Tom Waits 1975-12-??
Ebbet's Field, Denver, CO
Set 1
Welcome
Nocturnal Emissions Intro
Saturday Night Fish Fry
Spare Parts 1
Nighthawk Postcards
Toms First Piano
The Truckee River
Virginia Avenue
Tijuana
Please Call Me Baby
Fumblin With The Blues
On A Foggy Night
Bus Depots
Depot Depot
New Coat Of Paint
Drunk On The Moon
A Bachelors Life
Better Off Without A Wife
Rosie
Shiver Me Timbers
Diamonds On My Windshield
Saturday Memories
Ghosts Of Saturday Night
Heart Of Saturday Night
Master Of Ceremonies
Nocturnal Emissions Intro
Saturday Night Fish Fry
Spare Parts 1
Nighthawk Postcards
Toms First Piano
The Truckee River
Virginia Avenue
Tijuana
Please Call Me Baby
Fumblin With The Blues
On A Foggy Night
Bus Depots
Depot Depot
New Coat Of Paint
Drunk On The Moon
A Bachelors Life
Better Off Without A Wife
Rosie
Shiver Me Timbers
Diamonds On My Windshield
Saturday Memories
Ghosts Of Saturday Night
Heart Of Saturday Night
Master Of Ceremonies
Set 2
Set 3
Comment
This is a special show, offered here for the first time beyond private collector circles.
The master reel for this show came from a batch of open reel tapes being offered for sale as blank. They came from a Colorado recording studio that was closing in the early 2000s, and this particular tape box was labled only with the name of a local rapscallion, and even then the name was followed by a question mark. The purchaser spooled up the tape to check for any contents, and lo and behold it was a missing reel from the archive of recordings from Ebbets Field in Denver. The venue is clearly identified at the end of the recording.
The reel was judged to be the master tape, was professionally digitized (at 44.1/16, a missed opportunity), and was then mailed to Tom Waits via his manager circa 2001.
All soundboard recordings from Ebbets Field were made by a company in Denver which sells sound equipment called “Listen Up.” They also provided the sound equipment in the club. Waits refers to the sound system in this broadcast as a “Heathkit sound system.” This was a dig, since Heathkit was known for making cheap electronics project kits, however it may have been deserved as the system was said to have had many bugs.
A number of Waits performances were broadcast by Denver radio station KDHT during the 1980s, but this show never was, suggesting that the master reel had been missing.
At the time of recording performers were apparently told that the FCC required them (Ebbets Field, and by extension, Listen Up) to keep a recording of any show which was broadcast (all these shows were broadcast live at the time). While this was a lie, we can be thankful that they were making a practice of this, since some of the best tapes of Waits from this period (and many other mid-70s artists) come from this source.
The next issue is how to date the recording. For Waits this is partly easy because his voice changed over time, and based on the song titles. Tom played 6 separate runs at Ebbets Field. Details can be seen below. From those runs the following recordings are known to exist:
June 20, 1974 – Ebbets Field, Denver
October 8, 1974 Ebbets Field, Denver
February 19, 1975 Ebbets Field, Denver
So these give us plenty to compare sound-wise. From the sound of his voice it was guessed that this recording had to be 1975, and probably late 1975. His voice is just starting to gain that ragged edge that became his trademark after his cleaner singer-songwriter beginnings.
Also, at the end of the show the MC suggests Tom is the headliner over Maxine Sellers, and since the other people on the bill are known for other Ebbets runs, this late 1975 run seems the obvious choice. The announcer says Waits will be appearing "through Sunday," so it seems safe to presume that they were doing the broadcast near the start of the run to generate interest in the subsequent shows. So the date is likely 12/2 or 12/3 1975.
In June 1974 the broadcast was the fourth night of the run; in October 1974 it was the first night of the run; in February 1975 it was the second night of the run.
A quick note: This venue is often spelled incorrectly, as Ebbett's, or Ebbet's - the correct spelling is "Ebbets Field" with no apostrophe.
Here is more detail than you need about Tom Waits at Ebbets Field. This was taken from the defunct Tom Waits Library:
May 17-19, '73 Ebbets Field. Denver, Colorado/ USA. Opening for Tim Weisberg & Rufus Krisp KL2005 (verified in The Denver Post. While the display ads do not list Tom, a review for Taj Mahal at Ebbetts Field does mention Tom as starting on Thursday)
Feb. 18-19 '74 Ebbets Field. Denver/ USA. Opening for Roger McGuinn KL2005 (verified in the Colorado Daily newspaper, 1974)
Feb. 20-24. '74 Ebbets Field. Denver/ USA. Opening for Jerry Jeff Walker KL2005 (verified in the Colorado Daily newspaper, 1974)
Jun. 17-19, '74 Ebbets Field. Denver/ USA. Opening for John Stewart KL2005 (verified in the Straight Creek Journal, 1974)
Jun. 20-22, '74 Ebbets Field. Denver/ USA. Opening for Elvin Bishop. One of the Ebbets Field shows aired on KDHT 95.5 radio in Denver. KL2005 (verified in the Straight Creek Journal, 1974). Recorded
Oct. 8-9 '74 Ebbets Field. Denver/ USA (also lists as October 18, 1974). "Tom headlined on the 8th & 9th, and warmed up for John Stewart from the 10th through the 13th. Tom sat down at the piano with a rumpled piece of paper of a song that he obviously had just written which turned out to be an early version of Nighthawk Postcards which was filled with local references" (Source: Ken Langford, 2005. Straight Creek Journal. October 8-14, 1974 edition) 2004. KL2005 (verified in Straight Creek Journal. October 8-14, 1974 edition)
Oct. 10-13, '74 Ebbets Field. Denver/ USA. Opening for John Stewart KL2005 (verified in Straight Creek Journal. October 8-14, 1974 edition)
Feb. 18-23, '75 Ebbets Field. Denver/ USA. Opening for Gene Clark. "Tom kept dedicating songs to a guy in the front row who was passed out leaning against the person next to him. He was Solo playing either guitar or piano. He did almost a monologue between songs which were laced with references to Denver's skid row which was only a few blocks away." KL2005 (verified in the Straight Creek Journal) (19th was recorded)
Dec. 2-7, '75 Ebbets Field. Denver/ USA. Early show and late show. Opened by Maxine Sellers KL2005 The last of several multiple-night stands that Waits performed at this club. There exists a radio broadcast, probably from the first night, which reveals that Maxine Sellers warmed up each show, and also that at least the first night had early and late shows. Verified in the Straight Creek Journal (December 2-7, 1975 edition). The 3 – 7 shows are listed in Rolling Stone.
The master reel for this show came from a batch of open reel tapes being offered for sale as blank. They came from a Colorado recording studio that was closing in the early 2000s, and this particular tape box was labled only with the name of a local rapscallion, and even then the name was followed by a question mark. The purchaser spooled up the tape to check for any contents, and lo and behold it was a missing reel from the archive of recordings from Ebbets Field in Denver. The venue is clearly identified at the end of the recording.
The reel was judged to be the master tape, was professionally digitized (at 44.1/16, a missed opportunity), and was then mailed to Tom Waits via his manager circa 2001.
All soundboard recordings from Ebbets Field were made by a company in Denver which sells sound equipment called “Listen Up.” They also provided the sound equipment in the club. Waits refers to the sound system in this broadcast as a “Heathkit sound system.” This was a dig, since Heathkit was known for making cheap electronics project kits, however it may have been deserved as the system was said to have had many bugs.
A number of Waits performances were broadcast by Denver radio station KDHT during the 1980s, but this show never was, suggesting that the master reel had been missing.
At the time of recording performers were apparently told that the FCC required them (Ebbets Field, and by extension, Listen Up) to keep a recording of any show which was broadcast (all these shows were broadcast live at the time). While this was a lie, we can be thankful that they were making a practice of this, since some of the best tapes of Waits from this period (and many other mid-70s artists) come from this source.
The next issue is how to date the recording. For Waits this is partly easy because his voice changed over time, and based on the song titles. Tom played 6 separate runs at Ebbets Field. Details can be seen below. From those runs the following recordings are known to exist:
June 20, 1974 – Ebbets Field, Denver
October 8, 1974 Ebbets Field, Denver
February 19, 1975 Ebbets Field, Denver
So these give us plenty to compare sound-wise. From the sound of his voice it was guessed that this recording had to be 1975, and probably late 1975. His voice is just starting to gain that ragged edge that became his trademark after his cleaner singer-songwriter beginnings.
Also, at the end of the show the MC suggests Tom is the headliner over Maxine Sellers, and since the other people on the bill are known for other Ebbets runs, this late 1975 run seems the obvious choice. The announcer says Waits will be appearing "through Sunday," so it seems safe to presume that they were doing the broadcast near the start of the run to generate interest in the subsequent shows. So the date is likely 12/2 or 12/3 1975.
In June 1974 the broadcast was the fourth night of the run; in October 1974 it was the first night of the run; in February 1975 it was the second night of the run.
A quick note: This venue is often spelled incorrectly, as Ebbett's, or Ebbet's - the correct spelling is "Ebbets Field" with no apostrophe.
Here is more detail than you need about Tom Waits at Ebbets Field. This was taken from the defunct Tom Waits Library:
May 17-19, '73 Ebbets Field. Denver, Colorado/ USA. Opening for Tim Weisberg & Rufus Krisp KL2005 (verified in The Denver Post. While the display ads do not list Tom, a review for Taj Mahal at Ebbetts Field does mention Tom as starting on Thursday)
Feb. 18-19 '74 Ebbets Field. Denver/ USA. Opening for Roger McGuinn KL2005 (verified in the Colorado Daily newspaper, 1974)
Feb. 20-24. '74 Ebbets Field. Denver/ USA. Opening for Jerry Jeff Walker KL2005 (verified in the Colorado Daily newspaper, 1974)
Jun. 17-19, '74 Ebbets Field. Denver/ USA. Opening for John Stewart KL2005 (verified in the Straight Creek Journal, 1974)
Jun. 20-22, '74 Ebbets Field. Denver/ USA. Opening for Elvin Bishop. One of the Ebbets Field shows aired on KDHT 95.5 radio in Denver. KL2005 (verified in the Straight Creek Journal, 1974). Recorded
Oct. 8-9 '74 Ebbets Field. Denver/ USA (also lists as October 18, 1974). "Tom headlined on the 8th & 9th, and warmed up for John Stewart from the 10th through the 13th. Tom sat down at the piano with a rumpled piece of paper of a song that he obviously had just written which turned out to be an early version of Nighthawk Postcards which was filled with local references" (Source: Ken Langford, 2005. Straight Creek Journal. October 8-14, 1974 edition) 2004. KL2005 (verified in Straight Creek Journal. October 8-14, 1974 edition)
Oct. 10-13, '74 Ebbets Field. Denver/ USA. Opening for John Stewart KL2005 (verified in Straight Creek Journal. October 8-14, 1974 edition)
Feb. 18-23, '75 Ebbets Field. Denver/ USA. Opening for Gene Clark. "Tom kept dedicating songs to a guy in the front row who was passed out leaning against the person next to him. He was Solo playing either guitar or piano. He did almost a monologue between songs which were laced with references to Denver's skid row which was only a few blocks away." KL2005 (verified in the Straight Creek Journal) (19th was recorded)
Dec. 2-7, '75 Ebbets Field. Denver/ USA. Early show and late show. Opened by Maxine Sellers KL2005 The last of several multiple-night stands that Waits performed at this club. There exists a radio broadcast, probably from the first night, which reveals that Maxine Sellers warmed up each show, and also that at least the first night had early and late shows. Verified in the Straight Creek Journal (December 2-7, 1975 edition). The 3 – 7 shows are listed in Rolling Stone.
Sources
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Created At
Sat Dec 04 2021 19:52:01 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Updated At
Sat Dec 04 2021 19:52:01 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
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