Boston, Massachusets in the late 1960s had a thriving rock scene, which was not surprising for a major Northeastern city with numerous colleges in the city itself and the nearby suburbs. However, while there are various overviews of the Boston scene available on the web, I know of no complete and accurate chronology of rock shows in the Boston area available in print or on the Web. As a result, performances for many groups have fallen under the radar. This is the case of this live recording of the legendary Paul Butterfield Blues Band. This audio quality of the recording is not the better which goes around but the show itself justify my interest in this live performance.

“Butterfield played and endorsed (as noted in the liner notes for his first album) Hohner harmonicas, in particular the diatonic ten-hole ‘Marine Band’ model. He played using an unconventional technique, holding the harmonica upside-down (with the low notes to the righthand side). His primary playing style was in the second position, also known as cross-harp, but he also was adept in the third position, notably on the track East-West from the album of the same name, and the track ‘Highway 28′ from the “Better Days” album.

Seldom venturing higher than the sixth hole on the harmonica, Butterfield nevertheless managed to create a variety of original sounds and melodic runs. His live tonal stylings were accomplished using a Shure 545 Unidyne III hand-held microphone connected to one or more Fender amplifiers, often then additionally boosted through the venue’s public address (PA) system. This allowed Butterfield to achieve the same extremes of volume as the various notable sidemen in his band.

Butterfield also at times played a mixture of acoustic and amplified style by playing into a microphone mounted on a stand, allowing him to perform on the harmonica using both hands to get a muted, Wah-wah effect, as well as various vibratos. This was usually done on a quieter, slower tune.” (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Butterfield).

1.Instrumental
2.Drivin’ Wheel
3.In the Wee Wee Hours
4.Unreleased
5.Mystery Train (cuts in)
6.Evil Train
7.Run out of time
8.Born in Chicago
9.I got a mind to give up livin’
10.More and More
11.Ships of paper
12.Keep on loving me
13.Band intro
14.Drown in my own tears
15.I believe our love is here to stay
16.Born under a bad sign (cuts in)

Link: Download