The Song Fight Bulletin Board

I thought I would pick up this topic in its own thread rather than continue it in the Better Days review thread.

Over there mo and I had mentioned Morphine shows in Boston. I thought I had seen them at the Middle East but looking at a list of Morphine tour dates now, I guess I must have misremembered the venue. It looks like I probably saw them March 11, 1997 at the Paradise, not the Middle East. I'm from Hartford, so I was home from college on Spring Break and drove up to Boston.

One of my older brothers introduced me to them, probably summer '95. He somehow got Cure for Pain and the wah wah sax solo in particular blew his mind and he was like "You have to listen to this!!" I loved it, and they were my favorite band for several years.

the idiot king wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 04, 2021 6:46 am

mo wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 03, 2021 9:47 pm

My contribution is that I once got high with Mark Sandman backstage at The Middle East before they went on and blew everyone’s minds. Dana Colley played two saxes at once, it was a phenomenal show

Lunkhead wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 03, 2021 9:58 pm

I saw them at The Middle East for their CD release show for "Like Swimming", got a signed CD. Didn't get high with the band though.

Lordy do I envy you both! Cure for Pain is one of my all time favorites. You still in the Boston area?

Not familiar with Morphine (the band) but I remember REALLY liking Morphine (the drug). Ahem. Being from New Haven myself, I have in the olden days of yore also made the trek to The Middle East, but it was usually to watch Tod A. and Firewater rip up the stage. Good times. Isn't it in Cambridge though?

In my case I was just lucky, I was a manager at this coffeehouse, and the owner was this hippie lady who had traveled the country as a Deadhead (the coffee was excellent btw), who had made friends with all of these musicians. So I would go to shows with her now and again, and one time happened to be that time.

He was pretty quiet, but good sense of humor. It was a really intense experience too, one of the shows that really showed me the power of tone, because you know, the songs themselves aren't terribly complicated, they are just super well crafted, and the instrument tones all fit well and create magic.

I used to live in Cheshire and then Bethany before we moved up to Boston! Obvs I am now in Hell-A but given the number of Red Sox caps I see out here all the time, it doesn't feel that far from home haha

That's awesome. I'm in NH now but spent most of my life in the immediate Boston area, and in the Boston music scene it seemed like anyone of a certain vintage had their Mark Sandman story. I missed out by about three or four years, but it sounds like he was a strange and funny guy. The documentary about them was great.

ujnhunter wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 04, 2021 9:40 am

Not familiar with Morphine (the band) but I remember REALLY liking Morphine (the drug). Ahem. Being from New Haven myself, I have in the olden days of yore also made the trek to The Middle East, but it was usually to watch Tod A. and Firewater rip up the stage. Good times. Isn't it in Cambridge though?

You're right, the Middle East is in Cambridge specifically, but "Boston" generally, to folks not from New England.

Morphine was one of the first bands I remember my dad getting me into as a kid. He had a copy of "Good" on CD and would listen to it fairly often in the car. For the longest time that was the only album of theirs I knew all that well. But then I heard Cure for Pain and it's even better! I couldn't quite get into Like Swimming as much as the first two.

I just got to reading a bit more about them. Mark Sandman probably had some of the most interesting last words of any well known person. "It's a beautiful evening, it's nice to be here and I want to dedicate a super sexy song to you."

I wonder what super sexy song he never got to play that night?

In the early 90s I shared a house with a guy from Boston, and he made it a point to school us on his favorite music from Boston. He turned us on to both his "Treat Her Right" and "Mission of Burma" records, which was great. After that I picked up Morhpine's "Good" and have been a fan ever since.

oh yeah Mission of Burma, the Blake Babies, the Lemonheads, Letters to Cleo hahahaha, Belly, Chucklehead (go Wes), man the Boston scene of the 1990s was a trip

sleepysilverdoor wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 04, 2021 12:02 pm

I just got to reading a bit more about them. Mark Sandman probably had some of the most interesting last words of any well known person. "It's a beautiful evening, it's nice to be here and I want to dedicate a super sexy song to you."

I wonder what super sexy song he never got to play that night?

He played some of it. It was Super Sex according to setlist.fm.

I'm bummed that I didn't know them when they were around. I was even in college in the northeast in the late 90s and had family in Boston. Dana Colley is an absolute animal, that bari tone is ridiculous.

mholland wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 04, 2021 7:48 pm

I'm bummed that I didn't know them when they were around. I was even in college in the northeast in the late 90s and had family in Boston. Dana Colley is an absolute animal, that bari tone is ridiculous.

He and the two drummers from Morphine (in the pre-COVID days) used to play regularly in Somerville and Cambridge as Vapors of Morphine. I've never gotten the chance to check them out but I can't help but think it'd be a great time even if not the same.

I saw Orchestra Morphine play in San Francisco, at The Fillmore in 2000. Great show, although bittersweet.