oldham’s, and it was great to hear these cover versions in their full live glory. That was the high point of Cropped Out for me, but it was an interesting couple of days overall — including noi…