Don’t Settle (Vol. 1 - Transmissions East & Vol. 2 - Transmissions West) by Glen Hansard
One of the very first records I bought was Glen Hansard’s debut solo album, Rhythm and Repose. It’s not a great pressing. It’s noisy, the songs closer to the center sound tinny, it’s bad. It left much to be desired, but it also taught me some lessons about the format. Glen was one of my must-buy artists and I’m happy to report every subsequent vinyl release has sounded better than that first one.
His reputation for putting on a great show no matter the venue, be it Grafton Street in Dublin or the Sidney Opera House, also made him one of my must-see artists. Ever since our first time seeing him open for Eddie Vedder back in 2011, Denise and I made it a point to see him every time he was in the town, 16 times in 15 years. Up, close, and personal at KCRW’s Apogee Sessions in August 2015 was a highlight, thanks for the intel Jenn A! The shows at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, one in 2015, two in 2018. Front row at the Santa Barbara Bowl in July 2011. As part of Eddie Vedder’s backing super group, The Earthlings, at YouTube Theater. The recent Swell Season reunion shows. If he was here, we did our best to be there too.
This live double album, Don’t Settle (Vol. 1 - Transmissions East and Vol. 2 - Transmissions West), are his most recent releases. They were recorded over two nights at Funkhaus in Berlin to celebrate his 55th birthday. They span his entire career, from The Frames, to Swell Season, and solo material. They give a pretty good representation of what it was like to see him live. They now serve as a bitter sweet farewell transmission of a life well lived, at least by most accounts I’ve read.
Something else we loved about seeing him live was all the stories he’d share between tunes. Here’s one of mine. Last night, after our evening walk, I told Denise I was going to water the rose bushes out front and some of our potted plants in the backyard. It’s been pretty hot the last few days, and I’d been neglecting this task for a while. It was still pretty warm out, but I made a point to cover up, because the mosquitos are vicious this time of year. I knew just what to grab too, my Amigo the Devil hoodie that was promoted to around-the-house-lounge-wear just last year. As I reached for it in the far end of the closet I felt something I forgot I had pinned to the sweater. A too-big enamel pin of a plus-sign-looking cross, a piece of Glen Hansard merch I included with my pre-order of Don’t Settle (Vol. 1). I got it for Denise, but she didn’t like how big and heavy it was, so I pinned it to the aforementioned garment and forgot about it once temperatures started to climb. Then there it was after hiding away in my closet for months. A strange coincidence, but it gave us a good chuckle at the time and put Glen in our thoughts some 5,000 miles away from Strawberry Beds in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
Bangers: Back Broke, Didn’t He Ramble, Fitzcarraldo, The Feast of St. John, Revelate, Her Mercy, This Gift, When Your Mind’s Made Up, McCormack’s Wall.
